mHealth and Engagement Concerning Persons With Chronic Somatic Health Conditions: Integrative Literature Review

BACKGROUND: Chronic somatic health conditions are a global public health challenge. Being engaged in one’s own health management for such conditions is important, and mobile health (mHealth) solutions are often suggested as key to promoting engagement. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to review, critically appraise, and synthesize the available research regarding engagement through mHealth for persons with chronic somatic health conditions. METHODS: An integrative literature review was conducted. The PubMed, CINAHL, and Inspec databases were used for literature searches. Quality assessment was done with the guidance of Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklists. We used a self-designed study protocol comprising 4 engagement aspects—cognitive, behavioral and emotional, interactional, and the usage of mHealth—as part of the synthesis and analysis. RESULTS: A total of 44 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. mHealth usage was the most commonly occurring engagement aspect, behavioral and emotional aspects the second, cognitive aspects the third, and interactional aspects of engagement the least common aspect in the included articles. The results showed that there is a mix of enablers and barriers to engagement in relation to the 4 engagement aspects. The perceived meaningfulness and need for the solution and its content were important to create and maintain engagement. When perceived as meaningful, suitable, and usable, mHealth can support knowledge gain and learning, facilitate emotional and behavioral aspects such as a sense of confidence, and improve interactions and communications with health care professionals. CONCLUSIONS: mHealth solutions have the potential to support health care engagement for persons with chronic somatic conditions. More research is needed to further understand how, by which means, when, and among whom mHealth could further improve engagement for this population.