ABSTRACT

This scoping review synthesises evidence on mHealth in South Africa specifically related to the use and application of mobile technology, the population groups targeted, and the health outcomes measured. Three scholarly databases were searched, data was extracted using standard scoping review methods. Of 287 peer-reviewed articles, 36 articles meeting inclusion criteria were analysed. Mobile applications and short-messaging services were the primary technologies employed by mHealth interventions which increasingly incorporates bi-directional communication. Published research has increased since 2016 with the majority of studies carried out in three provinces, the Western Cape, KwaZulu-Natal, and Gauteng. This paper provides an overview of mHealth in South Africa with recommendations for mHealth integration into private and public healthcare.

摘要

该范围审查综合了南非移动医疗的证据，特别是与移动技术的使用和应用、目标人群和衡量的健康结果有关。搜索了三个学术数据库，使用标准范围审查方法提取数据。在 287 篇同行评议文章中，分析了 36 篇符合纳入标准的文章。移动应用程序和短信服务是 mHealth 干预所采用的主要技术，越来越多地包含双向通信。自 2016 年以来，已发表的研究有所增加，其中大部分研究在西开普省、夸祖鲁-纳塔尔省和豪登省三个省进行。本文概述了南非的移动医疗，并提出了将移动医疗融入私人和公共医疗保健的建议。