Interactive Toolkit for Classifying Digital Health Interventions, Services, and Applications Based on the WHO Framework

TL;DR

This paper introduces an interactive toolkit based on WHO's classification framework to help categorize digital health interventions, with a focus on usability and practical implementation in cardiac rehabilitation.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel interactive toolkit that operationalizes WHO's CDISAH framework for classifying digital health interventions.

Findings

The toolkit was developed using a seven-step iterative process and validated through expert feedback and a cardiac rehabilitation use case.

Pilot testing improved usability and highlighted practical challenges and solutions for implementation.

The toolkit offers a standardized, portable platform for classifying multimodal digital health interventions.

Abstract

The rapidly advancing digital health requires a standardized approach to classifying Digital Health Interventions (DHIs) for better planning, monitoring, and resource distribution. The World Health Organisation (WHO) developed a Classification for Digital Health Interventions, Services, and Applications in Health (CDISAH) in response to this need. The purpose of this study was to develop an interactive toolkit based on WHO's CDISAH to enhance categorization, making it more interactive, user-friendly, and effective in classifying DHI services and applications, and demonstrate its practical implementation in the field of cardiac rehabilitation. We used a descriptive approach with a seven-step iterative process to create the toolkit. The process began with a review of best practices for converting framework into toolkit, followed by drafting an initial toolkit structure, which was refined through team discussions. The content was based on WHO CDISAH. Expert feedback was incorporated, and quality assurance was conducted through internal and external reviews. The toolkit’s functionality and usability were evaluated through a use case including DHIs, services, and applications for cardiac rehabilitation. The toolkit for WHO CDISAH has a structured interface with clear definitions, practical examples, and intuitive navigation across three main axes: health system challenges, digital health interventions, and digital health applications and services. Pilot testing improved its usability and functionality for accurate classification, highlighting areas for refinement and identifying challenges and solutions for practical implementation. The developed toolkit provides a standardised, portable platform for classifying the multimodal DHIs that align with the framework presented by WHO.

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