# A scoping review of digital health applications for managing noncommunicable diseases in primary care post-pandemic: Lessons from the Western Pacific Region

## TL;DR

This study reviews digital health tools used in primary care for managing noncommunicable diseases in the Western Pacific Region after the pandemic.

## Contribution

It provides a scoping review of digital health applications in primary care for NCDs in the Western Pacific Region, highlighting lessons and challenges.

## Key findings

- Digital interventions like telehealth and mHealth improved information quality and acceptability for NCD management.
- Persistent barriers include technology integration issues and data quality concerns.
- The study found regional variations in digital health adoption across Australia, Singapore, South Korea, and China.

## Abstract

The global rise of digital health is reshaping healthcare delivery and improving outcomes, especially for noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) post-pandemic. Guided by the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Strategy on Digital Health 2020-2025, this study examined digital health applications in Western Pacific Region (WPR) primary care, focusing on NCD management and related challenges.

A scoping review following the Arksey and O’Malley framework and Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Extension for Scoping Reviews guidelines was conducted. Using the PICO framework, studies on digital interventions in WPR primary care were identified through PubMed, Scopus, ScienceDirect, Web of Science and the Journal of Medical Internet Research (2022-2024). Eighteen studies were synthesized using the WHO digital health intervention and Health System Challenge frameworks.

The review included studies from Australia (n=10), Singapore (n=5), South Korea (n=1), and China (n=2), encompassing randomized, observational, qualitative, and pragmatic designs. Digital interventions—telehealth, mobile health (mHealth) and electronic health (eHealth)—targeted NCDs such as diabetes, mental health, and cardiovascular diseases, addressing information quality, acceptability, efficiency, cost, accountability, and equity.

The scoping review identified several digital health interventions, predominantly telehealth, mHealth and eHealth, deployed across Australia, Singapore, South Korea and China for NCD management in primary care. The studies demonstrated improvements in information quality, acceptability and efficiency, while highlighting persistent barriers such as technology integration issues, data quality concerns and inequities.