Peer-reviewed article
Digital Health Interventions and the Psychological Needs of Youth With Chronic Diseases: A Scoping Review.
Kusumaningrum AB, Kusnadi G, Wangge G ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This scoping review examined 19 studies of digital health interventions designed to help young people aged 10-24 with chronic diseases manage their conditions and psychological well-being. Mobile apps and telehealth were the most common types of interventions, often using cognitive behavioural therapy approaches. The review found that psychological support varied widely across studies, youth were rarely involved in designing these tools beyond consultation, and common barriers included low engagement and unequal digital access.
Key points
- Mobile apps and telehealth were the most frequently used types of digital health interventions
- Cognitive behavioural therapy was the most common psychological framework incorporated
- Youth participation in design was generally limited to consultations rather than co-design
- Low engagement and digital access issues were common implementation barriers
- Substantial variation exists in how psychological support is integrated across different interventions
Limitations
This is a scoping review that maps the characteristics of existing studies rather than evaluating the effectiveness of specific interventions. The review cannot determine which digital health approaches are most effective for improving psychological outcomes in youth with chronic diseases.
Abstract
ObjectivesDigital health interventions (DHIs) are increasingly used to support chronic disease management and psychological needs of young people. Yet, evidence on how psychological support is integrated and youths are involved remains limited. This scoping review mapped the characteristics of DHIs, physical and psychological outcomes, youth involvement, and implementation challenges.MethodsFollowing PRISMA-ScR guidelines, a systematic search of studies published between 2015 and 2026 was conducted through PubMed, Embase, Scopus and Google Scholar. Eligible studies included those evaluating DHIs for young people (10-24 years) with chronic diseases and reported at least one psychological or psychosocial outcome. Data were extracted on intervention characteristics, psychological support components, physical and psychological outcomes, youth involvement, and implementation challenges.Results19 studies were included. Mobile apps and telehealth were the most common type of intervention, with cognitive behavioural therapy being the most frequently incorporated psychological framework. Psychological outcomes integrated and evaluated within DHIs varied across studies. Youth participation in the DHI design was generally limited to consultations rather than co-design. Common implementation barriers included low engagement and issues with digital access.ConclusionConsiderable heterogeneity exists in psychological support approaches, intervention characteristics, and youth participation during DHIs development. Future DHIs should explicitly prioritize meaningful integration of psychological support and youth involvement.