Person-centred care in digital health interventions for chronic diseases: A systematic review

Background: The growing burden of chronic diseases has led to increasing interest in integrating person-centred care (PCC) principles with digital health solutions (eHealth, mHealth, telehealth, remote monitoring). Although many digital interventions claim to be person-centred, it remains unclear how PCC is defined, operationalised and evaluated in these technologies. Objectives: This systematic review aims to (1) identify digital health interventions for adults with chronic diseases that explicitly adopt a person-centred (or patient-centred, individualized, personalised) care approach, (2) describe how PCC principles are conceptualised and implemented within these interventions, and (3) synthesise evidence on clinical, behavioural and experiential outcomes associated with person-centred digital health. Methods: We will conduct a systematic search of electronic databases (e.g. MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, PubMed) using a search strategy combining terms for person-centred care, digital health (eHealth, mHealth, telehealth, telemedicine, mobile apps, wearables, remote monitoring) and chronic diseases. We will include empirical studies (quantitative, qualitative and mixed-methods) and systematic reviews involving adults with chronic diseases exposed to a digital health intervention explicitly described as person-centred or closely related concepts. Two reviewers will independently screen titles/abstracts and full texts, extract data and assess study quality. Findings will be synthesised narratively, with a mapping of PCC components (e.g. shared decision-making, tailoring, self-management support, relational aspects) and reported outcomes. Expected contribution: The review will clarify how person-centred care is understood and embedded in digital health interventions for chronic disease management, highlight conceptual and methodological gaps, and inform the design and evaluation of future technologies to be genuinely person-centred.