Acceptance and effectiveness of digital tools in public health campaigns, disease surveillance, and health behavior change

Digital health tools have revolutionized the delivery of public health, enabling interventions to scale up efforts in health promotion, disease monitoring, and behavior change. This review summarizes data on the uptake and efficacy of eHealth solutions (mHealth applications or portable devices, telemedicine platforms, wearable technology, digital surveillance systems, or social media interventions). A review of 96 studies (n > 865,000) reveals heterogeneous acceptance rates across digital modalities, ranging from 25.0% for contact tracing apps to 88.6% for social media health campaigns. An aggregated meta-analysis reveals an effect of changes in health behaviors, with significant increases of 1,329 steps per day, 55.1 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity per week, and a reduction in sedentary behavior by 426.3 minutes per week. Behavioral change techniques, including feedback and monitoring, prompts and cues, and personalization, show the most significant effects. Notwithstanding favourable outcomes, the lack of infrastructure, digital literacy disparities, privacy concerns, and the pervasiveness of social media use (with over 90% of the population in many countries being habitual users with daily habits) will add to their constraints. However, the mHealth market is expected to witness substantial growth, reaching $324.73 billion by 2032 [CAGR 17.8%] from $81.15 billion in 2023. This review provides an evidence-informed perspective for public health professionals, policymakers, and technology developers on implementing digital health interventions effectively in practice.