mHealth interventions to change dietary behaviours in patients with heart failure – Study protocol of a restricted review

Introduction - Heart failure (HF) affects millions of people globally and requires the patient to
engage in complex self-care regimens, including dietary recommendations. mHealth
interventions show potential in improving patient engagement with dietary choices. Little is
known about mHealth nutrition interventions for those with HF. There are gaps around how
engagement strategies in mHealth applications usage might alter health behavior changes.
This restricted systematic review protocol aims to outline the design of a restricted review
which describes mHealth nutrition interventions for those with HF and the engagement
strategies used to improve the diet of patients with heart failure.

Methods - A restricted systematic review was conducted using Plüddeman’s approach,
following the guidelines outlined in the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews
and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). A collaborative search strategy was created, and searches
were performed in CINAHL via EBSCO, MEDLINE via Ovid, Web of Science Core
Collection, and Scopus. The included studies will be analysed narratively using an
interpretative framework.

Results - Title and abstract screening was completed and n=98 articles selected for full text
review. The findings will describe the designs and engagement strategies used to increase
patient engagement with HF nutrition mHealth applications. An exploration is planned
around how levels of engagement with digital dietary interventions impacts on changes in
patients’ health behaviours.

Conclusions - The review aims to provide a synthesis on the evidence around mHealth
nutrition interventions for those with HF. The unique combination of healthcare professionals
and technologist in this review will provide a collaborative overview of measures needed to
improve digitalised HF dietary applications that may support patients’ self-management.