Have a personal or library account? Click to login
Economic Evaluations of Digital Health Interventions: A Bibliometric Analysis and a Review of Methodological Challenges Cover

Economic Evaluations of Digital Health Interventions: A Bibliometric Analysis and a Review of Methodological Challenges

Open Access
|Jun 2025

References

  1. Ahmed, S., Alqasmi, I., Ashrafi, D. M., Choudhury, M. M., Rahman, M. K., & Mohiuddin, M. (2023). Determining the intention to use app-based medicine service in an emerging economy. International Journal of Healthcare Management, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1080/20479700.2023.2198186
  2. Aranda-Jan, C. B., Mohutsiwa-Dibe, N., & Loukanova, S. (2014). Systematic review on what works, what does not work and why of implementation of mobile health (mHealth) projects in Africa. BMC Public Health, 14(188), 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-14-188
  3. Aria, M., & Cuccurullo, C. (2017). bibliometrix: An R-tool for comprehensive science mapping analysis. Journal of Informetrics, 11(4), 959–975. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JOI.2017.08.007
  4. Bergmo, T. S. (2015). How to measure costs and benefits of ehealth interventions: An overview of methods and frameworks. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(11), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.2196/JMIR.4521
  5. Black, A. D., Car, J., Pagliari, C., Anandan, C., Cresswell, K., Bokun, T., McKinstry, B., Procter, R., Majeed, A., & Sheikh, A. (2011). The Impact of eHealth on the Quality and Safety of Health Care: A Systematic Overview. PLOS Medicine, 8(1), e1000387. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PMED.1000387
  6. Burrell, A., Zrubka, Z., Champion, A., Zah, V., Vinuesa, L., Holtorf, A. P., Di Bidino, R., Earla, J. R., Entwistle, J., Boltyenkov, A. T., Braileanu, G., Kolasa, K., Roydhouse, J., Asche, C., Redekop, K., Pfeiffer, C., Le, L., Janodia, M., Sharkawy, M., … Paul, S. (2022). How Useful Are Digital Health Terms for Outcomes Research? An ISPOR Special Interest Group Report. Value in Health, 25(9), 1469–1479. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JVAL.2022.04.1730
  7. Busso, M., Gonzalez, M. P., & Scartascini, C. (2022). On the demand for telemedicine: Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic. Health Economics, 31(7), 1491–1505. https://doi.org/10.1002/HEC.4523
  8. Donthu, N., Kumar, S., Mukherjee, D., Pandey, N., & Lim, W. M. (2021). How to conduct a bibliometric analysis: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 133, 285–296. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JBUSRES.2021.04.070
  9. dos Santos Silva, E. K., Cruz, J. A. W., da Cunha, M. A. V. C., de Moraes, T. P., Marques, S., & da Silva, E. D. (2021). Cost-effectiveness in health: consolidated research and contemporary challenges. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 8(254), 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1057/S41599-021-00940-5
  10. Drummond, M. F., Sculpher, M. J., Torrance, G. W., O’Brien, B. J., & Stoddart, G. L. (2005). Methods for the economic evaluation of health care programme. (3rd ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  11. Ekeland, A. G., Bowes, A., & Flottorp, S. (2010). Effectiveness of telemedicine: A systematic review of reviews. International Journal of Medical Informatics, 79(11), 736–771. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.IJMEDINF.2010.08.006
  12. Fernández Coves, A., Yeung, K. H. T., van der Putten, I. M., & Nelson, E. A. S. (2022). Teleconsultation adoption since COVID-19: Comparison of barriers and facilitators in primary care settings in Hong Kong and the Netherlands. Health Policy, 126(10), 933–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.HEALTHPOL.2022.07.012
  13. Gatchel, R. J., McGeary, D. D., McGeary, C. A., & Lippe, B. (2014). Interdisciplinary chronic pain management: past, present, and future. The American Psychologist, 69(2), 119–130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035514
  14. Gega, L., Jankovic, D., Saramago, P., Marshall, D., Dawson, S., Brabyn, S., Nikolaidis, G. F., Melton, H., Churchill, R., & Bojke, L. (2022). Digital interventions in mental health: evidence syntheses and economic modelling. Health Technology Assessment, 26(1), 1–181. https://doi.org/10.3310/RCTI6942
  15. Goldberg, S. B., Lam, S. U., Simonsson, O., Torous, J., & Sun, S. (2022). Mobile phone-based interventions for mental health: A systematic meta-review of 14 meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials. PLOS Digital Health, 1(1), 1–21. https://doi.org/10.1371/JOURNAL.PDIG.0000002
  16. Gomes, M., Murray, E., & Raftery, J. (2022). Economic Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions: Methodological Issues and Recommendations for Practice. PharmacoEconomics, 40, 367–378. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40273-022-01130-0
  17. Greiwe, J. (2022). Telemedicine Lessons Learned During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Current Allergy and Asthma Reports, 22, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1007/S11882-022-01026-1
  18. Hall, A. K., Cole-Lewis, H., & Bernhardt, J. M. (2015). Mobile text messaging for health: a systematic review of reviews. Annual Review of Public Health, 36, 393–415. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-publhealth-031914-122855
  19. Harst, L., Timpel, P., Otto, L., Richter, P., Wollschlaeger, B., Winkler, K., & Schlieter, H. (2020). Identifying barriers in telemedicine-supported integrated care research: scoping reviews and qualitative content analysis. Journal of Public Health, 28(5), 583–594. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-019-01065-5
  20. Hilty, D. M., Ferrer, D. C., Parish, M. B., Johnston, B., Callahan, E. J., & Yellowlees, P. M. (2013). The Effectiveness of Telemental Health: A 2013 Review. Telemedicine and E-Health, 19(6), 444–454. https://doi.org/10.1089/TMJ.2013.0075
  21. Hollis, C., Falconer, C. J., Martin, J. L., Whittington, C., Stockton, S., Glazebrook, C., & Davies, E. B. (2017). Annual Research Review: Digital health interventions for children and young people with mental health problems - a systematic and meta-review. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines, 58(4), 474–503. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12663
  22. Hong, S. J., & Cho, H. (2023). The role of uncertainty and affect in decision-making on the adoption of AI-based contact-tracing technology during the COVID-19 pandemic. Digital Health, 9, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076231169836
  23. Husereau, D., Jacobs, P., Manns, B., Hoomans, T., Marshall, D., & Tamblyn, R. (2014). Economic evaluation of complex health system interventions: a discussion paper. 1–38.
  24. Huter, K., Krick, T., & Rothgang, H. (2022). Health economic evaluation of digital nursing technologies: a review of methodological recommendations. Health Economics Review, 12(35), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1186/S13561-022-00378-8
  25. Jankovic, D., Bojke, L., Marshall, D., Saramago Goncalves, P., Churchill, R., Melton, H., Brabyn, S., & Gega, L. (2021). Systematic Review and Critique of Methods for Economic Evaluation of Digital Mental Health Interventions. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 19, 17–27. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40258-020-00607-3
  26. Kolasa, K., & Kozinski, G. (2020). How to Value Digital Health Interventions? A Systematic Literature Review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(6), 1–22. https://doi.org/10.3390/IJERPH17062119
  27. Kovačić, M., Mutavdžija, M., & Buntak, K. (2022). e-Health Application, Implementation and Challenges: A Literature Review. Business Systems Research Journal, 13(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/doi:10.2478/bsrj-2022-0001
  28. Manteghinejad, A., & Javanmard, S. H. (2021). Challenges and opportunities of digital health in a post-COVID19 world. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, 26(11). https://doi.org/10.4103/jrms.JRMS_1255_20
  29. McNamee, P., Murray, E., Kelly, M. P., Bojke, L., Chilcott, J., Fischer, A., West, R., & Yardley, L. (2016). Designing and Undertaking a Health Economics Study of Digital Health Interventions. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 51(5), 852–860. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2016.05.007
  30. Michie, S., Yardley, L., West, R., Patrick, K., & Greaves, F. (2017). Developing and evaluating digital interventions to promote behavior change in health and health care: Recommendations resulting from an international workshop. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 19(6), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.7126
  31. Monaghesh, E., & Hajizadeh, A. (2020). The role of telehealth during COVID-19 outbreak: A systematic review based on current evidence. BMC Public Health, 20(1193), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-09301-4
  32. Naoum, P., Pavi, E., & Athanasakis, K. (2021). Economic Evaluation of Digital Health Interventions in Palliative Care: A Systematic Review of the Literature. Frontiers in Digital Health, 3, 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/FDGTH.2021.730755
  33. NICE. (2022). NICE health technology evaluations: the manual. National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.
  34. OECD. (2021). Health at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators. OECD. https://doi.org/10.1787/ae3016b9-en
  35. Osvaldić, J. (2021). Information System Implementation in Healthcare: Case Study of Croatia. Business Systems Research Journal, 12(2), 114–124. https://doi.org/doi:10.2478/bsrj-2021-0022
  36. Paré, G., Jaana, M., & Sicotte, C. (2007). Systematic Review of Home Telemonitoring for Chronic Diseases: The Evidence Base. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 14(3), 269–277. https://doi.org/10.1197/JAMIA.M2270
  37. Petticrew, M., Anderson, L., Elder, R., Grimshaw, J., Hopkins, D., Hahn, R., Krause, L., Kristjansson, E., Mercer, S., Sipe, T., Tugwell, P., Ueffing, E., Waters, E., & Welch, V. (2013). Complex interventions and their implications for systematic reviews: a pragmatic approach. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 66(11), 1209–1214. https://doi.org/10.1016/J.JCLINEPI.2013.06.004
  38. Seixas, A. A., Olaye, I. M., Wall, S. P., & Dunn, P. (2021). Optimizing Healthcare Through Digital Health and Wellness Solutions to Meet the Needs of Patients With Chronic Disease During the COVID-19 Era. Frontiers in Public Health, 9(667654), 1–7. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2021.667654
  39. Sikandar, H., Vaicondam, Y., Parveen, S., Khan, N., & Qureshi, M. I. (2021). Bibliometric Analysis of Telemedicine and E-Health Literature. International Journal of Online and Biomedical Engineering (IJOE), 17(12), 52–69. https://doi.org/10.3991/ijoe.v17i12.25483
  40. Snoswell, C. L., Taylor, M. L., Comans, T. A., Smith, A. C., Gray, L. C., & Caffery, L. J. (2020). Determining if Telehealth Can Reduce Health System Costs: Scoping Review. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10). https://doi.org/10.2196/17298
  41. Snoswell, C., Smith, A. C., Scuffham, P. A., & Whitty, J. A. (2017). Economic evaluation strategies in telehealth: Obtaining a more holistic valuation of telehealth interventions. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 23(9), 792–796. https://doi.org/10.1177/1357633X16671407
  42. Srok, A., & Došenović Bonča, P. (2024). ICT-enabled healthcare and economic evaluations: a bibliometric analysis. In Dealing with Uncertainty, 197–218. University of Rijeka, Faculty of Economics and Business.
  43. Srok, A., & Došenović Bonča, P. (2022). ICT-enabled healthcare and economic evaluations: a bibliometric analysis. International Scientific Conference Economics of Digital Transformation (EDT) - “Dealing with Uncertainty,” 29.
  44. Stanisavljevic, V., & Tekić Sauerborn, B. (2024). On Privacy Protection of Consumer Data Collected by e-Health Devices. ENTRENOVA - ENTerprise REsearch InNOVAtion, 9(1 SE-Health, Education, and Welfare), 121–131. https://doi.org/10.54820/entrenova-2023-0013
  45. Uribe-Toril, J., Ruiz-Real, J. L., & Nievas-Soriano, B. J. (2021). A study of ehealth from the perspective of social sciences. Healthcare, 9(2), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.3390/HEALTHCARE9020108
  46. Valenzuela Espinoza, A., Steurbaut, S., Dupont, A., Cornu, P., Van Hooff, R. J., Brouns, R., & Putman, K. (2019). Health Economic Evaluations of Digital Health Interventions for Secondary Prevention in Stroke Patients: A Systematic Review. Cerebrovascular Diseases Extra, 9, 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1159/000496107
  47. van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2010). VOSviewer: A Computer Program for Bibliometric Mapping. Scientometrics, 84(2), 523–538. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1007/s11192-009-0146-3
  48. van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2014). Visualizing Bibliometric Networks. Measuring Scholarly Impact, 285–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-10377-8_13
  49. Visser, M., van Eck, N. J., & Waltman, L. (2021). Large-scale comparison of bibliographic data sources: Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions, Crossref, and Microsoft Academic. Quantitative Science Studies, 2(1), 20–41. https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00112
  50. Walker, S., Griffin, S., Asaria, M., Tsuchiya, A., & Sculpher, M. (2019). Striving for a Societal Perspective: A Framework for Economic Evaluations When Costs and Effects Fall on Multiple Sectors and Decision Makers. Applied Health Economics and Health Policy, 17, 577–590. https://doi.org/10.1007/S40258-019-00481-8
  51. Waqas, A., Teoh, S. H., Lapão, L. V., Messina, L. A., & Correia, J. C. (2020). Harnessing telemedicine for the provision of health care: Bibliometric and scientometric analysis. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 22(10), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.2196/18835
  52. WHO. (2010). Telemedicine: Opportunities and Developments in Member States: Report on the Second Global Survey on eHealth.
  53. WHO. (2011). mHealth: new horizons for health through mobile technologies: second global survey on eHealth.
  54. WHO. (2016). Monitoring and evaluating digital health interventions: a practical guide to conducting research and assessment. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/252183
  55. WHO. (2021). Global strategy on digital health 2020-2025.
  56. Wootton, R. (2012). Twenty years of telemedicine in chronic disease management-an evidence synthesis. Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, 18(4), 211–220. https://doi.org/10.1258/jtt.2012.120219
  57. World Health Assembly. (2005). Fifty-eighth World Health Assembly. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/20398
  58. Zoroja, J., Pejić Bach, M., & Miloloža, I. (2021). Seeking Health Information over the Internet: Cluster Analysis Approach to Analyzing Differences Among European Countries. Proceedings of the 16th International Symposium on Operational Research in Slovenia, SOR’21 in Slovenia, 97, 157.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/bsrj-2025-0014 | Journal eISSN: 1847-9375 | Journal ISSN: 1847-8344
Language: English
Page range: 285 - 304
Submitted on: Mar 9, 2024
|
Accepted on: Jun 22, 2024
|
Published on: Jun 20, 2025
In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services
Publication frequency: 2 issues per year

© 2025 Antonija Srok, Petra Došenović Bonča, published by IRENET - Society for Advancing Innovation and Research in Economy
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.