Diabetes
Digital health technologies for self-management of type 2 diabetes in low-resource settings: a scoping review of feasibility, adoption, and equity considerations Edmond Appiah* Edmond Appiah Appiah Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Digital health technologies (DHTs)—including apps, SMS, and wearable sensors—hold promise for improving diabetes self-management. However, most evidence originates from high-income countries, and their applicability in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) and underserved communities is unclear. This scoping review aimed to map the evidence on DHTs for type 2 diabetes in low-resource settings, focusing on feasibility, adoption barriers/facilitators, and reported equity outcomes. We employed the JBI methodology, searching MEDLINE, Global Health, and IEEE Xplore for studies (2015-2025). We defined “low-resource” by either study setting (LMIC) or focus on underserved populations (e.g., rural, low-income) in any country. Of 1,567 screened records, 128 studies were included. Our analysis charted technology type, study design, and key thematic findings. While pilot studies demonstrate technical feasibility, we identified major barriers to sustainable adoption: low digital literacy, data cost burdens, linguistic/cultural misalignment of content, and poor integration into overstretched public health systems. Few studies measured or reported on equity outcomes like narrowing glycemic control disparities. This review maps an innovation landscape that is rapidly expanding but often divorced from the contextual realities of end-users. It underscores the critical need for participatory design, robust equity-focused evaluation, and policy frameworks that address the digital divide to prevent the exacerbation of existing diabetes disparities.