ArticleBMJ open2026
Remote preventive and digital health promotion services in primary and community healthcare in Sub-Saharan Africa: a scoping review protocol.
Article in BMJ open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
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Abstract
introductionPrimary healthcare (PHC) systems in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) continue to prioritise reactive, curative models of care, despite the region's pressing need for health-promotive and preventative strategies. Instead of disrupting the existing curative model, the expansion of digital health often automates old, treatment-oriented systems with a limited focus on creating new tools for preventive and health-promoting functions. While there is no shortage of reviews on digital health and telemedicine in SSA, these predominantly focus on curative care and service delivery within the walls of healthcare facilities. An understanding of how remotely provided preventive and health-promoting services can be implemented by PHC facilities to strengthen the PHC overall is currently lacking. Addressing this gap is critical for guiding research, policy and practice towards designing more preventive and proactive PHC service models. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This protocol details a scoping review that will identify and establish what is currently known about the implementation and feasibility of remote preventive and digital health-promoting services as potential levers to strengthen PHC in SSA. The review will consolidate evidence on digital health initiatives for prevention and identify key opportunities, barriers and gaps in the current knowledge. Results will be analysed using quantitative summaries and qualitative thematic analysis. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: Ethical approval is not required as this study uses publicly available literature. The findings could guide policymakers, programme implementers and researchers in reorienting PHCs towards more preventive approaches. The findings of the proposed scoping review will be disseminated through publication in a peer-reviewed journal. REGISTRATION: The protocol is registered with the Open Science Framework (OSF: https://osf.io/8whkc/) to comply with methodological transparency and accountability.
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