Factors that influence the implementation of digital health in rural, regional, and remote Australia: Protocol for an overview of reviews

BackgroundAlthough digital transformation holds significant importance for the delivery of health care services, its application in rural, regional, and remote (RRR) settings presents unique challenges which are less comprehensively understood. This review aims to consolidate the available evidence from existing systematic and scoping reviews related to the implementation of digital health in RRR Australia, to examine the health, innovation and implementation outcomes, factors that influence implementation, and the design constructs specific to these settings. MethodsThis overview of systematic and scoping reviews will follow the guidelines of the Cochrane Overview of Reviews. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods reviews of studies focusing on the implementation of digital health in RRR Australia will be in included. We will search the following databases: Cochrane Library, PubMed, SCOPUS, CINAHL, and Web of Science. We will include studies published in English from the inception of the database until May 01, 2024. Two reviewers will conduct all steps independently and a third reviewer will determine and resolve discrepancies. Included reviews will be appraised using the AMSTAR-2 checklist. A theory-based coding of barriers and enablers using the CFIR 2.0 will be applied and a narrative summary of the findings, along with tables and diagrams aligned with the objective and scope of the review will be presented. DiscussionWe expect this overview of reviews to provide current evidence and key insights about the factors that inhibit or promote the implementation of digital health in RRR Australia. Findings will orient the selection and adaptation of implementation process strategies tailored to digital health in RRR Australia. We will publish our results in a peer-reviewed journal. Systematic review registrationPROSPERO CRD42024512742