Digital Health: 6 Ways to Bridge the Research Gap
- Despite promising results, many digital tools developed for lifestyle interventions and self-management of chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, fail to make their way...
- Marie Löf, a professor of nutrition at Karolinska Institutet, expressed frustration over the underutilization of these resources."It is frustrating to see how much effort goes into developing and...
- In a Nature Medicine article, Löf and Ralph Maddison, Foreign Adjunct Professor at Karolinska Institutet, outline six recommendations for researchers.these include early planning for implementation, considering appropriate business...
Digital health tools show immense promise for managing chronic diseases, yet a significant gap exists between these innovations and their everyday use in healthcare. Discover six crucial recommendations to bridge this divide and boost adoption. Researchers highlight the importance of early implementation planning, accessible design, and viable business models. They emphasize the need to consider diverse populations, ensuring digital solutions reach everyone, regardless of language or literacy. This comprehensive approach, detailed in a recent Nature Medicine article, could revolutionize patient care. News Directory 3 provides insights into the underutilization of resources, with experts like Marie Löf advocating for more practical integration. Explore how these strategies can improve outcomes in chronic disease management and unlock the full potential of digital wellness. Discover what’s next for digital health.
six Ways to Boost adoption of Digital Health Tools
Updated May 28, 2025
Despite promising results, many digital tools developed for lifestyle interventions and self-management of chronic conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, fail to make their way into routine healthcare. Researchers are now offering insights on how to bridge this gap and improve the implementation of digital health tools.
Marie Löf, a professor of nutrition at Karolinska Institutet, expressed frustration over the underutilization of these resources.”It is frustrating to see how much effort goes into developing and testing digital solutions, only for them not to be used in clinical practice,” Löf said.
In a Nature Medicine article, Löf and Ralph Maddison, Foreign Adjunct Professor at Karolinska Institutet, outline six recommendations for researchers.these include early planning for implementation, considering appropriate business models, and ensuring accessibility across diverse populations, irrespective of language or literacy.
The researchers hope their recommendations will guide researchers in sweden and globally, facilitating the integration of digital tools into healthcare for the benefit of patients. Their ongoing work includes developing a multilingual platform for self-care in gestational diabetes, applying the six recommendations.
It is frustrating to see how much effort goes into developing and testing digital solutions, only for them not to be used in clinical practice.
What’s next
The researchers plan to continue refining and evaluating digital solutions, focusing on broader accessibility and practical implementation to improve patient outcomes in chronic disease management and digital wellness.