Table 1

PICO criteria for including studies

PopulationHealthcare settings (including but not limited to: primary, intermediate, secondary, homecare)
All healthcare settings will be considered
Not limited by: clinical area, health concern; the type of patient who receive the e-health technology; the type of health professional delivering care; or country
InterventionImplementation of e-health
e-health is defined as comprising of four main domains

  • Management systems, such as the electronic health records (EHR) that allow the acquisition, transmission and storage of patient data

  • Computerised decision support systems, including diagnostic support alerts and reminder systems

  • Communication systems, such as telecommunication, which act as an intermediary between users

  • Information resources such as the internet

ComparatorThis review is not limited to comparator studies. Where comparators are present these may comprise: standard implementation processes; usual care; control; no or another implementation strategy (single or multifaceted)
OutcomesQualitative data on factors that inhibit or promote implementation of e-health.
Study typeReviews that provided descriptions of method, including systematic reviews, narrative reviews, meta-syntheses or meta-ethnographies. (See inclusion and exclusion criteria for more details of these study types)

  • PICO, participants, interventions, comparators and outcomes.