AUTHOR=Sachdeva Malika , Dugerdil Adeline , Flahault Antoine , Carrara Verena 

TITLE=Are Wearables Effective in LMICs?

JOURNAL=Public Health Reviews

VOLUME=Volume 46 - 2025

YEAR=2025

URL=https://www.ssph-journal.org/journals/public-health-reviews/articles/10.3389/phrs.2025.1607940

DOI=10.3389/phrs.2025.1607940

ISSN=2107-6952

ABSTRACT=To provide an overview of research conducted in low-and middle-income countries that present the impact of wearables on non-communicable diseases' health outcomes, and factors that influence the adoption of wearables in these countries.We conducted a scoping review following the Arksey & O'Malley framework. Two databases, PubMed, and Web of Science were searched for relevant articles published between January 2010 and June 2023. We included studies set in low-and middle-income countries that focused either on the impact of wearables on changes in body mass index, blood pressure, and glycated hemoglobin levels or on the factors influencing wearables adoption.A total of seventeen studies were included in the review out of the 890 identified during the search. Our findings suggest that wearables might be effective in improving health outcomes, such as bodymass-index and diastolic blood pressure, especially when used in conjunction with other health interventions.Wearables such as pedometers can be effective in improving health outcomes. Their widespread use in low-and middle-income countries is limited by different factors, including technological literacy, network coverage, and cultural considerations.