mHealth and Digital Technologies for Community-Based Hypertension Screening, Monitoring, Treatment, and Long-Term Management: A Scoping Review and Evidence Gap Map

Background: Hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease globally, contributing to over 10 million preventable deaths annually. Community-based approaches leveraging mobile health (mHealth) and digital technologies offer a transformative opportunity to close persistent gaps in hypertension detection, monitoring, treatment adherence, and long-term management, particularly in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs). This scoping review and evidence gap map aimed to comprehensively characterise the breadth, depth, and geographic distribution of evidence on mHealth and digital technologies for community-based hypertension care, and to identify critical evidence gaps to guide future research and policy. Methods: Guided by the Arksey and O'Malley methodological framework and the PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we conducted programmatic searches across six databases and manual searches across ten additional sources for the period spanning 2010 to 2026. A stratified purposive sampling strategy yielded 120 studies across ten thematic clusters. An evidence gap map (EGM) was constructed across nine geographic regions and ten thematic dimensions. Results: Of 5,267 identified records, 120 studies met all inclusion criteria (69 RCTs, 21 systematic reviews/meta-analyses). Sub-Saharan Africa accounted for 40 studies (33.3%). The strongest evidence existed for SMS/app-based adherence interventions (T3-T4) and community health worker-led digital programmes (T5). Major evidence gaps were identified for AI/clinical decision support in LMICs (T6), cost-effectiveness analyses in Sub-Saharan Africa (T9), and MENA-region studies across all themes. Conclusions: mHealth and digital technologies demonstrate substantial potential to improve community-based hypertension care globally. However, critical evidence gaps-particularly regarding AI-driven tools, economic evaluations, and health equity in LMICs-must be addressed to enable evidence-based scale-up and sustainable integration into routine health systems.