Implementation and Uptake of mHealth-Supported Remote Cardiac Rehabilitation: A Scoping Review Protocol of Global Evidence and Implications for Africa

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) reduces mortality and hospitalisation after cardiovascular events, yet it is available in only 17% of African countries. Mobile health (mHealth) can extend CR beyond the hospital, and the 2026 ESC Guidelines now recognise digitally supported telerehabilitation as a delivery option. How global mHealth CR models could be adopted or adapted within African health systems remains unclear. This scoping review will map global evidence on the implementation and uptake of mHealth-supported remote CR and examine its implications for Africa. Following the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology and the Population–Concept–Context framework, we will search PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE and Web of Science for English-language studies published from 2016 to June 2026, complemented by an Africa-focused search that includes grey literature. Adults with any guideline-recommended indication for CR will be eligible. Two reviewers will independently screen studies and chart data on delivery models, technologies, CR components, implementation outcomes, barriers and facilitators. Findings will be synthesised descriptively and thematically, guided by established implementation frameworks, interpreted against African health-system factors, and reported according to PRISMA-ScR. The review will identify potentially transferable models, necessary adaptations and evidence gaps to guide research, policy and equitable implementation of digital CR in Africa. The protocol is registered on the Open Science Framework.