mHealth (mobile health): What’s inside?
mHealth: Review
Being a branch of e-Health, mobile health, or mHealth, incorporates a wide range of programs. It has clear advantages such as portability, mobility, personalization, and ubiquity in comparison with traditional medical services [1] and is currently viewed as a new medical service mode which combines medical services with medical equipment, the internet and information communication technology [3].
It is a fast growing segment that attracts governments which show their interest in it as a complementary strategy that strengthens the health system and manifests itself in the deployment of global health, demonstrating the potential of mobile and wireless connectivity.
New products and services are introduced by mHealth. It also welcomes devices and apps. Their quantity skyrockets as a part of mainstream healthcare, trying to hit its aim — provide people with mobile technologies that empower them to make healthy lifestyle decisions, care about their wellness using digital tools, monitor their state of health remotely via apps, to be more proactive in their treatment, and communicate with the medical staff.
PwC Research proves the idea people want to know more about their health, collect data, get free and easy access to medical services. Use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets, PDAs) and wireless technologies of data transferring makes mHealth attractive for users. These devices make it possible to monitor such illnesses as diabetes, autism, insomnia, athma, apply to maternal health and child, as well as provide qualitative communication amongst doctors and patients, distant medical care (telemedicine).
The quantity of smartphone users grows worldwide — making them consumers of apps — health apps in particular. Apple’s AppStore and Google Play currently contain more than 300.000 health apps which are available for those who need them. These data push huge tech giants to make mHealth their higher priority and call for investors.
Factors that can influence use of mHealth services
In well-developed countries people of different age groups use mobile-based apps which provide their users with mobile-enhanced solutions, delivering health, tracking it or getting health services.
The use and capitalization of core instruments of a mobile phone (voice communication and short message service (SMS), more complex functionalities and applications, including GPRS, 3G and 4G mobile communication systems, GPS and Bluetooth technology) is a must factor to satisfy needs of mobile health. Another one is improvement of timely access to information and services of emergency and general health care, control over care patients, solving the problem of lack of medicines in polyclinics, as well as improving the accuracy of clinical diagnosis and adherence to treatment are made possible due to modern mobile health software applications being tested.
What’s more important: to provide ubiquitous and universal access to medical advice and information to any users at any time over mobile platforms there should be a personalized and interactive service [2], as well as presence of basic health care infrastructure. mHealth initiatives should also be supported by governments that would push them to fast delivery and spread.
Promotion of mHealth services within end-users depends on price and its comparison, that should also be regulated by institutions which would reduce health care costs.
The quality of patient care and constant data analysis could be a real kick-off for the start of development or upgrading functionality of apps.
User acceptance and adoption is an example of health behavior of a user and is considered to be one more critical factor, as willingness of patients to use mHealth may lead it either to its success or failure.
Mobile health usability also depends on aging barriers. For instance, in some countries aging adults dominate the young, and represent the bigger potential user group who needs mHealth service. It requires better or more appropriately designed apps which will meet expectations of this target age group [5], take into consideration their unique physical and psychophysical characteristics, and help build trust to mobile health service.
The technological factors such as usefulness, ease of use, design, compatibility, technical issues, content, personalization, and convenience influence mHealth adoption among professional medical users [4]. Still there is a strong need in development of an mHealth evaluation framework.
Mobile healthcare grows its potential. It is getting more and more patient-centred. Improvement of mobile health service quality, meeting actual health demands of average users belonging to different age groups will build trust and usefulness of mHealth and its ease of use will lead to positive influence on their attitude and behavioral intention, as well as mobile health service adoption behavior.
REFERENCES
- Akter S, D’Ambra JP. Service quality of mHealth platforms: developmentvalidation of a hierarchical model using PLS. Electronic Markets. 2010:20–227. doi: 10.1007/s12525–010–0043-x.
- Akter, S., D’Ambra, J., & Ray, P. (2011). Trustworthiness in mHealth information services: an assessment of a hierarchical model with mediating and moderating effects using partial least squares (PLS). Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, 62(1), 100–116.
- Iwaya, L., Gomes, M., Simplício, M. A., Carvalho, T. C. M. B., Dominicini, C. K., Sakuragui, R. R. M., Rebelo, M. S., Gutierrez, M. A., Näslund, M., Håkansson, P. Mobile health in emerging countries: a survey of research initiatives in Brazil. Int J Med Inform. 2013 May;82(5):283–98. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2013.01.003.
- Jacob, Ch.K. Social, Organizational, and Technological Factors Impacting Clinicians’ Adoption of Mobile Health Tools: Systematic Literature Review / https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7059085/
- Wildenbos, G.A., Peute, L., Jaspers, M. Aging barriers influencing mobile health usability for older adults: A literature based framework (MOLD-US) / https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29673606/
