The use of mobile applications as a tool supporting health

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
J Grzebieluch ◽  
M Wołoch ◽  
A Felińczak

Abstract Background Mobile health (m-health) covers activities in the field of medicine and public health carried out by using mobile devices. It also includes mobile applications, which are one of the main branches of e-health. The aim of the study was to determine the relationship between the use of mobile health applications by students and everyday behaviour activities that promote health. Methods The study involved 208 students of three Wrocław universities. It was conducted from March till April 2018 and the online diagnostic survey (CAWI) method was used. Results 70.2% of respondents declared they had mobile health applications installed on their smartphone. 49% declared that they used mobile health applications, while 51% did not. Respondents who used the application significantly more often than non-users, took care of their health in almost all of the ways listed in the questionnaire: care about mental health(28%), the quality and duration of sleep(41%), healthy diet(64 %), physical activity(81%), implementation of health-related activities in everyday behaviour(28%), monitoring my health(52%). People, who use health applications significantly more often, undertake most of the physical activities (running 42.2%, working out the gym 39.2%, riding bike 38.2%, attending group classes 33,3%, swimming 21.6%). Respondents use application mostly for 'Registering, supporting physical activity'(80%) Conclusions Almost half of the examined group of students use mobile health applications in their daily lives and this group assesses themselves as health-conscious people in its various manifestations and aspects. These people are more likely to engage in various types of physical activity Key messages The results of the research clearly indicate the positive relationship between the use of mobile applications and health-promoting behaviours and undertaking physical activities. The development and dissemination of mobile applications can significantly affect the extension of possibilities for health promotion activities and supporting a healthy lifestyle.

Author(s):  
Laura Pradal-Cano ◽  
Carolina Lozano-Ruiz ◽  
José Juan Pereyra-Rodríguez ◽  
Francesc Saigí-Rubió ◽  
Anna Bach-Faig ◽  
...  

Unhealthy diet and physical inactivity—major risk factors for the main non-communicable diseases—can be addressed by mobile health applications. Using an evidence-based systematic review design, we analysed studies on mobile applications to foster physical activity to determine whether they met the objective of increasing adults’ physical activity. A bibliographic search was conducted in October 2020 using PubMed, Cochrane Library Plus, Biomed Central, Psychology Database, and SpringerLink, retrieving 191 articles. After titles and abstracts were reviewed, 149 articles were excluded, leaving 42 articles for a full-text review, of which 14 met the inclusion criteria. Despite differences in study duration, design, and variables, 13 of the 14 studies reported that applications were effective in increasing physical activity and healthy habits as dietary behaviour. However, further longer-term studies with larger samples are needed to confirm the effectiveness of mobile health applications in increasing physical activity.


2020 ◽  
Vol 74 (4_Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 7411510336p1
Author(s):  
Daniel Carter ◽  
Katie Robinson ◽  
John Forbes ◽  
Sara Hayes

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia Eberle ◽  
Maxine Loehnert ◽  
Stefanie Stichling

Abstract Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) emerges worldwide and is closely associated with short- and long-term health issues in women and their offspring, such as pregnancy and birth complications respectively comorbidities, Type 2 Diabetes (T2D), metabolic syndrome as well as cardiovascular diseases. Against this background, mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) do open up new possibilities to improve the management of GDM. Therefore, we analyzed the clinical effectiveness of specific mHealth-Apps on clinical health-related short and long-term outcomes in mother and child. Methods A systematic literature search in Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science Core Collection databases as well as Google Scholar was performed. We selected studies published 2008 to 2020 analyzing women diagnosed with GDM using specific mHealth-Apps. Controlled clinical trials (CCT) and randomized controlled trials (RCT) were included. Study quality was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. Results In total, n = 6 publications (n = 5 RCTs, n = 1 CCT; and n = 4 moderate, n = 2 weak quality), analyzing n = 408 GDM patients in the intervention and n = 405 in the control groups, were included. Compared to control groups, fasting blood glucose, 2-h postprandial blood glucose, off target blood glucose measurements, delivery mode (more vaginal deliveries and fewer (emergency) caesarean sections) and patient compliance showed improving trends. Conclusion mHealth-Apps might improve health-related outcomes, particularly glycemic control, in the management of GDM. Further studies need to be done in more detail.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Raeesi ◽  
Reza Khajouei ◽  
Leila Ahmadian

Abstract Background Despite the increasing number of mobile health applications, the validity of their content is understudied. The objective of this study was to rate the content of HIV/AIDS-related mobile applications and to determine the extent to which evidence-based medicine is being incorporated into their content using a new tool called the Evidence-based content rating tool of mobile health applications (EBCRT-mHealth). Methods All available HIV/AIDS-related applications in Iran from Cafe Bazaar and Google Play Store were evaluated. This study was first conducted in 2018, then after almost two years in 2021 was done again. In this study, researchers developed the EBCRT-mHealth tool to rate the content of applications based on the evidence-based medicine pyramid. Its reliability was calculated (α = 0.78), and five specialists confirmed its validity. Two reviewers independently reviewed all HIV/AIDS applications directly downloaded and installed from the Google Play Store and Cafe Bazaar. Results Out of 980 retrieved applications, in 2018, 85, and in 2021, 78 applications were included in the study. Only in 17 (28%) out of the 60 in 2018, and 25 (51%) in 2021 Google Play store applications the source of content information was mentioned. All Cafe Bazaar mobile applications mentioned the source of information. The mean rating of all application content in 2018 was 2.38 (SD = 0.74), and in 2021 was 2.90 (SD = 1.35) out of 5. The mean rating of the content of Cafe Bazaar applications in 2018 was 2.10 (SD = 0.49), and in 2021 was 1.94 (SD = 0.29). The mean content rating of Google Play store applications in 2018 was 2.50 (SD = 0.80) and in 2021 was 3.86 (SD = 1.18). Conclusion After two years, the rating of the content of HIV/AIDS-related applications available in Iran that existed in Cafe Bazaar decreased from "poor" to "inappropriate". Also, the content score of the Google Play Store applications increased from "poor" to "good". It is critical to ensure the credibility of the sources used in developing their content and removing applications with inappropriate and unreliable content from the App Stores. Also, mobile health application developers should use the highest quality information in their applications.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
pp. 117693512095419
Author(s):  
Hosna Salmani ◽  
Maryam Ahmadi ◽  
Nafiseh Shahrokhi

Introduction: Mobile health is an emerging technology around the world that can be effective in cancer screening. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of mobile health applications on cancer screening. Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review of studies related to the use of mobile health applications in cancer screening. We also conducted a comprehensive search of articles on cancer screening related to the use of mobile health applications in journals published between January 1, 2008, and January 31, 2019, using 5 databases: IEEE, Scopus, Web of Science, Science Direct and PubMed. Results: A total of 23 articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the present review. All studies have identified positive effects of applications on cancer screening and clinical health outcomes. Furthermore, more than half of mobile applications had multiple functions such as providing information, planning and education. Moreover, most of the studies, which examined the satisfaction of patients and quality improvement, showed healthcare application users have significantly higher satisfaction of living and it leads to improving quality. Conclusion: This study found that the use of mobile health applications has a positive impact on health-related behaviours and outcomes. Application users were more satisfied with applying mobile health applications to manage their health condition in comparison with users who received conventional care.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Mano

BACKGROUND Rising criticisms about the effectiveness and risks associated with the growing use of mobile health, applications necessitate a critical perspective regarding the effectiveness of the link between use of mobile health applications, health attitudes and health behaviors. OBJECTIVE we introduce a “costs/benefits” perspective to examine how health situational effects including health crises, health changes and hospitalization affect the likelihood to adopt lifestyle and health management behaviors. METHODS A sample of 1495 US adults (PEW, 2012) and a set of multiple regression models RESULTS while the use of mobile health applications empowers users to reconsider health concerns, reach health decisions and seek further consultation yet, the existence of situational effects moderates the empowering effect of applications and decreases the likelihood of adopting health management behaviors CONCLUSIONS a costs/benefits perspective captures the push/pull factors associated with the effectiveness of mobile applications use in-home care in order to properly address the costs and benefits of mobile applications use and support home care services.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Esrat Jahan ◽  
Rawan Almansour ◽  
Kiran Ijaz ◽  
Rimante Ronto ◽  
Liliana Laranjo

Diabetes mellitus is a leading cause of concern among non-communicable diseases worldwide, with its prevalence increasing every day. Studies have shown that it is possible to prevent type 2 diabetes in high risk people if they adopt a healthy lifestyle, such as exercising regularly, eating nutritious food and maintaining an ideal weight. Mobile apps may aid these people in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Till date, no systematic review has evaluated the use of mobile health applications for the prevention of type 2 diabetes. In this systematic review protocol we will lay out the methods we will use to synthesise the evidence about mobile health applications for the prevention of type 2 diabetes, focusing particularly on their impact on different process and outcome measures, as well as on patient perspectives. Database searches will be done in PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and PsychInfo. Screening of the articles will be conducted by two independent researchers. The Cochrane risk of bias tool will be used for quality assessment. A narrative synthesis of the included articles will be done and the results summarised. The findings of this review will provide evidence on the impact of mobile applications in preventing Type 2 diabetes mellitus.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (7) ◽  
pp. 2001-2005
Author(s):  
Ehsan A. Yahia ◽  
Magda M. Bayoumi

Mobile health applications are an easy, friendly access method for enhancing patient’s compliance and overall health status. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobile health applications on patients’ compliance. A Quasi-experimental design was used with a purposeful sample of 150 subjects who have been diagnosed with type II diabetes were recruited. SOKARY android mobile application diabetes App was selected mobile health application in Arabic interface included many features as recording blood glucose level, nutrition and physical activity with medication reminders and healthy lifestyle advice notifications. The findings showed that the effectiveness of post-using the Mobile App on patient’s compliance is statistically significant 52.64+5.1, (p=0.000). Obviously, the improvement is statistically significant as recognized in lowering the level of HbA1c (p> 0.029) and BMI (p>0.006) and increasing level of activity (p>0.002) and overall patient’s compliance (p>0.004). In conclusion, the results reported significant improvement in patients’ compliance and highly recommended to utilize such mobile health applications among patients to prevent the complications of Type II diabetes. Keywords:SOKARY Mobile Application, type II diabetes, patient’s compliance, HbA1c, level of activity, BMI.


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