Mobile Health

Author(s):  
Alain B. Labrique ◽  
Dustin G. Gibson ◽  
Radha Rajan ◽  
Lavanya Vasudevan

In this chapter, the authors explore the rapidly changing landscape of mobile health (mHealth) over the past decade. From a time of discordant innovation at the beginning of the global mobile phone “revolution” to one where national mHealth strategies are the norm, a number of key innovations and digital strategies have emerged as catalysts for clinical and public health service delivery. In 2019, the World Health Organization released the first-ever digital health guidelines, based on extensive systematic reviews, to help ministries of health and implementing agencies to make evidence-based investments in digital health. Several key mHealth approaches to health system strengthening have been identified across the various layers of complex health systems—from improving target population denominators to strengthening service quality and affordability. Across layers of patient, provider, and system interventions, examples of digital strategies will be used to illustrate the ways in which mHealth can be used to overcome persistent bottlenecks or cost drivers. Seminal frameworks and tools to describe, evaluate, and measure the maturity of digital health innovations will be introduced, with links to key resources. Finally, the importance of engagement is discussed as an emergent frontier of digital “adherence” to prescription-strength digital applications.

2016 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis Falzon ◽  
Hazim Timimi ◽  
Pascal Kurosinski ◽  
Giovanni Battista Migliori ◽  
Wayne Van Gemert ◽  
...  

In 2014, the World Health Organization (WHO) developed the End TB Strategy in response to a World Health Assembly Resolution requesting Member States to end the worldwide epidemic of tuberculosis (TB) by 2035. For the strategy's objectives to be realised, the next 20 years will need novel solutions to address the challenges posed by TB to health professionals, and to affected people and communities. Information and communication technology presents opportunities for innovative approaches to support TB efforts in patient care, surveillance, programme management and electronic learning. The effective application of digital health products at a large scale and their continued development need the engagement of TB patients and their caregivers, innovators, funders, policy-makers, advocacy groups, and affected communities.In April 2015, WHO established its Global Task Force on Digital Health for TB to advocate and support the development of digital health innovations in global efforts to improve TB care and prevention. We outline the group's approach to stewarding this process in alignment with the three pillars of the End TB Strategy. The supplementary material of this article includes target product profiles, as developed by early 2016, defining nine priority digital health concepts and products that are strategically positioned to enhance TB action at the country level.


2019 ◽  
pp. 1357633X1985674 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoshi Yang ◽  
Carrie L Kovarik

Introduction Mobile health has a promising future in the healthcare system in most developed countries. China’s rapidly developing mobile technology infrastructure offers an unprecedented opportunity for wide adoption of mobile health interventions in the delivery of effective and timely healthcare services. However, there is little data on the current extent of the mobile health landscape in China. The aim of this study was to systematically review the existing mobile health initiatives in China, characterise the technology used, disease categories targeted, location of the end user (urban versus rural), and examine the potential effects of mobile health on health system strengthening in China. Furthermore, we identified gaps in development and evaluation of the effectiveness of mobile health interventions. Methods A systematic review of the literature published from 18 December 2015–3 April 2019 was conducted and yielded 2863 articles from English and Chinese retrieval database and trial registries, including PubMed, EMBASE, China National Knowledge of Infrastructure and World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform. Studies were included if they used mobile health to support patient healthcare outcomes. Results A total of 1129 full-text articles were assessed and 338 were included in this study. The review found that most studies targeted client education and behaviour change via applications (apps) (65.4%), including WeChat, and text messaging (short text messages) (19.8%) to improve patient medical treatment outcomes such as compliance and appointment reminders. The most common disease-specific mobile health interventions focused primarily on chronic disease management and behaviour change in cardiology (13.3%), endocrinology/diabetes (12.1%), behavioural health (11.8%), oncology (11.2%) and neurology (6.8%). The mobile health interventions related to nutrition (0.6%) and chronic respiratory diseases (1.6%) are underrepresented in mobile health in comparison to the burden of disease in China. The majority (90.0%) of the mobile health interventions were conducted exclusively in urban areas, with few opportunities reaching rural populations. Conclusions Overall, mobile health has a promising future in China, with recent rapid growth in initiatives. The majority are focused on education and behaviour change in the realm of chronic diseases and target patients in urban areas. The imbalance in mobile health between the urban and rural areas, as well as between population disease spectrum and health service delivery, pose substantial dilemmas. However, mobile health may be redirected to correct this imbalance, possibly improving access to healthcare services, and filling the gaps in order to improve health equity for the underserved populations in China.


Author(s):  
Roberta Patalano ◽  
Vincenzo De Luca ◽  
Jess Vogt ◽  
Strahil Birov ◽  
Lucia Giovannelli ◽  
...  

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the worldwide obesity rate has tripled since 1975. In Europe, more than half of the population is overweight and obese. Around 2.8 million people die each year worldwide as a result of conditions linked to being overweight or obese. This study aimed to analyze the policies, approaches, and solutions that address the social and health unmet needs of obese patients, at different levels, in order to simulate the definition of an integrated approach, and to provide and share examples of innovative solutions supporting health promotion, disease prevention, and integration of services to improve the collaboration between the different health and care stakeholders involved across the country and in the lives of obese patients. A collaborative approach involving various levels of government and regional experts from different European countries was applied to identify, explore, and evaluate different aspects of the topic, from the innovation perspective and focusing on a European and a regional vision. Currently, people prefer more foods rich in fats, sugars, and salt/sodium than fruits, vegetables, and fiber. This behavior leads to a significant negative impact on their health-related quality of life. Changes in healthcare systems, healthy policy, and approaches to patient care and better implementation of the different prevention strategies between all the stakeholders are needed, taking advantage of the digital transformation of health and care. Such changes can support obese patients in their fight against an unhealthy lifestyle and at the same time reduce healthcare costs.


2021 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 3-11
Author(s):  
Nuril Hanifah ◽  
Ike Herdiana ◽  
Rahkman Ardi

Complete children immunization coverage in Indonesia declined from 59.2% in 2013 to 57.9% in 2016. Therefore, a study on understanding the vaccination barrier is necessary to improve future coverage. This scoping review aims to identify the determinants of vaccine hesitancy using the model of the World Health Organization-Strategic Advisory Group of Expert (WHO-SAGE) working group and to map them on the basis of region, target population, and vaccine. This research used publications from seven databases (Science Direct, Wiley, Scopus, SAGE, PubMed, Springer, and Taylor & Francis) from 2015 to 2020. A total of 10,212 publications were identified and filtered by employing the PRISMA method, thereby leaving 24 publications that were featured in this review. The majority of these publications is quantitative research conducted in Aceh and Yogyakarta and investigates children complete immunization, with adults and parents being the target population. The vaccine hesitancy determinants that are mentioned the most are social-economy, religion/culture/ gender, the role of health-care professionals, cost, knowledge, and awareness about vaccine, and attitude toward preventive health behavior. However, additional evidence on the influence of contextual-focus factors in various regions in Indonesia is crucial for a further understanding of the antecedent of the relationship between determinant factors and vaccination behavior.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter chew

Abstract Background: The World Health Organization (WHO) said the situation in India was a "devastating reminder" of what the coronavirus could do. India shifts from mass vaccine exporter to importer, worrying the world. Every country needs to vaccinate its citizens faster, vaccination can reduce viral load. This results in vaccination that can reduce transmission, preventing serious illness and death'. Therefore, Countries with higher levels of vaccination can prevent them from becoming "Second India".Preprint study, Vaccination Education App (1). [Peter Chew, 2021] shows that most people do not take the covid-19 vaccine because they question the safety and effectiveness of the vaccine. Therefore, it is important to create a simple formula for calculate the efficiency of the covid-19 vaccine. The purpose of creating this calculation formula is to allow the public to calculate the efficiency of the covid-19 vaccine by themselves, so that they can understand the effectiveness of the vaccine and decide to take the vaccine. This helps to get a high response to COVID vaccinationMethods: Use the Data publish at The New England JOURNAL of MEDICINE, Safety and Efficacy of the BNT162b2 mRNA Covid-19 Vaccine [Fernando P. Polack et all , 2020]. Calculate of Pfizer BioNTech’s COVID-19 vaccine efficiency by using normal formular and Peter Chew Formular , show that the same result are obtain, which is 95.0599 %. In addition, By using public news information, the public can use the Peter Chew formula to easily calculate Covid-19 vaccine efficacy. This is to ensure public can do the calculation themselves. A calculation of relative risk is also provided to provide more information to persuade the public to take the vaccine.Results: The efficiency of Pfizer BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for Malaysian medical worker calculated by using the Peter Chew formula is 95.0599 %. In addition, the calculation of Peter Chew's formula also shows that before the vaccination, about 12 medical staff were infected every day, but after the full vaccination, only about one medical worker was infected every two days. The calculation of relative risk can also make it easier for the public to know that people who are not vaccinated with Pfizer BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine are 22 times more likely to be infected than people who are fully vaccinated. The above results can convince those who easily question the effectiveness of vaccination.Conclusions: Peter Chew Formular easy to calculate, and the data required for the Peter Chew Formular calculation easy to obtain from public news. This is to ensure that the public can calculate the efficacy of the vaccine by themselves. The information on the calculation can let public compare the average target group get infected every day before and after fully vaccination is also an advantage to let public know the effectiveness of vaccination. One of the advantage of Peter Chew formulator is that we can assume a high target population of vaccination with k = 100, such as the medical worker group When k = 100, the Peter Chew formular calculation becomes very simple. The Proof of Peter Chew Formular must also be shown.


Vaccines ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 354 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Ciavattini ◽  
Luca Giannella ◽  
Rosa De Vincenzo ◽  
Jacopo Di Giuseppe ◽  
Maria Papiccio ◽  
...  

Human papillomavirus (HPV) related cervical cancer represents an issue of public health priority. The World Health Organization recommended the introduction of HPV vaccination in all national public programs. In Europe, vaccines against HPV have been available since 2006. In Italy, vaccination is recommended and has been freely offered to all young girls aged 11 years since 2008. Three prophylactic HPV vaccines are available against high- and low-risk genotypes. The quadrivalent vaccine contains protein antigens for HPV 6, 11, 16, and 18. The bivalent vaccine includes antigens for HPV 16 and 18. The nonavalent vaccine was introduced in 2014, and it targets HPV types 6, 11, 16, 18, 31, 33, 45, 52, and 58. Clinical trials demonstrated the effectiveness of the three vaccines in healthy young women. Likewise, all vaccines showed an excellent safety profile. The bivalent vaccine provides two doses in subjects aged between 9 and 14 years and three doses in subjects over 14 years of age. The quadrivalent vaccine provides two doses in individuals from 9 to 13 years and three doses in individuals aged 14 years and over. The nonavalent vaccine schedule provides two doses in individuals from 9 to 14 years of age and three doses in individuals aged 15 years and over at the time of the first administration. Preliminary results suggest that the HPV vaccine is effective in the prevention of cervical squamous intraepithelial lesions even after local treatment. Given these outcomes, in general, it is imperative to expand the vaccinated target population. Some interventions to improve the HPV vaccine’s uptake include patient reminders, physicians-focused interventions, school-based vaccinations programs, and social marketing strategies. The Italian Society of Colposcopy and Cervico-Vaginal Pathology (SICPCV) is committed to supporting vaccination programs for children and adolescents with a catch-up program for young adults. The SICPCV also helps clinical and information initiatives in developing countries to decrease the incidence of cervico-vaginal and vulvar pathology.


2020 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
pp. 2792-2810
Author(s):  
Md Rakibul Hoque ◽  
Mohammed Sajedur Rahman ◽  
Nymatul Jannat Nipa ◽  
Md Rashadul Hasan

This study reviews the quality of evidence reported in mobile health intervention literature in the context of developing countries. A systematic search of renowned databases was conducted to find studies related to mobile health applications published between a period of 2013 and 2018. After a methodological screening, a total of 31 studies were included for data extraction and synthesis. The mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist developed by the World Health Organization was then used to evaluate the rigor and completeness in evidence reporting. We report several important and interesting findings. First, there is a very low level of familiarity with the mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist among the researchers and mobile health intervention designers from developing countries. Second, most studies do not adequately meet the essential criteria of evidence reporting mentioned in the mobile health Evidence Reporting and Assessment checklist. Third, there is a dearth of application of design science–based methods and theory-based frameworks in developing mobile health interventions. Fourth, most of the mobile health interventions are not ready for interoperability and to be integrated into the existing health information systems. Based on these findings, we recommend for robust and inclusive study plans to deliver highly evidence-based reports by mobile health intervention studies that are conducted in the context of developing countries.


2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  

Abstract The World Health Assembly Resolution on Digital Health unanimously approved by WHO Member States in May 2018 demonstrated a collective recognition of the value of digital technologies to contribute to advancing universal health coverage (UHC) and other health aims of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The World Health Organization has just released first ever guideline on digital interventions for health system strengthening. Et the European level, in June 2018 the WHO Regional Office for Europe launched the WHO/Europe initiative for Digitalization of Health Systems and in February 2019 organized the first Symposium on the Future of Digital Health Systems in the European Region. The European Commission in April 2018 published a Communication on Digital transformation of health and care in the digital single market and requested the Expert Panel on effective ways of investing in health (EXPH) to release an evidence-based opinion on how to assess the impact of digital transformation of health services. In such context, the European Public Health Association (EUPHA) has at an early stage acknowledged and understood the crucial importance of applying the potential offered by digitalization to public health. Not only its most prominent members work and research as WHO and EC experts on how to plan, implement and evaluate effective digital public health interventions, but EUPHA itself - as umbrella organization representing public health associations and institutes across Europe had: i) actively participated to the WHO Euro Symposium successfully co-organizing a session on the ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health, ii) supported the publication of a EJPH supplement on digital health and iii) has planned to create a EUPHA Section on Digital Health. With the overall goal of positioning the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health in the enriching and constructive context of the European Public Health Conference the workshop specifically aims to: present a comprehensive conceptual framework for the application of digital technologies to public health in Europe;present and report on EUPHA collaborative action on digital health, aligned with European institutions;present the structure and content of the EJPH supplement on digital health;present the general aim, specific objectives, scope, mission and preliminary outputs of the proposed EUPHA Section on Digital Health, as well as its synergy with other EUPHA’s Section workPresent the results of two/three specific projects on digital public health to serve as concrete examples of the application of digital solutions to public healthEngage with the audience to promote the active participation of the broader EUPHA community to the activities of the Section, collect interests and best practices, and share ideas and projects worth scaling up at the Section-level. Key messages The ‘beautiful marriage’ between digitalization and public health has to be concretely planned, implemented and evaluated. EUPHA action on digital public health can be further strengthened through the collaborative action and work of its dedicated Section.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 1405-1414
Author(s):  
Omar AlShorman ◽  
Mahmoud Saleh Masadeh ◽  
Buthaynah AlShorman

Diabetes as a chronic disease is considered to be a serious problem not only for diabetic patients but also for caregivers, families and countries. Hazardously, as an example, 16% of the Middle East population died every year because of diabetes as it is reported by World Health Organization (WHO). Therefore, it is crucial to utilize the recent advances and technologies to find the best instrument for diabetes monitoring and management. Recently, mobile health (mHealth) technologies have a vital role in the healthcare industrial world. Undoubtedly, mHealth technologies are used to manage, track, monitor, diagnose, and prevent chronic diseases including, diabetes. Certainly, the main advantages of mHealth include a real-time and continuous monitoring with high reliability, accessibility, and availability. In addition to that, mHealth is considered to be a fast, accurate, simple, cheap, comfortable, and safe technology. Hence, the proposed study aims to review existing mHealth studies for managing, diagnosing, tracking, detecting, and predicting diabetic mellitus. Moreover, challenges and future trends of this emerging topic are also discussed.


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