A Review of Mobile Health Applications in Epidemic and Pandemic Outbreaks: Lessons Learned for COVID-19

Context: Using smart mobile devices, called mobile health (mHealth), facilitates providing health services, speeds up the process, and reduces the costs and complications of direct services. Also, mHealth has many capabilities and applications in epidemic and pandemic outbreaks. This study aimed to identify mHealth applications in epidemic/pandemic outbreaks and provide some suggestions for tackling COVID-19. Methods: To find the relevant studies, searches were done in PubMed and Scopus by related keywords during 2014 - 2020 (March 10). After selecting the studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria, data were collected by a data-gathering form. Results: Of the 727 retrieved studies, 17 studies were included. All studies emphasized the positive effect of mHealth for use in epidemic/pandemic outbreaks. The main applications of mHealth for epidemic/pandemic outbreaks included public health aspects, data management, educational programs, diagnosis, and treatment. Conclusions: mHealth is an appropriate method for encountering epidemic/pandemic outbreaks due to its extensive applications. In the pandemic outbreak of COVID-19, mHealth is one of the best choices to use in the patient-physician relationship as tele-visits, using in fever coach, providing real-time information for healthcare providers, population monitoring, and detecting the disease based on obtained data from different locations.

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Mobile Health Applications to Support COVID-19 Self-management: Review and Evaluation

Applied Health Information Technology ◽

10.18502/ahit.v2i2.7992 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Sahar Khenarinezhad ◽

Ehsan Ghazanfari Savadkoohi ◽

Leila Shahmoradi

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Mobile Apps ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Vital Signs ◽

Complete Information ◽

Self Management ◽

Management Measures ◽

Management Procedures ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

Aim: During the epidemic and with an increase in coronavirus (COVID-19) disease prevalence, emergency care is essential to help people stay informed and undertake self-management measures to protect their health. One of these self-management procedures is the use of mobile apps in health. Mobile health (mHealth) applications include mobile devices in collecting clinical health data, sharing healthcare information for practitioners and patients, real-time monitoring of patient vital signs, and the direct provision of care (via mobile telemedicine). Mobile apps are increasing to improve health, but before healthcare providers can recommend these applications to patients, they need to be sure the apps will help change patients' lifestyles. Method: A search was conducted systematically using the keywords "Covid-19," "Coronavirus," "Covid-19, and Self-management" at the "Apple App Store". Then we evaluated the apps according to MARS criteria in May 2020. Results: A total of 145 apps for COVID-19 self-management were identified, but only 32 apps met our inclusion criteria after being assessed. The overall mean MARS score was 2.9 out of 5, and more than half of the apps had a minimum acceptability score (range 2.5-3.9). The "who academy" app received the highest functionality score. Who Academy, Corona-Care and First Responder COVID-19 Guide had the highest scores for behavior change. Conclusion: Our findings showed that few apps meet the quality, content, and functionality criteria for Covid-19 self-management. Therefore, developers should use evidence-based medical guidelines in creating mobile health applications so that, they can provide comprehensive and complete information to both patients and healthcare provider.

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The Role of E-Health Interventions in Improving Clinical Outcomes and Overall Health for Prostate Cancer Patients

Advances in Medical Technologies and Clinical Practice - Diagnostic Applications of Health Intelligence and Surveillance Systems ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-6527-8.ch007 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 144-171

Author(s):

Donovan Anthony McGrowder ◽

Fabian G. Miller ◽

Jabari G. Brown ◽

Cameil Wilson-Clarke ◽

Lennox Anderson-Jackson

Keyword(s):

Prostate Cancer ◽

Cancer Patients ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Treatment Options ◽

Specific Antigen ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Clinical Decision ◽

Health Interventions ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

Globally, prostate cancer is a major healthcare problem. It is among the most frequently diagnosed malignancies and is the primary cancer in males in North America and the Caribbean, Europe, and some parts of Africa. Mobile health interventions afford prostate cancer patients in following prostate specific antigen results including trends, getting a better understanding of the severity of their disease and evaluate carefully the benefits and risks of the available treatment options. This review will examine the use of mobile health applications in prostate cancer research particularly in (1) clinical decision of selecting best treatment option or active surveillance, (2) monitoring disease- and treatment-related symptoms, (3) oncological and supportive care, (4) treatment decisions, and (5) health literacy and promotion of physical exercise. The benefits of telemedicine are discussed. Challenges will be examined and recommendations given for the development and efficient use of mobile health applications by prostate cancer patients and healthcare providers.

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Mobile Health Applications to Assist Patients with Diabetes: Lessons Learned and Design Implications

Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology ◽

10.1177/193229681200600525 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 6 (5) ◽

pp. 1197-1206 ◽

Cited By ~ 124

Author(s):

Eirik Årsand ◽

Dag Helge Frøisland ◽

Stein Olav Skrøvseth ◽

Taridzo Chomutare ◽

Naoe Tatara ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Lessons Learned ◽

Patients With Diabetes ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

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Guidelines for Mobile Health Applications

Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care ◽

10.1177/2327857919081050 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 8 (1) ◽

pp. 197-200

Author(s):

Natalie A. Abts ◽

Stephanie A. McNicol ◽

Russell J. Branaghan

Keyword(s):

Human Factors ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Iterative Process ◽

Healthcare Providers ◽

Regulatory Oversight ◽

The Public ◽

General Lack ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Conducting Research ◽

Health Applications

Mobile health (mHealth) is a fast-growing industry that facilitates the management of healthcare by both patients and healthcare providers (Zapata, et al, 2015). The growing popularity of this platform and general lack of regulatory oversight has led to wide variation in adherence to sound human factors and usability principles. Thus, a set of guiding criteria would help developers streamline their processes through standardization. As part of a project referred to as the Xcertia Guidelines, a workgroup of industry experts and stakeholders developed guidelines for incorporating usability principles into the development of mHealth applications. Using an iterative process, the workgroup conducting research to generate content covering 10 distinct topic areas for a draft publication released in February, 2019. After an open comment period, an updated version of the guidelines will be released to the public.

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Malaria Geo-Localization with Mobile-Health Applications

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.2708159 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Roberto Moro Visconti ◽

Alberto Larocca ◽

Michele Marconi

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Applications

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EFFECTIVNESS OF SPECIFIC MOBILE HEALTH APPLICATIONS (mHEALTH-APPS)in GESTATIONAL DIABTETES MELLITUS: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.23016 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Claudia Eberle ◽

Maxine Löhnert

Keyword(s):

Mobile Health ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Clinical Parameters ◽

Control Groups ◽

Manual Search ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Short And Long Term ◽

Mhealth Apps ◽

Health Applications

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 (MetS) as well as cardiovascular disease (CD). Against this background mobile health applications (mHealth-Apps) do open up new possibilities to improve the management of GDM clearly. OBJECTIVE Since there is – to our knowledge – no systematic literature review published, which focusses on the effectiveness of specific mHealth-Apps on clinical health-related short and long-term outcomes of mother and child, we conducted these much-needed analyses. METHODS Data sources: A systematic literature search in Medline (Pubmed), Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science was performed including full text publications since 2008 up to date. An additional manual search in references and Google Scholar was conducted subsequently. Study Eligibility Criteria: Women diagnosed with GDM using specific mHealth-Apps during pregnancy compared to control groups, which met main clinical parameters and outcomes in GDM management as well as maternity and offspring care. Study appraisal and synthesis methods: Study quality was assessed and rated “strong”, “moderate” or “weak” by using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) tool. Study results were strongly categorized by outcomes; an additional qualitative summary was assessed. Study selection: Overall, n= 114 studies were analyzed, n= 46 duplicates were removed, n=5 studies met the eligible criteria and n=1 study was assessed by manual search subsequently. In total, n=6 publications, analyzing n=408 GDM patients in the interventional and n=405 women diagnosed with GDM in the control groups, were included. These studies were divided into n=5 two-arm randomized controlled trials (RCT) and n=1 controlled clinical trial (CCT). RESULTS Distinct improvements in clinical parameters and outcomes, such as fasting blood glucoses (FBG), 2-hour postprandial blood glucoses (PBG), off target blood glucose measurements (OTBG), delivery modes and patient compliance were analyzed in GDM patients using specific mHealth-Apps compared to matched control groups. CONCLUSIONS mHealth-Apps clearly improve clinical outcomes in management of GDM effectively. More studies need to be done more in detail.

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