JMIR mHealth and uHealth
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2019
Mobile Health Systems for Community-Based Primary Care: Identifying Controls and Mitigating Privacy Threats.
Community-based primary care focuses on health promotion, awareness raising, and illnesses treatment and prevention in individuals, groups, and communities. Community Health Workers (CHWs) are the leading actors in such programs, helping to bridge the gap between the population and the health system. Many mobile health (mHealth) initiatives have been undertaken to empower CHWs and improve the data collection process in the primary care, replacing archaic paper-based approaches. A special category of mHealth apps, known as mHealth Data Collection Systems (MDCSs), is often used for such tasks. These systems process highly sensitive personal health data of entire communities so that a careful consideration about privacy is paramount for any successful deployment. However, the mHealth literature still lacks methodologically rigorous analyses for privacy and data protection. ⋯ Although there has been significant research that deals with data security issues, attention to privacy in its multiple dimensions is still lacking for MDCSs in general. New systems have the opportunity to incorporate privacy and data protection by design. Existing systems will have to address their privacy issues to comply with new and upcoming data protection regulations. However, further research is still needed to identify feasible and cost-effective solutions.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialGet Healthy, Stay Healthy: Evaluation of the Maintenance of Lifestyle Changes Six Months After an Extended Contact Intervention.
Extended intervention contact after an initial, intensive intervention is becoming accepted as best practice in behavioral weight control interventions. Whether extended contact mitigates weight regain in the longer term or it simply delays weight regain until after the extended intervention contact ceases is not clear. ⋯ The GHSH participants were better off relative to where they were initially, and relative to their counterparts, not receiving extended contact in terms of MVPA. However, based on the between-group difference in bodyweight over the first 6 months of noncontact, GHSH does appear to simply delay the inevitable weight regain. However, this delay in weight regain, coupled with sustained improvements in MVPA, has public health benefits.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2019
Impact of Training and Integration of Apps Into Dietetic Practice on Dietitians' Self-Efficacy With Using Mobile Health Apps and Patient Satisfaction.
The use of mobile health (mHealth) apps in dietetic practice could support the delivery of nutrition care in medical nutrition therapy. However, apps are underutilized by dietitians in patient care. ⋯ Administering an educational and skills training workshop in conjunction with integrating an app platform into dietetic practice was a feasible method for improving the self-efficacy of dietitians toward using mHealth apps. Further translational research will be required to determine how the broader dietetic profession responds to this intervention.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Feb 2019
Randomized Controlled TrialComparing Self-Monitoring Strategies for Weight Loss in a Smartphone App: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Self-monitoring of dietary intake is a valuable component of behavioral weight loss treatment; however, it declines quickly, thereby resulting in suboptimal treatment outcomes. ⋯ Regardless of the order in which diet is tracked, using tailored goals and a commercial mobile app can produce clinically significant weight loss. Stand-alone digital health treatments may be a viable option for those looking for a lower intensity approach.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Feb 2019
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter StudyThe Effectiveness and Safety of Utilizing Mobile Phone-Based Programs for Rehabilitation After Lumbar Spinal Surgery: Multicenter, Prospective Randomized Controlled Trial.
Rehabilitation is crucial for postoperative patients with low back pain (LBP). However, the implementation of traditional clinic-based programs is limited in developing countries, such as China, because of the maldistribution of medical resources. Mobile phone-based programs may be a potential substitute for those who have no access to traditional rehabilitation. ⋯ This research demonstrated that a mobile phone-based telerehabilitation system is effective in self-managed rehabilitation for postoperative patients with LBP. The effectiveness of eHealth was more evident in participants with higher compliance. Future research should focus on improving patients' compliance.