JMIR mHealth and uHealth
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Apr 2018
Interactive Two-Way mHealth Interventions for Improving Medication Adherence: An Evaluation Using The Behaviour Change Wheel Framework.
Medication adherence is an important but highly complex set of behaviors, which for life-threatening and infectious diseases such as HIV carry critical consequences for individual and public health. There is growing evidence that mobile phone text messaging interventions (mHealth) connecting providers with patients positively impact medication adherence, particularly two-way engagement platforms that require bidirectional communication versus one-way in which responses are not mandatory. However, mechanisms of action have not been well defined. The Behavior Change Wheel is a comprehensive framework for behavior change that includes an all-encompassing model of behavior known as Capability Opportunity Motivation-Behavior and is complemented by a taxonomy of behavior change techniques. Evaluating mHealth interventions for medication adherence using these tools could provide useful insights that may contribute to optimizing their integration into the healthcare system and successful scaling-up. ⋯ Systematically unpacking the potential active ingredients of effective interventions facilitates the creation and implementation of more parsimonious, tailored, and targeted approaches. Evaluating WelTel using the Behavior Change Wheel has provided valuable insights into how and why such interactive two-way mHealth interventions may produce greater impact than one-way in addressing both nonintentional and intentional forms of nonadherence. The application of the Behavior Change Wheel for evidence synthesis across mHealth interventions targeting various conditions would contribute to strengthening the knowledge base regarding how they may work to impact medication adherence behavior.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Apr 2018
A Behavioral Lifestyle Intervention Enhanced With Multiple-Behavior Self-Monitoring Using Mobile and Connected Tools for Underserved Individuals With Type 2 Diabetes and Comorbid Overweight or Obesity: Pilot Comparative Effectiveness Trial.
Self-monitoring is a cornerstone of behavioral lifestyle interventions for obesity and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Mobile technology has the potential to improve adherence to self-monitoring and patient outcomes. However, no study has tested the use of a smartphone to facilitate self-monitoring in overweight or obese adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus living in the underserved community. ⋯ Delivering a simplified behavioral lifestyle intervention using mobile health-based self-monitoring in an underserved community is feasible and acceptable and shows higher preliminary efficacy, as compared with paper-based self-monitoring. A full-scale randomized controlled trial is needed to confirm the findings in this pilot study.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Apr 2018
Counting Steps in Activities of Daily Living in People With a Chronic Disease Using Nine Commercially Available Fitness Trackers: Cross-Sectional Validity Study.
Measuring physical activity with commercially available activity trackers is gaining popularity. People with a chronic disease can especially benefit from knowledge about their physical activity pattern in everyday life since sufficient physical activity can contribute to wellbeing and quality of life. However, no validity data are available for this population during activities of daily living. ⋯ This study showed that the validity of 9 commercially available activity trackers is low measuring steps while individuals with chronic diseases receiving physiotherapy engage in activities of daily living.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2018
ReviewConsumer Mobile Apps for Potential Drug-Drug Interaction Check: Systematic Review and Content Analysis Using the Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS).
General consumers can now easily access drug information and quickly check for potential drug-drug interactions (PDDIs) through mobile health (mHealth) apps. With aging population in Canada, more people have chronic diseases and comorbidities leading to increasing numbers of medications. The use of mHealth apps for checking PDDIs can be helpful in ensuring patient safety and empowerment. ⋯ Some apps provided accurate and comprehensive information about potential adverse drug effects from PDDIs. Given the potentially severe consequences of incorrect drug information, there is a need for oversight to eliminate low quality and potentially harmful apps. Because managing PDDIs is complex in the absence of complete information, secondary features such as medication reminder, refill reminder, medication history tracking, and pill identification could help enhance the effectiveness of PDDI apps.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Mar 2018
Self-Directed Engagement with a Mobile App (Sinasprite) and Its Effects on Confidence in Coping Skills, Depression, and Anxiety: Retrospective Longitudinal Study.
Inadequacies in mental health care coverage remain an enormous problem in the United States. Barriers include scarcity of accessible mental health care professionals. Use of a mental health mobile app incorporating social cognitive theory may help improve confidence in coping skills and improve anxiety and depression. Sinasprite is a mobile app that recruited users via self-referral and clinician referral. Users completed questionnaires to obtain demographic and medical histories. At baseline and 6-week follow-up, users completed the Patient Health Questionnaire 8 (PHQ-8), General Anxiety Disorder 7-Item (GAD-7), and the Coping Self-Efficacy Scale (CSE). It is unknown how self-directed use of a mobile app improves confidence in coping skills and its effects on self-reported depression and anxiety. ⋯ This 6-week retrospective study showed that self-directed use of the mobile app, Sinasprite, resulted in significant improvements in self-reported questionnaire scores reflecting depression, anxiety, and confidence in coping skills.