JMIR mHealth and uHealth
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Jan 2015
Exploring the Far Side of Mobile Health: Information Security and Privacy of Mobile Health Apps on iOS and Android.
Mobile health (mHealth) apps aim at providing seamless access to tailored health information technology and have the potential to alleviate global health burdens. Yet, they bear risks to information security and privacy because users need to reveal private, sensitive medical information to redeem certain benefits. Due to the plethora and diversity of available mHealth apps, implications for information security and privacy are unclear and complex. ⋯ Various kinds of mHealth apps collect and offer critical, sensitive, private medical information, calling for a special focus on information security and privacy of mHealth apps. In order to foster user acceptance and trust, appropriate security measures and processes need to be devised and employed so that users can benefit from seamlessly accessible, tailored mHealth apps without exposing themselves to the serious repercussions of information security and privacy infringements.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Jan 2015
Design and Multi-Country Validation of Text Messages for an mHealth Intervention for Primary Prevention of Progression to Hypertension in Latin America.
Mobile health (mHealth) has been posited to contribute to the reduction in health gaps and has shown fast and widespread growth in developing countries. This growth demands understanding of, and preparedness for, local cultural contexts. ⋯ The final set of SMS text messages produced had very high rates of understanding and appeal in three different Latin American countries. This study highlights the importance of developing and validating a package of simple, preventative SMS text messages, grounded in evidence and theory, across three different Latin American countries with active engagement of end users.
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There is increasing interest in using mobile technologies such as smartphones for improving the care of patients with schizophrenia. However, less is known about the current clinical evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of smartphone apps in this population. ⋯ Although small, the current published literature demonstrates strong evidence for the feasibility of using smartphones to enhance the care of people with schizophrenia. High rates of engagement and satisfaction with a broad range of apps suggest the nascent potential of this mobile technology. However, there remains limited data on the efficacy of such interventions.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Dec 2014
The Long Way From Government Open Data to Mobile Health Apps: Overcoming Institutional Barriers in the US Federal Government.
Government agencies in the United States are creating mobile health (mHealth) apps as part of recent policy changes initiated by the White House's Digital Government Strategy. ⋯ Beyond the cultural paradigm shift to design interactive apps and to open health-related data to the public, the managerial challenges include accessibility, interoperability, security, privacy, and legal concerns using interactive apps tracking citizen.
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JMIR mHealth and uHealth · Jan 2014
ReviewMobile technologies and geographic information systems to improve health care systems: a literature review.
A growing body of research has employed mobile technologies and geographic information systems (GIS) for enhancing health care and health information systems, but there is yet a lack of studies of how these two types of systems are integrated together into the information infrastructure of an organization so as to provide a basis for data analysis and decision support. Integration of data and technical systems across the organization is necessary for efficient large-scale implementation. ⋯ A vast majority of the papers report positive results, including retention rate, benefits for patients, and economic gains for the health care provider. However, implementation issues are little discussed, which means the reasons for the scarcity of large-scale implementations, which might be expected given the overwhelmingly positive results, are yet unclear. There is also little combination between GIS and mobile technologies. In order for health care processes to be effective they must integrate different kinds of existing technologies and data. Further research and development is necessary to provide integration and better understand implementation issues.