Abstract
Goal: The aim of the study herein reported was to review mobile health (mHealth) technologies and explore their use to monitor and mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A Task Force was assembled by recruiting individuals with expertise in electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes (ePRO), wearable sensors, and digital contact tracing technologies. Its members collected and discussed available information and summarized it in a series of reports. Results: The Task Force identified technologies that could be deployed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and would likely be suitable for future pandemics. Criteria for their evaluation were agreed upon and applied to these systems. Conclusions: mHealth technologies are viable options to monitor COVID-19 patients and be used to predict symptom escalation for earlier intervention. These technologies could also be utilized to monitor individuals who are presumed non-infected and enable prediction of exposure to SARS-CoV-2, thus facilitating the prioritization of diagnostic testing.
Highlights
I N the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential role of mobile wireless technology for public health, commonly referred to as mobile health (mHealth) [1], has gained the attention of the public at large. mHealth technology could be used to monitor patients with mild symptoms who have tested positive for COVID-19
In the community, early detection of COVID-19 cases could be achieved by building upon prior studies which showed that by using wearable sensors to capture resting heart rate and sleep duration it is possible to predict influenza-like illness rates [9] as well as COVID-19 epidemic trends [10]
MHealth technology can play an important role in monitoring individuals who could be COVID-19 positive and are instructed to self-quarantine at home, as they experience mild symptoms
Summary
I N the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, the potential role of mobile wireless technology for public health, commonly referred to as mHealth [1], has gained the attention of the public at large. mHealth technology could be used to monitor patients with mild symptoms who have tested positive for COVID-19. In a recent report from South Korea, approximately 2% of those initially experiencing mild symptoms, and treated in community centers, were eventually admitted to a hospital as they developed more severe symptoms [3] In this context, mHealth technology could enable early detection of such exacerbations, allowing clinicians to deliver necessary interventions in a timely manner improving clinical outcomes [4]. It is worth noting that mHealth technology could help health officials address the broader public health impact of the pandemic (given social distancing, shelter in place, work from home, etc.) on activity, nutrition, sleep, and stress management, as well as on chronic disease management when access to traditional care is limited The impact of these factors on the population at large should not be underestimated. The work done by the Task Force was intentionally primarily focused on the potential use of mHealth technology to mitigate transmission of SARS-CoV-2 as well as morbidity and mortality due to COVID-19 itself
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