Chapter 1 - Introduction to digital health approach and mHealth applications for participatory health

Abstract

Due to the rising demands and pressing needs of global health, the healthcare industry has gone through constant flux and transformed over the time. By reforming and modernizing the healthcare services, delivery, as well as systems in the recent decade, digital health has become part and parcel of the current healthcare practices and is considered as the cornerstone of the participatory / personalized health. With the advent of smartphones, wearable devices, and tracking and sensing technologies, the concept of mHealth / connected health emerged as another influential and promising name in digital health technologies and played a key role in encouraging the healthy behavior and active lifestyle for patients as well as public. By putting the patients at the center of healthcare paradigm, digital health technologies have empowered them the opportunity to participate in shared decision-making based on their values and preferences and provided them the self-management options. Disruptive technologies, such as artificial intelligence applications in data mining and analytics using mobile and wearable devices, such as smartphones, smartwatches and wristbands, have opened the new avenues of exploration in the field of digital health. Keeping the above-mentioned fields in consideration, this book covers the theoretical aspects of digital health like methodologies, models, policies, regulations, opportunities and challenges in current healthcare practices first, and then reports the practical aspects of digital health approach using use cases, implementation, evaluation and sustainability of various mobile applications and wearable systems in the healthcare industry that can lead to the goal of participatory / personalized health for tomorrow’s healthcare.