Health in the palm of your hand-part 1: the risks from smartphone abuse and the role of telemedicine and e-Health.

Abstract

The evolution of the Telemedicine and e-Health is strictly related to the evolution of the mobile-technology. If today it is possible to successfully use a wide range of mHealth applications, playing an important role in Telemedicine and e-Health, health care has surely a gratitude debt with the smartphone. However, it is increasingly becoming clear that excessive use of the smartphone has implications for health in terms of risks and it is therefore necessary to tackle the various gaps and/or the role that Telemedicine and e-Health itself has in this field. Through an overview to literature, Web and App stores the study faced the implications for health from the excessive use of the smartphone and therefore the various gaps and/or the role that Telemedicine and e-Health itself has in this area both in the prevention and in the monitoring with particular regard to the three components: eHealth, mHealth and eLearning. The study found (I) as emerging risks: the text neck, the risk of addiction and the risk in the use of deceptive Apps in mHealth; (II) as Telemedicine and e-Health useful approach: the design of Apps for the text neck prevention and the relevant acceptance and effectiveness assessment; the design and application of electronic surveys for tele-assessment of the addiction risk; the design and application of information and training path on the deceptive Apps in mHealth. The key role of Telemedicine and e-Health in the prevention and monitoring of the risks from smartphone abuse has been clearly identified and the young people has been identified as target population and the relevant need to design specific teaching packages in this field focused on them.