Mobile Health, Behavior Change

Abstract

Nowadays, in most parts of the world, the majority of the population own smartphones, and mobile health apps on these smartphones have become a key tool to both understand and promote health and health behaviors. In this entry, we provide a broad overview of the main research endeavors that have been carried out in the field of mobile health and lifestyle behavior change, and future opportunities and challenges that arise. The entry starts by surveying the content of mobile health apps with a specific focus on behavior change components. It then describes which population segments are more likely to use these mobile health apps. The entry ends by highlighting the effects of behavior change interventions using mobile health apps. The final two parts discuss the future of mHealth interventions and highlight key privacy and security challenges facing the mHealth field.