mHealth Platform Research Articles

A survey on the educational value of an mHealth referral app for orthopaedics in South Africa

BACKGROUND: A WhatsApp orthopaedic referral group (ORG) was created in 2017 by orthopaedic specialists at a district hospital to provide support to primary healthcare doctors in order to manage traumatic fractures and dislocations. This study assessed the educational value and user satisfaction of the ORG platform METHODS: An online, cross-sectional survey was conducted among ORG users from May to June 2021. Demographic information, user satisfaction, the educational value of ORG, and perceived improvement in managing closed fractures and dislocations were captured using descriptive and inferential statistics RESULTS: There were 80 respondents, with 50% females. The median age was 30 (interquartile range [IQR] 28-35) years, duration of practice was 5 (IQR 3-10) years, and length of ORG use was 10 (IQR 5-24) months. Seventy-two (90%) reported that ORG enabled them to receive timely advice for orthopaedic case management and 75 (93.8%) considered it an easy referral facilitation tool. Most (76.3%) felt that the advice, pictures, and videos shared on ORG helped novice doctors successfully complete fracture reduction. The percentage of participants who felt very capable in managing the following fractures increased after ORG membership: extra-articular distal radius fracture (12.5% to 45.0%, p < 0.001); bimalleolar ankle fractures (16.3% to 43.8%, p < 0.001) and shoulder dislocation (35.0% to 61.3%, p = 0.001 CONCLUSION: ORG is an easy-to-use and well-accepted platform for the management, referral facilitation and teaching of acute orthopaedic conditions. Similar platforms can be introduced in other settings where surgical specialists are scarce. Additional studies should measure the feasibility and effectiveness of these mHealth platforms Level of evidence: Level 3

The Dandarah App: An mHealth Platform to Tackle Violence and Discrimination of Sexual and Gender Minority Persons Living in Brazil.

Discrimination and violence are widely experienced by sexual and gender minority (SGM) persons worldwide. More than one SGM person is murdered every day in Brazil because of their sexuality or gender identity, which is the highest reported homicide rate in the world. Alt-hough discrimination and violence against SGM persons in Brazil are considered to be hate crimes, reporting is still suboptimal due to fear of police SGM phobia and victim blaming. Accessible and easily disseminated interventions are urgently needed. Herein, we describe the develop-ment of an mHealth solution to help address violence against SGM persons, namely the Rainbow Resistance: Dandarah App, with a synthesis of key results and feedback from the SGM community after 24 months of using the app. Twenty-two focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted with SGM persons living in six Brazilian states: Bahia, Federal District, São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, Minas Gerais, Sergipe, and Pará. A total of 300 SGM persons participated in the FGDs. A thematic analysis was performed to interpret the qualitative data. Content themes related to aesthetics, us-ability, barriers to resources, and likes/dislikes about the intervention arose from the FGDs. Participants found the intervention to be user-friendly, endorsed more likes than dislikes, and suggested a few changes to the app. The findings suggest that the intervention is usable and fit for future ef-fectiveness testing, and that it could fill an important gap in the well-being of SGM persons living in a country with high levels of discrimination and violence towards this community, i.e., Brazil.

Evidence of mobile health integration into primary health care systems for better maternal mental health in LMICs during COVID-19 pandemic - Review.

Mental illnesses are prevalent worldwide, especially in the underdeveloped countries of the South Asian region, particularly in women, where they largely remain unaddressed. Evidence from the South Asian region indicates that there is a high burden of mental disorders in vulnerable populations such as pregnant women. Mental health problems during pregnancy and in the postpartum period are twice as common in LMICs as compared to HICs. Interventions delivered by community health workers (CHWs) in many health delivery and promotive initiatives have played a vital role in improving mental health. CHW-based interventions are cost-effective, efficient and acceptable for the local people and can strengthen the overall health system. This review aimed to explore integration of maternal mental health into existing maternal, newborn and child health (MNCH) programs so that delivery of mental health interventions can be done alongside MNCH interventions. Integrating maternal mental health programmes into existing MNCH programs and using digital platforms for expanding their delivery through CHWs, lay counsellors, and other frontline health workers can prove to be a promising strategy. Even though mHealth platforms for addressing a variety of health issues have been widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital platforms for addressing maternal mental health issues remains inadequate.

Exploring the factors that affect user experience in mobile-health applications: A text-mining and machine-learning approach

Recent years have witnessed an increased demand for mobile health (mHealth) platforms owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and preference for doorstep delivery. However, factors impacting user experiences and satisfaction levels across these platforms, using customer reviews, are still largely unexplored in academic research. The empirical framework we proposed in this paper addressed this research gap by analysing unmonitored user comments for some popular mHealth platforms. Using topic-modelling techniques, we identified the impacting factors (predictors) and categorised them into two major dimensions based on strategic adoption and motivational association. Findings from our study suggest that time and money, convenience, responsiveness, and availability emerge as significant predictors for delivering a positive user experience on m-health platforms. Next, we identified substantial moderating effects of review polarity on the predictors related to brand association and hedonic motivation, such as online booking and video consultation. Further, we also identified the top predictors for successful user experience across these platforms. Recommendations from our study will benefit business managers by offering an improved service design leading to higher user satisfaction across these m-health platforms.

Digital Connectedness in the Jackson Heart Study: Cross-sectional Study.

Although new approaches for data collection, such as mobile technology and teleresearch, have demonstrated new opportunities for the conduct of more timely and less costly surveys in community-based studies, literature on the feasibility of conducing cardiovascular disease research using mobile health (mHealth) platforms among middle-aged and older African Americans has been limited. The purpose of this study was to contribute to the knowledge regarding the penetrance of internet and mobile technologies, such as cellphones or smartphones in existing large cohort studies of cardiovascular disease. A digital connectedness survey was conducted in the Jackson Heart Study (JHS), a Mississippi-based African American cohort study, as part of the annual follow-up calls with participants from July 2017 to February 2019. Of the 4024 participants contacted, 2564 (63.7%) completed the survey. Among survey respondents, 2262 (88.2%) reported use of internet or cellphone, and 1593 (62.1%) had a smartphone. Compared to nonusers (n=302), internet or cellphone users (n=2262) were younger (mean age 80.1, SD 8.0 vs 68.2, SD 11.3 years), more likely to be affluent (n=778, 40.1% vs n=39, 15.4%), and had greater than high school education (n=1636, 72.5% vs n=85, 28.1%). Internet or cellphone users were less likely to have cardiovascular disease history compared to nonusers (136/2262, 6.6% vs 41/302, 15.8%). The prevalence of current smoking and average BMI were similar between internet or cellphone users and nonusers. Among internet or cellphone users, 1316 (58.3%) reported use of email, 504 (22.3%) reported use of apps to track or manage health, and 1269 (56.1%) expressed interest in using JHS-developed apps. Our findings suggest that it is feasible to use mHealth technologies to collect survey data among African Americans already enrolled in a longitudinal study. Our findings also highlight the need for more efforts to reduce the age and education divide in access and use of internet and smartphones for tracking health and research in African American communities.

Daily adherence to nicotine replacement therapy in low-income smokers: The role of gender, negative mood, motivation, and self-efficacy

BackgroundLow-income smokers may benefit from interventions promoting nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), particularly for women, as women have worse smoking cessation outcomes than men. Little is known about factors that affect daily NRT adherence, such as negative mood, motivation, and self-efficacy, and whether gender moderates these associations. MethodsSecondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial comparing a novel, in session sampling of short-acting combination NRT intervention (In Vivo) to standard care smoking cessation behavioral counseling was performed. Low-income smokers (n = 62; Mage = 47.4; 42 % female; 61 % non-White) completed daily surveys using the Insight™ mHealth platform for 55 consecutive days. Three types of NRT adherence were examined: dose amount of short-acting NRT, nicotine patch wear time, and combination NRT (cNRT) (combined nicotine patch and short-acting NRT). ResultsGeneralized multilevel models report same-day negative mood was associated with greater likelihood of nicotine patch adherence in men, but unrelated to women’s nicotine patch adherence. Same-day negative mood was associated with greater likelihood of cNRT adherence in men, but less likelihood in women. The relationship between same-day motivation and use of short-acting NRT varied by gender, but simple slope analyses revealed that motivation was unrelated to short-acting NRT use within either group. Same-day self-efficacy was related to an increased likelihood of nicotine patch adherence and cNRT adherence in women but unrelated to men’s adherence of either type. ConclusionsFuture research should focus on gender differences in low-income smokers’ same-day negative mood, motivation, and self-efficacy processes on NRT adherence during smoking cessation interventions.

MHealth platform improved health worker's compliance to WHO’s IMNCI guideline in Nairobi, Kenya

Abstract Poor access to quality health services, especially in urban slums, is a global challenge. Given similar challenges in Nairobi's Kibra informal settlement area, we collaborated with the Langata/Kibra sub-county health management team to conduct a pilot program for improving the quality of child health services delivered by health care providers (HCPs). The pilot introduced a digital mHealth platform to HCPs working in Kibra informal settlement area in Nairobi. This mHealth platform was compliant to WHO's recommended guideline for integrated management of newborn and child illnesses (IMNCI) and was designed to help sick child assessment, diagnosis and management by HCPs. We aimed to determine if using this digital platform, coupled with supportive supervision and community outreach, would lead to improve compliance to the IMNCI guideline for assessment, diagnosis and treatment of sick children. We conducted baseline (February 2019) assessment, trained selected HCPs on the mHealth platform on handheld android tablets, conducted end line (March 2020) and measured any change in HCP's compliance to IMNCI guidelines. Total 89 HCPs were the mHealth platform users during end line assessment. When asked about the choice of antibiotic for treating childhood pneumonia, we found proportion of HCPs who preferred Amoxycillin dispersible tablet, the recommended treatment for childhood pneumonia, increased from 3% at baseline to 38% at end line. Proportion of HCPs who were aware that antibiotics should NOT be used for the management of simple diarrhea increased from 14% (at baseline) to 50% (at end line). At end line, more than 90% HCPs were found compliant in their practice to IMNCI guidelines for sick child assessment, diagnosis and management. These results demonstrate the use of the IMNCI compliant mHealth platforms as a potential important effective way to improve capacity and compliance among HCPs who are serving communities like Kibra informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Key messages • WHO recommended IMNCI compliant mHealth platform enables health care providers to offer quality child health care. • Using mHealth platform to ensure WHO’s IMNCI guideline implementation by health care providers might have potential impact on saving sick children’s lives from preventable deaths.

Impact of an intensive lifestyle program on low attenuation plaque and myocardial perfusion in coronary heart disease: A randomised clinical trial protocol

IMPORTANCE: The evidence that maintaining a healthy body weight in conjunction with healthier eating patterns, exercise training, and reduced stress can improve clinical outcomes in patients with atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease is substantial. However, little is known about the magnitude and temporal effects of a comprehensive lifestyle treatment on coronary artery anatomy, myocardial inflammation, and fibrosis in people affected by coronary heart disease. OBJECTIVE: To conduct a randomised clinical trial to determine the impact of a 12-month intense lifestyle intervention delivered via an mHealth platform (in the form of a mobile App) versus standard clinical care on low attenuation plaque volume and structure, stress myocardial perfusion, and diastolic function. DESIGN: A single centre, parallel-group, randomised controlled trial. The co-primary endpoints are: 1-Low Attenuation Plaque (LAP) volume (mm3) using coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) at 12 months, and 2-Adenosine stress myocardial blood flow (stress MBF, mL/min/g) using cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) at 12 months. Other key measurements include liver steatosis by MRI, subclinical abnormalities detected by advanced electrocardiography, arterial stiffness, endothelial function, genomic, metabolomic, and gut microbiome-related adaptations to these structural changes. An intention-to-treat principle will be used for all analyses. SETTING: Participants will be recruited from a large academic cardiology office practice (Central Sydney Cardiology) and Royal Prince Alfred Hospital (RPAH) Departments of Cardiology and Radiology. All clinical investigations will be undertaken within the Charles Perkins Centre-RPAH clinic. PARTICIPANTS: Individuals (n = 150) with stable coronary heart disease who have low attenuation plaque based on a CCTA within the past 3 months, will be randomised to a lifestyle intervention program comprising a 5:2 pesco-vegetarian diet, exercise training, and mindfulness-based stress reduction (n = 75) or usual care (n = 75). DISCUSSION: This trial will represent the single most detailed and integrated analysis of the effects of a comprehensive lifestyle intervention targeting multiple metabolic pathways, delivered via a customized mHealth App on smart devices, on coronary macro- and microcirculation, heart physiology, and cardiometabolic risk. It will provide a new framework for allowing clinicians and individuals to optimise metabolic health for the prevention and management of atherosclerotic cardiovascular diseases that is epidemic in modern society.

Development of an mHealth Platform for Adolescent Obesity Prevention: User-Centered Design Approach.

Obesity is a chronic condition that influences the quality of life of patients and families while increasing the economic burden for the world population. Multidisciplinary prevention programs are crucial to address it, allowing an early introduction of healthy behaviors into daily habits. Mobile health interventions provide adequate support for these programs, especially considering the gamification techniques used to promote users’ engagement. TeenPower is a multidisciplinary mHealth intervention program conducted in Portugal during 2018 to empower adolescents, promoting healthy behaviors while preventing obesity. An agile software development process was applied to the development of the digital platform that holds a web-based application and a mobile application. We also propose a model for future developments based on the user-centered design approach adopted for this development and the assessment conducted in each phase. The user-centered design approach model proposed has three distinct phases: (1) design study; (2) pre-production usability tests; and (3) post-production data. Phase 1 allowed us to obtain the high-fidelity version of the graphical user interfaces (n = 5). Phase 2 showed a task completion success rate of 100% (n = 5). Phase 3 was derived from statistical analysis of the usage of the platform by real end users (n = 90). We achieved an average retention rate of 35% (31 out of 90 participants). Each technique has provided input for the continuous design and improvement of the platform. This allowed the creation of a tailored platform that could meet users’ expectations. Nevertheless, the retention rate decreased significantly over a short period of time, revealing the need for further work in the improvement of the gamification experience.

WITHDRAWN: Early identification of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (An mhealth feasibility study for resource limited settings)

Hypertensive Disorders of Pregnancy (HDP) account for 18% of potential preventable maternal deaths in South Africa. MHealth studies on early HDP identification in high income countries showed potential value for limited resource settings. This study aimed to test the feasibility of an mHealth solution for early identification of HDP using self home monitoring of blood pressure (BP) and sharing of information on symptoms of preeclampsia in a low middle income country (LMIC). This mixed methods study, enrolled 100 pregnant women (20 to 30 weeks) to selfmonitor and submit daily BP and pulse readings on a smart phone to an mHealth platform observed by a midwife for targeted action. Information was shared on 7 symptoms of preeclampsia using brochures, posters, targeted digital messages and quizzes. Study data was collected through the mHealth platform, key informant interviews, pre pand post knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) suveys and self and community health worker’s (CHW) reported outcomes. Ten cases had interventions for HDP in the cohort. All mothers with HDP and their babies had satisfactory outcomes. This was facilitated through the BP monitoring on the App and digital platform, increased knowledge of 7 symptoms of preeclampsia and CHW follow up. The study found in conclusion that pregnant women in resource limited settings are able to self home monitor their BP using a mHealth solution for early identification and management of HDP. The study acknowledge challenges for scale up and cost effectiveness but recognise potential.

Digitization of Symbol-Denoted Blood Pressure Data From Intraoperative Paper Health Records in a Low-Middle-Income Country Using Deep Image Segmentation and Associated Postoperative Outcomes: A Feasibility Study.

In low-middle-income countries (LMICs), perioperative clinical information is almost universally collected on paper health records (PHRs). The lack of accessible digital databases limits LMICs in leveraging data to predict and improve patient outcomes after surgery. In this feasibility study, our aims were to: (1) determine the detection performance and prediction error of the U-Net deep image segmentation approach for digitization of hand-drawn blood pressure symbols from an image of the intraoperative PHRs and (2) evaluate the association between deep image segmentation-derived blood pressure parameters and postoperative mortality and length of stay. A smartphone mHealth platform developed by our team was used to capture images of completed intraoperative PHRs. A 2-stage deep image segmentation modeling approach was used to create 2 separate segmentation masks for systolic blood pressure (SBP) and diastolic blood pressure (DBP). Iterative postprocessing was utilized to convert the segmentation mask results into numerical SBP and DBP values. Detection performance and prediction errors were evaluated for the U-Net models by comparison with ground-truth values. Using multivariate regression analysis, we investigated the association of deep image segmentation-derived blood pressure values, total time spent in predefined blood pressure ranges, and postoperative outcomes including in-hospital mortality and length of stay. A total of 350 intraoperative PHRs were imaged following surgery. Overall accuracy was 0.839 and 0.911 for SBP and DBP symbol detections, respectively. The mean error rate and standard deviation for the difference between the actual and predicted blood pressure values were 2.1 ± 4.9 and -0.8 ± 3.9 mm Hg for SBP and DBP, respectively. Using the U-Net model-derived blood pressures, minutes of time where DBP <50 mm Hg (odds ratio [OR], 1.03; CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .003) was associated with an increased in-hospital mortality. In addition, increased cumulative minutes of time with SBP between 80 and 90 mm Hg was significantly associated with a longer length of stay (incidence rate ratio, 1.02 [1.0-1.03]; P < .05), while increased cumulative minutes of time where SBP between 140 and 160 mm Hg was associated with a shorter length of stay (incidence rate ratio, 0.9 [0.96-0.99]; P < .05). In this study, we report our experience with a deep image segmentation model for digitization of symbol-denoted blood pressure from intraoperative anesthesia PHRs. Our data support further development of this novel approach to digitize PHRs from LMICs, to provide accessible, curated, and reproducible data for both quality improvement- and outcome-based research.

Reliability and Validity of Electronic Patient-Reported Outcomes Using the Smartphone App AllerSearch for Hay Fever: Prospective Observational Study.

BackgroundHay fever is a highly prevalent, heterogenous, and multifactorial disease. Patients may benefit from longitudinal assessments using mobile health (mHealth) principles. We have previously attempted to establish an effective mHealth platform for patients with hay fever through AllerSearch, our in-house smartphone app that assesses electronic patient-reported outcomes through a questionnaire on hay fever and provides evidence-based advice. To be used by the public, an investigation on its reliability and validity is necessary.ObjectiveThe aim of this paper is to assess the reliability and validity of subjective symptom data on hay fever collected through our app, AllerSearch.MethodsThis study used a prospective observational design. The participants were patients aged ≥20 years recruited from a single university hospital between June 2, 2021, and January 26, 2022. We excluded patients who could not use smartphones as well as those with incomplete data records and outlier data. All participants answered the Japanese Allergic Conjunctival Disease Standard Quality of Life Questionnaire (JACQLQ), first in the paper-and-pencil format and subsequently on AllerSearch on the same day. The JACQLQ comprises the following three domains: Domain I, with 9 items on ocular or nasal symptoms; Domain II, with 17 items on daily activity and psychological well-being; and Domain III, with 3 items on overall condition by face score. The concordance rate of each domain between the 2 platforms was calculated. The internal consistency of Domains I and II of the 2 platforms was assessed using Cronbach alpha coefficients, the concurrent validity of Domains I and II was assessed by calculating Pearson correlation coefficients, and the mean differences between the 2 platforms were assessed using Bland-Altman analysis.ResultsIn total, 22 participants were recruited; the data of 20 (91%) participants were analyzed. The average age was 65.4 (SD 12.8) years, and 80% (16/20) of the participants were women. The concordance rate of Domains I, II, and III between the paper-based and app-based JACQLQ was 0.78, 0.85, and 0.90, respectively. The internal consistency of Domains I and II between the 2 platforms was satisfactory (Cronbach alpha of .964 and .919, respectively). Pearson correlation analysis yielded a significant positive correlation between Domains I and II across the 2 platforms (r=0.920 and r=0.968, respectively). The mean difference in Domains I and II between the 2 platforms was 3.35 units (95% limits of agreement: –6.51 to 13.2).ConclusionsOur findings indicate that AllerSearch is a valid and reliable tool for the collection of electronic patient-reported outcomes to assess hay fever, contributing to the advantages of the mHealth platform.

Delivering an mHealth Adherence Support Intervention for Patients With HIV: Mixed Methods Process Evaluation of the Philippines Connect for Life Study.

BackgroundThe Philippines HIV epidemic is one of the fastest growing epidemics globally, and infections among men who have sex with men are increasing at an alarming rate. Connect for Life Philippines is a mobile health (mHealth) intervention that supports antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence in this key population through individualized voice calls and SMS text messages.ObjectiveThe objective of this process evaluation is to assess the intervention reach, dose delivered and received, fidelity, and acceptability and to describe contextual factors affecting the implementation of an mHealth adherence support intervention for patients on ART in a clinic in Metro Manila, Philippines.MethodsA mixed methods process evaluation approach was used in an observational cohort study. Quantitative data sources for the process evaluation were call and SMS text message logs obtained from the mHealth platform and questionnaires collected at 12-, 24-, and 48-week study visits. Qualitative data were collected from process reports and through a series of focus group discussions conducted with a subset of participants during the intervention development phase, after an initial 8-week pilot phase, and at the end of the study.ResultsThe 462 study participants received 31,095 interactive voice calls and 8234 SMS text messages during the study. Owing to technical issues, intervention fidelity was low, with only 22.1% (102/462) of the participants receiving reminders via voice calls and others (360/462, 77.9%) receiving only SMS text messages during the intervention. After 48 weeks in the study, 63.5% (293/462) of the participants reported that they would be quite likely or very likely to recommend the program to a friend, and 53.8% (249/462) of the participants reported that they benefited quite a bit or very much from the intervention. Participants who were on ART for <6 months at the beginning of the study and those who received the daily or weekly pill reminders were more likely to report that they benefited from the intervention (P=.02 and P=.01, respectively).ConclusionsThe Connect for Life intervention had high participant satisfaction and acceptability, especially among those who received high dose of the intervention. However, poor reliability of local telecommunication networks had a large impact on the intervention’s usability, fidelity, and dose received.

Mobile health platform based on user-centered design to promote exercise for patients with peripheral artery disease

BackgroundPeripheral artery disease (PAD) is a cardiovascular disease that can be improved by risk factor modification. Mobile health (mHealth) intervention is an effective method of healthcare delivery to promote behavior changes. An mHealth platform can encourage consistent involvement of participants and healthcare providers for health promotion. This study aimed to develop an mHealth platform consisting of a smartphone application (app) synchronized with a wearable activity tracker and a web-based portal to support exercise intervention in patients with PAD.MethodsThis study was conducted based on an iterative development process, including analysis, design, and implementation. In the analysis phase, a literature review and needs assessment through semi-structured interviews (n = 15) and a questionnaire-based survey (n = 138) were performed. The initial prototype design and contents were developed based on the users’ requirements. In the implementation phase, multidisciplinary experts (n = 4) evaluated the heuristics, following which the mHealth platform was revised. User evaluation of the usability was performed by nurses (n = 4) and patients with PAD (n = 3).ResultsThrough the development process, the functional requirements of the platform were represented through visual display, reminder, education, self-monitoring, goal setting, goal attainment, feedback, and recording. In-app videos of exercise and PAD management were produced to provide information and in-app automatic text messages were developed for user motivation. The final version of the platform was rated 67.86 out of 100, which indicated “good” usability.ConclusionsThe mHealth platform was designed and developed for patients with PAD and their healthcare providers. This platform can be used to educate and promote individualized exercise among patients with PAD.

Mobile Health Technology Use and the Acceptability of an mHealth Platform for HIV Prevention Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in Malaysia: Cross-sectional Respondent-Driven Sampling Survey.

BackgroundThe growth in mobile technology access, utilization, and services holds great promise in facilitating HIV prevention efforts through mobile health (mHealth) interventions in Malaysia. Despite these promising trends, there is a dearth of evidence on the use of mHealth platforms that addresses HIV prevention among Malaysian men who have sex with men.ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to gain insight into (1) access and utilization of communication technology (eg, landline phone, internet, mobile phone), (2) acceptability of mHealth-based interventions for HIV prevention services, and (3) preferences regarding the format and frequency of mHealth interventions among Malaysian men who have sex with men.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey with Malaysian men who have sex with men between July 2018 and March 2020. Participants were recruited using respondent-driven sampling in the Greater Kuala Lumpur region of Malaysia. We collected information on demographic characteristics, HIV risk-related behaviors, access to and the frequency of use of communication technology, and acceptability of using mHealth for HIV prevention using a self-administered questionnaire with a 5-point scale (1, never; 2, rarely; 3, sometimes; 4, often; 5, all the time).ResultsA total of 376 men participated in the survey. Almost all respondents owned or had access to a smartphone with internet access (368/376, 97.9%) and accessed the internet daily (373/376, 99.2%), mainly on a smartphone (334/376, 88.8%). Participants on average used smartphones primarily for social networking (mean 4.5, SD 0.8), followed by sending or receiving emails (mean 4.0, SD 1.0), and searching for health-related information (mean 3.5, SD 0.9). There was high acceptance of the use of mHealth for HIV prevention (mean 4.1, SD 1.5), including for receiving HIV prevention information (345/376, 91.8%), receiving medication reminders (336/376, 89.4%), screening and monitoring sexual activity (306/376, 81.4%) or illicit drug use (281/376, 74.7%), and monitoring drug cravings (280/376, 74.5%). Participants overwhelmingly preferred a smartphone app over other modalities (eg, text, phone call, email) for engaging in mHealth HIV prevention tools. Preference for app notifications ranged from 186/336 (53.9%), for receiving HIV prevention information, to 212/336 (69.3%), for screening and monitoring sexual activity. Acceptance of mHealth was higher for those who were university graduates (P=.003), living in a relationship with a partner (P=.04), engaged in sexualized drug use (P=.01), and engaged in receptive anal sex (P=.006).ConclusionsFindings from this study provide support for developing and deploying mHealth strategies for HIV prevention using a smartphone app in men who have sex with men—a key population with suboptimal engagement in HIV prevention and treatment.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of Mobile Health Intervention in Patients With Heart Failure and Diabetes

Mobile health (mHealth) platforms can affect health behaviors but have not been rigorously tested in randomized trials. We sought to evaluate the effectiveness of a pragmatic mHealth intervention in patients with heart failure (HF) and diabetes (DM). We conducted a multicenter randomized trial in 187 patients with both HF and DM to assess an mHealth intervention to improve physical activity and medication adherence compared to usual care. The primary endpoint was change in mean daily step count from baseline through 3 months. Other outcomes included medication adherence, health-related quality of life and metabolomic profiling. The mHealth group had an increase in daily step count of 151 steps/day at 3 months, whereas the usual-care group had a decline of 162 steps/day (least squares mean between-group difference = 313 steps/day; 95% CI: 8 619; P = 0.044). Medication adherence, measured using the Voils Adherence Questionnaire, did not change from baseline to 3 months (LS-mean change -0.08 in mHealth vs -0.15 in usual care; P = 0.47). The mHealth group had an improvement in Kansas City Cardiomyopathy Questionnaire Overall Summary Score compared to the usual-care group (LS-mean difference = 5.5 points, 95% CI: 1.4, 9.6; P = 0.009). Thirteen metabolites, primarily medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines, changed differently between treatment groups from baseline to 3 months (P < 0.05). In patients with HF and DM, a 3-month mHealth intervention significantly improved daily physical activity, health-related quality of life and metabolomic markers of cardiovascular health but not medication adherence. Heart failure (HF) and diabetes (DM) have overlapping biological and behavioral risk factors. We conducted a multicenter randomized, clinical trial in 187 patients with both HF (regardless of ejection fraction) and DM to assess whether an mHealth intervention could improve physical activity and medication adherence. The mHealth group had an increase in mean daily step count and quality of life but not in medication adherence. Medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines changed differently in treatment groups from baseline to 3 months (P < 0.05). These data have important implications for designing effective lifestyle interventions in HF and DM.

Prediction of Tinnitus Perception Based on Daily Life MHealth Data Using Country Origin and Season.

Tinnitus is an auditory phantom perception without external sound stimuli. This chronic perception can severely affect quality of life. Because tinnitus symptoms are highly heterogeneous, multimodal data analyses are increasingly used to gain new insights. MHealth data sources, with their particular focus on country- and season-specific differences, can provide a promising avenue for new insights. Therefore, we examined data from the TrackYourTinnitus (TYT) mHealth platform to create symptom profiles of TYT users. We used gradient boosting engines to classify momentary tinnitus and regress tinnitus loudness, using country of origin and season as features. At the daily assessment level, tinnitus loudness can be regressed with a mean absolute error rate of 7.9% points. In turn, momentary tinnitus can be classified with an F1 score of 93.79%. Both results indicate differences in the tinnitus of TYT users with respect to season and country of origin. The significance of the features was evaluated using statistical and explainable machine learning methods. It was further shown that tinnitus varies with temperature in certain countries. The results presented show that season and country of origin appear to be valuable features when combined with longitudinal mHealth data at the level of daily assessment.

An mHealth Platform for Augmenting Behavioral Health in Primary Care: Longitudinal Feasibility Study.

BackgroundThe collaborative care model is a well-established system of behavioral health care within primary care settings. There is potential for mobile health (mHealth) technology to augment collaborative behavioral health care in primary care settings, thereby improving scalability, efficiency, and clinical outcomes.ObjectiveWe aimed to assess the feasibility of engaging with and the preliminary clinical outcomes of an mHealth platform that was used to augment an existing collaborative care program in primary care settings.MethodsWe performed a longitudinal, single-arm feasibility study of an mHealth platform that was used to augment collaborative care. A total of 3 behavioral health care managers, who were responsible for coordinating disease management in 6 primary care practices, encouraged participants to use a mobile app to augment the collaborative model of behavioral health care. The mHealth platform’s functions included asynchronous chats with the behavioral health care managers, depression self-report assessments, and psychoeducational content. The primary outcome was the feasibility of engagement, which was based on the number and type of participant-generated actions that were completed in the app. The primary clinical end point was a comparison of the baseline and final assessments of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9.ResultsOf the 245 individuals who were referred by their primary care provider for behavioral health services, 89 (36.3%) consented to app-augmented behavioral health care. Only 12% (11/89) never engaged with the app during the study period. Across all participants, we observed a median engagement of 7 (IQR 12; mean 10.4; range 0-130) actions in the app (participants: n=78). The chat function was the most popular, followed by psychoeducational content and assessments. The subgroup analysis revealed no significant differences in app usage by age (P=.42) or sex (P=.84). The clinical improvement rate in our sample was 73% (32/44), although follow-up assessments were only available for 49% (44/89) of participants.ConclusionsOur preliminary findings indicate the moderate feasibility of using mHealth technology to augment behavioral health care in primary care settings. The results of this study are applicable to improving the design and implementation of mobile apps in collaborative care.

Comparison of Non-AI and AI-Enabled M-Health Platforms for COVID-19 Self Screening in Indonesia.

This study aimed to analyze and differentiate the role of AI and no AI-supported m-health platforms for COVID-19 self-screening in Indonesia. We utilized a mysterious shopping method to develop four standardized cases with various severity levels of COVID-19 tested in Indonesia's most popular mHealth platforms. We selected seven apps from the top 200 free mHealth apps in the "Medical" category in the Google Play Store equipped with COVID-19 symptom checkers. A total of 36 teleconsultations were performed in four chatbot-based, two apps supported with AI combined with a human-based approach, and three apps with the human-based process. Teleconsultations were recorded, classified, and analyzed compared with the COVID-19 guideline by the MoH of Indonesia. The study indicated that most of the self-screening provided questions that had consistently led to the COVID-19 condition such as cough, fever, and shortness of breath and followed the guideline from the national health authority.

Mental Health Teleconsultation Patterns on the Most Popular mHealth Platforms in Indonesia.

Access to telehealth services increased significantly during the COVID-19 pandemic in Indonesia, including for mental health. This study aims to analyze the patterns and variations of mental health teleconsultation (especially for insomnia and depression) on selected Android-based mHealth platforms in Indonesia. We performed 32 teleconsultation sessions on 8 most popular mHealth platforms. About 88% of doctors recommend that patients with depression visit a psychiatrist. On the other hand, 38% of doctors recommended visiting a psychiatrist for insomnia cases. Our findings show differences and similarities in handling depression and insomnia cases in the Indonesian mHealth apps. These variations include case history exploration, clinical decision, and therapeutic. With the growth of telehealth developments, we recommend policy actions and further studies related to the implementation of telehealth in Indonesia.