Mobile Technology In Healthcare Research Articles

Effectiveness of mobile technology and utilization of maternal and neonatal healthcare in low and middle-income countries (LMICs): a systematic review

BackgroundMaternal and neonatal mortality are important indicators of the development of a nation and pose a severe health concern, especially in developing and Low and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs). Healthcare providers use various mobile technologies as tools to provide antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care and thereby promote maternal and child health. We conducted a systematic review to critically assess the existing literature on the effectiveness of mobile phone technology in maternal and neonatal healthcare (MNH) utilization, especially in LMICs in Asia and Africa.MethodsA systematic search strategy was developed, and Boolean combinations of relevant keywords were utilized to search relevant literature on three electronic databases (PubMed/Medline, Scopus, and Google Scholar) from 2012 to 2022. After assessing the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 25 articles were selected for systematic review. A narrative synthesis strategy was applied to summarise the information from the included literature.ResultsThis review reveals that research and evaluation studies on mobile phone or Mobile Health (mHealth) and MNH service utilization substantially varied by research designs and methodology. Most studies found that mobile phone technology is highly appreciable in improving several MNH indicators, especially in LMICs. Despite the identified benefits of mobile technology in MNH utilization, some studies also mentioned challenges related to technology use and misuse, rich-poor discrimination, and disparity in phone ownership need to be addressed.ConclusionThere is constantly increasing evidence of mobile counseling and the use of digital technology in the MNH care system. Public health practitioners and policymakers need to make efforts to smooth the functioning of technology-based healthcare services, considering all the issues related to the confidentiality and safety of health-related data on the Internet.

Development and feasibility study of a community pharmacy intervention to support self-management of patients with type 2 diabetes, in Cyprus

Abstract Introduction The pharmacists’ role has evolved over the past years towards a more clinical role to support patients in managing various prevalent health conditions.1 Cyprus had one of the highest prevalence of diabetes among other European countries in 2021.2 Motivational interviewing has been shown to be an effective tool in consultations.3 In recent years there has been increasing interest in the potential of mobile technologies in health care. However, effective implementation, management, and evaluation of those interventions aiming to improve type 2 diabetes self-management are still being researched. Aim The aim of this study was to design and implement a mobile health intervention delivered by a pharmacist applying motivational interviewing techniques, aiming to improve the self-management of type 2 diabetes patients. Then, assess primarily the feasibility and acceptability of the interventions and, secondarily, the participants' medication adherence and self-care activity. Methods Type 2 diabetes patients visiting a diabetes clinic in Cyprus were recruited. The intervention included: online communication with the pharmacist, tracking & uploading blood glucose readings, graphical reports, reminders, education, and optimization of pharmacotherapy delivered over an initial face-to-face consultation and up to 3 follow-up telephone appointments at 6-8 weeks intervals. Feasibility was measured by recruitment & retention, use & workability of the intervention, and basic costs. Participants’ & healthcare professionals’ acceptability was assessed via two semi-structured interview schedules based on the Theoretical Framework of Acceptability (Sekhon et al., 2017). Participants’ medication adherence and self-care activity were assessed by Diabetes Self-Care Activities Questionnaire - Greek version before and after the intervention. The study obtained ethical approval from the Cyprus National Bioethics Committee (27/11/2019, reference number EEBK ΕΠ 2019.01.202), the Cyprus Ethics Committee (05/04/2020, reference number 01/20) and the UCL Research Ethics Committee (28/04/2020, reference number Z6364106/2020/04/129). Results Twenty-seven patients agreed to participate, of whom 22 completed the intervention. From the available services, all participants agreed to use online communication, chose education, and the review of patients’ medications. A barrier to the intervention was the pharmacist accessing patients’ data, as HbA1c was accessible in 69% of participants and blood glucose in 90%. Based on study findings, participants valued the motivational interview and pharmacist approach, while healthcare professionals highlighted the benefits of pharmacy service, specifically medication adherence. Participants reported improvements in self-care during the study period in three out of five domains assessed in the DSCAQ– Greek version (blood sugar testing, healthy eating, and foot care), whereas adherence to diabetes medications and physical activity remained the same. Discussion/Conclusion Although the results were not statistically powered, as this was a feasibility study, there was an indication that this individualised and evidence-based intervention, could holistically support diabetes patients. A limitation of the study was that the person who developed and evaluated the intervention was the same as the person who delivered it. However, the findings indicated the potential value of the intervention to patients and healthcare professionals. It also provided information to support the intervention's integration into the Cyprus healthcare system and in other similar settings.

Smart phone application for early detection of adverse clinical outcomes in solid malignancy.

562 Background: The widespread application of mobile technology in healthcare, particularly in the realm of telemedicine and Patient-Reported Outcomes (PRO), is revolutionizing care. We have developed a mobile application that leverages artificial intelligence (AI) and The Internet of Medical Things (IoMT) using machine learning (ML) assisted dashboard to enable real-time documentation and communication between patients and healthcare providers. The aim of our research is to explore the potential of this innovative combination in boosting patient quality of life (QoL) and enabling prompt, effective patient management. Methods: We conducted a pilot randomized controlled trial. The trial focused on comparing the quality of life at baseline, 1 month, and 3 months of cancer patients receiving standard conventional follow-up care versus those using our intervention. Patients receive a smartwatch and download our application, while a monitoring care team was established. Our application incorporates guidelines from MacMillan Cancer providing ML-guided symptom assessment. If adverse drug reactions or treatment effects occurred, the application provided prompt self-care suggestions. The secondary outcomes evaluated included cumulative emergency visits, cancer care knowledge assessment results, and the feasibility. Results: Between December 1, 2022, and June 1, 2023, a total of 30 patients were recruited for the trial. The average age of the patients was 51 years, with a majority being women (76.6%). The cohort comprised five types of solid malignancies, with breast cancer accounting for 56.6%. Most patients were in stage 4, and the aim of treatment for them was palliative (60%). The mean FACT-G scores were similar between the two groups at all time points. However, the control group showed a significant decrease in Functional Well-Being at 3 months compared to baseline (P = .025). Additionally, while the Intervention group had zero emergency visits, the Control group experienced a total of five visits (P = .016). The literacy test scores showed no significant difference. On average, individuals spent 60 minutes per day using the application, indicating high user engagement and overall feasibility. Conclusions: Mobile application, powered by AI and IoMT, has the potential to significantly impact patient care and further research is warranted to explore its broader implementation in healthcare settings. Clinical trial information: TCTR20230331002 .[Table: see text]

О некоторых актуальных вопросах совершенствования профилактической деятельности центров общественного здоровья и медицинской профилактики

In actual conditions, increasing of health risks for population determines actuality of exploration of organization of preventive activities of centers of public health and medical prevention. Objective: to analyze particular actual issues of development of preventive activity of centers of public health and medical prevention in Russia. Material and methods. The topical selection of publications, analytical method, comparative analysis and systemic approach were applied. Results. The key measures required for effective preventive activity in centers of public health and medical prevention were established and aggregated. Within the framework of task of active involvement of population into unified preventive environment the implementation of new health care mobile technologies into activities of medical personnel of centers of public health and medical prevention is claimed to monitor patients with the purpose of treatment of various chronic non-communicable diseases and elimination of risk factors of their development. Conclusion. The provision of medical and preventive services to population on a free-of-charge basis is among advantages of preventive activities of centers of public health and medical prevention. The development of unified preventive environment in centers of public health and medical prevention applying mobile health care technologies permits to increase interest of population in health self-control and conscious implementation of medical recommendations about healthy life-style. The implementation of marketing measures can promote increasing of organizational and reputation status of “health center” among population.

Exploring factors influencing the adoption of mobile healthcare technologies: perspectives from designers, consultants and users’ preferences

PurposeToday, the use of smart technologies in healthcare systems is experiencing exponential growth, and the future of healthcare is seemingly closely intertwined with such technologies. Thus, any exploration of the factors that influence human health and healthcare systems inevitably touches upon the subject of new technologies. This study aims to design a conceptual model to investigate the elements that affect individuals' openness to accepting and using mobile healthcare applications (mHealth apps) and their reciprocal effects.Design/methodology/approachAfter a brief review of the literature, the authors identify the influential factors in the acceptance of smart technologies in healthcare systems and present a conceptual model in this regard. Next, the authors analyze the factors and variables and the extent of their impact by a structural equation modeling (SEM) approach. The statistical population of this study consists of 421 individuals including the developers, consultants and users (i.e. patients) of mHealth apps. Data analysis was done on the statistical software SPSS v.26, while SEM was carried out using the partial least squares (PLS) method on the modeling software SmartPLS.FindingsThe results indicate that user, consultant and developer preferences have a positive and significant impact on time, quality of life, managing chronic conditions and cooperation, and these constructs (system performance) finally have a positive and significant impact on the acceptance of mobile healthcare technologies.Originality/valueThis paper shows that mHealth apps can have a remarkable role in the prevention and treatment of medical conditions, and it is strongly recommended that this technology be utilized in the studied region.

A step in the right direction: the potential role of smartwatches in supporting chronic disease prevention in health care.

A step in the right direction: the potential role of smartwatches in supporting chronic disease prevention in health care.

High Sampling Rate Smartphone-PPG via Built-in Rolling Shutter Image Sensor

Recent advancement of CMOS camera image sensor (CIS) on smartphone brings a significant improvement to the IoT-based mobile healthcare technology in the form of CIS-photoplethysmography (CPPG). Nevertheless, most of the available smartphone is equipped with a limited sampling rate (Fs), typically 30 frame per second (fps), thus often resulting in a distorted CPPG signal acquisition. This distorted signal is hard to be utilized for different types of advanced photoplethysmography (PPG)-derived physiological analysis, and only useful in a simple pulse rate monitoring system. In this article, the rolling-shutter camera mechanism has been exploited to extract CPPG data points from CIS-pixel rows, thus allowing high-Fs CPPG signal extraction from a common built-in, low-fps smartphone CIS. Multiple experiments were conducted to prove the reliability of rolling-shutter CPPG (RSCPPG) signal. First, we conduct iterative experiments with different CIS parameters to find their correlation to the acquired RSCPPG signal quality. Results indicate that the short exposure time produces a high-SNR CPPG signal up to 25 ± 2.38 dB, and highly correlated signal morphology (average <inline-formula xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">${r}$ </tex-math></inline-formula> = 0.95) compared to the reference PPG signal. Then, we also demonstrated the proposed RSCPPG algorithm allowing a high CPPG data sampling with Fs = 150 Hz (that is ≥ 5 times CIS fps). Finally, a feasibility study has been conducted on multiple features extracted from RSCPPG that are potentially implemented for further physiological analysis application. These findings suggest that the proposed RSCPPG algorithm is a reliable bio-signal acquisition technique in smartphone-based healthcare technology.

The Interaction of Perceived Susceptibility with Predictors of mHealth Technology Usage.

Objectives: Based on the significance of mobile healthcare (mHealth) technologies in the dynamic and competitive environment, the current study examined the interactive effect of individuals' perceived susceptibility of being ill with the performance expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions on their intentions and actual usage of mHealth technologies during medical emergencies/disastrous situations. Methods: Surveying 417 mHealth users in Indonesia, the current study applied structural equational modeling in SmartPLS ver.4 software to analyze the collected data. Results: Results revealed the importance of individuals' expectations regarding the performance of mHealth technologies along with the views of their social networks and facilitating conditions provided by the healthcare organizations to influence mHealth technologies' use during medical emergencies. However, results showed the strongest influence of facilitating conditions on the usage of mHealth technologies reflecting the significance of ease of use. Additionally, findings showed the significant contingent role of the perceived susceptibility of users to augment their intentions to adopt the mHealth technologies. Conclusion: The current study is expected to bring valuable insights to health service providers, health professionals, medical institutions, and practitioners by highlighting factors that facilitate individuals to use mHealth technologies during emergencies.

CHALLENGES AND SOLUTIONS FOR MOBILE HEALTH INTERVENTION RESEARCH IN OLDER ADULTS WITH MULTIPLE CHRONIC CONDITIONS

Abstract Advances in smart phone technologies resulted in exponential growth in the use of mobile technology in health care. The mobile health or mHealth became a tool in engaging patients in self-care, monitor symptoms and provider-patients communication. Older adults living with Multiple Chronic Conditions (MCCs) are required to self-manage their complex conditions. These health demands are greater in low-income older adults. The mHealth can be beneficial in supporting health and increase access to care for this population. Our study examined a feasibility of combination of the mHealth and tailored exercise program for low SES older adults. We found that age-related physical and cognitive decline, acceptance of technology, complexity of user interface, and financial burden hinder the benefit and accessibility of the mHealth. The research team purpose solutions include improve user interface, create training session and technical support, provide incentives and technology and involve caregivers for these challenges.

Remote monitoring of cognition in cirrhosis and encephalopathy: future opportunity and challenge.

Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE) is a critically important complication of chronic liver disease and portal hypertension, but especially in early covert stages remains underdiagnosed and a common cause of hospitalization and morbidity. Defined by often subtle neuropsychiatric changes, significant cognitive deficits have been extensively described. While traditional methods of assessment remain underutilized in practice and subject to significant confounding with other diseases, mobile technology has emerged as a potential future tool to provide simple and dynamic cognitive assessments. This review discusses the proliferation of cognitive assessment tools, describing possible applications in encephalopathy and the challenges such an implementation may face. There are significant potential advantages to assessing cognition in real time in order to aid early detection and intervention and provide a more realistic measurement of real-world function. Despite this, there are issues with reliability, privacy, applicability and more which must be addressed prior to wide proliferation and acceptance for clinical use. Regardless, the rapid uptake of mobile technology in healthcare is likely to have significant implications for the future management of encephalopathy and liver disease at large.

Exploring benefits and ethical challenges in the rise of mHealth (mobile healthcare) technology for the common good: An analysis of mobile applications for health specialists

This study reflects on proliferating ethical initiatives, with an eye on social good in the healthcare industry context while leveraging innovative digital technological infrastructures such as the use of mobile technology for health professionals. A content analysis has been conducted of the descriptions, functions, and user reviews for 168 smartphone apps addressed to health professionals which were classified based on their type regarding diagnosis and features. We used an expanded version of the Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory to explain the ethical considerations of mHealth apps' selection based on the existing privacy and trustworthiness features, emphasizing apps that utilize smart technologies, such as artificial intelligence (AI). A future agenda is provided for the development of technologically advanced and responsible mHealth apps and their contribution to society. Disease handbook/manual and differential diagnosis are the two most frequently appearing types of mHealth apps. Privacy policy declarations are included in most apps, but a credible source is identified in less than half of the mHealth apps for medical professionals. Apps utilizing AI methods are still few, but users' comments indicate expectations for apps with more smart capabilities. This study is one of the few that offers a multi-layered analysis of the usefulness of health-diagnosis mobile apps for professionals, the ethical challenges that accompany them, and the requirements IT developers must address to increase apps’ use in everyday medical practice for better healthcare and social outcomes.

Mobile health technologies in cardiology

Digital medicine is becoming an essential part of the healthcare system. The intense development of mobile technologies, the global coverage of mobile networks, and the growing attachment in the society to mobile devices have prompted the creation of mobile healthcare (mHealth). At present, mobile healthcare technologies have been tested in various cardiovascular diseases. Among the main tasks set for telemedicine, it is necessary to note improvements of general medical care, monitoring of patients' condition, accuracy of clinical diagnoses, timely correction of therapy, and improvement of emergency care. Clinical studies are performed in parallel with active work in the field of informational technologies to provide safety of data storage and intellectual processing. Finally, despite the broad public support for the development of this area of medicine, the search continues for methods to improve patients' compliance with the prescribed therapy. This article presents current information about the use of mHealth in cardiology, study results, prospects of mobile healthcare, and major difficulties in implementing projects in this area.

Big Data Security Issues from the Perspective of IoT and Cloud Computing: A Review

Background: The data is one of the prime assets in today’s world. The continuous data generation ultimately creates huge volume of data that cannot be processed or stored by a normal relational database management system. This problem is addressed by a new concept: Big Data. Apart from the size of data, security and privacy of data are the more challenging issues in Big data technology. Objective: The primary objective of the research is to identify the potential security threats of different big data computing technologies and provide a defense mechanism to mitigate the issues. Methods: To identify the security issues, different existing big data systems are thoroughly analysed and observed. Security systems are completely dependent on the system architecture. This can be a single architecture (dependent on one computing technology) or multi architecture type (dependent on multiple computing technologies). The internal mechanism of different technologies is observed and how the attacks change the behavioural pattern of the systems is the main backbone of the research. Based on the behaviour of dissimilar attacks, a comprehensive defense mechanism is identified. Security and privacy challenges of mobile healthcare are also considered as a case study. Results: The complete lists of big data computing security threats in different layers of the systems are identified. Through this research the remedial measures of the different attacks are found. The security challenges of mobile healthcare technology and its predictive measurements are sorted out. The changes of big data security systems behaviour based on its architecture are of the major findings of this research. Conclusion: The integration of mobile healthcare along with Internet of Things (IoT) and blockchain computing can enhance the system level and hence security threats can be minimized.

Digital Capacity and Interest in mHealth Interventions Among Individuals on Opioid Agonist Maintenance Treatment: A Cross-Sectional Community-Based Study.

Background:Integrating mobile technologies in healthcare (mHealth) is helpful to manage various medical conditions. mHealth applications can bridge the gap in the management of patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). Research evaluating the feasibility of mHealth to address OUD is limited in developing countries. We aimed to assess the digital capacity and interest in mHealth interventions in patients maintained on opioid agonist treatment (OAT).Methods:150 patients on OAT from a community drug treatment clinic in New Delhi, India, were included. We assessed the participants on their pattern of mobile and Internet use and their willingness to use mHealth technology to access health information and services related to OUD.Results:88% of participants (n = 132) owned a mobile phone at assessment; 2.7% (n = 4) had never used a mobile phone in their lifetime. 70% (n = 105) participants had Internet access. 80% (n = 120) of participants showed interest in receiving text messages related to the management of OUD. 60% of participants showed a willingness to download and use applications for monitoring their substance use.Conclusions:In India, there is an interest among people on OAT to use mHealth interventions to manage their substance use. This population also has access to mobile phones and the necessary knowledge to install and run applications needed for various mHealth interventions.

MHealth Interventions to Support Prescription Opioid Tapering in Patients With Chronic Pain: Qualitative Study of Patients' Perspectives.

BackgroundPatients with chronic pain who are tapering prescription opioids report a need for greater support for coping with symptoms of pain and withdrawal. Mobile health (mHealth) technologies (SMS text messaging– or app-based) have the potential to provide patients with educational, emotional, and motivational support for opioid tapering beyond what is offered by their health care provider. However, it is not known whether patients with chronic pain who are tapering opioids would be willing or able to engage with technology-based support.ObjectiveThis study aims to examine patients’ use of mobile technologies in health care, interest in using mHealth support, preferences for the form and content of mHealth support, and potential barriers to and facilitators of engagement with mHealth support for opioid tapering.MethodsA total of 21 patients (11 women and 10 men; age range 29-83 years) with chronic noncancer pain on long-term opioid therapy who had recently initiated a voluntary opioid taper were recruited from primary and tertiary care clinics in metropolitan and regional Australia for a larger study of patients’ experiences of opioid tapering. Participants had been taking prescription opioids for a mean duration of 13 (SD 9.6; range 0.25-30) years at the time of the study. Survey items characterized participants’ typical mobile phone use and level of interest in mobile technology–based support for opioid tapering. Semistructured interviews further explored patients’ use of mobile technologies and their interest in, preferences for, and perspectives on potential barriers to and facilitators of engagement with mHealth support for opioid tapering. Two researchers collaborated to conduct a thematic analysis of the interview data.ResultsAll participants reported owning and using a mobile phone, and most (17/21, 81%) participants reported using mobile apps. The majority of participants expressed interest in SMS text messaging–based (17/21, 81%) and app-based (15/21, 71%) support for opioid tapering. Participants expected that messages delivering both informational and socioemotional support would be helpful. Participants expected that access to technology, mobile reception, internet connectivity, vision impairment, and low self-efficacy for using apps may be barriers to user engagement. Patients expected that continuity of care from their health care provider, flexible message dosing, responsivity, and familiarity with pain self-management strategies would increase user engagement.ConclusionsThe results of this study indicate that patients with chronic noncancer pain may be willing to engage with SMS text messaging–based and app-based mHealth interventions to support opioid tapering. However, the feasibility and acceptability of these interventions may depend on how patients’ preferences for functionality, content, and design are addressed.

Lessons on mobile apps for COVID-19 from China

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the global society and human life profoundly. Many countries have launched COVID-19 mobile apps with a wide range in how these apps work. While it is hoped that these apps can assist in the fight against COVID-19, many are worried about user privacy. China implemented “health code” systems, which assigned neighborhoods and citizens a specific health code, meant to indicate their risk of having been exposed to COVID-19. The most widely used health code systems were hosted on the popular apps WeChat and Alipay, each with billions of users. Some experts argued that China's use of mobile applications was essential to its successful combat against COVID-19.Included in this study are a summary of mobile technology usage in China, a review of previous studies of mobile technology in healthcare, and a brief survey of some existing mobile applications for COVID-19 that were implemented. Also included are outcomes of interviews with healthcare and public safety experts and a public survey to understand how mobile applications were used in China's response to COVID-19. The interviews revealed four important themes: personal privacy, community involvement, government involvement, and situational specificity. It was found that a key concern was maintaining a balance between collecting and utilizing personal information, as well as protecting this information. In addition, close collaboration between local communities and the national government was essential. Mobile applications assisted in communication and coordination but did not replace the work of people such as delivery drivers and contact tracers. Our results also showed that there was room for improvement, especially accessibility for the elderly or those unfamiliar with technology.Similar results were obtained from our survey. It was interesting to find that the apps were mostly used for “accessing information on COVID-19.” In addition, respondents overwhelmingly identified “information” as the most valuable feature of COVID-19 apps. Both interview and survey results revealed the importance of providing information as a primary function of COVID-19 apps.Based on our findings we distilled four main lessons: mobile applications should assist in existing COVID-19 responses, inform users, protect users’ personal information, and adapt to users’ environments.We recommend that public health officials and app developers take these lessons into consideration when developing COVID-19 related mobile applications. In addition, we encourage researchers to utilize this report as a jumping off point for further research.

Photoacoustic Imaging of Human Vasculature Using LED versus Laser Illumination: A Comparison Study on Tissue Phantoms and In Vivo Humans

Vascular diseases are becoming an epidemic with an increasing aging population and increases in obesity and type II diabetes. Point-of-care (POC) diagnosis and monitoring of vascular diseases is an unmet medical need. Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) provides label-free multiparametric information of deep vasculature based on strong absorption of light photons by hemoglobin molecules. However, conventional PAI systems use bulky nanosecond lasers which hinders POC applications. Recently, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have emerged as cost-effective and portable optical sources for the PAI of living subjects. However, state-of-art LED arrays carry significantly lower optical energy (<0.5 mJ/pulse) and high pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs) (4 KHz) compared to the high-power laser sources (100 mJ/pulse) with low PRFs of 10 Hz. Given these tradeoffs between portability, cost, optical energy and frame rate, this work systematically studies the deep tissue PAI performance of LED and laser illuminations to help select a suitable source for a given biomedical application. To draw a fair comparison, we developed a fiberoptic array that delivers laser illumination similar to the LED array and uses the same ultrasound transducer and data acquisition platform for PAI with these two illuminations. Several controlled studies on tissue phantoms demonstrated that portable LED arrays with high frame averaging show higher signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of up to 30 mm depth, and the high-energy laser source was found to be more effective for imaging depths greater than 30 mm at similar frame rates. Label-free in vivo imaging of human hand vasculature studies further confirmed that the vascular contrast from LED-PAI is similar to laser-PAI for up to 2 cm depths. Therefore, LED-PAI systems have strong potential to be a mobile health care technology for diagnosing vascular diseases such as peripheral arterial disease and stroke in POC and resource poor settings.

Aplicativo móvel para avaliação, prevenção e tratamento da dermatite associada à incontinência

OBJETIVOS: Desenvolver um aplicativo para auxiliar na avaliação, prevenção e tratamento da dermatite associada à incontinência. MÉTODO: Estudo aplicado à produção tecnológica na área da saúde. Para o design do aplicativo, foram elaborados: conteúdo didático, definição dos itens relacionados à avaliação, prevenção e tratamento da dermatite associada à incontinência e foi feita a seleção das mídias. Foram escolhidos os dispositivos do aplicativo. Na fase de implementação, os dispositivos e os recursos tecnológicos foram instalados, e foi construído um ambiente para baixar o aplicativo na Internet e implementar a funcionalidade do aplicativo móvel. RESULTADOS: Após revisão integrativa da literatura, foi desenvolvido o DIAPERSKIN com 22 telas e 8 figuras. Ele foi registrado no Instituto Nacional da Propriedade Industrial sob o número BR-51-2018-000-720-1 e está disponível gratuitamente no Google Play Store. CONCLUSÃO: Foram descritos o planejamento e desenvolvimento, com base em evidências, de um aplicativo móvel para a avaliação, prevenção e tratamento de DAI, o qual poderá ser útil durante a assistência, na avaliação de pacientes, seleção de ações preventivas e na indicação do tratamento, assim como para a educação continuada de profissionais da enfermagem por meio do uso da tecnologia de fácil utilização.

CLINICAL RESEARCH IN THE MEDICAL COLLEGES OF U.S. UNIVERSITIES: INNOVATION TRENDS

The article reveals innovation trends and their features during clinical trials in medical colleges of U.S. universities. The authors have found that clinical research deals with developing and implementing innovative products, tools, technologies, and equipment for quality medical care, treatment, and disease prevention. Clinical research focuses on observational studies and clinical trials. Note that in clinical trials global innovation trends include patient-centeredness; ensuring the protection of information within e-health; development of mobile healthcare technologies; automation of materials for clinical trials; cybersecurity priority

Mobile Healthcare Technology for People with Disabilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic

People with disabilities are often deprived of their rights for quality healthcare during an emergency. The reasons for the deprivations are due to a lack of specialized healthcare that can cater for their health essentials and due to a lack of policies that protect their health rights. However, people with disabilities should be safeguarded since they tend to be the most vulnerable during times of crisis. In this regard, technology can empower people with disabilities through the use of designed mobile healthcare technologies or mhealth apps that are specialized for their health needs which they can use during the global emergency.