Mobile Health (mHealth) Interventions for Chronic Disease Management: Assessing Patient Engagement and Outcomes
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.70179/e9jqds17Keywords:
Chronic Diseases, Health Burden, Mobile Health, mHealth Interventions, Patient Engagement, Medication Reminders, Glucose Monitoring, Health Apps, Clinical Information, Disease Management, Asthma, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, Diabetes, Patient Participation, Health Outcomes, Engagement Metrics, Intervention Design, Treatment Assessment, Future Healthcare, Digital Health.Abstract
The rising prevalence of chronic diseases has led to a growing health burden necessitating novel management strategies. Mobile health (mHealth) — defined as the use of mobile communication and information technology for the delivery of health services and clinical information — holds promise in addressing this issue. Example mHealth interventions such as text message medication reminders, glucose-monitoring telephone calls, and phone apps propose solutions for common challenges faced by patients with chronic diseases.
Drawing on broad considerations in the selection, design, and implementation of mHealth interventions, the perspective of patient engagement is introduced as a critical factor. As the quality of engagement is a prerequisite for securing measurable health outcomes, focus is placed on its components, determinants, and metrics. The discussion is illustrated with scenarios representative of mHealth application in asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes. Engaging patients has been a major challenge for many existing mHealth interventions and influences the reliability and validity of treatment effect assessments. There is thus a need to equip future-generation mHealth interventions with tools capable of quantifying and enhancing patient participation.
