M-health for health behaviour change in resource-limited settings: applications to HIV care and beyond

Of the new advanced information and communication technologies, cellular telecommunication networks and mobile phones have reached far more people than any other, especially in developing countries. Although Internet use has also increased substantially in recent years, in 2011 26% of the people in...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of the World Health Organization Vol. 90; no. 5; pp. 390 - 392
Main Authors: Thirumurthy, Harsha, Lester, Richard
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland World Health Organization 01.05.2012
The World Health Organization
Subjects:
Anti-HIV Agents - therapeutic use
Antiretroviral agents
Antiretroviral therapy
Antiviral agents
Behavior
Behavior change
Behavior modification
Care and treatment
Cell phones
Cellular
Cellular communication
Cellular telephones
Clinical outcomes
Clinical trials
Communication
Communications technology
Cost analysis
Costs
Delivery of Health Care - organization & administration
Developing Countries
Disease transmission
Drug resistance
E-health
Health
Health aspects
Health Behavior
Health care expenditures
Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice
Health promotion
Health Promotion - methods
Health Resources - statistics & numerical data
Health Resources - utilization
Health services
Health status
HIV
HIV (Viruses)
HIV Infections - drug therapy
HIV Infections - epidemiology
HIV Infections - prevention & control
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infections
Information technology
Internet
Internet access
Intervention
LDCs
Malaria
Maternal & child health
Medical treatment
Medication Adherence
Mobile communication systems
Mobile phones
Patients
Perspectives
Public Health Practice
Risk-Taking
Studies
Subscriptions
Telemedicine - instrumentation
Telemedicine - methods
Telephone communications
Telephones
Text messaging
Theme Issue
Kenya
United States > US
ISSN:0042-9686, 1564-0604, 1564-0604
Online Access:Get full text
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Description
Summary:Of the new advanced information and communication technologies, cellular telecommunication networks and mobile phones have reached far more people than any other, especially in developing countries. Although Internet use has also increased substantially in recent years, in 2011 26% of the people in developing countries had Internet access, whereas 79% had mobile or cellular phone subscriptions. This landscape of expanded access to modern communication technologies has given rise to the concept of "mobile health" (or m-health, a part of what is commonly referred to as "electronic health" or e-health), which is the use of mobile phones for improving health outcomes. This paper draws on the results of three m-health interventions recently evaluated in Kenya to illustrate health behaviours that are particularly amenable to change through m-health interventions. It also underscores the need for controlled trials and points out those aspects of m-health that require further research. Access to life-saving antiretroviral therapy or people with human immunodeficiency virus infection has increased in parallel with the closing of the divide between developed and developing countries in the use of mobile phones.
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ISSN:0042-9686
1564-0604
1564-0604
DOI:10.2471/BLT.11.099317