Skip to main content

Mobile Health

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Digital Health

Part of the book series: Health Informatics ((HI))

Abstract

Rapid innovations in digital communications technologies have fueled the use of mobile phones for delivering health services and information—a phenomenon termed mobile health (mHealth). Current mHealth strategies for health service delivery range from the implementation of simple text message reminders to complex clinical decision support algorithms, and extending in recent years to connect mobile phones to sensors and other portable devices for diagnosis at the point-of-care. This chapter summarizes the current state of mHealth, important strides that have been made in strengthening the global mHealth evidence base, and key ‘best practices’ in scaling mHealth for achieving universal healthcare.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Agarwal S, Perry HB, Long LA, Labrique AB. Evidence on feasibility and effective use of mHealth strategies by frontline health workers in developing countries: systematic review. Tropical Med Int Health. 2015;20(8):1003–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agarwal S, LeFevre AE, Lee J, et al. Guidelines for reporting of health interventions using mobile phones: mobile health (mHealth) evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist. BMJ. 2016;352:i1174.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • AliveCor. Take control of your heart health; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrington J, Wereko-Brobby O, Ward P, Mwafongo W, Kungulwe S. SMS for life: a pilot project to improve anti-malarial drug supply management in rural Tanzania using standard technology. Malar J. 2010;9(1):298.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Beratarrechea A, Lee AG, Willner JM, Jahangir E, Ciapponi A, Rubinstein A. The impact of mobile health interventions on chronic disease outcomes in developing countries: a systematic review. Telemed J e-Health. 2014;20(1):75–82.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bloomfield GS, Vedanthan R, Vasudevan L, Kithei A, Were M, Velazquez EJ. Mobile health for non-communicable diseases in sub-Saharan Africa: a systematic review of the literature and strategic framework for research. Glob Health. 2014;10:49.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chang LW, Arem H, Ssempijja V, Serwadda D, Quinn TC, Reynolds SJ. Impact of a mHealth intervention for peer health workers on AIDS care in rural Uganda: a mixed methods evaluation of a cluster-randomized trial. AIDS Behav. 2012;15(8):1776–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Health, Republic of South Africa. MomConnect. 2014. http://www.health.gov.za/index.php/mom-connect. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Derenzi B, Mitchell M, Schellenberg D, Lesh N, Sims C, Maokola W. e-IMCI: improving pediatric health care in low-income countries. 2008.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dimagi. cStock: supply chains for community case management; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • FHI360. Mobile for Reproductive Health (m4RH). 2017.; http://m4rh.fhi360.org/. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Fraser H, Bailey C, Sinha C, Mehl G, Labrique AB. Call to action on global eHealth evaluation. Consensus statement of the WHO Global eHealth Evaluation Meeting, Bellagio, Italy. 2011.

    Google Scholar 

  • Free C, Phillips G, Watson L, et al. The effectiveness of mobile-health technologies to improve health care service delivery processes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Med. 2013a;10(1):e1001363.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Free C, Phillips G, Galli L, et al. The effectiveness of mobile-health technology-based health behaviour change or disease management interventions for health care consumers: a systematic review. PLoS Med. 2013b;10(1):e1001362.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Health Information Systems Programme, University of Oslo. District Health Information System 2 (DHIS2): collect, manage, visualize and explore your data. 2017. https://www.dhis2.org/. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • International Telecommunications Union. ICT facts and figs. 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intrahealth. iHRIS: open source human resources information solution. 2017.; https://www.ihris.org/. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Johnson and Johnson. MomConnect: Connecting Women to Care, One Text at a Time. 2014. https://www.jnj.com/our-giving/momconnect-connecting-women-to-care-one-text-at-a-time. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Kallander K, Tibenderana JK, Akpogheneta OJ, et al. Mobile health (mHealth) approaches and lessons for increased performance and retention of community health workers in low- and middle-income countries: a review. J Med Internet Res. 2013;15(1):e17.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaonga NN, Labrique A, Mechael P, et al. Mobile phones and social structures: an exploration of a closed user group in rural Ghana. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak. 2013a;13:100.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kaonga NN, Labrique A, Mechael P, et al. Using social networking to understand social networks: analysis of a mobile phone closed user group used by a Ghanaian health team. J Med Internet Res. 2013b;15(4):e74.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kelly T, Friederici N, Minges M, Yamamichi M. Information and communications for development. The World Bank. 2012: maximizing mobile. Washington DC. 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kim JM, Labrique A, West KP, et al. Maternal morbidity in early pregnancy in rural northern Bangladesh. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 2012;119(3):227–33.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kruk ME, Kujawski S, Moyer CA, et al. Next generation maternal health: external shocks and health-system innovations. Lancet. 2016;

    Google Scholar 

  • Labrique AB, Pereira S, Christian P, Murthy N, Bartlett L, Mehl G. Pregnancy registration systems can enhance health systems, increase accountability and reduce mortality. Reprod Health Matters. 2012;20(39):113–7.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Labrique AB, Vasudevan L, Kochi E, Fabricant R, Mehl G. mHealth innovations as health system strengthening tools: 12 common applications and a visual framework. Glob Health Sci Pract. 2013a;1(2):160–71.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Labrique A, Vasudevan L, Chang LW, Mehl G. H_pe for mHealth: more “y” or “o” on the horizon? Int J Med Inform. 2013b;82(5):467–9.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lam CT, Krieger MS, Gallagher JE, et al. Design of a novel low cost point of care tampon (POCkeT) Colposcope for use in resource limited settings. PLoS One. 2015;10(9):e0135869.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • L'Engle KL, Vahdat HL, Ndakidemi E, Lasway C, Zan T. Evaluating feasibility, reach and potential impact of a text message family planning information service in Tanzania. Contraception. 2013;87(2):251–6.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • L'Engle KL, Mangone ER, Parcesepe AM, Agarwal S, Ippoliti NB. Mobile phone interventions for adolescent sexual and reproductive health: a systematic review. Pediatrics. 2016;138(3). http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/138/3/e20160884.long

  • Lund S, Hemed M, Nielsen BB, et al. Mobile phones as a health communication tool to improve skilled attendance at delivery in Zanzibar: a cluster-randomised controlled trial. BJOG. 2012;119(10):1256–64.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McNabb M, Chukwu E, Ojo O, et al. Assessment of the quality of antenatal care services provided by health workers using a mobile phone decision support application in northern Nigeria: a pre/post-intervention study. PLoS One. 2015;10(5):e0123940.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Mehl G, Labrique A. Prioritizing integrated mHealth strategies for universal health coverage. Science. 2014;345(6202):1284–7.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mehl G, Vasudevan L, Gonsalves L, et al. Harnessing mHealth in low-resource settings to overcome health system constraints and achieve universal access to health. In: Marsch LA, Lord SE, Dallery J, editors. Behavioral health care and technology: using science-based innovations to transform practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press; 2015. p. 239–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell M, Getchell M, Nkaka M, Msellemu D, Van Esch J, Hedt-Gauthier B. Perceived improvement in integrated management of childhood illness implementation through use of mobile technology: qualitative evidence from a pilot study in Tanzania. J Health Commun. 2012;17(Suppl 1):118–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • MobiSante: Imaging at the point of c. Smartphone Ultrasound: The MobiUS SP1 system; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Qiang CZ, Yamamichi M, Hausman V, Miller R. Mobile applications for the health sector. Washington DC: The World Bank; 2012.

    Google Scholar 

  • Regenstrief Institute, Partners in health. Open Medical Record System (OpenMRS). 2017.; http://openmrs.org/. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Rotheram-Borus MJ, Tomlinson M, Gwegwe M, Comulada WS, Kaufman N, Keim M. Diabetes buddies: peer support through a mobile phone buddy system. Diabetes Educ. 2012;38(3):357–65.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sikder SS, Labrique AB, Ullah B, et al. Accounts of severe acute obstetric complications in rural Bangladesh. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2011;11:76.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sikder SS, Labrique AB, Shamim AA, et al. Risk factors for reported obstetric complications and near misses in rural northwest Bangladesh: analysis from a prospective cohort study. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2014;14:347.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • THRIVE consortium. Open Smart Register Platform (OpenSRP). 2017. http://smartregister.org/index.html. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

  • Tomlinson M, Rotheram-Borus MJ, Swartz L, Tsai AC. Scaling up mHealth: where is the evidence? PLoS Med. 2013;10(2):e1001382.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Uddin MJ, Shamsuzzaman M, Horng L, et al. Use of mobile phones for improving vaccination coverage among children living in rural hard-to-reach areas and urban streets of Bangladesh. Vaccine. 2016;34(2):276–83.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vasudevan L, Ghoshal S, Labrique A. mHealth and its role in disease surveillance. In: Blazes DL, Lewis SH, editors. Disease surveillance: technological contributions to global health security. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press; 2016.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wakadha H, Chandir S, Were EV, et al. The feasibility of using mobile-phone based SMS reminders and conditional cash transfers to improve timely immunization in rural Kenya. Vaccine. 2013;31(6):987–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Watterson JL, Walsh J, Madeka I. Using mHealth to improve usage of antenatal care, postnatal care, and immunization: a systematic review of the literature. Biomed Res Int. 2015;2015:153402.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Willoughby JF, L'Engle KL. Influence of perceived interactivity of a sexual health text message service on young people’s attitudes, satisfaction and repeat use. Health Educ Res. 2015;30(6):996–1003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. mHealth: New horizons for health through mobile technologies. Switzerland. 2009.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. What is universal health coverage? 2017. http://www.who.int/health_financing/universal_coverage_definition/en/. Accessed 14 Mar 2017.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Alain Labrique .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2018 Springer International Publishing AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Vasudevan, L., Zeller, K., Labrique, A. (2018). Mobile Health. In: Rivas, H., Wac, K. (eds) Digital Health. Health Informatics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61446-5_2

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61446-5_2

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-61445-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-61446-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics