mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-11
Namita Bhardwaj, Andrew T. Herndon, Yong-Fang Kuo, Laura R. Porterfield
{"title":"Text messaging intervention for Pap smear uptake: a single-institution study","authors":"Namita Bhardwaj, Andrew T. Herndon, Yong-Fang Kuo, Laura R. Porterfield","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-11","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-11","url":null,"abstract":": Cervical cancer continues to be one of the leading causes of death among women in many parts of the world. With the increasing proliferation of mobile technology, text messaging interventions have been effective in improving Pap smear uptake in non-United States populations. This study evaluated whether text message reminders from a health system in Galveston, Texas, USA increased uptake of cervical cancer screening as compared to usual care. A single text message reminder was sent to 16,002 unique patient phone numbers using the Televox Communication Program from February 20, 2019, to April 4, 2019. The institution’s population health database was subsequently used to determine if patients received cervical cancer screening (Pap smear) following the text message transmission. Patient demographics within text message and control groups were compared using Chi-square tests. Our text messaging intervention to improve Pap smear rates did not show a statistically significant difference between the intervention group receiving a text message and the control. However, there were significant interactions between text messages and age, financial class, and county (P=0.0023, 0.0299, and <0.0001, respectively). Text messaging did have a positive impact on our most vulnerable patient populations given that the text messaging intervention showed a marginally higher rate of Pap smear among Medicaid and low-income/uninsured (MLIU) patients. Text messaging interventions do have effectiveness in increasing Pap smear uptake in populations which are most impacted by health disparities.","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965966","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-2023-03
Robert S. H. Istepanian
{"title":"mHealth: attaining key milestone on the journal’s first impact factor and citation score","authors":"Robert S. H. Istepanian","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-2023-03","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-2023-03","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"10 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965964","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-38
Clarence Baxter
{"title":"Health scorecards and electronic patient reported outcome measures (e-PROMs): the sum of us?","authors":"Clarence Baxter","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-38","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-38","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"43 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965963","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-27
Vahagn Aldzhyan, Carine Tamamian, James H. Tabibian
{"title":"Leveraging telemedicine in gastroenterology and hepatology: a narrative review","authors":"Vahagn Aldzhyan, Carine Tamamian, James H. Tabibian","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-27","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-27","url":null,"abstract":"Background and Objective: Over the years, telemedicine has played a prominent role in delivering healthcare to patients. Due to its flexibility and many benefits, telemedicine confers physicians the ability to guide and promote medical care remotely. The advent of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has changed the landscape of medicine and has accelerated the usage of digital and remote healthcare systems for clinical care. Herein, we provide an overview of telemedicine, its applications in managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), celiac disease (CD), and liver diseases, its advantages and limitations, and its use in educating the next generation of gastroenterologists.","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"31 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965969","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-2023-02
Henry A. Willis, Enrique W. Neblett Jr
{"title":"More than a “Commentary”: response to Cassivi and Blanchet Garneau’s “More than juxtaposition” commentary","authors":"Henry A. Willis, Enrique W. Neblett Jr","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-2023-02","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-2023-02","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"48 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965962","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-26
Christine Cassivi, Amélie Blanchet Garneau
{"title":"More than juxtaposition: a commentary to Willis et al.’s (2023) mixed method study on mobile mental health interventions","authors":"Christine Cassivi, Amélie Blanchet Garneau","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-26","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-26","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"32 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965967","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-17
Florian Dittrich, Annabelle Mielitz, Evgenii Pustozerov, Dennis Lawin, Ute von Jan, Urs-Vito Albrecht
{"title":"Digital health applications from a government-regulated directory of reimbursable health apps in Germany—a systematic review for evidence and bias","authors":"Florian Dittrich, Annabelle Mielitz, Evgenii Pustozerov, Dennis Lawin, Ute von Jan, Urs-Vito Albrecht","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-17","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-17","url":null,"abstract":"Background: The Digital Healthcare Act, passed in November 2019, authorizes healthcare providers in Germany to prescribe digital health applications (DiGA) to patients covered by statutory health insurance. If DiGA meet specific efficacy requirements, they may be listed in a special directory maintained by the German Federal Institute for Drugs and Medical Devices. Due to the lack of well-founded app evaluation tools, the objectives were to assess (I) the evidence quality situation for DiGA in the literature and (II) how DiGA manufacturers deal with this issue, as reflected by the apps available in the aforementioned directory.","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"24 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965968","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-10-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-23-13
Noy Alon, Sarah Perret, John Torous
{"title":"Working towards a ready to implement digital literacy program","authors":"Noy Alon, Sarah Perret, John Torous","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-23-13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21037/mhealth-23-13","url":null,"abstract":"Background As healthcare continues to expand online and digital care offerings multiply, the importance of digital inclusion and equity is now better recognized. Yet despite impressive regional grassroots efforts, today there remain few readily deployable programs designed to support patient digital literacy. Methods Digital Outreach for Obtaining Resources and Skills (DOORs) is one such digital literacy program that has evolved over the last 5 years to meet the rising demand. Through community partnerships, the DOORs curriculum and delivery has been updated to make the program more accessible and applicable as Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) changes healthcare. Participants’ experience in the most updated iteration of DOORS was assessed through surveys and semi-structured interviews. Results Improvements to DOORs include an updated DOORs curriculum, updated facilitator manual, an online platform with a learning management system, standardized training, patient-facing educational handouts, consolidation of all DOORs materials into a single package that is ready to be shared with other groups, implementation of a single-session intervention model, and Spanish translation. Participants reported improved confidence on 72% of the digital skills assessed. Thematic analysis resulted in three themes: awareness of divide, patient-centered design, and expanded skills and confidence. Conclusions Combined, these changes and participant outcomes better position DOORS to meet the rising need for digital literacy and offers a scalable model for teams across the world.","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"129 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"135965970","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-06-29eCollection Date: 2023-01-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-22-35
K Taylor Bosworth, Lauren Flowers, Rachel Proffitt, Parijat Ghosh, Richelle J Koopman, Gwen Wilson, Aneesh K Tosh, Amy S Braddock
{"title":"Mixed-methods study of development and design needs for CommitFit, an adolescent mHealth App.","authors":"K Taylor Bosworth, Lauren Flowers, Rachel Proffitt, Parijat Ghosh, Richelle J Koopman, Gwen Wilson, Aneesh K Tosh, Amy S Braddock","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-22-35","DOIUrl":"10.21037/mhealth-22-35","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Adolescent obesity remains a significant public health issue within the United States. Mobile application technology growth and popularity offer new opportunities for research and health improvement. The development of a consolidated mobile health application (mHealth app) for adolescents on these platforms has the potential to improve health outcomes. Thus, this study describes the co-development process working with adolescent users. The aims are as follows: (I) to explore the visual design and functional requirements when developing the CommitFit mHealth app, (II) to uncover the gamification techniques that incentivize adolescents to set and achieve healthy lifestyle goals, and (III) to identify adolescent expectations when using the CommitFit mHealth application.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In this mixed method study, we used semi-structured interviews/task analysis and surveys of adolescents (aged 13 to 15 years) to understand their user requirements and design preferences during the development of the CommitFit mHealth app. Interviews were conducted online, via Zoom. The survey included the user design industry-standard System Usability Scale (SUS) paired with a supplemental questionnaire on the specific features and functionalities of the CommitFit mHealth app. Participants were recruited from the electronic health record from the University of Missouri Healthcare system.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Ten adolescents, aged 13 to 15 years (average of 13.6 years), were interviewed and surveyed to explore adolescent preferences with visual app design and functionality. Our inductive thematic analysis found that adolescents preferred colorful, user-friendly interfaces paired with gamification in the CommitFit mHealth app. Our analysis of SUS survey data validated our user-centered and human-system design and adolescents confirmed their design, feature, and functionality preferences. Overall, adolescent users were able to confirm their preference to have educational resources, goal recommendations, leaderboard, points, reminders, and an avatar in the app.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Adolescent feedback is crucial in the successful development of our adolescent-targeted mHealth app, CommitFit. Adolescents preferred vibrant colors, easy-to-use interface, gamification, customizable and personalized, and mature graphics. Adolescents were especially motivated by gamification techniques to maintain their interest in the application and their health behavior goals. Additional research is now needed to explore the clinical effectiveness of the CommitFit mHealth app, as a health and lifestyle intervention.</p>","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"9 ","pages":"22"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-06-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/14/ed/mh-09-22-35.PMC10364000.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9866030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
mHealthPub Date : 2023-05-08eCollection Date: 2023-01-01DOI: 10.21037/mhealth-22-43
Lisa Ross DeCamp, Leah Williams, Claire Palmer, Carol Gorman, Christina Olson, Darcy A Thompson
{"title":"Mixed methods evaluation of pediatric telehealth equity for patients/families who communicate in languages other than English.","authors":"Lisa Ross DeCamp, Leah Williams, Claire Palmer, Carol Gorman, Christina Olson, Darcy A Thompson","doi":"10.21037/mhealth-22-43","DOIUrl":"10.21037/mhealth-22-43","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Emerging research demonstrates telehealth disparities for patients who communicate in languages other than English. A better understanding of pediatric telehealth use with families who communicate in languages other than English is needed to inform interventions to promote telehealth equity.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a mixed methods study of telehealth care in a children's hospital health system using electronic health record data for outpatient video telehealth encounters from April 2020 to July 2021 and qualitative interviews with clinical staff and Spanish-speaking parents of telehealth patients.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The 16-month study period included 102,387 telehealth encounters; 5% of which were encounters in languages other than English. 83% of languages other than English encounters were with patients/families with a preferred healthcare language of Spanish. 11% of providers conducted ≥10 languages other than English telehealth encounters. This subset of providers conducted 71% of all languages other than English encounters. We conducted 25 interviews with clinical staff (n=13) and parents (n=12). Common themes identified across interviews were: (I) technology barriers affect access to and quality of telehealth; (II) clinical staff and parents are uncertain about the future role of telehealth for patients/families who communicate in languages other than English; (III) the well-known impact of language barriers on in-person healthcare access and quality for patients who communicate in languages other than English is also evident in telehealth.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients who communicate in languages other than English were underrepresented among telehealth encounters and encounters were concentrated among few providers. Promoting equitable telehealth care requires investment to address technology barriers, increase the readiness of providers and clinics to provide telehealth care in languages other than English, and continued attention to reducing the healthcare impact of language barriers.</p>","PeriodicalId":74181,"journal":{"name":"mHealth","volume":"9 ","pages":"24"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://ftp.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pub/pmc/oa_pdf/67/20/mh-09-22-43.PMC10364007.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"9866026","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}