There is potential for mHealth tools to better facilitate adherence to chronic disease management , but the evidence supporting its current effectiveness is mixed .
BACKGROUND Adherence to chronic disease management is critical to achieving improved health outcomes , quality of life , and cost-effective health care .
As the burden of chronic diseases continues to grow globally , so does the impact of non-adherence .
Mobile technologies are increasingly being used in health care and public health practice ( mHealth ) for patient communication , monitoring , and education , and to facilitate adherence to chronic diseases management .
OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth in supporting the adherence of patients to chronic diseases management ( " mAdherence " ) , and the usability , feasibility , and acceptability of mAdherence tools and platforms in chronic disease management among patients and health care providers .
Development and Feasibility of a Text Messaging and Interactive Voice Response Intervention for Low-Income, Diverse Adults with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Low-income , racial/ethnic minorities are often nonadherent to diabetes medications , have uncontrolled glycemia , and have high rates of diabetes-related morbidity . Cell phones provide a viable modality to support medication adherence , but few cell phone-based interventions have been design ed for low-income persons , a population with more feature phone penetration than smartphone penetration . In an effort to reach the broadest range of patients , we leveraged the voice and text messaging capabilities shared by all cell phones to design the MEssaging for Diabetes intervention . We specifically advanced and adapted an existing tailored text messaging system to include interactive voice response functionality and support the medication adherence barriers of low-income , diverse adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus . We report on the design process and feasibility testing results ( i.e. , technical use patterns and subjective user experiences ) from patients from the target population who used the intervention in one of three user-centered design iterations . The types of challenges encountered in design were related to providing text message content with valued information and support that engages patients . The design process also highlighted the value of obtaining mixed methods data to provide insight into legitimate versus illegitimate missing data , patterns of use , and subjective user experiences . The iterative testing process and results outlined here provide a potential template for other teams seeking to design technology-based self-care support solutions for comparable patient population
There is potential for mHealth tools to better facilitate adherence to chronic disease management , but the evidence supporting its current effectiveness is mixed .
BACKGROUND Adherence to chronic disease management is critical to achieving improved health outcomes , quality of life , and cost-effective health care .
As the burden of chronic diseases continues to grow globally , so does the impact of non-adherence .
Mobile technologies are increasingly being used in health care and public health practice ( mHealth ) for patient communication , monitoring , and education , and to facilitate adherence to chronic diseases management .
OBJECTIVE We conducted a systematic review of the literature to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth in supporting the adherence of patients to chronic diseases management ( " mAdherence " ) , and the usability , feasibility , and acceptability of mAdherence tools and platforms in chronic disease management among patients and health care providers .