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 .
Feasibility of Collecting Diary Data From Asthma Patients Through Mobile Phones and SMS (Short Message Service): Response Rate Analysis and Focus Group Evaluation From a Pilot Study
Background Self-management of asthma may improve asthma outcomes . The Internet has been suggested as a tool for the monitoring and self-management of asthma . However , in a recent study we found that a Web interface had some disadvantages and that users stopped using the application after a short while . Objective The primary objective of this study was to evaluate , from a user perspective , the feasibility of using short message service ( SMS ) for asthma diary data collection through mobile phones . The secondary objective was to investigate patient compliance with an  SMS diary  , as measured by response rates over time . Methods The study included quantitative response rate data , based on SMS collection , and qualitative data from a traditional focus group setting . In a period of 2 months , the participants received 4 SMS messages each day , including a medication reminder , a request to enter peak flow , data on sleep loss , and medication dosage . Participants were asked to reply to a minimum of 3 of the messages per day . Diary inputs were collected in a data base and the response rate per patient was expressed as the number of diary inputs ( SMS replies ) divided by diary requests ( product of number of days in the study and the number of diary questions per day ) for each participant . After the study period , the participants were invited to a focus group interview addressing the participants ' attitudes to their disease , their experience with the SMS asthma diary , and their future expectations from the SMS asthma diary . Results Twelve patients with asthma ( 6 males , 6 females ) participated in the data collection study . The median age was 38.5 ( range : 13 – 57 ) years . The median response rate per patient was 0.69 ( range : 0.03 – 0.98 ) , ie , half the participants reported more than about two thirds of the requested diary data . Furthermore , response rates were relatively steady during the study period with no signs of decreasing usage over time . From the subsequent focus group interview with 9 users we learned that , in general , the participants were enthusiastic about the SMS diary – it became an integrated part of their everyday life . However , the participants wished for a simpler diary with only one SMS message to respond to and a system with a Web interface for system customization and graphical display of diary data history . Conclusion This study suggests that SMS collection of asthma diary data is feasible , and that SMS may be a tool for supporting the self-management of asthma ( and possibly other chronic diseases ) in motivated and self-efficacious patients because mobile phones are a part of people 's everyday lives and enable active requests for data wherever the patient is . The combination of SMS data collection and a traditional Web page for data display and system customization may be a better and more usable tool for patients than the use of Web-based asthma diaries which suffer from high attrition rates
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 .