A P5 Approach to m-Health: Design Suggestions for Advanced Mobile Health Technology

Abstract

In recent years, technology has been developed as an important resource for health care management, especially in regard to chronic conditions. In the broad field of eHealth, mobile technology (mHealth) is increasingly used to empower patients not only in disease management but also in the achievement of positive experiences and experiential growth. mHealth tools are considered powerful because, unlike more traditional Internet-based tools, they allow patients to be continuously monitored and followed by their own mobile devices and to have continual access to resources (e.g., mobile apps or functions) supporting health care management activities. However, the literature has shown that, in many cases, such technology not accepted and/or adopted in the long term by its users. To address this issue, this article reviews the main factors influencing mHealth technology acceptance/adoption in health care. Finally, based on the main aspects emerging from the review, we propose an innovative approach to mHealth design and implementation, namely P5 mHealth. Relying on the P5 approach to medicine and health care, this approach provides design suggestions to address mHealth adoption issues already at the initial stages of development of the technologies.

P5 eHealth: An Agenda for the Health Technologies of the Future

“…Despite this, traditional medicine was perceived as an activity abstracted from the everyday social life of the patient, such as patient, doctor, and the disease interacted among themselves only Kabat-Zinn 2000). On the contrary, the process of care involves a number of additional stakeholders and influencers, such as caregivers, other patients, and different types of health providers (Gorini et al 2018). This aspect of health should not only be made explicit but exploited, in that an effective alliance between the multiple actors of the care process is expected to strengthen its effectiveness.…”

“…• Wearable technologies and mobile technology (mHealth), any use of portable technologies to monitor patients' health status over time and/or sending daily reminders to take medications or to perform health-related activities. • Online support groups, social media for peer support and peer education (Gorini et al 2018).…”

“…The change in communication between doctor and patient has made healthcare more collaborative, allowing patients to be participants and guides of their path to recovery (Gorini et al 2018). The involvement of the patient in the decision-making process recognizes the autonomy of the latter, who will be more inclined to accept and follow the treatment leading to the possibility of a better prognosis ).…”

“…When we speak about mHealth, we refer to mobile telecommunication technologies supporting wellness through the delivery of healthcare (Steinhubl et al 2013;Gorini et al 2018;Triberti et al 2019).…”

“…Data can be collected by patients or caregivers themselves, and they could be reported in a portable device or could be captured through sensors in the patient's living environment. The choice and challenge of using artificial intelligence data-mining techniques give the possibility for improving clinical decision-making and a more personalized treatment (Van der Krieke et al 2013;Durand et al 2014;Gorini et al 2018). In addition, it is possible to reduce the number of visits to the doctor.…”