Challenges in implementing mHealth interventions: a technical perspective

Gurupur, Varadraj P.; Wan, Thomas T. H.

doi:10.21037/mhealth.2017.07.05

Cited by 82 publications

(74 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Although this study was conducted among a small population, lessons from this study may guide the Aponjon consultation service in establishing linkages with local health facilities for referrals. The referral system also needs to build a framework for electronic medical health records and a robust platform for data interoperability between consultation services and health facilities, which will allow transfer of patient data such as symptoms, primary assessment, past medical history, findings, treatment, medication, care plan, special notes, and immunization [61,62]. The need for a national database for patient electronic health records is indispensable to accommodate heterogeneous patient data from different sources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ and Doctors’ Perceptions of a Mobile Phone–Based Consultation Service for Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Health Care in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study

Alam

Banwell

Olsen

et al. 2019

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background A mobile-based consultation service, or telehealth, can be used for remote consultations with health care professionals for screening, self-care management, and referral. In rural Bangladesh, where there is high demand for scarce male and even scarcer female doctors, remote consultations may help women seeking maternal and child health care. Aponjon is a mHealth service in Bangladesh that provides weekly voice or text messages to pregnant women, new mothers, and family members on various aspects of maternal, neonatal, and infant health. Subscribers can also access a dedicated 24*7 call center to discuss maternal, neonatal, and infant health or emergencies with medically trained doctors. The service provides advice, primary diagnoses, prescriptions, and referrals to subscriber callers. Objective We investigated the Aponjon service to understand access, acceptability, usability, benefits, and challenges of a mobile phone-based consultation service. Methods We conducted call log data analysis for September to November 2015 to understand how many unique subscribers accessed the service, who accessed the service, the geographical distribution of callers, and the purpose of the calls. We also conducted a qualitative exploratory substudy of eight married women and eight married men who were subscribers to and accessed the service during this time to understand their experiences. We interviewed 11 doctors from the same service who provided phone consultations to subscribers. Results Approximately 3894 unique subscribers accessed the service for single or multiple consultations during the study period; 68.36% (2662/3894) of subscribers were from rural households, and 53.00% (2064/3894) of calls were made by pregnant women or new mothers. Approximately 96.08% (5081/5288) calls were nonurgent, 2.69% (142/5288) semiurgent, and 1.23% (65/5288) urgent. Almost 64.7% (134/207) semiurgent or urgent calls came between 8 PM and 8 AM. Callers found the consultation service trustworthy, cost-effective, and convenient. The doctors dispelled misconceptions and promoted good health care practices, regular health check-ups, and responsible use of medicine. They helped families understand the severity of sicknesses and advised them to seek care at health facilities for semiurgent or urgent conditions. The service lacked a pro-poor policy to support talk times of subscribers from poor households and a proper referral system to help patients find the right care at the right facilities. Conclusions Although a regular messaging service is constrained by a one-way communication system, this service using the same platform, gave subscribers access to an abbreviated “consultation” with medical doctors. The consultations provided subscribers with valued medical advice and support, although they were limited in their population reach and their integration into the wider medical system. Further research is ...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patients’ and Doctors’ Perceptions of a Mobile Phone–Based Consultation Service for Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Health Care in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study

Alam

Banwell

Olsen

et al. 2019

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…27 Gurupur and Wan revealed five major areas of challenges, focusing only on the technical aspects required to implement mHealth-based systems comprising usability, system integration, data security and privacy, network access and reliability. 17…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to several studies in the field of patient monitoring technology, despite their benefits, there are challenges that must be addressed. 7,10,15–18 Understanding the different dimensions of existing or potential challenges and threats may help strategic decision-making by professionals to implement and develop such technologies in the healthcare sector. In general, the identification of specific individual challenges will also help identify existing solutions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Study of challenges to utilise mobile-based health care monitoring systems: A descriptive literature review

et al. 2018

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Mobile health encompasses remote and wireless applications to provide health services. Despite the advantages of applying mobile-based monitoring systems, there are challenges and limitations; understanding the challenges may assist in identifying available solutions and optimising decision-making to apply mHealth technologies more practically. This study aimed to investigate the main challenges related to mHealth-based systems for health monitoring purposes. This review was carried out through investigation of English evidence from four databases, including Scopus, PubMed, Embase, and Web of Science, using a defined search strategy from 2013 to 2017. Two independent researchers reviewed the results based on PRISMA guidelines, and data was categorised using a bottom-up approach to reach a framework for the most general challenges. Among the 105 papers obtained, eight works were selected. The revealed challenges were categorised into six main branches across a tree (with 55 nodes, four levels) including user-related, infrastructure, process, management, resource and training challenges. Identifying the resolvable and preventable challenges, such as those related to training, design might play a crucial role in preventing loss of resources and in growing the success rate of a project, particularly if considered in national level projects.

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“…However, reaching the objectives of m-health requires significant effort, and the process remains a challenge. Obstacles can include resistance to change, unreliable technology, integration issues, and lack of user education [21], and documentation of these obstacles regarding the design, implementation, and evaluation of m-health is still quite limited. Based on a survey conducted by the WHO, only 12% of member countries have reported the results of evaluations of m-health services, and only a few knew how to effectively evaluate solutions [22].…”

Section: M-health Implementationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Designing a health referral mobile application for high-mobility end users in Indonesia

Pinem

Yeskafauzan

Handayani

et al. 2020

Heliyon

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The purpose of this study was to design a suitable mobile application for high mobility medical staff to support the health referral system of Indonesian universal health coverage. Methods: Design science research (DSR) approach were conducted with two iterations. The first iteration was conducted by designing a high-fidelity mockup and evaluating the design using the System Usability Scale (SUS) framework to evaluate the overall usability of the system (n ¼ 48). The second iteration was conducted by designing a running prototype and evaluating the design using the Post-Study System Usability Questionnaire (PSSUQ) framework to evaluate the system's usefulness, information quality, and interface quality (n ¼ 31). For designing the user interface, the eight golden rules guided the process. Results: The results found that the design for the first iteration was good and the second iteration's design was satisfactory to the respondents. The information quality aspects underwent several changes such as the implementation of local language as the users deemed it to be important to help them easily understand and use the system and eventually support their mobility at the health facility.

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Challenges in implementing mHealth interventions: a technical perspective

Cited by 82 publications

References 6 publications

Patients’ and Doctors’ Perceptions of a Mobile Phone–Based Consultation Service for Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Health Care in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study

Patients’ and Doctors’ Perceptions of a Mobile Phone–Based Consultation Service for Maternal, Neonatal, and Infant Health Care in Bangladesh: A Mixed-Methods Study

Study of challenges to utilise mobile-based health care monitoring systems: A descriptive literature review

Designing a health referral mobile application for high-mobility end users in Indonesia

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