A review of 75 mHealth consumer studies

Not just one, but two major analyses of mHealth studies to date. Published in PLOS Medicine with the 42-study review of mHealth as used by health professionals [TA 18 Jan] is a separate review, by the same team, of 75 studies evaluating disease management outcomes and behavior change in health care consumers. Like the review of professional studies, the outcomes are inconclusive and inconsistent due to study quality. What was promising was perhaps the simplest: “Text messaging interventions increased adherence to ART (antiretroviral therapy) and smoking cessation and should be considered for inclusion in services.” The Effectiveness of Mobile-Health Technology-Based Health Behaviour Change or Disease Management Interventions for Health Care Consumers: A Systematic Review (PLOS Medicine) The much-discussed Scientific American article, App’d to Fail: Mobile Health Treatments Fall Short in First Full Checkup