Mobile phone technology has been presented as a solution for the healthcare challenges faced by the developing world. However, there is a lack of rigorous studies that show the functionality of this technology in low- and mid-income areas – where experts agree that mobile health initiatives (mHealth) have great potential.
Recently, two systematic monitoring projects have been carried out, coordinated by Caroline Free of the School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine in London, UK, and the conclusion is clear: the majority of the evidence that exists on the success of mobile health schemes is low quality and comes from tests carried out in developed countries.
For example, of the 75 tests that sought to evaluate whether mobile technology interventions could change the behavior of patients or improve the management of diseases, only three were carried out in developing countries. Furthermore, none of the 42 tests of interventions designed to support communication between healthcare suppliers or healthcare services and users took place in the developing world.
Generally it is believed that mobile telephones make it possible to monitor outbreaks of polio, check on the development of diseases, assist diabetics and pregnant women, accompany rural health workers, speed up diagnosis of HIV and malaria and take and transfer medical images. In fact, previous studies have shown that text messages improve adherence to HIV treatment programs in Kenya, although they did not in Cameroon.
But the monitoring programs organized by Caroline Free found that, for disease management, only two mobile health applications have proven benefits. “Our systematic revision shows that there’s good evidence that interventions with text messages can increase adherence to anti-retroviral medication and quitting smoking,” said Free, adding: “The effects of interventions based on mobile telephones seem promising in some other areas but require more high-quality testing to establish their effects.”
The report is clear: rigorous additional tests of mobile health interventions are needed, especially in low- and mid-income environments – where the control group for ‘standard care’ could be very different to that available in high income countries.
Source: SciDevNet
Photo: Flickr/DFID
