Methodological Review: Healthcare in the pocket: Mapping the space of mobile-phone health interventions

  • Authors:

  • Predrag Klasnja;Wanda Pratt

  • Affiliations:

  • The Information School, University of Washington, Box 352840, Mary Gates Hall, Suite 370, Seattle, WA 98195-2840, USA;The Information School, University of Washington, Box 352840, Mary Gates Hall, Suite 370, Seattle, WA 98195-2840, USA and Biomedical and Health Informatics, University of Washington, Box 357240, 1 ...

  • Venue:
  • Journal of Biomedical Informatics
  • Year:
  • 2012

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Abstract

Mobile phones are becoming an increasingly important platform for the delivery of health interventions. In recent years, researchers have used mobile phones as tools for encouraging physical activity and healthy diets, for symptom monitoring in asthma and heart disease, for sending patients reminders about upcoming appointments, for supporting smoking cessation, and for a range of other health problems. This paper provides an overview of this rapidly growing body of work. We describe the features of mobile phones that make them a particularly promising platform for health interventions, and we identify five basic intervention strategies that have been used in mobile-phone health applications across different health conditions. Finally, we outline the directions for future research that could increase our understanding of functional and design requirements for the development of highly effective mobile-phone health interventions.