mHealth in Practice: Mobile technology for health promotion in the developing world

Description

There has recently been an explosion of interest around the application of mobile communication technologies to support health initiatives in developing countries (mHealth). As a result, there is a need to promote and share rigorous research for better informed policy, programming, and investment. There are, however, few platforms for the exchange of information and proven practice between practitioners and researchers. The subtopic of prevention, well-being, and health promotion within mHealth is particularly ripe for deeper exploration. While many reports tout the potential of mobiles to influence behaviour change for health, there is limited knowledge about what works (and what does not work), and about how to evaluate current and future programs. This is a focused edited volume with contributions from leading researchers and practitioners to identify best practices in using mobile technologies to promote healthy behaviours (and reduce unhealthy ones) in resource-constrained settings with a special focus on developing countries. This topic is inherently interdisciplinary. Though the opportunities to leverage mobile phones for health are new, the challenges confronting researchers and practitioners are well-established and theoretically complex, with roots in decades of work on mediated behaviour change campaigns and theories. Cover Half-Title Title Page Copyright Page Acknowledgments Contents List of Tables and Figures Notes on Contributors 1 mHealthy Behaviors: Engaging Researchers and Practitioners in a Facilitated Dialogue on Mobile-mediated Health Behavior Change Introduction The mHealthy behaviors sessions mHealthy behavioral themes Designing for patients is different from designing for caregivers Technology-supported behavior change and support requires a multidisciplinary team Calibrate for the low end versus the high end of the technical landscape Organizations matter. Ensure buy-in and openness Start with scale in mind. Decide if failure is an option Local context matters Link theory to practice via behavior change models The elusive art of measuring change Conclusion Notes References 2 State of Behavior Change Initiatives and How Mobile Phones are Transforming It Introduction Snapshot of mHealth behavior change interventions What kinds of mHealth behavior change projects exist in LMICs? How do social, cultural, and political contexts play a role? What can mobile phones provide? How are mobile phones utilized to change behavior? How do these projects begin and to whom do they target? Health promotion and disease prevention Disease management, treatment compliance, and appointment reminders Theory in mHealth behavior change initiatives Reflection on what 'Mobile' brings to the behavior change world – reach, access, and mobility There is more to understand on what 'Mobile' can bring to behavior change Closing Bibliography 3 mHealthy Behavior Studies: Lessons from a Systematic Review Background Conducting the systematic review Lessons learned for mHealth research So where should we go from here? Scenario 1: Patient-level mHealth Intervention Scenario 2: Provider-level mHealth intervention Scenario 3: Population-level mHealth Intervention Conclusion References 4 Developing and Adapting a Text Messaging Intervention for Smoking Cessation from New Zealand for the United Kingdom Background Development Modifying the existing text messages Generating new messages Psychological theories of health behavior and behavior change Social cognition models Dynamic theories of behavior Salience of attitudes and spontaneous processing models Techniques and approaches used in existing behavior change interventions Contextual evidence Theory regarding doctor–patient relationships and interactions Fine tuning new messages Feasibility and piloting The process evaluation for the pilot trial Development Evaluation Summary References 5 mHealth Hope or Hype: Experiences from Cell-Life Introduction Cell-Life beginnings Cellphones for HIV mHealth grows up Great – so what? What's different about mobile? References 6 Tele-self-management Support for Type 2 Diabetes Care: Working Through Public Primary Care Centers in Santiago, Chile Introduction Tele-Self-Management Support: A strategy to improve metabolic control Project 1: Development of a tele-support model to improve self-management Dissemination of the findings Project 2: Replication of the ATAS model in Seven primary care centers Project 3: Technology transfer of the ATAS model to the commune of Puente Alto Project 4: Mobile phones: Tools to provide support for early diagnosis and self-management for people with type 2 diabetes Moving toward national scale References 7 Mobile Persuasive Messages for Rural Maternal Health Introduction Background Identifying barriers Iterative design of persuasive mobile messages Identifying the behavior change problem A mosaic model for behavior change Mobile solution design Persuasive message design Measuring persuasion Guidelines for creating persuasive messages References 8 MOTECH MOTECH project description Prior lessons learned 'Mobile Midwife': Application for pregnant women and their families Assumptions Early research and product testing Getting the content right Mobile access Personal identifiers Accidental learning MOTECH nurse application Selecting handsets and mode of data transmission Nurse incentivization Community volunteer incentivization Partnerships Government Academic institutions Telecommunications operators Conclusions Notes References 9 Experiences from the MediNet Project: The Programmer's Perspective Project summary How we got started Our investigations Applying computer science to health Communication protocols Data storage Data integrity Usability Mobile programming Testing and evaluation Lessons learned Conclusion References 10 Text to Change: Pioneers in Using Mobile Phones as Persuasive Technology on Health in Africa Text to Change Starting small: the pilot phase Developing the SMS campaign Growing from the pilot phase Opportunities, Challenges, and lessons learned Reflections and recommendations References 11 Freedom HIV/AIDS: Mobile Phone Games for Health Communication and Behavior Change Introduction Objectives Why mobile? Theory of change: mobile games as an effective tool for learning and behavior change Models of behavior change communication in Freedom HIV/AIDS games Other key considerations The games Safety cricket – a mass appeal game AIDS Messenger – an adventure game Life Choices – a role play based life-skills game for girls Great Escape – a role play based detective game Evaluation Assessing learning Study 1 Study 2 Piloting and scale up Conclusion Acknowledgments References 12 Adhere.IO Introduction The challenge The conventional response: Treatment and adherence Adhere.IO's approach to increasing adherence The evolution of our approach Mobile as a lens for paradigm shifts and disruptive innovation The structure of the disruption The mobile as a reader Cross-functional team formation Solution architectures The mobile as a walkie-talkie Bottom-up innovation leads to a change in the incentive scheme Surviving the double valley of death for emerging technologies for global health References 13 Conclusion Introduction Moving beyond the pilots and hype toward systematic integration of mHealth The state of mHealth for behavior change research Mobile messaging: Methods to the madness Innovations to inform the next phase of mHealthy behavior change Conclusion References Index A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Z