Outbreak and mHealth

BACKGROUND: Observing medication ingestion through self-recorded videos (video directly observed therapy [VDOT]) has been shown to be a cost-effective alternative to in-person directly observed therapy (DOT) for monitoring adherence to treatment for tuberculosis disease. VDOT could be a useful tool to monitor short-course latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) treatment. METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized controlled trial comparing VDOT (intervention) and clinic-based DOT (control) among patients newly diagnosed with LTBI who agreed to a once-weekly 3-month treatment regimen of isoniazid and rifapentine...

BACKGROUND: Little is known about sexual minority adults' willingness to use digital health tools, such as pandemic-related tools for screening and tracking, outside of HIV prevention and intervention efforts for sexual minority men, specifically. Additionally, given the current cultural climate in the United States, heterosexual and sexual minority adults may differ in their willingness to use digital health tools, and there may be within-group differences among sexual minority adults...

INTRODUCTION: Countries in the WHO's African region have found community-based surveillance useful in ensuring the effectiveness of the Integrated Disease Surveillance and Response strategy. This approach encourages community participation in the surveillance system, in addition to early detection of outbreaks and other health threats. Thus, advancements in mobile health have the potential to improve community-based surveillance in Africa. The purpose of this review is to map evidence on available mhealth tools for community-based infectious disease surveillance in Africa...

BACKGROUND: A manual approach to case investigation and contact tracing can introduce delays in response and challenges for field teams. Go.Data, an outbreak response tool developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in collaboration with the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, streamlines data collection and analysis during outbreaks. This study aimed to characterize Go.Data use during COVID-19, elicit shared benefits and challenges, and highlight key opportunities for enhancement...

While the healthcare facilities for the people is questionable in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees is a burning issue for both Bangladesh and global community. Integrating Rohingya refugees into the framework of mHealth could be beneficial for both Bangladesh and Rohingya refugees in general, and in specific situation like COVID-19 outbreak . However, no research has been found on what motivates Rohingya refugees to accept mHealth in Bangladesh. Drawing on the UTAUT2 model, this study investigates the predictors of acceptance of mHealth services technologies among Rohingya refugees...

WHAT IS ALREADY KNOWN ON THIS TOPIC?: Mobile health interventions have been demonstrated to be effective in aiding smoking cessation among smokers. Nevertheless, research on this topic remains limited in China. WHAT IS ADDED BY THIS REPORT?: Following two months of utilizing the services of a comprehensive mobile health (mHealth)-based modality ("Way to Quit" modality) which integrated three online interventions through the WeChat application, 29.1% of participating smokers successfully quit smoking...

BACKGROUND: Seventy-five percent of people with mental health disorders have an onset of illness between ages 12-24 years. Many in this age group report substantial obstacles to receiving quality youth-centered mental health care services. With the rapid development of technology, and the recent COVID-19 pandemic, mobile health (mHealth) has presented new opportunities for youth mental health research, practice, and policy. OBJECTIVE: The research objectives were to: 1) synthesize the current evidence supporting mHealth interventions for youth who experience mental health challenges; and 2) identify current gaps in the mHealth field related to youth mental health service access and health outcomes...

BACKGROUND: A rapidly aging population, a shifting disease burden and the ongoing threat of infectious disease outbreaks pose major concerns for Vietnam's health care system. Health disparities are evident in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas, and the population faces inequitable access to patient-centered health care. Vietnam must therefore explore and implement advanced solutions to the provision of patient-centered care, with a view to reducing pressures on the health care system simultaneously...

BACKGROUND: Timely access to essential obstetric and gynecologic healthcare is an effective method for improving maternal and neonatal outcomes; however, the COVID-19 pandemic impacted pregnancy care globally. In this global scoping review, we select and investigate peer-reviewed empirical studies related to mHealth and telehealth implemented during the pandemic to support pregnancy care and to improve birth outcomes. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE and PubMed, Scopus, CINAHL and Web of Science for this Review because they include peer-reviewed literature in the disciplines of behavioral sciences, medicine, clinical sciences, health-care systems, and psychology...

BACKGROUND: The World Federation of Obesity warns that the main health problem of the next decade will be childhood obesity. It is known that factors such as gestational obesity produce profound effects on fetal programming and are strong predictors of overweight and obesity in children. Therefore, establishing healthy eating behaviors during pregnancy is the key to the primary prevention of the intergenerational transmission of obesity. Mobile health (mHealth) programs are potentially more effective than face-to-face interventions, especially during a public health emergency such as the COVID-19 outbreak...

BACKGROUND: mHealth applications provide health practitioners with platforms that enable disease management, facilitate drug adherence, facilitate drug adherence, speed up diagnosis, monitor outbreaks, take and transfer medical images, and provide advice. Many developing economies are investing more in mobile telecommunication infrastructure than in road transport and electric power generation. Despite this, mHealth has not seen widespread adoption by healthcare workers in the developing world...

BACKGROUND: Mobile health (mHealth) apps are rapidly emerging technologies in China due to strictly controlled medical needs during the COVID-19 pandemic while continuing essential services for chronic diseases. However, there have been no large-scale, systematic efforts to evaluate relevant apps. OBJECTIVE: We aim to provide a landscape of mHealth apps in China by describing and comparing digital health concerns before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, including mHealth app data flow and user experience, and analyze the impact of COVID-19 on mHealth apps...

OBJECTIVE: Recently, the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has led to an increase in the use of telehealth technology. It seems that the application of this technology in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been limited, and few studies have been undertaken to review the current state of knowledge in this area. The aim of the present study was to explore the utilization of telehealth to manage the Covid-19 pandemic in LMICs. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This scoping review was conducted in 2022...

BACKGROUND: Current surveillance of travellers' health captures only a small proportion of illness events. We aimed to evaluate the usability and feasibility of using an app to enable travellers to self-report illness. METHOD: This pilot study assesses a novel mobile application called Infection Tracking in Travellers (ITIT) that records travel-related symptoms with associated geolocation and weather data. Participants were recruited in three Swiss travel clinics between December 2021 and March 2022...

BACKGROUND: Daily symptom reporting collected via web-based symptom survey tools holds the potential to improve disease monitoring. Such screening tools might be able to not only discriminate between states of acute illness and non-illness, but also make use of additional demographic information so as to identify how illnesses may differ across groups, such as biological sex. These capabilities may play an important role in the context of future disease outbreaks. OBJECTIVE: Use data collected via a daily web-based symptom survey tool to develop a Bayesian model that could differentiate between COVID-19 and other illnesses and refine this model to identify illness profiles that differ by biological sex...

BACKGROUND: Patients with chronic disease represent an at-risk group in the face of the COVID-19 crisis as they need to regularly monitor their lifestyle and emotional management. Coping with the illness becomes a challenge due to supply problems and lack of access to health care facilities. It is expected these limitations, along with lockdown and social distancing measures, have affected the routine disease management of these patients, being more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries with a flawed health care system...

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a persistent psychiatric disorder causing significant impairment in functioning. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated OCD-related symptoms and interrupted access to treatment. Recent research suggests mHealth apps are promising tools for coping with OCD symptoms. This randomized controlled trial evaluated the effects of a CBT-based mobile application designed to reduce OCD symptoms and cognitions in community participants considered at high risk of developing OCD symptoms...

BACKGROUND: Following the outbreak of COVID-19, several studies have reported that young adults encountered a rise in anxiety symptoms, which could negatively affect their quality of life. Promising evidence suggests that mobile apps with biofeedback, serious games, breathing exercises, and positive messaging, among other features, are useful for anxiety self-management and treatment. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to develop and evaluate the usability of a biofeedback-based app with serious games for young adults with anxiety in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)...

BACKGROUND: Mobile health applications (mHealth apps) offer enormous promise for illness monitoring and treatment to improve the provided medical care and promote health and wellbeing. OBJECTIVE: We applied bibliometric quantitative analysis and network visualization to highlight research trends and areas of particular interest. We expect by summarizing the trends in mHealth app research, our work will serve as a roadmap for future investigations. METHODS: Relevant English publications were extracted from the Scopus database...

The Coronavirus pandemic has destabilized many healthcare systems globally since the outbreak was announced. The mode of transmission of the virus has affected the traditional face-to-face mode of seeking healthcare. The world health organization recommends measures, including limiting physical contact as a means of preventing the spread of the virus. Many countries across the world are utilizing telemedicine during this pandemic to provide basic healthcare to their citizens. The implementation of telemedicine in sub- Saharan Africa has encountered many challenges...