Background: Despite promising data in Western countries, there is a dearth of research into the efficacy of text messaging-based smoking cessation programs in other settings, including the Middle East, where smoking prevalence rates are higher. Objective: This paper reports cessation rates observed in SMS Turkey, a text messaging-based smoking cessation program for adult smokers in Ankara, Turkey. Methods: This study was a small-scale, parallel-group randomized controlled trial (RCT)...

Background: Patients with type 1 and type 2 diabetes often find it difficult to control their blood glucose level on a daily basis because of distance or physical incapacity. With the increase in Internet-enabled smartphone use, this problem can be resolved by adopting a mobile diabetes monitoring system. Most existing studies have focused on patients’ usability perceptions, whereas little attention has been paid to physicians’ intentions to adopt this technology. Objective: The...

Background: The delivery of optimal care depends on accurate communication between patients and clinicians regarding untoward symptoms. Documentation of patients’ symptoms necessitates reliance on memory, which is often imprecise. We developed an electronic diary (eDiary) for adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with cancer to record symptoms. Objective: The purpose of this paper is to describe the utility of an eDiary designed for AYAs with cancer, including dependability of the mobile...

Background: Regular physical activity has established physical and mental health benefits; however, merely one quarter of the U.S. adult population meets national physical activity recommendations. In an effort to engage individuals who do not meet these guidelines, researchers have utilized popular emerging technologies, including mobile devices (ie, personal digital assistants [PDAs], mobile phones). This study is the first to synthesize current research focused on the use of mobile devices...

Background: Over the past few years, the world has witnessed an unprecedented growth in smartphone use. With sensors such as accelerometers and gyroscopes on board, smartphones have the potential to enhance our understanding of health behavior, in particular physical activity or the lack thereof. However, reliable and valid activity measurement using only a smartphone in situ has not been realized. Objective: To examine the validity of the iPod Touch (Apple, Inc.) and particularly to...

Background: Advancements in technology have always had major impacts in medicine. The smartphone is one of the most ubiquitous and dynamic trends in communication, in which one’s mobile phone can also be used for communicating via email, performing Internet searches, and using specific applications. The smartphone is one of the fastest growing sectors in the technology industry, and its impact in medicine has already been significant. Objective: To provide a comprehensive and up-to-date...

Background: Maternal, Newborn, and Child Health (MNCH) household survey data are collected mainly with pen-and-paper. Smartphone data collection may have advantages over pen-and-paper, but little evidence exists on how they compare. Objective: To compare smartphone data collection versus the use of pen-and-paper for infant feeding practices of the MNCH household survey. We compared the two data collection methods for differences in data quality (data recording, data entry, open-ended answers,...

Mobile phones and devices, with their constant presence, data connectivity, and multiple intrinsic sensors, can support around-the-clock chronic disease prevention and management that is integrated with daily life. These mobile health (mHealth) devices can produce tremendous amounts of location-rich, real-time, high-frequency data. Unfortunately, these data are often full of bias, noise, variability, and gaps. Robust tools and techniques have not yet been developed to make mHealth data more...

Background: Only 17% of Norwegian children and adolescents with diabetes achieve international treatment goals measured by glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Classic patient–physician consultations seem to be poorly adapted to young children. New strategies that are better attuned to young people to improve support of adolescents’ self-management of diabetes need to be tested and evaluated. Objective: (1) To explore how applications for mobile phones can be used in follow-up of...

Background: Cell phone text messaging is gaining increasing recognition as an important tool that can be harnessed for prevention and intervention programs across a wide variety of health research applications. Despite the growing body of literature reporting positive outcomes, very little is available about the design decisions that scaffold the development of text messaging-based health interventions. What seems to be missing is documentation of the thought process of investigators in the...

Background: The introduction of Apple’s iPhone provided a platform for developers to design third-party apps, which greatly expanded the functionality and utility of mobile devices for public health. Objective: This study provides an overview of the developers’ written descriptions of health and fitness apps and appraises each app’s potential for influencing behavior change. Methods: Data for this study came from a content analysis of health and fitness app descriptions...

Background: The use of mHealth apps has shown improved health outcomes in adult populations with type 2 diabetes mellitus. However, this has not been shown in the adolescent type 1 population, despite their predisposition to the use of technology. We hypothesized that a more tailored approach and a strong adherence mechanism is needed for this group. Objective: To design, develop, and pilot an mHealth intervention for the management of type 1 diabetes in adolescents. Methods: We interviewed...

Background: Website-delivered physical activity interventions are successful in producing short-term behavior change. However, problems with engagement and retention of participants in these programs prevent long-term behavior change. New ways of accessing online content (eg, via smartphones) may enhance engagement in these interventions, which in turn may improve the effectiveness of the programs. Objective: To measure the potential of a newly developed smartphone application to improve...

Background: The development of a mobile telephone food record has the potential to ameliorate much of the burden associated with current methods of dietary assessment. When using the mobile telephone food record, respondents capture an image of their foods and beverages before and after eating. Methods of image analysis and volume estimation allow for automatic identification and volume estimation of foods. To obtain a suitable image, all foods and beverages and a fiducial marker must be...

Background: For youth living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), nonadherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) can lead to poor health outcomes and significantly decreased life expectancy. Objective: To evaluate the feasability, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of short message service (SMS) or text message reminders to improve adherence to ART for youth living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: We conducted this prospective pilot study using a...

Background: Previous trials of telemonitoring for heart failure management have reported inconsistent results, largely due to diverse intervention and study designs. Mobile phones are becoming ubiquitous and economical, but the feasibility and efficacy of a mobile phone-based telemonitoring system have not been determined. Objective: The objective of this trial was to investigate the effects of a mobile phone-based telemonitoring system on heart failure management and outcomes. Methods: One...

Background: Previous trials of heart failure telemonitoring systems have produced inconsistent findings, largely due to diverse interventions and study designs. Objectives: The objectives of this study are (1) to provide in-depth insight into the effects of telemonitoring on self-care and clinical management, and (2) to determine the features that enable successful heart failure telemonitoring. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 22 heart failure patients attending a heart...

Background: Prevention of the onset of depression in adolescence may prevent social dysfunction, teenage pregnancy, substance abuse, suicide, and mental health conditions in adulthood. New technologies allow delivery of prevention programs scalable to large and disparate populations. Objective: To develop and test the novel mobile phone delivery of a depression prevention intervention for adolescents. We describe the development of the intervention and the results of participants’...

Background: The last decade has witnessed unprecedented growth in the number of mobile phones in the developing world, thus linking millions of previously unconnected people. The ubiquity of mobile phones, which allow for short message service (SMS), provides new and innovative opportunities for disease prevention efforts. Objective: The aim of this review was to describe the characteristics and outcomes of SMS interventions for disease prevention in developing countries and provide...

Background: Physical activity promotes health and longevity. Further elaboration of the role of physical activity for human health in epidemiological studies on large samples requires accurate methods that are easy to use, cheap, and possible to repeat. The use of telecommunication technologies such as cell phones is highly interesting in this respect. In an earlier report, we showed that physical activity level (PAL) assessed using a cell phone procedure agreed well with corresponding...

Background: Interest in mobile health (mHealth) applications for self-management of diabetes is growing. In July 2009, we found 60 diabetes applications on iTunes for iPhone; by February 2011 the number had increased by more than 400% to 260. Other mobile platforms reflect a similar trend. Despite the growth, research on both the design and the use of diabetes mHealth applications is scarce. Furthermore, the potential influence of social media on diabetes mHealth applications is largely...

Background: Communication between clinicians is critical to providing quality patient care but is often hampered by limitations of current systems. Smartphones such as BlackBerrys may improve communication, but studies of these technologies have been limited to date. Objective: Our objectives were to describe how smartphones were adopted for clinical communication within general internal medical wards and determine their impact on team effectiveness and communication. Methods: This was a...

Background: Mobile phone sensors can be used to develop context-aware systems that automatically detect when patients require assistance. Mobile phones can also provide ecological momentary interventions that deliver tailored assistance during problematic situations. However, such approaches have not yet been used to treat major depressive disorder. Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate the technical feasibility, functional reliability, and patient satisfaction with...

Background: The onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus can be prevented or delayed by lifestyle changes. Communication technologies such as a mobile phone can be used as a means of delivering these lifestyle changes. Objectives: The purposes of this analysis were to explore applicability of potential components of a mobile phone-based healthy lifestyle program and to understand motivators and barriers to continued engagement in a mobile phone healthy lifestyle program. Methods: We conducted 6...

Background: Recent advances in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke have made rapid acquisition, visualization, and interpretation of images a key factor for positive patient outcomes. We have developed a new teleradiology system based on a client-server architecture that enables rapid access to interactive advanced 2-D and 3-D visualization on a current generation smartphone device (Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, or an Android phone) without requiring patient image data to be stored on the...