Resource Spotlight: Does mHealth Contribute to Improved Care for People with Non-Communicable Diseases in Developing Countries?


 
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India Cellphone and Tech Images November 2011 photo by Victorgrigas
Photo by Victor Grigas

The World Health Organization reported in 2013 that nearly 65 percent of all deaths were caused by illnesses like cardiovascular disease, diabetes or cancer – classified as non-communicable diseases (NCDs). As the life expectancy grows in low- and middle-income countries, the burden of NCDs also grows.

The ability of the developing world to fight and overcome this increasing burden is limited. A mainreason for that is the shortage of health-care workers. The ubiquity of mobile phones in the developing world has already brought improvements in accesses to financial, agricultural and educational services.

As the number of deaths from NCDs rise in low- and middle-income countries, we must assess the impacts that mHealth can play in fighting them. An important question is whether mHealth can be used to address the increasing burden of NCDs.

The major focus of most mHealth research projects in the past has been on Communicable Diseases (CDs) like tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and measles instead on NCDs.

This paper aims to fill the gap and to systematically review the available literature on mHealth in the field of NCDs in LAMICs Therefore, the main research question is:

  • What are the health-related effects of mHealth interventions used for the treatment of NCDs in low- and middle-income countries?
  • In addition, we will identify different options for using mHealth interventions in the fight against NCDs in low- and middle-income countries.

Please see the resource titled Does mHealth Contribute to Improved Care for People with Non-Communicable Diseases in Developing Countries?

For more information, you can see the mHealth and eHealth subject area.

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