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Unless you have been living on Mars for the last few months, you couldn’t possibly have failed to come across the latest smartphone app craze,Pokémon Go.Admittedly I haven’t downloaded it on my own phone (perhaps I’ll use writing this blog as an excuse to do so), but this augmented reality game has become something of a global phenomenon. Amazingly, it’s also been credited with bothphysical and mental health benefits，随着玩家在外面花了很多小时，步行数英里以寻找并捕获名为Pokémon的数字生物。

Not all mobile phone apps with a health benefit tag capture the public imagination in quite the same way as Pokémon Go of course, but they are certainly big business. According to arecent articleinThe Economist, there are currently around 165K health-related apps available for either Apple or Android phones and it’s been predicted that the global revenue from these products will reach $21.1 billion in 2018.

Healthcare services by phone, however, don’t have to be high tech. Although many people in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) own a mobile phone,far fewer of them own a smartphonecompared to people living in high income countries, and simple text messages are increasingly being used as a tool in a number of healthcare-related settings.

As a Database Editor for theISRCTNregistry, I’ve noticed an upsurge in the number of studies being registered that involve the testing of mHealth technology, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to introduce just some of the research happening in this area.

So, what is mHealth?

In a nutshell,mHealth(short for mobile health) is used to describe medical and public health support provided via the use of mobile devices, particularly communication devices, such as tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and, most notably, mobile phones. mHealth is, in itself, a type ofeHealthsupport. eHealth is a term that has been used since the late 1990s and encapsulates healthcare support though information technology. Examples other than mHealth includeTelemedicine(initially developed as a way to monitor patients remotely) andHealth Informatics.

mHealth technologies range from the most basic text messaging systems to highly interactive smartphone apps. Examples of text messaging services include appointment reminders, chronic disease management, laboratory results notifications and behavior modification tools (helping people to stop smoking, for example, or do more exercise). Many UK patients are now routinely given GP or hospital appointment reminders by text. There are also anumber of studies在研究移动医疗的使用短信e ISRCTN registry, including thisonein Burkina Faso investigating whether they can encourage people with HIV to take their antiretroviral medication.

Text messaging services include appointment reminders, chronic disease management, laboratory results notifications and behavior modification tools.

More advanced technologies which use mHealth applications on smartphones arenow commonplace among healthcare professionals,和are being used in a myriad of different ways.This studycurrently being run in Italy and Switzerland, for example, is testing a more sophisticated smartphone app that gives parents information about the MMR vaccination though interactive phone software that includes videos, messages and a gaming element.

Mobile phone apps can also be used to monitor health in the community and manage patient’s health conditions from a different location.Thisrecentlypublishedstudy, evaluated an mHealth app that encouraged better pregnancy tracking by health surveillance assistants in Malawi. And then there is thePANDA system, a program run in Madagascar which enabled health workers to remotely monitor the well-being of pregnant women, sending them appointments to attend a local hospital according to the information sent to them by a mHealth app.

Treatment for everyone

It’s possible that, in some cases, mobile phone applications can help plug current gaps in health treatments; most notably mental health issues. Data from the World Health Organization suggests that some50％的高收入国家患有心理健康问题的人are not receiving the treatment that they need; this figure shoots up to a shocking 85% in LMICs. Internet-basedcognitive behavioral therapy（CBT）治疗已证明是effective alternativeto face-to-face sessions. However, there islittle evidence currently availableto prove that the same could be seen for mHealth apps.

Some 50% of people with mental health problems in high income countries are not receiving the treatment that they need; this figure shoots up to a shocking 85% in low and middle-income countries.

It is an active area of research, however. Thisstudy, recently registered in the ISRCTN registry, for example, looked at helping people to manage their anxiety disorder via a mHealth game that helped them to control their breathing and ease their symptoms. Another group, located in Switzerland, are looking at whethera self-help programis more effective when provided via the web or via a smartphone app.

And the University of Sheffield are currentlyrunning a studytesting the feasibility of combining face-to-face counseling sessions with a wellness mHealth app for students suffering from anxiety and depression.

The popularity contest

When you ask people about what they think mHealth apps are, or which ones they have used, I think that it’s likely that they will list ones that encourage more exercise and healthy eating. Indeed several sources (including this one) list both diet and exercise apps in the top 5.

Asearchthrough ISRCTN certainly suggests that there have been some research into developing such apps in recent years.

Norwegian football teams, for example, have been trying out a smartphone app that may help to prevent them developing a groin injury during play. And a team of researchers from the University of Newcastle recently ran a study looking at how a diet may be used to treat gestational diabetes (diabetes that develops during pregnancy), which involved the participants keeping a food diary on a freely available mHealth app calledMyFitnessPal.

I mentioned smoking cessation mobile phone apps in ablog post last year,includingone by Bupathat provides information on how to stop smoking, monitors the smokers progress and provides an interactive toolbox to help with cravings. A more recent addition to the ISRCTN registry is theMotivation 2 Quit study, which is looking into helping people to stop smoking via a package of measures, including using recommended smartphone apps.

Smartphones provide a inexpensive way to provide health-related education and support.

The take home message

The potential of mHealth apps is considerable, especially as overa third of the world’s population is predicted to own a smartphoneby 2017. They provide a cheap (and often free) way to provide health-related education and support. It is, however, clear that there needs to be more research to investigate how effective they really are. At the moment we are just exiting the world of hype and are ready for the world of evidence.