Use of Mobile Health Tools by Primary Care Patients
Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of mobile health (mHealth) use among primary care patients and examine demographic and clinical correlates.
Methods Adult patients who presented to 1 of 6 primary care clinics in a practice-based research network in the northwest United States during a 2-week period received a survey that assessed smartphone ownership; mHealth use; sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, health literacy); chronic conditions; and depressive symptoms (2-item Patient Health Questionnaire). Data analysis used descriptive statistics and mixed logistic regression.
Results Of 918 respondents (estimated response rate, 67.4%), 55% owned a smartphone, among whom 70% were mHealth users. In multivariate analyses, smartphone ownership and mHealth use were not associated with health literacy, chronic conditions, or depression but were less common among adults >45 years old (adjusted odds ratio, 0.07–0.39; P < .001). Only 10% of patients learned about mHealth tools from their physician, and few (31%) prioritized their provider's involvement.
Conclusions Use of mHealth technologies is lower among older adults but otherwise is common among primary care patients, including those with limited health literacy and those with chronic conditions. Findings support the potential role of mHealth in improving disease management among certain groups in need; however, greater involvement of health care providers may be important for realizing this potential.
Mobile health (mHealth), which refers to the application of mobile or wireless communication technologies to health and health care, barely existed 5 years ago; it has since emerged as a multibillion-dollar industry. Recent data suggest that >90,000 consumer smartphone health applications ("apps") are now available for download. Few of these have been the subject of scientific study, including their potential risks, or to US Food and Drug Administration review or approval.
According to estimates from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in 2012 nearly one third of mobile phone owners, and more than half of smartphone owners, have used their phone to look up health information—a rate that has nearly doubled since 2010. In Pew's general population survey, mHealth use was more common among individuals <50 years old, Latinos, African Americans, and those with higher socioeconomic status.
The potential for mHealth tools to represent an important advancement in health care, in particular for chronic disease care, has been recognized.Whereas an estimated 69% of the US adult population track at least 1 health indicator, such as activity, weight, or symptoms, only about 20% of those use technology to facilitate their tracking. Although health tracking is significantly more common among people living with chronic conditions, mHealth use has been reported as significantly less common among these individuals. Primary care is the setting in which most chronic disease care occurs, and although there some literature describes mHealth tools available to facilitate chronic disease management, the actual patterns of mHealth use among patients in primary care settings have not been documented. To address this gap in knowledge, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of mobile phone ownership and mHealth use among primary care patients in community-based clinics in the WWAMI region Practice and Research Network (WPRN) and to examine demographic and clinical correlates of use.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of mobile health (mHealth) use among primary care patients and examine demographic and clinical correlates.
Methods Adult patients who presented to 1 of 6 primary care clinics in a practice-based research network in the northwest United States during a 2-week period received a survey that assessed smartphone ownership; mHealth use; sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, health literacy); chronic conditions; and depressive symptoms (2-item Patient Health Questionnaire). Data analysis used descriptive statistics and mixed logistic regression.
Results Of 918 respondents (estimated response rate, 67.4%), 55% owned a smartphone, among whom 70% were mHealth users. In multivariate analyses, smartphone ownership and mHealth use were not associated with health literacy, chronic conditions, or depression but were less common among adults >45 years old (adjusted odds ratio, 0.07–0.39; P < .001). Only 10% of patients learned about mHealth tools from their physician, and few (31%) prioritized their provider's involvement.
Conclusions Use of mHealth technologies is lower among older adults but otherwise is common among primary care patients, including those with limited health literacy and those with chronic conditions. Findings support the potential role of mHealth in improving disease management among certain groups in need; however, greater involvement of health care providers may be important for realizing this potential.
Introduction
Mobile health (mHealth), which refers to the application of mobile or wireless communication technologies to health and health care, barely existed 5 years ago; it has since emerged as a multibillion-dollar industry. Recent data suggest that >90,000 consumer smartphone health applications ("apps") are now available for download. Few of these have been the subject of scientific study, including their potential risks, or to US Food and Drug Administration review or approval.
According to estimates from the Pew Internet & American Life Project, in 2012 nearly one third of mobile phone owners, and more than half of smartphone owners, have used their phone to look up health information—a rate that has nearly doubled since 2010. In Pew's general population survey, mHealth use was more common among individuals <50 years old, Latinos, African Americans, and those with higher socioeconomic status.
The potential for mHealth tools to represent an important advancement in health care, in particular for chronic disease care, has been recognized.Whereas an estimated 69% of the US adult population track at least 1 health indicator, such as activity, weight, or symptoms, only about 20% of those use technology to facilitate their tracking. Although health tracking is significantly more common among people living with chronic conditions, mHealth use has been reported as significantly less common among these individuals. Primary care is the setting in which most chronic disease care occurs, and although there some literature describes mHealth tools available to facilitate chronic disease management, the actual patterns of mHealth use among patients in primary care settings have not been documented. To address this gap in knowledge, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of mobile phone ownership and mHealth use among primary care patients in community-based clinics in the WWAMI region Practice and Research Network (WPRN) and to examine demographic and clinical correlates of use.
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