Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 1
Challenges of Mobile
Health Applications in
Developing Countries
Nikhil Yadav
University of Notre Dame, USA
Christian Poellabauer
University of Notre Dame, USA
ABSTRACT
Global health care has become an enormous industry worldwide, where trends such as aging popula-
tions, environmental and climate changes, catastrophic events, and the spread and evolution of diseases
pose significant challenges. With the rapid growth of information technology (IT), wireless technolo-
gies, and mobile services, health care processes are able to increasingly benefit from new technological
advances and applications built on top of them. Specifically, the area of “Mobile Health” or mHealth,
which leverages mobile phone functionality to provide medical and public health services, has become
a very promising trend. Wireless and mobile technologies have great potential in improving patient care,
reducing costs, streamlining processes, allowing adherence to regulations, and many other health-related
activities. However, the developing world faces numerous challenges in realizing the infrastructure and
technical expertise required to adopt mHealth solutions and applications. In this chapter, we focus on
these challenges in the developing world and highlight existing problems and risks in realizing mHealth
applications and services. This chapter also proposes various solutions to overcome these problems.
INTRODUCTION
care and wellness. Today's medical field is very
different from just a decade ago as exemplified
by the use of medical informatics, modern testing
techniques, and novel surgical equipment. The
rapid proliferation of the Internet is also altering
the traditional relationship between doctors and
Technological advances such as the Internet,
mobile and personal communication devices,
wireless technologies, and portable sensor devices
are continuing to revolutionize the fields of health
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