Potential for the use of mHealth in the management of XXXX in Kerala: a qualitative study.

@entity1 @entity65
OBJECTIVES: To assess the potential for using mHealth in @entity65 ( @entity65 ) management in Kerala by exploring: (1) experiences and challenges of current @entity65 management; (2) current mobile phone use; (3) expectations of and barriers to mobile phone use in @entity65 management. DESIGN: Qualitative, semistructured, individual interviews. SETTING: 5 primary health centres in Ernakulam district, Kerala, India. @entity1 : 15 @entity1 in total from 3 stakeholder groups: 5 @entity1 with @entity65 and/or its risk factors, 5 physicians treating @entity65 and 5 Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHAs). @entity1 were sampled for maximum variation on the basis of age, sex, @entity65 diagnoses and risk factors. All @entity1 had access to a mobile phone. RESULTS: The main themes identified relating to the current challenges of @entity65 were poor @entity1 disease knowledge, difficulties in implementing primary prevention and poor @entity1 lifestyles. @entity1 noted phone calls as the main function of current mobile phone use. The expectations of mHealth use are to: improve accessibility to healthcare knowledge; provide reminders of appointments, medication and lifestyle changes; save time, money and travel; and improve ASHA job efficacy. All perceived barriers to mHealth were noted within physician interviews. These included fears of mobile phones negatively affecting physicians' roles, the usability of mobile phones, radiation and the need for physical consultations. CONCLUSIONS: There are three main potential uses of mHealth in this population: (1) as an educational tool, to improve health education and lifestyle behaviours; (2) to optimise the use of limited resources, by overcoming geographical barriers and financial constraints; (3) to improve use of healthcare, by providing appointment and treatment reminders in order to improve disease prevention and management. Successful mHealth design, which takes barriers into account, may complement current practice and optimise use of limited resources.
