[EQ] Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives - mHealth supplement

Journal of Health Communication: International Perspectives
mHealth Supplement

Volume 17, Supplement 1, 2012   Taylor & Francis

All articles were made available open access online until August 17, 2012 to Equity list, thanks to special permission from the Managing Editor, Journal of Health Communication - Wendy Meltzer

Weblink: http://bit.ly/MVmlqO

Website: http://www.tandfonline.com/toc/uhcm20/17/sup1 

EDITORIAL

Measurement and Evaluation Outcomes for mHealth Communication: Don't We Have an App for That?

James M. Sherry & Scott C. Ratzan
Editor-in-Chief: Scott C. Ratzan , MD, MPA  Vice President, Global Health  Government Affairs & Policy  Johnson & Johnson

“……There are few areas in the field of health communication that have generated as many enthusiasts in such a brief time as has mHealth—the use of mobile devices to communicate health information—and with good reason. The number of cell phones (billions) and messages (trillions) around the globe is ever increasing. So too, the numbers of tech savvy health care providers and consumers seeking information ubiquitously accessible at less than an arm’s length away. With some 10% of the global economy in the information-dependent health sector, the potential for new applications would appear limitless.

The reviews and solicitations leading to this Journal of Health Communication Supplement have sought to take a snapshot of this still nascent field with respect to its measurement and evaluation outcomes. It should be no surprise that among the major themes to emerge is the compelling need for significantly more evidence of intervention efficacy. Or, that despite a paucity of “hard evidence,” early experience provides insights that will help channel investments in more productive ways even while it sheds a cautionary light on emerging mHealth myths.

Among the most pervasive mHealth myths are that:

- mHealth communication programs are relatively simple to design and operate;

- mHealth interventions are inexpensive, have high reach and are demonstrably cost-effective; and

- mHealth approaches are universally applicable.

Leaving Room for Innovation

Nonetheless, for the moment at least, the compelling potential of the mHealth field exceeds its evidence-base and evaluation shortcomings. Proof-of-concept is now well established and mHealth is no longer seen as a tool in search of a problem, or as innovation for innovation’s sake. Investors and innovators do not appear to be waiting for evaluators’ reports to make their decisions, and increased mHealth intervention development appears inevitable….”

 
Introduction
Amira A. Roess & Neal K. Sikka

Development and Evaluation Process for mHealth Interventions: Examples From New Zealand
Robyn Whittaker, Sally Merry, Enid Dorey & Ralph Maddison

Mobile Health Evaluation Methods: The Text4baby Case Study
W. Douglas Evans, Lorien C. Abroms, Ronald Poropatich, Peter E. Nielsen & Jasmine L. Wallace

Text4baby in the United States and Russia:
An Opportunity for Understanding How mHealth Affects Maternal and Child Health
Ruth M. Parker, Elena Dmitrieva, Sergei Frolov & Julie A. Gazmararian

The Use of Mobile Phones for Acute Wound Care:
Attitudes and Opinions of Emergency Department Patients
Neal Sikka, Katrina N. Carlin, Jesse Pines, Michael Pirri, Ryan Strauss & Faisil Rahimi

Text2Quit:
Results From a Pilot Test of a Personalized, Interactive Mobile Health Smoking Cessation Program
Lorien C. Abroms, Meenakshi Ahuja, Yvonne Kodl, Lalida Thaweethai, Justin Sims, Jonathan P. Winickoff & Richard A. Windsor

Why Physicians Should Share PDA/Smartphone Findings With Their Patients:
A Brief Report
Karen Hughes Miller, Craig Ziegler, Ruth Greenberg, Pradip D. Patel & Mary B. Carter

Capitalizing on the Characteristics of mHealth to Evaluate Its Impact
Patricia Mechael, Bennett Nemser, Roxana Cosmaciuc, Heather Cole-Lewis, Seth Ohemeng-Dapaah, Schadrack Dusabe, Nadi Nina Kaonga,
Patricia Namakula, Muhadili Shemsanga, Ryan Burbach & Andrew S. Kanter

Lessons From a Community-Based mHealth Diabetes Self-Management Program:
“It's Not Just About the Cell Phone”
Richard Katz, Tsega Mesfin & Karen Barr

The Economics of eHealth and mHealth
Julian Schweitzer & Christina Synowiec

Effectiveness of mHealth Behavior Change Communication Interventions in Developing Countries:
A Systematic Review of the Literature
Tilly A. Gurman, Sara E. Rubin & Amira A. Roess

Reaching Remote Health Workers in Malawi: Baseline Assessment of a Pilot mHealth Intervention
Nancy Vollmer Lemay, Tara Sullivan, Brian Jumbe & Cary Peabody Perry

Perceived Improvement in Integrated Management of Childhood Illness Implementation through
Use of Mobile Technology: Qualitative Evidence From a Pilot Study in Tanzania
Marc Mitchell, Maya Getchell, Melania Nkaka, Daniel Msellemu, Jan Van Esch & Bethany Hedt-Gauthier

Addressing HIV Knowledge, Risk Reduction,
Social Support, and Patient Involvement Using SMS: Results of a Proof-Of-Concept Study
Jennifer D. Uhrig, Megan A. Lewis, Carla M. Bann, Jennie L. Harris, Robert D. Furberg, Curtis M. Coomes & Lisa M. Kuhns

You Have an Important Message!
Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Text Message HIV/AIDS Campaign in Northwest Uganda
Arul Chib, Holley Wilkin, Leow Xue Ling, Bas Hoefman & Hajo Van Biejma

KMC/2012KMC
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

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This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
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[EQ] The 10 Promising Practices Fact Sheets

The 10 Promising Practices Fact Sheets

The Sudbury & District Health Unit (SDHU) – August 2012

Website: http://bit.ly/OXNPwH

As part of a Canadian Health Services Research Foundation Fellowship (Executive Training in Research Application – EXTRA), the Sudbury & District Health Unit identified 10 practices that are promising in their potential to reduce social inequities in health in our communities.

These fact sheets are designed to help public health practitioners and our community partners apply each of the 10 Promising Practices to reduce social inequities in health. They have a common format that identifies essential components, key issues, and tools and resources for each Promising Practice.

1.Targeting With Universalism - http://bit.ly/OXBqsq

Every citizen deserves the opportunity to be healthy and to practise healthy behaviours. Thus, health promotion and protection programs and services endeavour to ensure that everyone has access to programs and services. Services designed for general access—by everyone, in the same way—constitute a universal approach.

However, evidence shows that individuals who benefit most from “universal” health programs and services are often those who have more money, more time, more social support, higher literacy, and better preceding health. In some cases, universal programs may increase health inequities such that the health of those who are socially advantaged improves more than the health of those who are socially disadvantaged. …”

2.Purposeful Reporting - http://bit.ly/OSPYMm

“….The World Health Organization, among others, identifies the importance of reporting purposefully on the relationship between health and social inequities in all health status reports. The WHO document The Social Determinants of Health: Developing an evidence base for political action highlights the link between sharing knowledge of health inequities and political action.
Similarly, Closing the Gap in a Generation, notes that “ensuring that health inequity is measured . . . is a vital platform for action” (p. 2). Thus, intentional and public presentation of evidence about health inequities can be part of a broad strategy for change…”

3. Social Marketing - http://bit.ly/O6Pf8T

 

“….Social marketing is “the systematic application of marketing alongside other concepts and techniques, to achieve specific behavioural goals, for a social good”. (p. 451)1  Social marketing involves defining and understanding target audiences so that interventions and health communications can be tailored to audience needs and preferences.

With the objective of reducing health inequities, social marketing interventions for local public health practice can create positive social change and improve the health of vulnerable populations by two approaches:
The first tailors behaviour change interventions to more disadvantaged populations (with the goal of levelling-up).
The second, less conventional approach, uses social marketing to change the understanding and ultimate behaviour of decision makers and the public to take or support action to improve the social determinants of health inequities….”

4. Health Equity Target Setting - http://bit.ly/Ml0s7m

 

“….As understood by the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, “targets are a way of ensuring that resources and effort are directed at tackling health inequalities in an explicit and measurable way”. (p. 9)1 Many countries have incorporated target setting into their intersectoral work on social inequities in health. However, as the World Health Organization highlights, the exact nature of the targets appears to be important, since some targets may be more enabling of progress than others.2

Although target setting is not universally supported in the literature, it appears to hold some promise as part of a strategy for reducing health inequities and may have a role at the local public health level….”

5. Equity-Focused Health Impact Assessment - http://bit.ly/ONRCfq

 

“….Health impact assessment (HIA) is a structured method to assess the potential health impacts of proposed policies and practices. HIA enables decision makers to highlight and enhance the positive elements of a proposal, and minimize the aspects that may result in negative health outcomes1. By evaluating a broad range of evidence, HIAs are a useful way to assess the impact of proposals (either policy or specific practice) at the general population level. However, they are also recognized as a promising method to address the underlying social and economic determinants of health and resulting health inequities2.

Equity-focused health impact assessment (EfHIA) specifically includes questions such as “Is this proposal likely to affect those who are already disadvantaged? Is it likely to impose new health burdens on specific groups? Is it likely to change exposure to, and/or distribution of, risk factors or specific determinants of health (for example, living conditions, access to services)?”2 By applying an equity lens to HIAs, it becomes clear that virtually every policy has winners and losers—some groups benefiting more than others….”

6. Competencies/Organizational Standards - http://bit.ly/PHgx2Q

 

“….Competencies and organizational standards guide our daily practice. The Public Health Agency of Canada1 identifies 36 core competencies for public health encompassing essential knowledge, attitudes, and skills. Most importantly, these competencies were developed for practice within the context of the values of public health and include, for example, equity, social justice, community participation, and determinants of health. The core competencies for public heath offer a solid foundation for local public health staff recruitment and skill development.

As building blocks for effective public health practice, organizational standards provide benchmarks for public health units….”

7. Contribution to the Evidence Base - http://bit.ly/P7KpuM

 

“….When public health staff are asked about their capacity to address social inequities in health, a frequent issue that emerges is a lack of “best practices” to guide their interventions. The EXTRA Research Fellowship was carried out, in part, to help address these staff needs. However, it confirmed the existence of a gap in the evidence base with respect to effective local public health practice to reduce social inequities in health.

The evidence that does exist is often produced by practitioners working in a service delivery context in which publishing is not a priority. The evidence produced is often preliminary, small scale and specific to a particular context. Therefore, practice-based evidence might not be accepted for publication in traditional academic outlets….”

8. Early Childhood Development - http://bit.ly/Nq1Xgz

 

“…..Early child experiences establish the foundational building blocks for development across the life stages. Furthermore, with the greatest gains experienced by the most deprived children, investments in early child development have been referred to as powerful equalizers.

Early child experiences influence language, physical, social, emotional and cognitive development, which in turn, and throughout the lifecourse, affect learning, educational, economic, and social success, and health. Early childhood development (ECD), nurturing environments, and quality childhood experiences are important for positive human development and health. Early child experiences contribute to positive developmental outcomes, and subsequently health, through a number of pathways, including psychological, behavioural, and physical….”

9. Community Engagement - http://bit.ly/NgalCF

 

“…..As a strategy to reduce health inequities, community engagement is the process of involving community stakeholders in the development and implementation of policies, programs, and services. In Closing the gap in a generation, the World Health Organization highlights the need to “empower all groups in society through fair representation in decision-making about how society operates, particularly in relation to its effect on health equity, and create and maintain a socially inclusive framework for policy-making.”

Working with community professionals and agency representatives is one approach to engagement. However, building relationships with target populations and service users is also key to identifying community strengths and challenges….”

10. Intersectoral Action - http://bit.ly/MBQPwB

 

“…..A comprehensive strategy to promote health includes health care when individuals are ill and addresses the underlying causes of poor health where people live, work, learn, and play. These underlying causes are, in part, the result of social, economic, and political actions from different community sectors and all levels of government and industry.
Safe and affordable housing, access to parks and recreational activities, quality health care, early childhood education, safe streets, public transportation, and opportunities for meaningful employment are just some of the many factors that influence an individual’s opportunities for health and well-being….”

 

KMC/2012/SDE
Twitter http://twitter.com/eqpaho

 *      *     *
This message from the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO/WHO, is part of an effort to disseminate
information Related to: Equity; Health inequality; Socioeconomic inequality in health; Socioeconomic
health differentials; Gender; Violence; Poverty; Health Economics; Health Legislation; Ethnicity; Ethics;
Information Technology - Virtual libraries; Research & Science issues.  [DD/ KMC Area]
Washington DC USA

“Materials provided in this electronic list are provided "as is". Unless expressly stated otherwise, the findings
and interpretations included in the Materials are those of the authors and not necessarily of The Pan American
Health Organization PAHO/WHO or its country members”.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PAHO/WHO Website
Equity List - Archives - Join/remove: http://listserv.paho.org/Archives/equidad.html
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IMPORTANT: This transmission is for use by the intended
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confidential information. If you are not the intended
recipient or a person responsible for delivering this
transmission to the intended recipient, you may not
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any action in reliance on it. If you received this transmission
in error, please dispose of and delete this transmission.

Thank you.