Assessing awareness and use of mobile phone technology for health and wellness: Insights from India

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to determine the awareness and use of mobile phones and applications for health service delivery among technical students, working staff, medical students, and health professionals of India. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample size of 386 students, working staff, and health professionals of engineering and medicine using structured questionnaires and the data were analyzed. Findings: Most of the responses are female (50.25%) of age 18–25 (48.44%). However, respondents have used mobile phones for managing menstrual cycles and chronic/lifestyle diseases. Moreover, the degree of awareness and familiarity about the term “mobile health” was found to be more among technical students and working staff (55.17%) than medical students and health professionals (44.82%). Statistical results also revealed that awareness about the use of mobile phone for health-related components was found to be significant except for health awareness and education, and medication adherence and refilling. Further, about mobile health applications use, there exists a significant association between the study groups for the self-management applications of cancer, cholesterol, heart diseases, and stroke. Conclusion: The study recommends to improve peoples’ awareness and familiarity about the use of mobile phone for managing health and service delivery. This can be achieved with the help of health professionals as most of the people prefer personal visits than through mobile interventions. Moreover, peoples’ socio-demographic factors, perception about the device, and health information also play an important role in using mobile health applications for health service delivery. © 2019 Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine