title: Mobile health in adults with congenital heart disease: current use and future needs.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Many adults with congenital heart disease (CHD) are affected lifelong by cardiac events, particularly arrhythmias and heart failure. Despite the care provided, the cardiac event rate remains high. Mobile health (mHealth) brings opportunities to enhance daily monitoring and hence timely response in an attempt to improve outcome. However, it is not known if adults with CHD are currently using mHealth and what type of mHealth they may need in the near future.
  
  
  METHODS
  Consecutive adult patients with CHD who visited the outpatient clinic at the Academic Medical Center in Amsterdam were asked to fill out questionnaires. Exclusion criteria for this study were mental impairment or inability to read and write Dutch.
  
  
  RESULTS
  All 118 patients participated (median age 40 (range 18-78) years, 40 % male, 49 % symptomatic) and 92 % owned a smartphone. Whereas only a small minority (14 %) of patients used mHealth, the large majority (75 %) were willing to start. Most patients wanted to use mHealth in order to receive more information on physical health, and advice on progression of symptoms or signs of deterioration. Analyses on age, gender and complexity of defect showed significantly less current smartphone usage at older age, but no difference in interest or preferences in type of mHealth application for the near future.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The relatively young adult CHD population only rarely uses mHealth, but the majority are motivated to start using mHealth. New mHealth initiatives are required in these patients with a chronic condition who need lifelong surveillance in order to reveal if a reduction in morbidity and mortality and improvement in quality of life can be achieved.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. m.j.schuuring@amc.uva.nl.|Department of Cardiology, HAGA Teaching Hospital, the Hague, The Netherlands. m.j.schuuring@amc.uva.nl.
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Schuuring
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Backx
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zwart
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A H
authors.initials: AH
authors.lastname: Veelenturf
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Robbers-Visser
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Groenink
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Informatics, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abu-Hanna
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical and Experimental Information processing, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Bruining
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: M P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Schijven
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Mulder
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Academic Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Bouma
keywords: Arrhythmia; Congenital heart disease; GUCH; Heart failure; Lifestyle; Mobile health; Quality of life; eHealth; mHealth