title: mHealth Interventions to Counter Noncommunicable Diseases in Developing Countries: Still an Uncertain Promise.
abstract: mHealth constitutes a promise for health care delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where health care systems are unprepared to combat the threat of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs). This article assesses the impact of mHealth on NCD outcomes in LMICs. A systematic review identified controlled studies evaluating mHealth interventions that addressed NCDs in LMICs. From the 1274 abstracts retrieved, 108 articles were selected for full text review and 20 randomized controlled trials were included from 14 LMICs. One-way SMS was the most commonly used mobile function to deliver reminders, health education, and information. mHealth interventions in LMICs have positive but modest effects on chronic disease outcomes.
authors.affiliation: South American Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Health, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Ravignani 2024, Buenos Aires C1414CPV, Argentina. Electronic address: aberatarrechea@iecs.org.ar.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Beratarrechea
authors.affiliation: South American Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Health, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Ravignani 2024, Buenos Aires C1414CPV, Argentina.
authors.forename: Daniela
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Moyano
authors.affiliation: South American Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Health, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Ravignani 2024, Buenos Aires C1414CPV, Argentina.
authors.forename: Vilma
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Irazola
authors.affiliation: South American Center of Excellence for Cardiovascular Health, Institute for Clinical Effectiveness and Health Policy, Ravignani 2024, Buenos Aires C1414CPV, Argentina.
authors.forename: Adolfo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubinstein
mesh_terms: D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000628:therapy; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003906:Developing Countries; D006801:Humans; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Chronic disease; Low- and middle-income countries; mHealth