Health in One Touch: Assessing the Use of Mobile Health Technology by Patients of LAC+USC Medical Center Primary Care Clinics
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Abstract
Introduction: There is significant potential for mobile health technology, such as smartphone applications and text messaging, to improve health outcomes for patients with chronic diseases. There is a need for further development of such mobile health technology, as well as further investigation into the clinical efficacy of such technology in improving the health of patients in lower-income communities. The purpose of this study is to investigate what type of mobile health information our patients at the LAC+USC Resident Primary Care Clinics utilize to educate themselves about managing chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus and hypertension.
Methods: 150 subjects, all patients of the resident primary care clinics of LAC+USC Medical Center, completed a 25 question survey June 2014 to August 2014. Surveys were delivered in the patient’s primary language. Demographic information such as age, ethnicity, primary language, annual income, and highest education level were collected. Use of mobile technology and social media, as well as patient interest in using mobile health technology were stratified by annual income and education level.
Results: In terms of demographic information, 73% of subjects earned an annual household income of less than $20,000 per year and 67.1% of patients had obtained at least a high school diploma. Ninety percent of subjects owned a cellular phone, with 75.6% of these subjects owning a cellular phone with internet capability. Fifty-nine percent of subjects used mobile applications on their cellular phones, but only 27.5% of these individuals used mobile applications related to their health. Eighty-seven percent of subjects stated they would be interested in using a cellular phone application to improve their health, with 89% of respondents stating they would use this type of application either every day or every week. Patients stated they would find the mobile health application most useful for obtaining general information on medical conditions as well information to improve their nutrition.
Conclusions: Despite the majority of our primary care patients are of lower socioeconomic status, our patients utilize cellular phones with internet and mobile application capabilities to great extent. There was a wide range of education levels despite the majority of our patients meeting the federal poverty guidelines. There is substantial interest amongst our patients in using mobile health technology to both manage and prevent chronic diseases. Given that cultural, educational, and socioeconomic disparities strongly correlate with higher rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, access to culturally-relevant mobile health tools may help to improve health outcomes in these populations.
Future Research: We plan to create a culturally-relevant mobile health application that patients of our primary clinics can utilize to manage their chronic diseases.
Methods: 150 subjects, all patients of the resident primary care clinics of LAC+USC Medical Center, completed a 25 question survey June 2014 to August 2014. Surveys were delivered in the patient’s primary language. Demographic information such as age, ethnicity, primary language, annual income, and highest education level were collected. Use of mobile technology and social media, as well as patient interest in using mobile health technology were stratified by annual income and education level.
Results: In terms of demographic information, 73% of subjects earned an annual household income of less than $20,000 per year and 67.1% of patients had obtained at least a high school diploma. Ninety percent of subjects owned a cellular phone, with 75.6% of these subjects owning a cellular phone with internet capability. Fifty-nine percent of subjects used mobile applications on their cellular phones, but only 27.5% of these individuals used mobile applications related to their health. Eighty-seven percent of subjects stated they would be interested in using a cellular phone application to improve their health, with 89% of respondents stating they would use this type of application either every day or every week. Patients stated they would find the mobile health application most useful for obtaining general information on medical conditions as well information to improve their nutrition.
Conclusions: Despite the majority of our primary care patients are of lower socioeconomic status, our patients utilize cellular phones with internet and mobile application capabilities to great extent. There was a wide range of education levels despite the majority of our patients meeting the federal poverty guidelines. There is substantial interest amongst our patients in using mobile health technology to both manage and prevent chronic diseases. Given that cultural, educational, and socioeconomic disparities strongly correlate with higher rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and hypertension, access to culturally-relevant mobile health tools may help to improve health outcomes in these populations.
Future Research: We plan to create a culturally-relevant mobile health application that patients of our primary clinics can utilize to manage their chronic diseases.
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