Application of Mobile Healthcare Technology
One crucial area where mobile healthcare technology might be helpful is online monitoring of patients with chronic diseases who lack easy access to healthcare facilities. A cross-sectional study conducted by Kamin et al. (2021) revealed that diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease were more common in rural regions than in metropolitan ones. A possible solution to this problem would be for healthcare providers to use smartphone applications to link patients to their medical tools, such as blood pressure cuffs and food and exercise logs. In this setup, patients could monitor their vitals using a dashboard from the comfort of their homes, and doctors would have swift access to the data.
Benefits of Mobile Healthcare Technology
Improved Patient Engagement: А major problem in rural areas is a lack of convenient access to regular medical care (Moseley, 2023). Therefore, the smartphone app intends to help patients in these regions take an active part in managing their chronic diseases, boosting their feeling of agency and responsibility in managing their own healthcare.
Timely Intervention and Preventive Care: Research by Patel et al. (2021) demonstrated that healthcare practitioners are more likely to provide faster responses to patients through remote monitoring, which in some cases can help in early recognition of rapid deterioration of symptoms or changes in the disease pathology. Consequently, this can reduce the rate of such complications and the need for patient admissions to hospitals.
Enhanced Patient Education: Through these applications, patients can obtain personalized educational material to apply self-management and enhance the comprehension of their chronic condition (Patbel et al., 2021). This empowerment can translate to compliance with treatment plans and healthy lifestyle modifications.
Barriers to Mobile Healthcare Technology
Limited Access to Technology: In rural areas, there could be scarce availability of smartphones or consistent internet connectivity, hampering the widespread adoption of mobile healthcare technology and, hence, its effectiveness (Cortelyou-Ward, 2020).
Health Literacy Challenges: Certain patients might have difficulties in grasping and efficiently using mobile applications. Hence, the likelihood of inaccurate reports or non-compliance with remote monitoring apps might be high (Cortelyou-Ward, 2020).
Data Security and Privacy Concerns: Patients may be anxious regarding the security and privacy of health information sent through mobile devices, which could result in reluctance toward the utilization of these technologies (Cortelyou-Ward, 2020).
Implications for Nursing
Training and Support for Patients: Nurses should be in the forefront of providing training and ongoing support to patients in the utilization of virtual technology and addressing health literacy problems and effective use.
Customized Educational Resources: As suggested by Martli and Dincer (2021), nurses can work together with technology creators to develop easy-to-use educational materials through mobile applications that will meet the different levels of health literacy and give information about specific chronic conditions.
Advocacy for Infrastructure Improvement: In rural areas, nurses can lobby for better setup of technology infrastructure, such as internet connectivity and availability of cheap smartphones, to help overcome the defeats of limited access to technology (Cortelyou-Ward, 2020). This would consequently increase the general efficiency of mobile health technology use in care.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the increase of mobile health technology, such as remote patient monitoring apps and devices, will help meet the healthcare needs of rural patients with chronic illnesses. Although barriers such as technical literacy and limited internet access do exist, the advantage of better continuity of care, early detection of complications, and patient empowerment can be enormous. The future of mobile health relies on thoughtful nursing competency development, the enhancement of all relevant protocols, and the personalization of patient education and training. Through the integration of skilled nursing facilitation, mobile technology will be able to transform chronic disease management for vulnerable rural populations to a large extent. The outcome of this analysis pinpoints critical opportunities and responsibilities of nurses in guiding and promoting the usage of innovative mobile health solutions.
References
Cortelyou-Ward, K., Atkins, D. N., Noblin, A., Rotarius, T., White, P., & Carey, C. (2020). Navigating the digital divide: barriers to telehealth in rural areas. Journal of health care for the poor and underserved, 31(4), 1546-1556. https://doi.org/10.1353/hpu.2020.0116
Kamin, M., D., Dawson, E., Howard, V. J., Cushman, M., Higginbotham, J. C., Judd, S. E., … & Howard, G. (2022). Rural/urban differences in the prevalence of stroke risk factors: A cross‐sectional analysis from the REGARDS study. The Journal of Rural Health, 38(3), 668-673. https://doi.org/10.1111/jrh.12608
Martli, E. P., & Dincer, N. U. (2021). Technology in nursing education: Augmented reality. Pamukkale Üniversitesi Mühendislik Bilimleri Dergisi, 27(5), 627-637. https://doi.org/10.5505/pajes.2020.38228
Moseley, M. J. (2023). Accessibility: the rural challenge. Taylor & Francis. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003429333
Patel, N., Kinmond, K., Jones, P., Birks, P., & Spiteri, M. A. (2021). Validation of COPDPredict™: unique combination of remote monitoring and exacerbation prediction to support preventative management of COPD exacerbations. International journal of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 1887-1899. https://doi.org/10.2147/copd.s309372
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