Many people access health technology with their mobile phones. Studies have shown that there isn’t a racial disparity when it comes to owning and using a smartphone. The Pew Research Center reports that African Americans, Whites and Latinos have similar rates of owning cell phones but that African Americans and Latinos use phones to access the Internet more. The center also states that, as of October 2014, 64 percent of people in the U.S. own a smartphone and 85 percent of young adults do. Of those users, 62 percent have used their phone in the past year to look up information about a health condition.
Researchers, including many at the University of Pittsburgh, are finding ways to use technology not only to interact with providers but to affect health on a personal level too. “Before about 10 years ago, people would go to their doctors if they had a problem, the doctor prescribed medicine, you left and came back about a year later to have the doctor ask you how you are,” says Brian Suffoletto, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at Pitt. “That leaves a lot of time for people to make health care decisions by themselves.”
According to Dr. Suffoletto, the chronic conditions that account for the majority of health care costs are driven by health behaviors—alcohol use, poor diet, physical inactivity, smoking, lack of health care, not getting enough sleep and poor stress management. Health care professionals see the technologies that many people use every day—cell phones, computers, etc.—as a way to get people’s attentions and target the health behaviors that are putting them at risk.
“What we know about health behaviors is that they’re strongly influenced by your environment and who you’re around,” says Dr. Suffoletto. “We never really had a good health care model to help people initiate, adopt and maintain health behaviors when they left the doctor’s office. We now have people saying they want help in changing their behaviors. They want to know where to find this help. And now we’re seeing technology to help fill this gap.”
“Online health care is a way for people to access health care without stigma at a time and place that’s convenient for them,” says Bruce Rollman, MD, MPH, professor of medicine and director of the Center for Behavioral Health and Smart Technology at Pitt. “These computerized interactions may allow for some anonymity.”
Drs. Suffoletto and Rollman both are investigating whether specific programs will change behaviors. Dr. Suffoletto and colleagues are studying a texting program that aims to reduce hazardous alcohol use. Dr. Rollman and colleagues are developing and looking at the impact of online support groups and Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for different health conditions.
“There are very few data on the effectiveness of these mobile technologies,” says Dr. Suffoletto. “Some seem favorable with regard to helping people change behaviors over time in their own environments. But more research is needed. It’s important to note that of the thousands of health care apps people could download, the vast majority have not been studied to see if they’re truly effective.”
Both Drs. Suffoletto and Rollman remind everyone that the Internet isn’t meant to take the place of talking with a trusted health care professional. Not everything people read online is necessarily accurate, and some information can be misleading or even harmful.
“We have to figure out how to integrate these technologies with humans,” says Dr. Suffoletto. “People want to be able to collect heath data and want help changing behaviors. But they still want to know there’s a human being who can talk to them personally about the health care information they collect.”
About Post Author
