mHealth - areas of application and the effectiveness of interventions.

mHealth is seen as the next stage of developing applications for information and communication technologies in the area of health care. This paper presents the evolution of mHealth systems and the results of the latest analyses of the effectiveness of mHealth interventions. Intensive mHealth development results from the near universal access to mobile devices, primarily smartphones, and devices that use sensory technologies. The great interest in mobile applications is reflected in the offer of online stores, which already provide many thousands of programs that can be installed on a mobile phone. Of the many possible mHealth applications, those supporting chronic diseases care and health promotion activities are regarded as the most promising. The growing interest in the area of mHealth is proven by the large number of publications that present syntheses of the available evidence. Although studies aimed at assessing the usefulness and effectiveness of health applications quite often raise doubts about the methodological quality, the significance of the analyses is positive. However, problems in maintaining the involvement of health users in mHealth solutions may be a cause for concern. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]