Addressing healthy aging populations in developing countries: unlocking the opportunity of eHealth and mHealth
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EMERGING THEMES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY
REVIEW
Open Access
Addressing healthy aging populations in developing countries: unlocking the opportunity of eHealth and mHealth Cesar Henriquez-Camacho1,2*, Juan Losa2, J Jaime Miranda3,4 and Natalie E Cheyne5
Abstract Aging societies worldwide propose a significant challenge to the model and organisation of the delivery of healthcare services. In developing countries, communicable and non-communicable diseases are affecting how the ageing population access healthcare; this could be due to varying reasons such as geographical barriers, limited financial support and poor literacy. New information and communication technology, such as eHealth have the potential to improve access to healthcare, information exchange and improving public and personalised medicine for elderly groups. In this article we will first frame the context of information and communication technologies in light of an aging landscape. We will also discuss the problems related to implementing the needed infrastructure for uptake of new technology, with particular emphasis on developing countries. In so doing, we highlight areas where newer technologies can serve as promising tools or vehicles to address health and healthcare-related gaps and needs of elderly people living in resource-constrained settings. Keywords: eHealth, Ageing population, Technology, Developing world, mHealth
Introduction Information and communication technology (ICT) stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications, electronic devices, and audio-visual systems, all of which enables users to access, process, store, and transmit information. ICT has become indispensable in different sectors of our society, including healthcare. eHealth is a relatively recent term for healthcare practice supported by ICT, dating back to at least 1999 (see List of Areas of eHealth for elderly) [1,2]. eHealth technologies have the potential to improve access to healthcare as well as aiding information exchange, reducing costs and improving public and personalized medicine [3-5] (See Figure 1). Areas of eHealth for elderly population Electronic health records e-Prescribing * Correspondence: [email protected] 1 Instituto de Medicina Tropical Alexander von Humboldt, Lima, Peru 2 Infectious Diseases/Internal Medicine Unit. Hospital Universitario Fundacion Alcorcon, Madrid, Spain Full list of author information is available at the end of the article
Telemedicine Consumer health informatics Health knowledge management mHealth Healthcare information systems Social media
In parallel, mobile networks and portable devices demonstrate an enormous presence and increasing penetration into the global market. Mobile phone messaging has been used to provide appointment reminders, compliance with medications- to monitor chronic conditions and to provide psychological support not only in developed countries but in developing settings [6,7]. Mobile phones are increasingly accessible worldwide and have a growing influence
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