RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Chronic noncommunicable diseases such as arterial hypertension have a high impact in the context of public health. Previous studies have shown improvements in blood pressure due to simple lifestyle changes, which were supported by electronic health (eHealth) solutions. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to develop an eHealth platform and assess the effects of its use on the health conditions of patients with hypertension, with assistance from health professionals in the public health system of a Brazilian city. METHODS: The platform will include a server that centralizes all the data and business rules, a website dashboard for health professionals, and a mobile app for patients. We will analyze the effects of its use through a controlled, nonrandomized, nonblind, prospective, monocentric clinical trial. We will enroll 68 participants diagnosed with arterial hypertension and under medical follow-up and categorize them into two groups. The participants of the intervention group will use the platform as a monitoring method, whereas the participants of the control group will use conventional methods. In both groups, we will assess and compare the evolution of blood pressure and treatment adherence before, during, and after the intervention. RESULTS: The project was funded at the end of 2018. We have been developing the software since 2019 with plans to complete it in 2020, and we will enroll patients between 2020 and 2021. We expect to submit the first results for publication in 2020. CONCLUSIONS: For the primary outcome, we expect a reduction and stabilization of blood pressure. For the secondary outcomes, we hope to see improvements in treatment adherence, physical activities and dietary practices, and acceptance of the eHealth platform. In public health, the technology that favors disease control also helps reduce complications and, consequently, treatment costs. The platform might encourage the adaptation of medical assistance to incorporate this technology into patient monitoring. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): PRR1-10.2196/15299.
RESUMO
BACKGROUND: The increasing number of diabetes mellitus (DM) m-health applications (apps) reveals a panorama of different approaches to the subject, demonstrating dynamism and heterogeneity. Available applications have various functions, capabilities, and data collection techniques. OBJECTIVE: We systematically reviewed the literature to identify and analyze studies regarding the diversity of applications aimed at DM monitoring and treatment. We aimed to investigate app functionalities, the basis for their design, and how they were tested. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a systematic literature review in Association for Computing Machinery (ACM), Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), ScienceDirect, Springer, and Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE) databases. The search considered studies published until April 2017, without language restrictions. RESULTS: After removal of duplicates, 679 studies were screened and assessed for eligibility, when 39 studies met the inclusion criteria. We present tables summarizing the functionalities, features, fundamental techniques, and methods. CONCLUSIONS: There is a variety of approaches used in the DM apps, with comprehensive, customizable, and adjusted functionalities for different purposes. Most apps are digital logbooks for collecting data on various daily tasks from DM treatment. The researchers are interested in guidelines of medical organizations, evaluations from health professionals and patients, and other methods to verify accuracy and reliability.
