A study published in the Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice found that mobile health tools, particularly apps, were a useful way to engage older, diverse, low-income women in California. The goal of the study was to assess the attitudes of these women toward mHealth tools for breast risk assessments, and the results were consistent with other work suggesting that diverse populations have positive attitudes toward mHealth tools.
The researchers administered an educational questionnaire about breast health on an iPad to a group of women aged 45 to 79 in English and Spanish, depending on the user’s primary language. Many of the participants thought it was beneficial for them to learn how to use touchscreen devices and engaged with the app that way as well, according to the study.
The researchers noted the concern that as healthcare becomes more reliant on digital tools, it may leave behind low-income individuals who cannot afford the tools. The primarily Spanish-speaking participants had hesitations about mHealth tools becoming a standard of care, according to the study.
“The finding that women in our study preferred the mHealth app over paper is encouraging given the relatively low cost and wide accessibility of mobile technology that contribute to its popularity among minority populations,” the researchers wrote. “Designing mHealth tools that are appropriate for diverse, low-income, older populations will broaden approaches to reach out to underserved communities and decrease inequalities in care.”
