Mobile Health (mHealth) Technology: Assessment of Availability, Acceptability, and Use in CKD.

Digital and mobile health (mHealth) technologies improve patient-provider communication and increase information accessibility. We assessed the use of technology, attitudes toward using mHealth technologies, and proficiency in using mHealth technologies among individuals with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Cross-sectional survey with open text responses. Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study participants who completed current use and interest in using mHealth technologies questionnaires and the eHealth literacy Survey (eHEALS). Participant characteristics. Use of technology (ie, internet, email, smartphone, and mHealth applications [apps]), interest in future mHealth use, and proficiency in using digital and mHealth technologies, or eHealth literacy, determined by eHEALS score. Poisson regression and a qualitative content analysis of open-ended responses. Study participants (n = 932) had a mean age of 68 years old and an estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) of 54 mL/min/1.73 m Residual confounding, ascertainment bias. Many individuals with CKD currently use the internet and smartphones and are interested in using mHealth in the future, but few use mHealth apps or have adequate eHealth literacy. mHealth technologies present an opportunity to engage individuals with CKD, especially members of racial or ethnic minority groups because those groups reported greater interest in using mHealth technology than the nonminority population. Further research is needed to identify strategies to overcome inadequate eHealth literacy.

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Copyright © 2020 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.