Educational Mobile Health Applications That Emerged During 2020-2022 In Colombia

Authors

Keywords:

telehealth, mobile apps, information technology, eHealth, mHealth, Colombia.

Abstract

Introduction: The technological advances of eHealth and mHealth, through electronic devices, facilitate the development of applications on digital distribution platforms and allow the updating of users' knowledge around the world.

Objective: To characterize the number of mobile health applications that emerged during COVID-19 pandemic in Colombia.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out on health-related educational mobile applications during the 2020-2022 period, which were found on the “Apps de Colombia” platform, linked to the Google Play Store and Apple Store.

Results: Seventy-six apps related to “medicine” and “health and well-being” were found, 13 of them met the inclusion criteria. They were grouped into categories and subcategories according to the services offered, the group they were aimed at and the perception of the users. Care and health applications stood out, those intended for people with chronic diseases and those that were rated as good. In Colombia the creation of applications is free and the contents are governed by commercial interests. Regarding health, they focus on the prevention of COVID-19 to generate changes in lifestyle. However, there is a risk of accessing incorrect information without scientific evidence.

Conclusions: In Colombia, mHealth applications were developed aimed at user education and aimed at the general public, but there are no laws that regulate the information offered.

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Author Biographies

Nelsys Lourdes Fuentes Pacheco, Universidad de La Sabana, Facultad de Medicina

Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia)

Erwin Hernando Hernández Rincón, Universidad de La Sabana, Facultad de Medicina, Departamento de Medicina Familiar y Salud Pública.

Médico, Máster en 1. Investigación en Atención Primaria, 2. Gobierno y Dirección Sanitaria, Doctor en Investigación Clínica.

Profesor del Departamento de Medicina Familiar y Salud Pública de la Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Sabana.

Coordinador Académico del Nodo Centro - Colombia, del Campus Virtual de Salud Pública de la OPS/OMS.

Samuel David Barbosa Ardila, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya

Médico, Máster en Salud Pública

Candidato a Máster en e-health, Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. (España)

Andrés Cadavid Dávila, Universidad de La Sabana, Facultad de Medicina

Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de La Sabana (Colombia)

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Published

2023-12-18

How to Cite

1.
Fuentes Pacheco NL, Hernández Rincón EH, Barbosa Ardila SD, Cadavid Dávila A. Educational Mobile Health Applications That Emerged During 2020-2022 In Colombia. Rev. cuba. inf. cienc. salud [Internet]. 2023 Dec. 18 [cited 2025 Mar. 15];34. Available from: https://acimed.sld.cu/index.php/acimed/article/view/2328

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