Exploring mHealth as a new route to bridging the nursing theory-practice gap

The purpose of this article is to evaluate mHealth as a tool for research and development of nursing theories. Mobile health (mHealth) is one of the most promising new advances in health care technology. mHealth is defined as the use of mobile technology in the provision of health care delivery or health promotion (Qiang, Yamamichi, Hausman, & Altman, 2011). The need for innovative and effective interventions for the prevention and management of chronic illness is evident. The use of mHealth interventions in the treatment and monitoring of chronic illness is still young but shows great promise. Currently, the public health and psychological sciences are using their theories to guide interventional studies by operationalizing concepts through mHealth's multifaceted capabilities for patient interaction. Outcomes measures from chronic illness-mHealth studies are thematically evaluated by using theoretical nursing outcome-related concepts of Meleis's transitions theory and Mishel's uncertainty in illness theory. Despite a small sample of articles, there are strong themes of activation and engagement within this literature review. The application of nursing theory in mHealth offers a new method to operationalize theoretical concepts, test theory-based interventions, and gain new contextual insight into the health-illness patient experience.