A Smart and Multifaceted Mobile Health System for Delivering Evidence-Based Secondary Prevention of Stroke in Rural...

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Public Health
• Stroke Medicine

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) technologies offer potential for high-quality healthcare delivery.
• Limited research exists on mHealth applications for stroke care in resource-limited rural areas.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and develop an mHealth system for primary healthcare providers.
• To assess the feasibility of this mHealth system in supporting stroke secondary prevention (SINEMA service) in rural China.

Main Methods:

• Iterative co-design involving multidisciplinary experts and end-user needs assessment.
• Development of a user-centered mHealth system with 7 functional modules.
• Pilot testing and a cluster-randomized controlled trial involving 25 village doctors managing 637 stroke patients.

Main Results:

• Village doctors identified needs for training and support, showing interest in mHealth tools.
• The mHealth system was utilized by 25 village doctors for stroke patient management.
• High satisfaction (71%) and continued use intention (92%) reported by village doctors.

Conclusions:

• The mHealth system is feasible for enhancing stroke secondary prevention by primary care providers in rural China.
• Scaling up the SINEMA approach and mHealth system can improve stroke care quality and accessibility in underserved regions.