Improvements in health by consultations using mobile videophones among participants in a community health promotion programme

Abstract

We conducted a health promotion programme using mobile videophones and examined changes in the participants' health conditions, health practices and their subjective sense of health. The subjects were volunteers (mean age, 59 years) recruited from a community-based health promotion group. A focus group interview was conducted to evaluate the quality of the programme. All subjects expressed concerns about lifestyle-related diseases. The subjects participated in group activities at least twice a month under the supervision of public health professionals. Six of them participated in mobile care in addition to group activities (mobile care group) and the other eight subjects (control group) participated in the regular group activities. Three consecutive health examinations were carried out at intervals of 12 weeks. There were significant reductions in low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (P = 0.01) and health locus of control internal score (P = 0.05) in the mobile care group. The subjects who used mobile phones were highly accepting of the use of the device for further health consultations. There is potential for wider application of mobile videophones in health promotion programmes for people who have concerns about lifestyle-related diseases and are seeking healthier lifestyles.