mHealth: Technology for nursing practice, education, and research

Mobile health (mHealth) is a rapidly growing field providing the potential to enhance patient education, prevent disease, enhance diagnostics, improve treatment, lower health care costs and increase access to health care services, and advance evidence-based research. For the field of nursing the potential capabilities of mHealth are not only for patient care but for delivery of nursing education to our future practicing nurses, providing a means of communication between healthcare professionals located close and at greater geographic distances, and provides access to information and personal monitoring for geographically isolated clients. Although mHealth capabilities’ value appears significant for training, and practice, there remains a significant need for research and evaluation of the devices that now appearing in the health care marketplace. The National Institute of Nursing Research’s strategic plan includes supporting research to develop and test the flood of health apps to assist clients in the management of their health. The purposes of this paper are to: 1) discuss the importance of mHealth in nursing practice, education, and research, and 2) describe the mHealth initiatives underway at the University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing as exemplars to stimulate mHealth research and promote nursing role in providing health care to patients in this age of information technology.