ABSTRACT
The developing countries are struggling to provide adequate health care to the needy people, especially in the rural areas. Availability of accessible and quality health-care services has been the key challenges in the developing world. mHealth technology is considered to be the fastest-growing phenomena in health care and represents anew growing area within the Arab world (Pillai, 2012). Eighty percent of rural areas in the developing world have access to the mobile networks (Kaplan, 2006; Donner, 2008; Jeannine, 2011). Although mHealth is still in its early stages of development, it has already started to transform health-care delivery due mainly to the success of mHealth applications and programs
CONTENTS
27.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................485 27.2Need for mHealth in the Developing World ................................................................486 27.3mHealth in Saudi Arabia ................................................................................................ 489 27.4 Examples of mHealth Applications in the Developing World .................................. 490
27.4.1 Diagnostic Treatment and Support Services .................................................... 490 27.4.2 Health Education and Awareness Services ...................................................... 491 27.4.3Data Collection and Remote Monitoring Services .......................................... 491 27.4.4Disease Surveillance and Drug Adherence Services ...................................... 492 27.4.5 Health Information Systems and Point of Care Services ............................... 492 27.4.6 Emergency Medical Services .............................................................................. 493
27.5 Examples of mHealth Applications in the Arab World .............................................. 493 27.6mHealth Challenges in the Developing World ............................................................ 495 27.7mHealth Solutions and Recommendations for the Developing World .................... 497 27.8 Case Studies ......................................................................................................................500