mHealth: Smart Wearable Devices and the Challenges of a Refractory Context

Abstract

The development of smart wearable devices has strengthened a new area: mHealth. This is characterized by the use of mobile technologies for the diagnosis, monitoring, and intervention of health conditions. When inserted into the wider universe comprising the Internet of Things, mHealth solutions emerge with real-world applications. The myriad of mHealth-based applications already draws a scenario in which these new technologies will be responsible for changing the current logic of healthcare delivery. Nevertheless, there are numerous challenges for mHealth before its full potential can be realized. The Brazilian context is marked by peculiarities regarding the challenges for the dissemination of mHealth. There are few professionals, resistance to adopting new health technologies, an inexistent regulatory framework, regional inequalities, the absence of guidelines for protecting personal data, and difficulty associated with communication networks. Such aspects are discussed throughout this work together with components relating to the current status of development linked to mHealth.