NIH program targets mHealth research
The National Institutes of Health's Fogarty International Center has launched a program that aims to further development of mobile technology and research into how it can be used to improve health, especially in low-resource countries.
The new initiative, Mobile Health: Technology and Outcomes in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs), aims to support multidisciplinary teams to research possible new mHealth tools or interventions either for chronic diseases or for other health issues.
The request for applications encourages research projects that focus on the adaptation, optimization and evaluation of mHealth tools or interventions to prevent, diagnose, manage and treat chronic diseases. Proposals may also involve adapting or evaluating crosscutting mHealth applications that are not disease-specific.
Since mHealth involves many different areas of expertise, the program encourages collaborations among researchers in fields such as behavioral science, engineering, computer science, business, medicine and public health, according to an announcement. Fogarty will fund relevant research training, career development, mentoring and technology transfer.
The first deadline for applications is Feb. 19.
Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.