Your Health: There’s an App for That
Despite the insistence of some celebrities and “crunchy” moms educated at “the University of Google,” the internet should never be your doctor. However, while technology should never replace advice from your physician, mobile apps give users the opportunity to take charge of their health and care in an unprecedented way. This field, referred to as “mHealth,” is a way for the public health community to disseminate health messages to consumers while empowering them to make better choices about their own well-being. This article features a selection of apps targeting specific health categories that have been vetted and recommended by public health agencies and/or physicians. All apps listed here are available for both iOS and Android and, unless otherwise noted*, are free.
By far, the largest app category with the widest variety of apps to choose from is diet and exercise. For example, FitBit and Fitocracy allow users to track both diet and exercise, while diet-focused apps like Food Journal and Calorie Counter give users control of what and how much they eat. There are countless apps on all platforms for specific activities and goals, including weight loss, weight training, running, and yoga. One of the most exciting things for health professionals is the growing number of health promotion and disease prevention apps. Several national health agencies offer vaccine schedule apps (e.g., ImmunizeCA or Vaccine Schedules), and apps such as Smoke Free can help smokers quit.
Pregnancy and child health apps can ease common anxieties among expecting and new parents by providing them with lots of useful information and health tracking tools. BabyBump and Pregnancy Tracker are specifically targeted for pregnancy, while My Baby Today and Kid’s Wellness Tracker provide tools for parents to manage their children’s health.
Often an overlooked area of health and wellness, the number of apps for mental health is slowly growing. MoodTools, for example, helps users to track and manage their moods, while more specific tools like Just in Case and StopSelfHarm* are designed for specific mental health issues. Additionally, the discretion of smartphones is a fantastic benefit to sexual health apps, allowing users to access information and help make decisions that they might not be comfortable discussing with others. SexPositive and My Sex Doctor provide a variety of sexual health and STD information, while Ovuview allows women to track their menstrual cycles and fertility.
Finally, getting health information when traveling abroad can be challenging, but there are now several apps that allow travelers to get information about food safety (Can I Eat This?), and general health (Yellow Book), and disease information (Outbreaks Near Me) while they indulge their wanderlust.
For more information:
UK’s NHS Health Apps Library: http://apps.nhs.uk/
US CDC Mobile Activities: http://www.cdc.gov/mobile/mobileapp.html
Jessica Keralis has a Master of Public Health and four years of experience in the field of public health. She is currently working as an epidemiologist. All views expressed here are her own and not those of any employer.