Description

Amidst this rapid explosion of interest in mHealth there is absent a clear definition of the concept and its domain. We review the extant definitions of the term and present an ontology of mHealth to articulate its combinatorial complexity. The ontology parsimoniously encapsulates the logic of mHealth. It moves away from technology-based conceptualizations to a systemic one. It can be used to articulate the components and fragments which constitute mHealth using structured natural English sentences and phrases. It serves as a multi-disciplinary lens to study the topic drawing upon concepts from information systems, knowledge management, healthcare policy, and healthcare information technology. The ontology can be used to systematically map the state-of-the-research and the state-of-the-practice in mHealth, discover the gaps in research and between research and practice, and formulate a strategy to bridge the gaps.

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An Ontology of mHealth

Amidst this rapid explosion of interest in mHealth there is absent a clear definition of the concept and its domain. We review the extant definitions of the term and present an ontology of mHealth to articulate its combinatorial complexity. The ontology parsimoniously encapsulates the logic of mHealth. It moves away from technology-based conceptualizations to a systemic one. It can be used to articulate the components and fragments which constitute mHealth using structured natural English sentences and phrases. It serves as a multi-disciplinary lens to study the topic drawing upon concepts from information systems, knowledge management, healthcare policy, and healthcare information technology. The ontology can be used to systematically map the state-of-the-research and the state-of-the-practice in mHealth, discover the gaps in research and between research and practice, and formulate a strategy to bridge the gaps.