Recent rapid advances in technology have provided us with a golden opportunity to effect change in health-related outcomes for chronic disease by employing digital technologies to encourage and support behavior change to promote and maintain health. Behavior change theories are the bedrock to developing evidence-based mHealth interventions. Digital technologies enable researchers to empirically test behavioral theories in “real-world” contexts using behavior change techniques (Hekler, Michie, et al., 2016). According to the European Commission (2014) among the world’s population of 7 billion, there are over 5 billion mobile devices and over 90% of the users have their mobile device near them 24 hr a day. This provides a huge opportunity for behavior change and one that health psychologists have already begun to address. However, while a novel and exciting area of research, many early studies have been criticized for lacking a strong evidence base in both design and implementation. The European Commission conducted a public consultation in 2016 on the issues surrounding the use of mHealth tools (e.g., apps) and found a lack of global standards was a significant barrier. Recently, the World Health Organization (WHO) mHealth Technical Evidence Review Group developed the mHealth evidence reporting and assessment (mERA) checklist for specifying the content of mHealth interventions. Health psychologists play a key role in developing mHealth interventions, particularly in the management of chronic disease. This article discusses current challenges facing widespread integration of mobile technology into self-management of chronic disease including issues around security and regulation, as well as investigating mechanisms to overcoming these barriers.

中文翻译：

---

将行为科学与移动（mHealth）技术相集成，以优化健康行为改变干预措施

技术的最新飞速发展为我们提供了千载难逢的机会，通过采用数字技术鼓励和支持改变行为以促进和维持健康，从而实现了与慢性病健康相关的结果的改变。行为改变理论是发展基于证据的移动医疗干预的基础。数字技术使研究人员能够使用行为改变技术对“现实世界”环境中的行为理论进行经验测试（Hekler，Michie等，2016）。根据欧洲委员会（2014），在全球70亿人口中，有超过50亿移动设备，超过90％的用户每天24小时都在附近使用移动设备。这为改变行为提供了巨大的机会，而健康心理学家已经开始着手解决这一问题。然而，尽管这是一个新颖而令人兴奋的研究领域，但许多早期研究因在设计和实现方面都缺乏强有力的证据基础而受到批评。欧盟委员会于2016年就有关使用mHealth工具（例如应用程序）的问题进行了公众咨询，并发现缺乏全球标准是一个重大障碍。最近，世界卫生组织（WHO）的mHealth技术证据审查小组制定了mHealth证据报告和评估（mERA）清单，以指定mHealth干预措施的内容。健康心理学家在制定mHealth干预措施（尤其是在慢性疾病的管理）中起着关键作用。