The Double Burden

soma

Public health professional in the Washington, DC area.

The World Health Organizations’ (WHO) World Health Statistics 2011, which details the state of global health by examining key indicators and trends, noted that chronic diseases*, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes, now make up two-thirds of all deaths worldwide. Globalization has led to higher rates of obesity and smoking in developing countries. In addition, factors such as an increasing senior population have led to higher rates of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other chronic diseases.

However, many low- and middle-income countries are still battling infectious diseases and skyrocketing rates of maternal mortality. Countries with high levels of economic inequality are particularly prone to suffer from the double burden of infectious and chronic diseases.

Those in the higher economic strata tend to have longer life expectancies, better access to health care, and the benefits of technological advances. Unfortunately, this may also translate to higher consumption of high-calorie foods, sedentary lifestyles, alcohol abuse and tobacco usage, and other risk factors for chronic diseases.

Those in the lower economic strata may still face unsanitary water, poor access to quality health care, and hazardous living situations. This poses a systemic burden on a nation’s health systems and even health policy.

Chronic diseases cause countries to lose billions of dollars a year from direct and indirect costs. Undoubtedly, infectious diseases cause lives to be cut short and preventable illnesses to devastate entire communities. The health care workforce that is often already sparse may not be able to address the burden from all angles, leading to a capacity building opportunity. There is no one lens through which countries, governments, non-profits, and multilateral agencies can look at global health: infectious and chronic diseases must be tackled smartly, simultaneously, and quickly.

mHealth offers a wide range of functions that can be used by health service providers to strengthen the overall health system, an integral method for reducing morbidities and mortalities caused by infectious and chronic diseases. Vital registration systems and sound disease surveillance can quickly identify points of weakness within a health system and direct funding for better resource allocation. Mobile phone applications for personal health care management can allow individuals to monitor their own vital signs and promote healthier lifestyles. Since mobile devices penetrate all income strata, mHealth has the unique potential to better health outcomes across the board and alleviate the burden on overall health systems.

The non-communicable disease space on HUB will bring together those working on or interested in mHealth for NCDs. By discussing critical issues specific to NCDs, we can come up with solutions to not only improve health outcomes worldwide, but also to alleviate the double burden on health systems in low- and middle-income countries.

If you’re interested in NCDs in the mHealth space and would like to write about it for HUB or spotlight your project, let us know! Send an email about you and your interests to info@mhealthalliance.org.

* Chronic diseases describe all conditions that require chronic care management. Although this includes all non-communicable diseases (NCDs), there are diseases with infectious causes that fall under the chronic disease category, such as HIV/AIDS.