Technology, if not used wisely, can have a problematic effect. However, one group at CAHNR is collaborating with those in other disciplines to find ways that mobile communication devices can help people improve their health, such as in losing weight and reducing the risk of cancer.
Maximizing mHealth at UConn
A general term for the use of mobile phones and other wireless technology in health care is called mobile health or mHealth, for short. UConn’s efforts are conducted in the Center for mHealth and Social Media.
The Center’s director, Professor Sherry Pagoto, says that the Center has core missions of interdisciplinary research methodology, technology and training. Various experts from UConn and off campus, such as engineers, behavioral scientists, physicians and computer scientists, “collaborate to tackle health problems from different angles,” Pagoto said. The Center also provides expertise in grant writing and creating collaborations.
Pagoto is the principal investigator or co-investigator for numerous ongoing grants and is on the faculty of the Department of Allied Health Sciences (AHS). As part of an mHealth research group, she works on understanding how to use technology tools in weight loss and cancer prevention, specifically.
