EHIMIAGHE JOY AIMALOHI

This study was carried out to assess the use of mobile apps for health communication in the University of Benin Teaching Hospital. Questionnaire was used to gather data from 100 healthcare professionals and patients at UBTH. The study which adopted the survey research method was anchored on the Diffusion of Innovation Theory and the Health Belief Model (HBM). Findings of the study revealed that the level at which healthcare professionals and patients of UBTH are exposed to mHealth applications is high. The findings also indicated that mHealth apps enhance communication between patients and healthcare providers, although respondents revealed that they rarely use these apps. This was indicated to be so because respondents prefer to communicate directly over using mHealth apps due to concerns about data security and cultural preferences for in-person consultation. Based on the findings, the researcher concluded that mHealth applications have not been successfully put to regular use in the hospital. The researcher therefore recommended among other things that the government should establish and execute policies at the health policy stage that would make the use of mobile applications a key aspect of healthcare delivery in the nation’s healthcare system. The researcher also recommended that developers of mHealth apps need to implement robust security data measures.