Mobile health for cardiovascular care in Africa: review

Mobile health, or mHealth, is the subject of a new scoping review led by Dr E Sintieh Nchinda Ngek, founder of SHINE. Heart, the cardiovascular journal of the BMJ group, published it online in July 2025 and in print in volume 112, issue 2. He wrote it with Guisilla Dedino and Cervantée Wild, and it stems from his work at the University of Oxford.

What the mobile health review found

The authors searched peer-reviewed and grey literature from 2013 to 2025 for mobile health interventions in cardiovascular event care in Africa. Twenty-six studies met the criteria. Most came from Eastern and Western Africa. Twenty addressed stroke care and five addressed myocardial infarction. Moreover, most concerned care after the event rather than prevention.

Dr E Sintieh Nchinda Ngek, lead author of the mobile health review

Smartphone applications (11 studies) and SMS or telephone interventions (7 studies) were the most common technologies. One study used artificial intelligence to screen for arrhythmia. Positive outcomes were common. However, the review also found consistent barriers: health-system constraints, low digital literacy and cost.

Why the mobile health review matters for SHINE

The review speaks directly to two SHINE programmes. First, the NCD Cameroon programme follows up people at risk by telephone and through the MedAccess app. Second, MedAccess itself is the kind of mobile health intervention the review examines. Therefore the barriers it identifies are design constraints for both. Read more on the MedAccess page.

Reference for the mobile health review

Ekongefeyin S N N, Dedino G, Wild C. Mapping the evidence on mHealth interventions for cardiovascular event care in Africa: a scoping review. Heart 2026;112(2):65-74. doi:10.1136/heartjnl-2025-325992.

How to reach us

You can write to info@shineltd.org at any time. Alternatively, call +237 680 338 598 during office hours, Monday to Friday. We reply within two working days. In addition, partnership and funding enquiries go to partner@shineltd.org, so that the right person answers. Questions about mobile health are welcome.

For example, the publications library lists peer-reviewed work by year and topic. Similarly, the programmes page describes current field programmes and courses. Finally, news and insight carries announcements and programme notes from SHINE and its divisions.

A note on our standards

First, every study has a written protocol and ethical approval before data collection. Second, we report results to the partner as well as to a journal. Third, testimonials appear only with the person’s consent. As a result, partners can rely on what SHINE publishes, and readers can check every claim against its source.