Towards a Model of Big Health Care Data Analytics in Panama: Chronic Kidney Disease

BACKGROUND: A growing number of mobile applications have been designed for the chronic disease patient as the primary user. Mobile health applications for self-care have the potential to help patients living with chronic conditions such as kidney disease, and can be used to manage aspects such as the consumption of substances that are harmful to health. Chronic kidney disease causes significant morbidity throughout Panama, and is also responsible for an increase in cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: In this paper, we present a review of the applications offered by the Android store, based on a search and selection of the most efficient options that fulfill a set of criteria and functionalities. METHODS: We evaluate a big health data model in terms of its usefulness for studies, research and projections of Panamanian patients with this chronic disease. RESULTS AND DISCUSION: We present a mobile application based on the most important standards and functionalities for the Panamanian population affected by this disease. Our analysis also highlights the importance of mobile applications for the self-care of chronic diseases and their usefulness to both patients and health care providers, since they can support better health habits and give good results in terms of following a diet, promoting a healthy lifestyle, and encouraging physical activity. The analysis presented here will form the basis for the development of an application that will be simple, user-friendly and powerful, in the sense that it will empower patients with the resources they need for self-care. . CONCLUSION: Mobile applications are found to show promise for the self-care of chronic conditions, and can improve the quality of life of Panamanian patients. In addition, we intend to develop a data repository for scientific research within Central America.