A text a day...

摘要

What impact can mobile phones have on their users' health? Many people worry about the supposed ill effects caused by radiation from handsets and base stations, despite the lack of credible evidence of any harm. But evidence for the beneficial effects of mobile phones on health is rather more abundant. Indeed, a systematic review carried out by Rifat Atun and his colleagues at Imperial College, London, rounds up 150 examples of the use of text-messaging in the delivery of health care. These uses fall into three categories: efficiency gains; public-health gains; and direct benefits to patients by incorporating text-messaging into treatment regimes. The study, funded by Vodafone, the world's largest mobile operator, was published this week.