Apr 26, 2015 01:41 AM EDT By Staff Reporter, UniversityHerald Reporter

A new app could make it easier for women to access their breast cancer risk and prevent it, according to a recent study.

Researchers at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth found that older and low income women found mHealth, a mobile health app on a tablet, easy to use and acceptable. For the study, they interviewed women at a breast-imaging center in an urban safety net institution before and after they used the mobile health app.

"Studies such as this are critical to understand how mHealth tools can be used effectively in diverse, low-income populations," researcher Elissa Ozanne said in a statement. "We need to design all tools, and particularly novel tools such as mHealth tools, with these populations in mind in order to ensure equitable access. This study identifies some of the barriers and benefits of using an mHealth tool in this low-income, diverse population."

Ozanne's work reports that 11 of the 15 women, between the ages of 45 and 79 years old, interviewed before and after using the mHealth tool preferred it to a paper tool and found it easy to use. Variations in opinions are discussed for women with limited mobile phone experience, and for women whose first language is Spanish. Many suggested it is essential that staff be available to explain the mHealth tool and troubleshoot any problems.

"In general, we found this population preferred using an mHealth app to a paper format," Ozanne explained. "They found it more enjoyable than the paper format, easy to use, and were able to learn how to use it quickly."

Looking forward, Ozanne continues to examine the validity and reliability of data collected using mHealth tools in this population to ensure that the methods can be used effectively in clinical settings.

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