Designing evaluation plans for health promotion mHealth interventions: a case study of the <i>Milk Man</i> mobile app

White, Becky K; Burns, Sharyn; Giglia, Roslyn; Jordan, Scott

doi:10.1071/he16041

Cited by 33 publications

(34 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…The third cluster comprises 7 papers [54-59,61] discussing 6 interventions that facilitate communication between peers and professionals. Of the systems, 3 [55-57] provided tele-lactation consultations via video conference for mothers with limited access to maternal care.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information and Communication Systems to Tackle Barriers to Breastfeeding: Systematic Search and Review

Tang¹,

Gerling²,

Chen³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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BackgroundBreastfeeding has many benefits for newborns, mothers, and the wider society. The World Health Organization recommends mothers to feed newborns exclusively with breastmilk for the first 6 months after birth, but breastfeeding rates in many countries fail to align with the recommendations because of various barriers. Breastfeeding success is associated with a number of determinants, such as self-efficacy, intention to breastfeed, and attitudes toward breastfeeding. Information and communication technology (ICT) has been leveraged to support breastfeeding by means of improving knowledge or providing practical supports in different maternal stages. Previous reviews have examined and summarized the effectiveness and credibility of interventions; however, no review has been done from a human-computer interaction perspective that is concerned with novel interaction techniques and the perspective of end users.ObjectiveThe objective of this review was to provide a comprehensive overview of existing digital interventions that support breastfeeding by investigating systems’ objective, technology design, validation process, and quality attributes, both in terms of clinical parameters as well as usability and user experience.MethodsA systematic search was conducted in accordance with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines in the following libraries: PubMed, Science Direct, Association for Computing Machinery Digital Library (ACM Digital Library), and Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Xplore (IEEE Xplore).ResultsA total of 35 papers discussing 30 interventions were included. The main goals of these interventions were organized into 4 categories: breastfeeding education (n=12), breastfeeding promotion (n=8), communication support (n=6), and daily practical support (n=4). Of the interventions, 13 target mothers in the postnatal period. Most interventions come in forms of client communication systems (n=18), which frequently leverage Web technologies, text message, and mobile apps to provide breastfeeding support. Systems predominantly focus on mothers; validation strategies were rather heterogeneous, with 12 user studies concerning usability and user experience and 18 clinical validation studies focusing on the effects of the interventions on breastfeeding determinants; 5 papers did not report results. Generally, straightforward systems (eg, communication tools or Web-based solutions) seem to be more effective than complex interventions (eg, games).ConclusionsExisting information and communication systems offer effective means of improving breastfeeding outcomes, but they do not address all relevant periods in parenthood (eg, the antenatal period) and often do not involve important stakeholders, such as partners. There is an opportunity to leverage more complex technical systems to open up avenues for the broader design of ICT to support breastfeeding; however, considering evaluation outcomes of existing support systems of higher complexity, such systems need to be...

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Information and Communication Systems to Tackle Barriers to Breastfeeding: Systematic Search and Review

Tang¹,

Gerling²,

Chen³

et al. 2019

J Med Internet Res

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show abstract

“…Process evaluation describes the implementation of an intervention and seeks to understand how the study functioned and how participants reacted [40]. A comprehensive evaluation plan was developed for the study that has been described previously [41]. On the basis of a framework developed by O’Grady et al [42], the evaluation plan outlined evaluation indicators over 5 distinct focus areas: people, content, technology, computer-mediated technology, and health system integration .…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gamifying Breastfeeding for Fathers: Process Evaluation of the Milk Man Mobile App

White¹,

Giglia²,

White³

et al. 2019

JMIR Pediatr Parent

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Background Mobile technology offers unique opportunities to reach people with health promotion interventions. Breastfeeding is an important public health issue, and fathers are a key support. Milk Man is a father-focused breastfeeding app that sought to engage fathers with information and conversation about breastfeeding, with the goal to impact positively on breastfeeding duration. Objective The study aimed to describe the process evaluation of the Milk Man app that was trialed in the Parent Infant Feeding Initiative randomized controlled trial. Methods The app used an information library, gamification, push notifications, and social connectivity via a Web-based conversation forum, which included polls and conversation starters, to engage fathers with breastfeeding information. Fathers had access to the app from approximately 32 weeks of gestation to 6 months postpartum. Process evaluation data were collected from a self-completed questionnaire administered via a Web-based link sent to participants at 6 weeks postpartum, and app analytics data were collected directly from the app. Quantitative data from both sources and qualitative responses to open-ended questions were used to triangulate findings to investigate patterns of usage and the effectiveness of each app engagement strategy to motivate and engage users. Results A total of 80.3% (586/730) of participants, who were randomized to receive the app, downloaded Milk Man. Push notifications and interest in what other fathers had posted in the forum were the 2 main motivators to app use. Fathers used the app most while their partners were still pregnant and in the weeks immediately after the birth of their baby. Perspectives on the gamification strategy were varied. However, at 6 weeks postpartum, approximately one-third of fathers still using the app said that the gamification elements were encouraging the app use. The ease of use of the app and the design were important elements that were rated positively. The conversation forum emerged as the hub of app activity; all but 1 of the most accessed library articles and external organization links had been prompted as part of a conversation starter. Fathers posted comments in the conversation forum 1126 times (average of 2.21 per user) and voted in polls 3096 times (average of 6 per user). Conclusions These results demonstrate that the Milk Man app was an acceptable source of breastfeeding information and support that fathers and fathers-to-be are prepared to use throughout the perinatal period. The app showed encouraging results with facilitating conversation between partners. The conversation forum was clearly central to the success of the app, and fathers provided suggestions for improvement. Gamification results were varied, yet it was a key motivator for some users. These results provide valuable insight into the acceptability of the engagement strategies, including motivations ...

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“…Other studies have focused on promoting exclusive breastfeeding through fathers [ 97 , 98 , 99 ]. Mobile applications have also been developed in other countries such as Thailand [ 92 ] and the United States [ 100 , 101 , 102 ], which have focused on the feasibility and acceptability of the mobile application, though more studies on their effectiveness are needed [ 103 , 104 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Improving Breastfeeding by Empowering Mothers in Vietnam: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Mobile App

Duong

Binns

Pham

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Breastfeeding provides benefits to the infant and mother; however, the rates of breastfeeding, particularly exclusive breastfeeding, remain below optimal levels in many Asian countries. The aim of this study is to review the benefits of breastfeeding to mothers and infants and current rates of breastfeeding in Vietnam, and to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile application on exclusive breastfeeding among mothers in Vietnam. A two-arm, parallel triple-blinded randomised controlled trial will be conducted among 1000 mothers in Hanoi City, Vietnam, during 2020–2021. Eligible participants are pregnant women who will seek antenatal care from health facilities at 24–36 weeks of gestation and plan to deliver at two participating hospitals, own a smartphone, and carry a singleton foetus. Permuted-block randomisation method stratified by maternal age, education and parity will be used to ensure an equal number of participants in each group. A smartphone app will be developed to deliver breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding information to the intervention and control group, respectively. Data will be collected at baseline, before hospital discharge, and at 1, 4, and 6 months postpartum. This study envisages demonstrating whether a smartphone-based intervention can be effective at improving breastfeeding in Vietnam. Trials registration: ACTRN12619000531112.

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Designing evaluation plans for health promotion mHealth interventions: a case study of the Milk Man mobile app

Cited by 33 publications

References 22 publications

Information and Communication Systems to Tackle Barriers to Breastfeeding: Systematic Search and Review

Information and Communication Systems to Tackle Barriers to Breastfeeding: Systematic Search and Review

Gamifying Breastfeeding for Fathers: Process Evaluation of the Milk Man Mobile App

Improving Breastfeeding by Empowering Mothers in Vietnam: A Randomised Controlled Trial of a Mobile App

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