Efficacy of mobile app-based training on health literacy among pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial study

Karamolahi, Parisa Farzi; Khalesi, Zahra Bostani; Niknami, Maryam

doi:10.1016/j.eurox.2021.100133

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 7 publications

(6 reference statements)

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“…In the past few years, the rapid growth and acceptance of mobile health (mHealth) applications (apps) specifically designed to address women's health needs made significant progress in the area of reproductive and pregnancy health literacy [45,46]. Female health apps are often perceived as helpful by their users, as they provide easy to access information that helps them feel more knowledgeable and supported [47,48].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of self-reported improvements in education and health among users of Flo period tracking app: cross-sectional survey

Zhaunova¹,

Bamford²,

Radović³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Introduction: Low health literacy among girls, women, and people who menstruate is associated with worse reproductive health outcomes. Mobile apps promise tools for improving women’s health literacy, however, there is little information about subscribers’ perceptions of app functionality and its impact on their knowledge and health. Objective: This study aimed to explore knowledge and health improvements related to menstrual cycle and pregnancy, as well as improvements in general health in Flo app users. We also investigated what components of the Flo app were associated with the above mentioned improvements, and evaluated whether those improvements differed based on education level, free or a premium subscription to the app, short or long term use of the app, and frequency of use. Methods: Flo subscribers who had been using the app for no less than 30 days completed an online survey. A total of 2214 of complete survey responses were collected. The survey included demographic questions, questions about motivations guiding usage of the Flo app, to what extent and what components of the app may have helped improve their knowledge and health (i.e., reproductive, sexual, physical, mental health, health behaviours, and communication with healthcare providers).Results: Most study participants reported menstrual cycle (89.0%) and pregnancy (84.6%) knowledge improvements from Flo app use. 62.3% of Flo users reported ‘period predictions’ and 72.2% reported ‘reading and/or watching articles and video sources in the app’ helped them feel the most informed about their cycle and pregnancy health. Higher educated, Flo Premium, frequent, and short term app users reported using the app mainly for getting pregnant and pregnancy tracking. Lower educated and long time users reported using the app to learn more about their body, sexual health, irregular cycles and related conditions, and to avoid pregnancy. Importantly, intended uses of the app for both lower and higher educated users matched areas in which they have gained knowledge and achieved their health goals upon the Flo app use. Flo Premium, frequent, and long term users were more likely to report improvements in knowledge and health in all areas they chose to use the app for and even beyond.Conclusion: There is a need to increase reproductive health literacy in the global female population. This study has shown that the use of the period tracking app, Flo, as self-reported by its users, improved their menstrual cycle and pregnancy knowledge and health. Additionally, more frequent, long-term, and Flo Premium users were more likely to report knowledge and health improvements across multiple health areas. Thus, the use of digital health apps, such as the Flo app, should be considered for integration into healthcare systems to increase women’s health literacy in the wider population.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Characterisation of self-reported improvements in education and health among users of Flo period tracking app: cross-sectional survey

Zhaunova¹,

Bamford²,

Radović³

et al. 2022

Preprint

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“…We did not include six studies [ 40 , 55 , 56 , 67 , 68 , 116 ] in Table 3 because the outcomes reported did not allow us to extract or calculate effect estimates. Among these studies, the results were contradictory, with two studies showing significant mHealth intervention effects on immunization rates Field [ 75 , 82 ], while four had no significant impact.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Impact of mHealth interventions on maternal, newborn, and child health from conception to 24 months postpartum in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Knop,

Nagashima-Hayashi,

Lin

et al. 2024

BMC Med

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Background Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have been harnessed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) to address the intricate challenges confronting maternal, newborn, and child health (MNCH). This review aspires to scrutinize the effectiveness of mHealth interventions on MNCH outcomes during the pivotal first 1000 days of life, encompassing the period from conception through pregnancy, childbirth, and post-delivery, up to the age of 2 years. Methods A comprehensive search was systematically conducted in May 2022 across databases, including PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase, Cumulative Index to Nursing & Allied Health (CINAHL), Web of Science, Scopus, PsycINFO, and Trip Pro, to unearth peer-reviewed articles published between 2000 and 2022. The inclusion criteria consisted of (i) mHealth interventions directed at MNCH; (ii) study designs, including randomized controlled trials (RCTs), RCT variations, quasi-experimental designs, controlled before-and-after studies, or interrupted time series studies); (iii) reports of outcomes pertinent to the first 1000 days concept; and (iv) inclusion of participants from LMICs. Each study was screened for quality in alignment with the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions and the Joanne Briggs Institute Critical Appraisal tools. The included articles were then analyzed and categorized into 12 mHealth functions and outcome domain categories (antenatal, delivery, and postnatal care), followed by forest plot comparisons of effect measures. Results From the initial pool of 7119 articles, we included 131 in this review, comprising 56 RCTs, 38 cluster-RCTs, and 37 quasi-experimental studies. Notably, 62% of these articles exhibited a moderate or high risk of bias. Promisingly, mHealth strategies, such as dispatching text message reminders to women and equipping healthcare providers with digital planning and scheduling tools, exhibited the capacity to augment antenatal clinic attendance and enhance the punctuality of child immunization. However, findings regarding facility-based delivery, child immunization attendance, and infant feeding practices were inconclusive. Conclusions This review suggests that mHealth interventions can improve antenatal care attendance and child immunization timeliness in LMICs. However, their impact on facility-based delivery and infant feeding practices varies. Nevertheless, the potential of mHealth to enhance MNCH services in resource-limited settings is promising. More context-specific implementation studies with rigorous evaluations are essential.

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“…The web-based application encompasses a knowledge-based learning experience [ 48 ] but no practical rehearsal in a natural environment, thus hindering potential learning and transfer effects. Although knowledge-based interventions can be effective in enhancing health literacy [ 49 ], health behavior change might only be possible if interventions are enriched with elements that target behavioral planning and enhancing self-efficacy [ 50 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Comparing the Effectiveness of a Web-Based Application With a Digital Live Seminar to Improve Safe Communication for Pregnant Women: 3-Group Partially Randomized Controlled Trial

Kötting

Keller

Lippke

2023

JMIR Pediatr Parent

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Background Medical internet interventions such as asynchronous apps and synchronous digital live seminars can be effective behavior change interventions. The research question of this study was whether digital interventions based on the Health Action Process Approach can improve pregnant women’s safe communication and patient safety in obstetric care. Objective This study aims to compare a digital live seminar with a web-based application intervention and a passive control group and to identify which social cognitive variables determine safe communication behavior and patient safety. Methods In total, 657 pregnant women were recruited, and hereof, 367 expectant mothers from 2 German university hospitals participated in the pre-post study (live seminar: n=142; web-based app: n=81; passive control group: n=144). All interventions targeted intention, planning, self-efficacy, and communication of personal preferences. The 2.5-hour midwife-assisted live seminar included exercises on empathy and clear communication. The fully automated web-based application consisted of 9 consecutive training lessons with the same content as that of the live seminar. Results Controlled for sociodemographic characteristics, repeated measures analyses of covariance revealed that pregnant women significantly improved their self-reported communication behavior in all groups. The improvement was more pronounced after the digital live seminar than after the web-based application (P<.001; ηp2=0.043). Perceived patient safety improved more for pregnant women participating in the live seminar than for those participating in the web-based application group (P=.03 ηp2=0.015). A regression analysis revealed that social cognitive variables predicted safe communication behavior. Conclusions Overall, the web-based application intervention appeared to be less effective than the digital live training in terms of communication behavior. Application interventions addressing communication behaviors might require more face-to-face elements. Improving intention, coping planning, and coping self-efficacy appeared to be key drivers in developing safe communication behavior in pregnant women. Future research should include social learning aspects and focus on the practical application of medical internet interventions when aiming to improve pregnant women’s communication and patient safety in obstetrics. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03855735; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03855735

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Efficacy of mobile app-based training on health literacy among pregnant women: A randomized controlled trial study

Cited by 8 publications

References 7 publications

Characterisation of self-reported improvements in education and health among users of Flo period tracking app: cross-sectional survey

Characterisation of self-reported improvements in education and health among users of Flo period tracking app: cross-sectional survey

Impact of mHealth interventions on maternal, newborn, and child health from conception to 24 months postpartum in low- and middle-income countries: a systematic review

Comparing the Effectiveness of a Web-Based Application With a Digital Live Seminar to Improve Safe Communication for Pregnant Women: 3-Group Partially Randomized Controlled Trial

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