For You and Your Baby (4YYB): Adapting the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Text4Baby Program for Saudi Arabia

Abstract

BackgroundPoor birth outcomes in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) have been found to be partially due to missed prenatal appointments as well as lack of knowledge of healthy pregnancy behaviors.ObjectiveThe objectives are to summarize birth outcomes and the antenatal care system in KSA, summarize research related to the US Text4Baby mobile health program, and outline the development of an Arabic version of the Text4baby app, For You and Your Baby (4YYB).MethodsFirst, birth outcomes, health care access, and smartphone usage among Saudi Arabian women are reviewed. Next, the current evidence behind Text4Baby is described. Finally, a plan to develop and test 4YYB is proposed. In the plan, studies will need to be conducted to determine the effectiveness of 4YYB in educating pregnant Saudi women on healthy knowledge and behaviors. This will create an evidence base behind 4YYB before it is launched as a full-scale public health effort in KSA.ResultsThe KSA offers public medical services but remaining challenges include poor birth outcomes and health care access barriers. An estimated 73% to 84% of Saudi women of child-bearing age use smartphone social media apps. A total of 13 published articles on Text4Baby were identified and reviewed. Due to design limitations, the studies provide only limited evidence about the effectiveness of the program in increasing healthy pregnancy knowledge and behaviors. To be useful for Saudi women, the educational messages in 4YYB will need to be translated from English to Arabic and tailored for cultural norms.ConclusionsDeveloping the 4YYB Arabic-language app for use by pregnant Saudi Arabian women based on Text4Baby is a viable approach, but a rigorous study design is needed to determine its effectiveness in improving healthy pregnancy knowledge and behaviors.

Exploring family needs in neonatal and pediatric intensive care units at King Khaled Hospital- Jeddah

“…This is a significant finding which highlights that the awareness surrounding medical procedures has raised considerably in Saudi parents probably due to extensive public medical services e.g. telemedicine and awareness generated in KSA [18]. These family need perceptions with highest mean score are not unusual since Saudi mothers are well known for their love, tenderness and caregiving attitude strengthened by their firm religious background and values [19,20].…”

Variations in Testing for HIV and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Across Gender Identity Among Transgender Youth

“…Rapid home HIV testing supplemented with telehealth-based counseling may be a resource efficient strategy with the potential to influence both risk-taking and care-seeking behaviors. 21 This can also provide an opportunity to educate TY about the commercial availability of such tests, their proper conduct and interpretation, and their accuracy. Recognizing differences between people embracing various gender identities is important, and it is encouraging to note that researchers have started focusing individually on young transgender men, 57 young transgender women, 48,58 as well as nonbinary youth.…”

“…HUM00102906), and has been described in detail elsewhere. 21 Results presented in this article are a cross-sectional analysis of data from the baseline survey. The trial was ongoing at the time of submitting this article, but results pertaining to whether the addition of telehealth-based counseling to rapid home HIV testing improves screening rates, reduces sexual risk behaviors, and enhances linkage to care for newly diagnosed HIV-positive transgender youth will be published shortly.…”