Impact of a Mobile Application for Tracking Nausea and Vomiting During Pregnancy (NVP) on NVP Symptoms, Quality of Life, and Decisional Conflict Regarding NVP Treatments: MinSafeStart Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Background Pregnant women are active users of mobile apps for health purposes. These apps may improve self-management of health-related conditions. Up to 70% of pregnant women experience nausea and vomiting (NVP). Even mild NVP can significantly reduce quality of life (QoL), and it can become an economic burden for both the woman and society. NVP often occurs before the first maternal care visit; therefore, apps can potentially play an important role in empowering pregnant women to recognize, manage, and seek appropriate treatment for NVP, when required. Objective This study investigated whether the MinSafeStart (MSS) mobile app could impact NVP-related symptoms, QoL, and decisional conflict regarding NVP treatment. Methods This randomized controlled trial enrolled 268 pregnant women with NVP in Norway from 2019 to 2020. The intervention group had access to the MSS app, which could be used to track NVP symptoms and access tailored advice. NVP severity was rated with the Pregnancy Unique Quantification of Emesis (PUQE) score. The control group followed standard maternal care. We collected data on maternal baseline characteristics, NVP severity, QoL, and decisional conflict using 2 sets of online questionnaires. One set of questionnaires was completed at enrollment, and the other was completed after 2 weeks. We performed linear regression analyses to explore whether the use of the MSS app was associated with NVP severity, QoL, or decisional conflict. Results Among the 268 women enrolled in the study, 192 (86.5%) completed the baseline questionnaires and were randomized to either the intervention (n=89) or control group (n=103). In the intervention group, 88 women downloaded the app, and 468 logs were recorded. In both groups, women were enrolled at a median of 8 gestational weeks. At baseline, the average PUQE scores were 4.9 and 4.7; the average QoL scores were 146 and 149; and the average DCS scores were 40 and 43 in the intervention and control groups, respectively. The app had no impact on NVP severity (aβ 0.6, 95% Cl −0.1 to 1.2), QoL (aβ −5.3, 95% Cl −12.5 to 1.9), or decisional conflict regarding NVP treatment (aβ −1.1, 95% Cl −6.2 to 4.2), compared with standard care. Conclusions Tracking NVP symptoms with the MSS app was not associated with improvements in NVP symptoms, QoL, or decisional conflict after 2 weeks, compared with standard care. Future studies should include a process evaluation to improve our understanding of how pregnant women use the app and how to optimize its utility within maternity care. Specifically, studies should focus on how digital tools might facilitate counseling and communication between pregnant women and health care providers regarding NVP management during pregnancy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrails.gov (NCT04719286): https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04719286

The Role of Digital Health in the Early Detection and Management of Obstetric Complications in the Community: A Systematic Review

“…The applications were accepted in the community, as reported by [43], [53], [55]. Some of the applications got positive community acceptance [21], some were successful [27], adhere to application implementation [14], and gave impacts [37]. Some respondents wanted more information [36], enjoyed https://oamjms.eu/index.php/mjms/index all applications [49], and another acceptance said excellence [39].…”

“…In addition, there were also some articles discussed about short-massage service applications, mHealth technology [12], [19], [22], [23], [24], [25], [26], [27], [28], [29], [30], [31], Telemedicine [3], [20], [32], [33], [34], the use of applications [35], [36], [37], MyFitnessPal phone app [23], Mi Fit app [38], e-Moms Roc [16], WhatsApp social application [39], [40], SEESPA [41], RapidSMS [42], E screening [43], [44], PEARS [28], [45], and Cellular-enabled glucometers [46]. Others were about watch-based applications and video conferencing like using a smartwatch [47], Telehealth: video conference [45], [48], [49], flexible maternity virtual ward services [50], internet-based [24], [51], website Williamson [52], and Text or voice message [53].…”

“…In America, a depression scale must be used for screening to detect maternal depression [20], [22], [49], [52]. HIV infection is the next pregnancy complication [22] Insomnia [46], hemolysis [20], nausea, vomiting, and infectious illnesses [27], [37].…”

Maternal Recommender System Systematic Literature Review: State of the Art and Future Studies

“…Refers to the feeling of sickness and the act of vomiting during pregnancy. Even mild NVP can significantly reduce quality of life (QoL), and it can become an economic burden for both the woman and society (Ngo et al, 2022).…”

“…Another key finding is that the sources of data for the recommender system may come from user input or directly from measurement devices. For example, Caballero-Ruiz et al ( 2017), Volanski et al (2019), Ngo et al (2022), andBateja et al (2019) had the patients input the data while others had the data input by health workers, such as doctors Veena & Aravindhar, 2021), physicians (Caballero-Ruiz et al, 2017;Pustozerov et al, 2020), clinicians Nsugbe et al, 2021), midwives (Abejirinde, Douwes, et al, 2018), and traditional birth attendants (Martinez et al, 2018). These sources of data may come from users manually reading the devices or by user observation.…”