Self-Care Mobile Application for South Korean Pregnant Women at Work: Development and Usability Study

Abstract

Background Pregnant women at work often encounter barriers to participating in prenatal education or conducting appropriate self-care practices due to their working conditions. Purpose We aimed at developing a mobile-based intervention application (SPWW) for Korean pregnant women at work and testing its usability and preliminary effects to enhance their self-care practices. Patients and Methods The application was developed and tested with thirty-one pregnant women at work and thirteen women’s healthcare providers. The instruments used in this study were a modified Health Practices in Pregnancy Questionnaire II and a System Usability Scale. Descriptive analyses and t-tests were performed using SPSS 25.0. The participants’ open-ended answers were analyzed using ATLAS. ti 8. Results We developed the application focusing on four self-care topics: healthy diet, physical activity, sufficient rest, and stress management. After using the application for two weeks, participants’ levels of exercise (p = 0.006), adequate fluid intake (p = 0.002), and limiting daily caffeine intake (p = 0.048) significantly improved. In addition to good usability scores, the suggestions for improvement made by the participants included diversifying the educational materials and adding individually customizable functions to the application. Conclusion The application developed in this study enhanced self-care practices of pregnant women at work and showed adequate levels of usability. We expect the developmental process and details of the application provided in this study to serve as a sample guide for future studies.

The Moderating Effect of Self-Efficacy on Pregnancy Stress and Smartphone Addiction of Pregnant Women in Late Pregnancy: A Longitudinal Study

“…They can use mobile intervention platforms to explain childbirth knowledge to pregnant women, conduct prenatal training, and reduce pregnancy pressure, further enhancing confidence. 42 Pregnant women’s family members also need to provide full companionship, encourage, stabilize their emotions, and improve their self-efficacy.…”

Effectiveness of mobile-based intervention Self-care for Pregnant Women at Work: A randomized controlled trial

“…24 The Cronbach's alpha of the scale was .81. 24 A modified Korean version of the scale was used for this study, 13 and the Cronbach's alpha was .815.…”

“…The developmental process and the detailed information about the application, including Orem's Self-care Deficit Theory that guided the intervention, is explained elsewhere. 13…”

“…The mobile application called Self‐care for Pregnant Women at Work (SPWW) was used in this study (Figure 1). The developmental process and the detailed information about the application, including Orem's Self‐care Deficit Theory that guided the intervention, is explained elsewhere 13 …”

Pemanfaatan Aplikasi Self-Care Ibu Hamil Selama Pandemi di Negara Maju dan Berkembang : Sebuah Tinjauan Pustaka

“…9 Melihat peluang tersebut, pengembangan aplikasi self-care berbasis teknologi informasi merupakan bentuk pengembangan pemanfaatan ilmu pengetahuan dan teknologi di bidang kesehatan, dimana tidak ada batasan ruang dan waktu, tersedianya kemudahan akses dan tidak merepotkan. 11 Khususnya, hal ini berguna di masa pandemi Covid-19 yang membawa dampak keterbatasan, termasuk dalam hal mengakses pelayanan kesehatan.…”