Smart Pregnancy: Exploring the potential of smartphone applications to improve health outcomes during pregnancy in a disadvantaged South Australian population. — Agentur Pty Ltd

Smart Pregnancy: Exploring the potential of smartphone applications to improve health outcomes during pregnancy in a disadvantaged South Australian population. (71)

Dianne Rodger 1 , Andrew Skuse 1 , Vicki L Clifton 1 , Michael Wilmore 1 , Sal Humphreys 1 , Julia Dalton 1
  1. The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Background:

Concerns have emerged about the use of smartphone applications (apps) for health, including their reliability, typically commercial nature and frequent lack of educational content. The ‘Health-e Baby’ project sought to address these issues by developing a pregnancy app that better met the needs of pregnant women attending a hospital in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide. In this paper we discuss the participatory design process that led to the development of a prototype app that is currently being assessed in a prospective cohort trial.

Methods:

Qualitative interviews were used to assess the information needs and media preferences of pregnant women (n=35). Three focus groups (n=11) were conducted with pregnant and non-pregnant women to refine the app prototype and gain user feedback. A prospective cohort trial of the app is now being conducted with pregnant women at the study hospital (n=58).

Results/Discussions:

Our study found that pregnant women were confused and overwhelmed by the number of available pregnancy apps and this was a significant barrier to use. Furthermore, women who did use pregnancy-related apps had concerns about the reliability of app content. Both app users and non-users indicated that they wanted guidance from trusted authorities that could recommend evidence-based apps. Focus groups demonstrated that users preferred local content that was customised to reflect antenatal care practices at the study hospital.  Participants praised the convenience of having information that they knew was approved by the hospital on their phones. Focus groups also revealed some areas of the app that needed refinement, such as the ‘Progress’ section which confused users.  

Conclusions/implications:

We must learn how to make better use of new communication technologies to assist in preventative healthcare. Health professionals need to enter this communication space and provide effective and expert information. Understanding the information and communication technology access, use and content preferences of clients is vitally important.

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