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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 4
Journal of Community & Public Health Nursing
Nursing Summit 2018
November 08-09, 2018
November 08-09, 2018 Sydney, Australia
25
th
World Congress on
Nursing & Healthcare
J Comm Pub Health Nurs 2018, Volume 4
DOI: 10.4172/2471-9846-C3-009
Role of mHealth applications for improving antenatal and postnatal care in low and middle-income
countries: A systematic review
Anam Feroz, Shagufta Perveen and Wafa Aftab
Aga Khan University, Pakistan
Background & Objective:
From 1990 to 2015, the number of maternal deaths globally has dropped by 43%. Despite this, progress
in attaining MDG 5 is not remarkable in LMICs. Only 52% of pregnant women in LMICs obtainWHO recommended minimum of
four antenatal consultations and the coverage of postnatal care is relatively poor. In recent years, the increased cellphone penetration
has brought the potential for mHealth to improve preventive maternal healthcare services. The objective of this review is to assess the
effectiveness of mHealth solutions on a range of maternal health outcomes by categorizing the interventions according to the types
of mHealth applications.
Method:
Three international online electronic databases were searched between January 1, 2000 and January 25, 2016 to identify
studies exploring the role of mHealth solutions in improving preventive maternal healthcare services. Of 1262 titles screened after
duplication, 69 potentially relevant abstracts were obtained. Out of 69 abstracts, 42 abstracts were shortlisted. Full text of 42 articles
was reviewed using data extraction sheet. A total of 14 full text studies were included in the final analysis.
Result:
The 14 final studies were categorized in to five mHealth applications defined in the conceptual framework. Based on our
analysis, the most reported use of mHealth was for client education and behavior change communication, such as SMS and voice
reminders (n=9, 65%). The categorization provided the understanding that much work has been done on client education and
behavior change communication. Most of the studies showed that mHealth interventions have proven to be effective to improve
antenatal care and postnatal care services, especially those that are aimed at changing behavior of pregnant women and women in
postnatal period. However, little evidence exists on other type of mHealth applications.
Conclusion:
This review suggests that mHealth solutions targeted at pregnant women and women in postnatal period can improve
preventive maternal healthcare services. However, there is a need to conduct more controlled-trials and quasi-experimental studies
to strengthen the literature in this research area. The review recommends that mHealth researchers, sponsors and publishers should
prioritize the transparent reporting of interventions to allow effective interpretation of extracted data.
anam.feroz@aku.edu