Cawley, C., Buckenmeyer, H., Jellison, T., Rinaldi, J. B., & Vartanian, K. B. (2020). Effect of a Health System–Sponsored Mobile App on Perinatal Health Behaviors: Retrospective Cohort Study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 8(7), e17183.
Intervention Components (click on component to see a list of all articles that use that intervention): PATIENT_CONSUMER, Educational Material, Other Education, Telephone Support, Technology-Based Support, COMMUNITY, Individual Supports,
Intervention Description: Pregnancy mobile apps are becoming increasingly popular, with parents-to-be seeking information related to their pregnancy and their baby through mobile technology. This increase raises the need for prenatal apps with evidence-based content that is personalized and reliable. The primary objective of this study is to assess whether the use of a health system–sponsored mobile app—Circle by Providence—aimed at providing personalized and reliable health information on pregnancy, postpartum recovery, and infant care is associated with improved health outcomes and increased healthy behaviors and knowledge among users.
Intervention Results: A total of 567 participants were enrolled in the study—167 in the app user group and 400 in the nonuser group. We found statistically significant differences between the two groups for certain behavior outcomes: subjects who used the app had 75% greater odds of breastfeeding beyond 6 months postpartum (P=.012), were less likely to miss prenatal appointments (P=.046), and were 50% more likely to exercise 3 or more times a week during pregnancy (P=.04). There were no differences in nutritional measures, including whether they took prenatal vitamins, ate 5 fruits or vegetables a day, or drank caffeine. We found no differences in many of the infant care outcomes; however, there was an increase in awareness of “purple crying.” Finally, there were no significant differences in measured clinical health outcomes, including cesarean births, length of hospital stays (in minutes), low birth weight infants, preterm births, small-for-gestational-age births, large-for-gestational-age births, and neonatal intensive care unit stays.
Conclusion: The use of the Circle app, which provides access to personalized and evidence-based health information, was associated with an increase in certain healthy behaviors and health knowledge, although there was no impact on clinical health outcomes. More research is needed to determine the impact of mobile prenatal apps on healthy pregnancies, clinical health outcomes, and infant care.
Study Design: Observational study using surveys and electronic medical records
Setting: Providence St. Joseph Health's Consumer Innovation Team launched app in Portland, Oregon and greater Seattle, Washington areas/Online
Population of Focus: Women with four or more prenatal encounters at one of the seven selected clinics that gave birth to a live infant at a Providence hospital in the past 4-6 months
Sample Size: 567 women (167 in the app user group and 400 in the comparison nonuser group)
Age Range: Women 18 years and older
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