Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study
(1) <i>Background</i>: In limited-resource settings such as the Dominican Republic, many factors contribute to poor health outcomes experienced by adolescent mothers, including insufficient support and/or health knowledge. In response, we designed a digital educational support group, adm...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2020-11-01
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| Series: | Informatics |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/4/51 |
| _version_ | 1797548746876125184 |
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| author | Samantha Stonbraker Elizabeth Haight Alana Lopez Linda Guijosa Eliza Davison Diane Bushley Kari Aquino Peguero Vivian Araujo Luz Messina Mina Halpern |
| author_facet | Samantha Stonbraker Elizabeth Haight Alana Lopez Linda Guijosa Eliza Davison Diane Bushley Kari Aquino Peguero Vivian Araujo Luz Messina Mina Halpern |
| author_sort | Samantha Stonbraker |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | (1) <i>Background</i>: In limited-resource settings such as the Dominican Republic, many factors contribute to poor health outcomes experienced by adolescent mothers, including insufficient support and/or health knowledge. In response, we designed a digital educational support group, administered through WhatsApp Messenger, for new adolescent mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess if participation in this digital support group could improve health outcomes and health behaviors. (2) <i>Methods</i>: Participants completed questionnaires with a health literacy screener, demographic items, knowledge questions, the Index of Autonomous Functioning, and five Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales before and after the moderator-led intervention. Differences between pre- and post-intervention scores were calculated and perceptions of the intervention were explored through in-depth interviews analyzed with content analysis. Participants’ well-baby visit attendance and contraceptive use were compared to that of controls and a national sample. (3) <i>Results</i>: Participants’ (<i>N</i> = 58) knowledge scores increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Participants were 6.58 times more likely to attend well-baby visits than controls (95% CI: 2.23–19.4) and their contraceptive use was higher than that of the national sample (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Participants indicated the intervention was enjoyable and beneficial. (4) <i>Conclusion</i>: This adolescent-centered digital intervention is a promising method to improve health outcomes and health behaviors of young mothers in limited-resource settings. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:04:02Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-68ef1cc9f75041b285cc613f1cc96ead |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2227-9709 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:04:02Z |
| publishDate | 2020-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Informatics |
| spelling | doaj.art-68ef1cc9f75041b285cc613f1cc96ead2023-11-20T19:52:51ZengMDPI AGInformatics2227-97092020-11-01745110.3390/informatics7040051Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method StudySamantha Stonbraker0Elizabeth Haight1Alana Lopez2Linda Guijosa3Eliza Davison4Diane Bushley5Kari Aquino Peguero6Vivian Araujo7Luz Messina8Mina Halpern9College of Nursing, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, CO 80045, USAPlanned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, WA 98122, USAPlanned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, WA 98122, USAPlanned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, WA 98122, USAPlanned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, WA 98122, USAPlanned Parenthood of the Great Northwest and the Hawaiian Islands, Seattle, WA 98122, USAClínica de Familia La Romana, La Romana 22000, Dominican RepublicClínica de Familia La Romana, La Romana 22000, Dominican RepublicClínica de Familia La Romana, La Romana 22000, Dominican RepublicClínica de Familia La Romana, La Romana 22000, Dominican Republic(1) <i>Background</i>: In limited-resource settings such as the Dominican Republic, many factors contribute to poor health outcomes experienced by adolescent mothers, including insufficient support and/or health knowledge. In response, we designed a digital educational support group, administered through WhatsApp Messenger, for new adolescent mothers. The purpose of this study was to assess if participation in this digital support group could improve health outcomes and health behaviors. (2) <i>Methods</i>: Participants completed questionnaires with a health literacy screener, demographic items, knowledge questions, the Index of Autonomous Functioning, and five Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System scales before and after the moderator-led intervention. Differences between pre- and post-intervention scores were calculated and perceptions of the intervention were explored through in-depth interviews analyzed with content analysis. Participants’ well-baby visit attendance and contraceptive use were compared to that of controls and a national sample. (3) <i>Results</i>: Participants’ (<i>N</i> = 58) knowledge scores increased (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Participants were 6.58 times more likely to attend well-baby visits than controls (95% CI: 2.23–19.4) and their contraceptive use was higher than that of the national sample (<i>p</i> < 0.05). Participants indicated the intervention was enjoyable and beneficial. (4) <i>Conclusion</i>: This adolescent-centered digital intervention is a promising method to improve health outcomes and health behaviors of young mothers in limited-resource settings.https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/4/51digital healthmHealthadolescent motherdigital support groupnursing informaticsWhatsApp Messenger |
| spellingShingle | Samantha Stonbraker Elizabeth Haight Alana Lopez Linda Guijosa Eliza Davison Diane Bushley Kari Aquino Peguero Vivian Araujo Luz Messina Mina Halpern Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study Informatics digital health mHealth adolescent mother digital support group nursing informatics WhatsApp Messenger |
| title | Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study |
| title_full | Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study |
| title_fullStr | Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study |
| title_short | Digital Educational Support Groups Administered through WhatsApp Messenger Improve Health-Related Knowledge and Health Behaviors of New Adolescent Mothers in the Dominican Republic: A Multi-Method Study |
| title_sort | digital educational support groups administered through whatsapp messenger improve health related knowledge and health behaviors of new adolescent mothers in the dominican republic a multi method study |
| topic | digital health mHealth adolescent mother digital support group nursing informatics WhatsApp Messenger |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9709/7/4/51 |
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