Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review
BackgroundGlobally, high rates of maternal and infant mortality call for interventions during the perinatal period to engage pregnant people as well as their loved ones in care. Mobile health technologies have become ubiquitous in our lives and in health care settings. Howeve...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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JMIR Publications
2024-01-01
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| Series: | JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| Online Access: | https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2024/1/e46973 |
| _version_ | 1797344781144162304 |
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| author | J Craig Phillips Alliete R Alfano Latisha C Barfield Lisa Cain Masoud Sadjadi Eduardo Morales Wanda Phillips-Beck M Grisel Galarza Maritza Torres Sadaf Zindani Ahmad Rayani Khalee Edwards Sande Gracia Jones Jean Hannan |
| author_facet | J Craig Phillips Alliete R Alfano Latisha C Barfield Lisa Cain Masoud Sadjadi Eduardo Morales Wanda Phillips-Beck M Grisel Galarza Maritza Torres Sadaf Zindani Ahmad Rayani Khalee Edwards Sande Gracia Jones Jean Hannan |
| author_sort | J Craig Phillips |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BackgroundGlobally, high rates of maternal and infant mortality call for interventions during the perinatal period to engage pregnant people as well as their loved ones in care. Mobile health technologies have become ubiquitous in our lives and in health care settings. However, there is a need to further explore their safety and effectiveness to support and improve health outcomes locally and globally.
ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to review and synthesize published literature that described the development process or effectiveness evaluations of maternal and infant apps.
MethodsWe applied a methodological framework for scoping reviews as well as the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines; in addition, the systematic review platform Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation Ltd) was used to facilitate the review of included studies. Search terms were developed collaboratively, and health sciences–associated databases were searched for studies conducted between January 1, 2000, and February 4, 2022. We excluded studies about apps that only gathered or tracked data or targeted care providers.
ResultsA total of 1027 articles were included for title and abstract screening, of which 87 (8.47%) were chosen for full-text screening. Of these 87 articles, 74 (85%) were excluded with reasons, and 19 (22%) were included. Four articles were added at data extraction from hand searching and 2 others were excluded. Thus, we reviewed and synthesized data from 11 unique studies reported in 21 articles published between 2017 and 2021. The included studies represented 8 different countries. Most of the apps (8/11, 73%) were in English, although apps were also developed in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, and Nepali. The articles reviewed revealed the early stage of development of the field of maternal and infant health apps, with modest evidence of app use and achievement of study outcomes. Only 1 (9%) of the 11 apps was endorsed by an independent health care provider society. App development and evaluation processes emerged, and specific app features were identified as vital for well-functioning apps. End-user engagement occurred in some, but not all, parts of app research and development.
ConclusionsApps to improve maternal and infant health are being developed and launched in enormous numbers, with many of them not developed with mothers’ needs in mind. There are concerns about privacy, safety, and the standardization of current apps as well as a need for professional or institution-specific guidelines or best practices. Despite challenges inherent in currently available apps and their design processes, maternal and infant app technology holds promise for achieving health equity goals and improving maternal and child health outcomes. Finally, we propose recommendations for advancing the knowledge base for maternal and infant apps. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:08:52Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-dd45471866ab44de979f4f08b9c26d40 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2561-6722 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T11:08:52Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| spelling | doaj.art-dd45471866ab44de979f4f08b9c26d402024-01-26T14:30:38ZengJMIR PublicationsJMIR Pediatrics and Parenting2561-67222024-01-017e4697310.2196/46973Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping ReviewJ Craig Phillipshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-6697-0515Alliete R Alfanohttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-7342-2640Latisha C Barfieldhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-7408-5356Lisa Cainhttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-4053-1549Masoud Sadjadihttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3915-6603Eduardo Moraleshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-9738-4850Wanda Phillips-Beckhttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8823-612XM Grisel Galarzahttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-6263-5640Maritza Torreshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1609-5097Sadaf Zindanihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-8069-5487Ahmad Rayanihttps://orcid.org/0000-0001-9114-2052Khalee Edwardshttps://orcid.org/0009-0003-5710-4177Sande Gracia Joneshttps://orcid.org/0000-0002-1763-1445Jean Hannanhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3740-620X BackgroundGlobally, high rates of maternal and infant mortality call for interventions during the perinatal period to engage pregnant people as well as their loved ones in care. Mobile health technologies have become ubiquitous in our lives and in health care settings. However, there is a need to further explore their safety and effectiveness to support and improve health outcomes locally and globally. ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to review and synthesize published literature that described the development process or effectiveness evaluations of maternal and infant apps. MethodsWe applied a methodological framework for scoping reviews as well as the PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) guidelines; in addition, the systematic review platform Covidence (Veritas Health Innovation Ltd) was used to facilitate the review of included studies. Search terms were developed collaboratively, and health sciences–associated databases were searched for studies conducted between January 1, 2000, and February 4, 2022. We excluded studies about apps that only gathered or tracked data or targeted care providers. ResultsA total of 1027 articles were included for title and abstract screening, of which 87 (8.47%) were chosen for full-text screening. Of these 87 articles, 74 (85%) were excluded with reasons, and 19 (22%) were included. Four articles were added at data extraction from hand searching and 2 others were excluded. Thus, we reviewed and synthesized data from 11 unique studies reported in 21 articles published between 2017 and 2021. The included studies represented 8 different countries. Most of the apps (8/11, 73%) were in English, although apps were also developed in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesia, and Nepali. The articles reviewed revealed the early stage of development of the field of maternal and infant health apps, with modest evidence of app use and achievement of study outcomes. Only 1 (9%) of the 11 apps was endorsed by an independent health care provider society. App development and evaluation processes emerged, and specific app features were identified as vital for well-functioning apps. End-user engagement occurred in some, but not all, parts of app research and development. ConclusionsApps to improve maternal and infant health are being developed and launched in enormous numbers, with many of them not developed with mothers’ needs in mind. There are concerns about privacy, safety, and the standardization of current apps as well as a need for professional or institution-specific guidelines or best practices. Despite challenges inherent in currently available apps and their design processes, maternal and infant app technology holds promise for achieving health equity goals and improving maternal and child health outcomes. Finally, we propose recommendations for advancing the knowledge base for maternal and infant apps.https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2024/1/e46973 |
| spellingShingle | J Craig Phillips Alliete R Alfano Latisha C Barfield Lisa Cain Masoud Sadjadi Eduardo Morales Wanda Phillips-Beck M Grisel Galarza Maritza Torres Sadaf Zindani Ahmad Rayani Khalee Edwards Sande Gracia Jones Jean Hannan Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting |
| title | Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review |
| title_full | Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review |
| title_fullStr | Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review |
| title_short | Exploring Maternal and Infant Health App Development and Effectiveness Research: Scoping Review |
| title_sort | exploring maternal and infant health app development and effectiveness research scoping review |
| url | https://pediatrics.jmir.org/2024/1/e46973 |
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