Unexpected Effects of a System-Distributed Mobile Application in Maternity Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Maternal Health
• Digital Health Interventions
• Patient Engagement

Background:

• Increasing patient involvement in prenatal decisions like labor induction is crucial.
• Patient activation may impact pregnancy outcomes.
• Mobile applications are a potential tool for enhancing patient activation, but research comparing them to other methods is limited.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a mobile app's effectiveness as a patient education and engagement tool in prenatal care.
• To compare a mobile app intervention against a traditional spiral notebook guide.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial was conducted across three hospital clinics.
• The study included 205 pregnant patients.
• Repeated-measures analysis of covariance was employed to analyze intervention effects.

Main Results:

• Pregnant mothers using the mobile app recorded information more frequently.
• However, a significant decrease in patient activation was observed over time in the mobile app group.
• This finding was unexpected and contrasted with the intended benefits of digital tools.

Conclusions:

• Health systems should exercise caution before widespread deployment of mobile apps for prenatal care.
• The implementation strategy for mobile apps is critical for their success and impact on patient activation.
• Further research is needed to understand how to optimize mobile app design and integration to truly empower patients.