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Outcome's Classification in Mobile Applications Tailored to Parents of Premature Infants: A Systematic Review
Farzaneh Kermani1, Mehdi Kahouei1,2, Ali Valinejadi1,2
1Health Information Technology Department, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Semnan University of Medical Sciences, Semnan, Iran.
Insights
Mobile applications offer significant benefits for parents of premature infants, improving maternal stress, parenting confidence, and infant care. These digital tools enhance family support and preparedness for discharge, promoting better neonatal outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Neonatal care
- Digital health
- Parental support
Background:
- Mobile technology integration in neonatal care is a growing global intervention.
- This technology offers economical and convenient healthcare services for preterm neonates at home and hospital.
- The study focuses on mobile applications designed for parents of premature infants.
Purpose of the Study:
- To classify the outcomes of mobile applications tailored for parents of premature infants.
- To systematically review and categorize the impacts of these digital health interventions.
Main Methods:
- A systematic review was conducted using six major databases up to May 2021.
- Identified mobile applications and their outcomes were classified.
- The quality of screened articles was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).
Main Results:
- Ten thousand seven hundred three articles were retrieved, with 9 ultimately reviewed.
- Outcomes were categorized into parental (e.g., stress, self-efficacy, satisfaction), application (e.g., usability, ease of use), and neonatal (health and clinical items).
- Parental outcomes included reduced stress and anxiety, increased confidence, and improved parent-infant relationships.
Conclusions:
- Mobile applications are valuable tools for educating parents, managing stress, and preparing for discharge.
- Remote services via apps are crucial for reducing visits to neonatal centers, especially during health crises like the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Tailored mobile applications can enhance neonatal health and decrease parental stress.
Background:
Integration of healthcare services for preterm neonates at home and hospital by mobile technology is an economical and convenient intervention, which is being increasingly applied worldwide. We aimed to classify the outcomes of mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants.
Methods:
This systematic review was conducted by searching the six main databases until May 2021. Mobile applications tailored to parents of premature infants and the reported outcomes of this technology were identified and classified. Quality of screened articles checked by MMAT tool.
Results:
Overall, 10703 articles were retrieved, and after eliminating the duplicated articles, 9 articles were reviewed ultimately. Identified outcomes were categorized into three groups parental, application, and neonatal outcomes. In the parental outcomes, maternal stress/stress coping, parenting self-efficacy, satisfaction, anxiety, partnership advocacy/improved parent-infant relationship, feeling of being safe, reassurance and confidence, increase awareness, as well as discharge preparedness, were identified. In the application outcomes, application usage, ease of use/user-friendly, and usability of the designed application were placed. Finally, the neonatal outcomes include health and clinical items.
Conclusion:
Mobile applications can be useful in prematurity for educating pregnant mothers, managing stress and anxiety, supporting families, and preparing for discharge. Moreover, due to the coronavirus condition, providing remote services for parents is an appropriate solution to reduce the in-person visits to neonatal care centers. Development of tailored apps can promote the neonates' health and reduce their parents' stress.
