Anam Shahil Feroz|Shazia Perveen|Wafa Aftab
Role of mHealth applications for improving antenatal and postnatal care in low and middle income countries: a systematic review
Aga Khan University|Aga Khan University|Aga Khan University
1990 2015 number maternal deaths globally dropped 43 despite progress attaining mdg 5 remarkable lmics 52 pregnant women lmics obtain recommended minimum four antenatal consultations coverage postnatal care relatively poor recent years increased cellphone penetration brought potential mhealth improve preventive maternal healthcare services objective review assess effectiveness mhealth solutions range maternal health outcomes categorizing interventions according types mhealth applications three international online electronic databases searched january 1 2000 january 25 2016 identify studies exploring role mhealth solutions improving preventive maternal healthcare services 1262 titles screened duplication 69 potentially relevant abstracts obtained 69 abstracts 42 abstracts shortlisted full text 42 articles reviewed using data extraction sheet total 14 full text studies included final analysis 14 final studies categorized five mhealth applications defined conceptual framework based analysis reported use mhealth client education behavior change communication sms voice reminders n 9 65 categorization provided understanding much work done client education behavior change communication studies showed mhealth interventions proven effective improve antenatal care postnatal care services especially aimed changing behavior pregnant women women postnatal period however little evidence exists type mhealth applications review suggests mhealth solutions targeted pregnant women women postnatal period improve preventive maternal healthcare services however need conduct controlledtrials quasiexperimental studies strengthen literature research area review recommends mhealth researchers sponsors publishers prioritize transparent reporting interventions allow effective interpretation extracted data