CC BY 4.0 · Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet 2023; 45(04): 179-185
DOI: 10.1055/s-0043-1768998
Original Article
Obstetrics

Development of a Mobile Health Application Based on a Mixed Prenatal Care in the Context of COVID-19 Pandemic

1   Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru
,
1   Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru
,
2   Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru
,
1   Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru
,
3   Universidad Peruana Cayetano Heredia, Lima, Peru
,
4   University College London, London, United Kingdom
,
1   Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru
,
1   Instituto Nacional Materno Perinatal, Lima, Peru
,
5   British Medical Hospital, Lima, Peru
› Author Affiliations
Funding This study was funded by Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Tecnológico y de Innovación Tecnológico (FONDECYT). Consejo Nacional de Ciencia, Tecnología e Innovación Tecnológica (CONCYTEC-PERU) (Grant contract number 067-2020-Fondecyt).

Abstract

Objective We describe the development and structure of a novel mobile application in a mixed model of prenatal care, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, we assess the acceptability of this mobile app in a cohort of patients.

Methods First, we introduced a mixed model of prenatal care; second, we developed a comprehensive, computer-based clinical record to support our system. Lastly, we built a novel mobile app as a tool for prenatal care. We used Flutter Software version 2.2 to build the app for Android and iOS smartphones. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the acceptability of the app.

Results A mobile app was also built with the main attribute of being connected in real-time with the computer-based clinical records. The app screens detail information about activities programmed and developed in the prenatal care according to gestational age. A downloadable maternity book is available and some screens show warning signs and symptoms of pregnancy. The acceptability assessment was mostly rated positively regarding the characteristics of the mobile app, by 50 patients.

Conclusion This novel mobile app was developed as a tool among pregnant patients to increase the information available about their pregnancies in the provision of a mixed model of prenatal care in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was fully customized to the needs of our users following the local protocols. The introduction of this novel mobile app was highly accepted by the patients.

Contributions

Rommy Helena Novoa, Walter Ventura, Luis Meza-Santibañez, conceived of the study and planned the methodology. Xin Huang Yang, Wilder Eduardo Melgarejo, Juan Carlos Bazo-Alvarez contributed to search strategy development and mobile app acceptability assessment. Rommy Helena Novoa, Luis Meza-Santibañez, Juan Torres-Osorio, Vladimir Jáuregui-Canchari, Noe Rodríguez-Hilario contributed to the development of the mobile app. All authors contributed to the manuscript.


Supplementary Material



Publication History

Received: 09 August 2022

Accepted: 17 November 2022

Article published online:
24 May 2023

© 2023. Federação Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. This is an open access article published by Thieme under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction so long as the original work is properly cited. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

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