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Review
. 2023 Sep 27;11(19):2635.
doi: 10.3390/healthcare11192635.

Effectiveness of mHealth Interventions for Monitoring Antenatal Care among Pregnant Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Manisha Mishra  1 , Debasini Parida  1 , Jogesh Murmu  1 , Damini Singh  1 , Tanveer Rehman  1 , Jaya Singh Kshatri  1 , Sanghamitra Pati  1
Affiliations
Review

Effectiveness of mHealth Interventions for Monitoring Antenatal Care among Pregnant Women in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Manisha Mishra et al. Healthcare (Basel). .

Abstract

Antenatal care (ANC) is essential in maternal and child health since it provides care to pregnant women from conception through to labour in order to ensure a safe pregnancy and childbirth. In recent years, mobile health (mHealth) interventions have emerged as a promising solution to improve maternal and child health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The present study aimed to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis of trials to evaluate the effectiveness of mHealth interventions to monitor prenatal care among pregnant women in LMICs. A systematic literature review was conducted using the databases CINHAL, Embase, MEDLINE, and PsycINFO on the effectiveness of mHealth interventions in monitoring the antenatal care of pregnant women. The study selection, data extraction of the included articles, and quality appraisal were assessed. Our study included six studies considering 7886 participants. All articles were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Antenatal mothers who used a mobile health intervention were more likely (RR = 1.66, 95%CI = 1.07-2.58, I2 = 98%) to attend ANC check-ups when compared with the women who did not use any mobile health applications or did not receive any short message services. mHealth technologies are being utilised more and more to increase care accessibility and improve maternal and fetal health. Policymakers should prioritise the integration of mHealth interventions into maternal healthcare services in LMICs, ensuring that they are cost-effective, accessible, and sustainable and that healthcare workers are trained to deliver these interventions effectively.

Keywords: antenatal care; effectiveness; mHealth; pregnant women.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA flow diagram.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Forest plot for ANC attendance [25,26,27,28].
Figure 3
Figure 3
Funnel plot for ANC attendance.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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