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. 2025 Jul 12.
doi: 10.1007/s00192-025-06229-4. Online ahead of print.

Innovative Application of Mobile Health Management Combined with the Teach-Back Method in the Rehabilitation of Pelvic Floor Muscle in Postpartum Women with Urinary Incontinence

Xia Xiao  1 , Chen-Hua Zhang  2 , Yan-Meng Yang  2 , Wei-Wei Yan  2 , Xiao-Jing Li  2 , Hui-Ling Shang  2
Affiliations

Innovative Application of Mobile Health Management Combined with the Teach-Back Method in the Rehabilitation of Pelvic Floor Muscle in Postpartum Women with Urinary Incontinence

Xia Xiao et al. Int Urogynecol J. .

Abstract

Introduction and hypothesis: This study aimed to evaluate the combined effect of the teach-back method and a mobile application on maternal pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation, with a focus on reducing urinary incontinence and establishing an optimal health education approach.

Methods: From January 2022 to January 2023, a total of 90 postpartum women were randomly assigned to either a control or an intervention group. The control group received standard pelvic floor exercises and health education, while the intervention group received additional education utilizing the teach-back method in conjunction with a mobile application. Outcomes assessed included urinary incontinence, pelvic floor muscle function, knowledge acquisition, and exercise compliance.

Results: The intervention group demonstrated significantly better outcomes compared to the control group in primary measures. Specifically, the degree of urinary incontinence, as assessed by the 1-h urine pad test, was lower in the intervention group (3.2 ± 1.1 g) than in the control group (4.8 ± 1.3 g), and pelvic floor muscle function, measured by the Oxford muscle strength score, was higher in the intervention group (4.2 ± 0.6 grade) compared to the control group (3.1 ± 0.8 grade) (p < 0.01). For secondary outcomes, the knowledge mastery rate was higher in the intervention group (82.0%) than in the control group (66.4%), and exercise compliance was also significantly improved in the intervention group (p < 0.05). Additionally, the severity of urinary incontinence was found to be negatively correlated with pelvic floor muscle function, while increased awareness was identified as a positive predictor of compliance.

Conclusions: The teach-back method combined with mobile apps can effectively reduce the degree of urinary incontinence, promote the recovery of pelvic floor function, and improve rehabilitation cognition and compliance. The research reported in this publication was approved by the self-funded research project of Handan Bureau of Science and Technology, Hebei Province, China,project number: 22422083030ZC.

Keywords: Mobile Health Management; Pelvic floor muscle rehabilitation; Postpartum urinary incontinence; Teach-back method.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declarations. Ethical Approval: All procedures were approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Handan First Hospital. Approval Number: HDYY-LL-KY2018-K02. We signed formal medical ethics review reports and obtained written informed consent from all mothers and their families. Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that there is no personal or professional conflict of interest regarding the work reported in this article. This is solely the responsibility of the author and does not necessarily represent the official view of the Science and Technology Bureau or Handan Municipal First Hospital.

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