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Tag: pregnancy
02/21/2023

Women’s Telehealth Program Diminishes Stigma via Technology

Article Excerpt: The Medical University of South Carolina Medical Center in Charleston has a unique telemedicine program in place to help pregnant and postpartum women. The program is called Listening to Women and Pregnant and Postpartum People, or LTWP. The technology vendors are REDCap and Twillio. It’s a mid-maturity program that is responding to behavioral health needs of pregnant women, and has recently expanded to newborn virtual home visitation for all mothers with births in the hospital.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/4hpmzjta

Article Source: Healthcare IT News

Posted in: Emerging Technologies // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
10/24/2022

Building Strong Futures: The Feasibility of Using a Targeted Digital Media Campaign to Improve Knowledge About Pregnancy and Low Birthweight Among Black Women

Bonnevie E, Rosenberg SD, Goldbarg J, Ashley-West A, & Smyser J. (2021). Building Strong Futures: The Feasibility of Using a Targeted Digital Media Campaign to Improve Knowledge About Pregnancy and Low Birthweight Among Black Women. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 25(1), 127–135. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-03068-1

This article reports the campaign methods for a digital intervention targeting Black women in one Florida county to promote positive pregnancy-related knowledge and attitudes related to low birthweight. The Strong Beautiful Future campaign was tailored toward Black women around a reproductive empowerment lens. Content focused on emphasizing healthy pregnancy-related behaviors (prenatal care, nutrition, weight gain, and birthweight) and creating positive representations of Black women throughout the pregnancy stages, using images and videos. Content was posted 5-7 times each week on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for 2 years and digital ads and local social media influencers were used to promote the campaign. Researchers measured campaign engagement through digital metrics. After two years of campaign implementation, social media accounts had 1784 total followers, with most on Facebook (n=920). In the two years, on a monthly average, Facebook had the highest number of times the content was displayed, but Instagram showed highest level of engagement (number of likes, comments, shares, views and clicks). Three cross-sectional surveys were conducted online over the study period to examine Black women’s pregnancy-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. Findings showed a non-significant increase in knowledge about prenatal care, weight gain, exercise, and health impacts of low birthweight. Overall, this study highlights how a targeted digital campaign to providing health information is feasible in reaching Black women in targeted locations.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
08/15/2022

Predicting the Next-Day Perceived and Physiological Stress of Pregnant Women by Using Machine Learning and Explainability: Algorithm Development and Validation

Ng A, Wei B, Jain J, Ward E, Tandon S, Moskowitz J, Krogh-Jespersen S, Wakschlag L, Alshurafa N. Predicting the Next-Day Perceived and Physiological Stress of Pregnant Women by Using Machine Learning and Explainability: Algorithm Development and Validation. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2022;10(8):e33850. DOI: 10.2196/33850

This study aimed to develop and evaluate a machine learning model to predict next-day physiological and prenatal stress by collecting sensor heart rate data and ecological momentary assessment (EMA) questionnaires. This study applied an explainability model for the prediction results. A total of 16 adult pregnant women from an obstetrics and gynecology clinic were enrolled in the study. Participants received a 12-week cognitive behavioral therapy intervention and wore a mobile electrocardiography (heart rate) sensor for 12 weeks. Participants completed EMAs for perceived stress on their mobile phones 5 times a day for 12 weeks. In total, about 4000 hours of data were collected and participants completed 2800 EMAs. Researchers used these data to train and evaluate 6 different machine learning models to select the best performing model for predicting next-day physiological and perceived stress. The random forest classifier performed the best for both physiological and perceived stress, with an average F1 score (a commonly used evaluation metric) of 81.9% and 72.5%, respectively. Two features significantly predicted both physiological and perceived stress: feeling unable to overcome difficulties and participants’ number of children. Results demonstrated that a machine learning model can predict next-day physiological and perceived stress among pregnant women. Future studies should validate the model with a larger sample size.

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06/20/2022

Feedback on Instagram posts for a gestational weight gain intervention

Waring ME, Pagoto SL, Moore Simas TA, Heersping G, Rudin LR, Arcangel K. Feedback on Instagram posts for a gestational weight gain intervention [published correction appears in Transl Behav Med. 2022 Apr 22;:]. Transl Behav Med. 2022;12(4):568-575. doi:10.1093/tbm/ibac001

Researchers evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a private Instagram group and lifestyle intervention posts focused on healthy gestational weight gain. A study was conducted with pregnant women with pre-pregnancy overweight or obesity who use Instagram regularly. Eleven participants each created a private Instagram account and followed the other participants’ accounts and a moderator. The moderator, a registered dietitian, uploaded posts twice a day for 2 weeks about physical activity, healthy eating, goal setting and progress reports during pregnancy. Participants were encouraged to check the group daily and engage by liking, replying to comments, and posting their own photos. After the 2-week intervention, participants completed an online survey on acceptability of the Instagram posts developed by the researchers and participated in virtual focus group interviews via Webex. User engagement data was collected from Instagram. The results indicated all participants followed the moderator’s account and engaged with all study posts. Most participants (82%) reported feeling comfortable sharing in the group and 73% would participate in a similar group in the future. A majority of participants found the posts visually attractive and indicated that the posts provided helpful information. However, participants preferred more personalized content and felt hesitant to post their own photos because they did not feel their photos were high-quality and positive enough. Overall, the study demonstrated that creating a private Instagram group for delivery of a dietary and fitness intervention is feasible. Findings can inform next steps in development and future research developing Instagram-delivered interventions for other health behaviors or conditions.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
04/04/2022

A digital health registry with clinical decision support for improving quality of antenatal care in Palestine (eRegQual): a pragmatic, cluster-randomised, controlled, superiority trial

Venkateswaran M, Ghanem B, Abbas E, Khader KA, Ward IA, Awwad T, Baniode M, Frost MJ, Hijaz T, Isbeih M, Mørkrid K, Rose CJ, & Frøen JF. (2022). A digital health registry with clinical decision support for improving quality of antenatal care in Palestine (eRegQual): a pragmatic, cluster-randomised, controlled, superiority trial. The Lancet. Digital Health, 4(2), e126–e136. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2589-7500(21)00269-7

The public health system in Palestine implemented a digital maternal and child health eRegistry with clinical decision support. Researchers compared the quality of antenatal care between primary care clinics with eRegistry and those with paper-based records. The study is a cluster-randomized controlled trial in primary health care clinics that provide antenatal care in the West Bank, Palestine. Fifty-nine clusters were randomly assigned to the control (paper-based records) group and 60 clusters to the intervention (eRegistry with clinical decision support) group. Researchers looked at the effectiveness of the eRegistry system in improving the provision of timely and appropriate screening and management in routine antenatal care, and health outcomes at delivery for mothers and newborns. Between January to September 2017, 3217 pregnant women and 3148 pregnant women received care in the intervention and control clinics respectively. The results found women were more often screened for risk factors and referred to high-risk clinics in intervention clinics (17.6%) compared to control clinics (12.6%). Compared to the control group, pregnant women were more often screened and managed for anemia, gestational diabetes, and hypertension in the intervention group than in the control group (adjusted ORs from 1.45 to 1.88). Only 9.4% of pregnant women attended the full schedule of routine antenatal care across both groups. There were no differences in fetal growth monitoring, antenatal care attendance, or adverse outcomes at delivery in the control and intervention groups. Overall, the improvements in most process outcomes strengthen the evidence of digital client tracking in lower-middle income settings and digital interventions can facilitate better coverage of antenatal care.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ;
05/28/2021

Digital Therapeutic for Postpartum Depression Granted FDA Breakthrough Device Designation

Article Excerpt: WB001 is an investigational digital therapeutic, delivered over eight weeks via a patient’s smartphone, that combines cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and elements of interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) with a deep understanding of the lived experience of PPD to reduce symptoms of depression. Intended as a prescription-only treatment to be used under the supervision of a clinician, WB001 also features the company’s relational agent Woebot, which was shown in a recent study to be capable of forming a bond with patients to support meaningful engagement and, potentially, better outcomes.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/tpzpmt6a

Article Source: Med-Tech

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, Regulation & Policy // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
04/12/2021

A mobile phone-based multimedia intervention to support maternal health is acceptable and feasible among illiterate pregnant women in Uganda: Qualitative findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial

Musiimenta, A., Tumuhimbise, W., Pinkwart, N., Katusiime, J., Mugyenyi, G., & Atukunda, E. C. (2021). A mobile phone-based multimedia intervention to support maternal health is acceptable and feasible among illiterate pregnant women in Uganda: Qualitative findings from a pilot randomized controlled trial. DIGITAL HEALTH. https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207620986296

Researchers tested the acceptability and feasibility of a smartphone-based multimedia app to support maternal health among 80 pregnant women in rural Uganda who were illiterate. 40 women were assigned in the intervention group and were provided smartphones and the MatHealth app, an offline app that does not require Internet. The 40 women in the control group received routine care treatment as usual. The app has a video/audio function that provides media content of maternal health information created by an obstetrician, gynecologist, and nutritionist. MatHealth includes information on nutrition, breastfeeding, HIV testing, family planning, potential pregnancy danger signs, preparing for childbirth and care during delivery, and postnatal care. The app also provides appointment reminders for antenatal care and the ability to communicate with a gynecologist through the app. Qualitative interviews were used to assess acceptability of the app, with results showing that the app helped participants receive better spouse support, clinic appointment reminders, and made communication with healthcare providers easier. Participants reported some challenges including phone sharing, accidental deleting of the app, lack of electricity, and difficulty setting up the reminder function. Overall, MatHealth app is an acceptable intervention among illiterate women in a rural low-income setting.

Posted in: Cutting Edge Literature // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ;
03/06/2020

Treatment of opioid use disorder in pregnant women via telemedicine: A nonrandomized controlled trial

Guille C, Simpson A, and Douglas E, et al. (2020). Treatment of opioid use disorder in pregnant women via telemedicine a nonrandomized controlled trial. JAMA Network Open. 3(1): e1920177-e1920177. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2019.20177.

Researchers recruited 98 pregnant women with opioid use disorder (OUD) from 4 outpatient obstetric practices in a South Carolina reproductive health database to participate in a 15-month prospective, nonrandomized controlled trial that compared maternal and newborn health outcomes between women who received obstetric OUD treatment via telemedicine (n = 44) and women who received in-person OUD treatment (n = 54) in the perinatal–postpartum period. Read More

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03/04/2020

A Look into the Opioid Epidemic in the Upper Valley

Article Excerpt: According to data from the Drug Enforcement Administration, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Pharmacy in Lebanon distributed 5,146,260 opioid pills between 2006 to 2014, making it the pharmacy which dispensed the most opioids in Grafton County. While the number of pills is not irregular considering the size of the population the pharmacy serves, the data illustrates the opioid epidemic in the Upper Valley and New Hampshire, which is changing with a rise in fentanyl use despite the best efforts of local organizations to combat the problem.

Full Article: https://tinyurl.com/smgzan9

Article Source: The Dartmouth

Posted in: Emerging Technologies, News // Tagged: ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;