Development of a mobile health application for those who have experienced pregnancy loss

Abstract

Event Abstract Back to Event Development of a mobile health application for those who have experienced pregnancy loss Aoife Lynch1*, Sarah Meaney2, Sabina Tabirca3, Anna Maria Verling3, Rachel Rice4, Noirin Russell5, Sabin Tabirca1 and Keelin O'Donoghue3 1 University College Cork, Computer Science, Ireland 2 University College Cork, National Perinatal Epidemiology Centre, Ireland 3 University College Cork, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Ireland 4 University College Cork, Applied Social Studies, Ireland 5 Cork University Maternity Hospital, Ireland Background The Pregnancy Loss Research Group at Cork University Maternity Hospital (CUMH) is a multidisciplinary team including doctors, midwives and researchers working collaboratively to provide support and information to patients bereaved by pregnancy loss, promote their emotional and physical well-being, as well as improving professional practice and facilitating research in this area. The group have developed a set of applications to disseminate professional information on pregnancy loss issues and aid their research with a mobile application (app) for data acquisition and management. Mobile apps have the capacity to gather and analyse a wealth of data and provide it to users in real time. Statistics show that the number of mobile subscriptions has increased and by the end of 2015, there will be more than 7 billion mobile cellular subscriptions in the world, corresponding to a penetration rate of 97%, up from 738 million in 2000. Mobile-broadband penetration levels are highest in Europe and the Americas, at around 78 active subscriptions per 100 inhabitants (ITU, 2015). Using mobile apps in medical research enables doctors to engage more participants in an easy and approachable way and to dramatically increase the amount of health data they can gather. Aims The aims of this project were to develop a content management system for a web and mobile apps in data acquisition and management. The app had a dual functionality as firstly it is to act as a resource for information on pregnancy loss issues on a mobile platform. Secondly the app needed to function as a research tool in allowing users to record their experience of pregnancy loss. No such app covers this topic in either Apple or Android app stores despite research indicating that most pregnant women download an average of three pregnancy apps during their gestational period (Frazer, et al, 2015). Methods and Results A professional website was created for the Pregnancy Loss Research Group to provide information relating to pregnancy loss and also the facilities at CUMH. A tailored content management system (CMS) was created to push articles written to both website and mobile platforms so they only need to update articles once with changes appearing on both platforms without having to alter any code. The app was built using the mobile development framework PhoneGap which incorporates Javascript, HTML5 and CSS. Once the app is opened articles are pulled from the database into local storage so that there are no barriers to accessing information. When the app has a network connection a function calls the articles from the database to sync with the articles in local storage. This keeps articles up to date and facilitates offline reading. Articles are accessed via a fixed navigation bar in sections that mirror the main website. The app has a separate ToolKit with sections that are only available after the app user creates a profile. The Toolkit allows the user to map and record their experience of pregnancy loss using a number of tools including diary entries and photos. Users can write a diary entry or take a photo and save to review. Once the user submits a diary entry or photo the overall sentiment, negative or positive, is calculated against a word list with related scores. Emojis included in diary entries can also be calculated in the sentiment rating so that the informal way in which app users communicate with mobile devices can be properly assessed. For additional research purposes, the mobile app also includes a number of validated psychometric scales including Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale and Self Evaluation Scale for the users to complete. The mobile app calculates the score for each scale and the scores per scale are displayed to allow researchers to investigate the emotional wellbeing of the users. The CMS then operates as a web user interface that allows the data collected by the mobile app to be analysed. The CMS shows app activity statistics in 3D graphs highlighting individual app user activity and overall total app usage activity. Graphs display different user type, app user location, number of psychometric tests completed per month, app activity by time of the day and day of the week. Conclusion An effective method for data acquisition and management in pregnancy loss research has been created. Both the website and mobile app act as an accurate information resource. The CMS allows the group to manage and update the information on both platforms without technical knowledge of web or mobile frameworks. Data collected from app users has the potential to inform evidence based practice in the future. References International Telecommunications Union (2015) ICT facts and Figures. Available at: http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Documents/facts/ICTFactsFigures2015.pdf) (Accessed 2 September 2015). Frazer C, Hussey L, Bosch E, Squire, M, International (July 2015): 12-16. Pregnancy Apps: A Closer Look at the Implications for Childbirth Educators Journal of Childbirth Education. Keywords: Pregnancy loss, Early miscarriage, cbt, Psychometric scales, Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale, Perceived stress scale, Self Evaluation Scale Conference: 2nd Behaviour Change Conference: Digital Health and Wellbeing, London, United Kingdom, 24 Feb - 25 Feb, 2016. Presentation Type: Poster presentation Topic: Academic Citation: Lynch A, Meaney S, Tabirca S, Verling A, Rice R, Russell N, Tabirca S and O'Donoghue K (2016). Development of a mobile health application for those who have experienced pregnancy loss. Front. Public Health. Conference Abstract: 2nd Behaviour Change Conference: Digital Health and Wellbeing. doi: 10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.01.00092 Copyright: The abstracts in this collection have not been subject to any Frontiers peer review or checks, and are not endorsed by Frontiers. They are made available through the Frontiers publishing platform as a service to conference organizers and presenters. The copyright in the individual abstracts is owned by the author of each abstract or his/her employer unless otherwise stated. Each abstract, as well as the collection of abstracts, are published under a Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 (attribution) licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) and may thus be reproduced, translated, adapted and be the subject of derivative works provided the authors and Frontiers are attributed. For Frontiers’ terms and conditions please see https://www.frontiersin.org/legal/terms-and-conditions. Received: 27 Nov 2015; Published Online: 09 Jan 2016. * Correspondence: Miss. Aoife Lynch, University College Cork, Computer Science, Cork, Ireland, aoifemlynch@yahoo.com Login Required This action requires you to be registered with Frontiers and logged in. To register or login click here. Abstract Info Abstract The Authors in Frontiers Aoife Lynch Sarah Meaney Sabina Tabirca Anna Maria Verling Rachel Rice Noirin Russell Sabin Tabirca Keelin O'Donoghue Google Aoife Lynch Sarah Meaney Sabina Tabirca Anna Maria Verling Rachel Rice Noirin Russell Sabin Tabirca Keelin O'Donoghue Google Scholar Aoife Lynch Sarah Meaney Sabina Tabirca Anna Maria Verling Rachel Rice Noirin Russell Sabin Tabirca Keelin O'Donoghue PubMed Aoife Lynch Sarah Meaney Sabina Tabirca Anna Maria Verling Rachel Rice Noirin Russell Sabin Tabirca Keelin O'Donoghue Related Article in Frontiers Google Scholar PubMed Abstract Close Back to top Javascript is disabled. 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