MHealth for Self-Management in Pregnancy: Perceptions of Women in Low-Resource Settings

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) has shown to be effective for self-management. While most studies point to mHealth as a tool to support healthcare in low-resource settings, it is not clear how women in low-resource settings perceive mHealth for self-management during pregnancy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of women in low-resource settings on the use of mHealth for self-management during pregnancy. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with ten women in low-resource settings who owned mobile phones, understood English and were above eighteen years of age. The interviews were analysed and several themes emerged after analysing the findings from interviews: awareness of mHealth for self-management, perceived benefits, barriers to adoption, improving adoption and the preferred approach for mHealth in low-resource settings. The findings of this study extended existing knowledge on the perception, design considerations, challenges and methods for improving adoption in terms of using mHealth technologies for self-management during pregnancy. The findings of this study provide researchers, mHealth app designers and developers, healthcare providers and practitioners with information on how to improve the design of mHealth solutions and interventions for women in low-resource settings to support self-management during pregnancy.