BackgroundApplying mobile phones in healthcare is increasingly prioritized to strengthen healthcare systems. Antenatal care has the potential to reduce maternal morbidity and improve newborns’ survival but this benefit may not be realized in sub-Saharan Africa where the attendance and quality of care is declining. We evaluated the association between a mobile phone intervention and antenatal care in a resource-limited setting. We aimed to assess antenatal care in a comprehensive way taking into consideration utilisation of antenatal care as well as content and timing of interventions during pregnancy.MethodsThis study was an open label pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial with primary healthcare facilities in Zanzibar as the unit of randomisation. 2550 pregnant women (1311 interventions and 1239 controls) who attended antenatal care at selected primary healthcare facilities were included at their first antenatal care visit and followed until 42 days after delivery. 24 primary health care facilities in six districts were randomized to either mobile phone intervention or standard care. The intervention consisted of a mobile phone text-message and voucher component. Primary outcome measure was four or more antenatal care visits during pregnancy. Secondary outcome measures were tetanus vaccination, preventive treatment for malaria, gestational age at last antenatal care visit, and antepartum referral.ResultsThe mobile phone intervention was associated with an increase in antenatal care attendance. In the intervention group 44% of the women received four or more antenatal care visits versus 31% in the control group (OR, 2.39; 95% CI, 1.03-5.55). There was a trend towards improved timing and quality of antenatal care services across all secondary outcome measures although not statistically significant.ConclusionsThe wired mothers’ mobile phone intervention significantly increased the proportion of women receiving the recommended four antenatal care visits during pregnancy and there was a trend towards improved quality of care with more women receiving preventive health services, more women attending antenatal care late in pregnancy and more women with antepartum complications identified and referred. Mobile phone applications may contribute towards improved maternal and newborn health and should be considered by policy makers in resource-limited settings.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, NCT01821222.

BackgroundMobile phones are increasingly used in health systems in developing countries and innovative technical solutions have great potential to overcome barriers of access to reproductive and child health care. However, despite widespread support for the use of mobile health technologies, evidence for its role in health care is sparse.ObjectiveWe aimed to evaluate the association between a mobile phone intervention and perinatal mortality in a resource-limited setting.MethodsThis study was a pragmatic, cluster-randomized, controlled trial with primary health care facilities in Zanzibar as the unit of randomization. At their first antenatal care visit, 2550 pregnant women (1311 interventions and 1239 controls) who attended antenatal care at selected primary health care facilities were included in this study and followed until 42 days after delivery. Twenty-four primary health care facilities in six districts were randomized to either mobile phone intervention or standard care. The intervention consisted of a mobile phone text message and voucher component. Secondary outcome measures included stillbirth, perinatal mortality, and death of a child within 42 days after birth as a proxy of neonatal mortality.ResultsWithin the first 42 days of life, 2482 children were born alive, 54 were stillborn, and 36 died. The overall perinatal mortality rate in the study was 27 per 1000 total births. The rate was lower in the intervention clusters, 19 per 1000 births, than in the control clusters, 36 per 1000 births. The intervention was associated with a significant reduction in perinatal mortality with an odds ratio (OR) of 0.50 (95% CI 0.27-0.93). Other secondary outcomes showed an insignificant reduction in stillbirth (OR 0.65, 95% CI 0.34-1.24) and an insignificant reduction in death within the first 42 days of life (OR 0.79, 95% CI 0.36-1.74).ConclusionsMobile phone applications may contribute to improved health of the newborn and should be considered by policy makers in resource-limited settings.Trial RegistrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01821222; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01821222 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6NqxnxYn0).

IMPORTANCE Health apps in low-income countries are emerging tools with the potential to improve quality of health care services, but few apps undergo rigorous scientific evaluation.OBJECTIVE To determine the effects of the safe delivery app (SDA) on perinatal survival and on health care workers' knowledge and skills in neonatal resuscitation. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTSIn a cluster-randomized clinical trial in 5 rural districts of Ethiopia, 73 health care facilities were randomized to the mobile phone intervention or to standard care (control). From September 1, 2013, to February 1, 2015, 3601 women in active labor were included at admission and followed up until 7 days after delivery to record perinatal mortality. Knowledge and skills in neonatal resuscitation were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months after the intervention among 176 health care workers at the included facilities. Analyses were performed based on the intention-to-treat principle.INTERVENTIONS Health care workers in intervention facilities received a smartphone with the SDA. The SDA is a training tool in emergency obstetric and neonatal care that uses visual guidance in animated videos with clinical instructions for management. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURESThe primary outcome was perinatal death. Secondary outcomes included the knowledge and clinical management of neonatal resuscitation (skills) of health care workers before the intervention and after 6 and 12 months. RESULTSThe analysis included 3601 women and 176 health care workers. Use of the SDA was associated with a nonsignificant lower perinatal mortality of 14 per 1000 births in intervention clusters compared with 23 per 1000 births in control clusters (odds ratio, 0.76; 95% CI, 0.32-1.81). The skill scores of intervention health care workers increased significantly compared with those of controls at 6 months (mean difference, 6.04; 95% CI, 4.26-7.82) and 12 months (mean difference, 8.79; 95% CI, 7.14-10.45) from baseline, corresponding to 80% and 107%, respectively, above the control level. Knowledge scores also significantly improved in the intervention compared with the control group at 6 months (mean difference, 1.67; 95% CI, 1.02-2.32) and at 12 months (mean difference, 1.54; 95% CI, 0.98-2.09), corresponding to 39% and 38%, respectively, above the control level. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCEThe SDA was an effective method to improve and sustain the health care workers' knowledge and skills in neonatal resuscitation as long as 12 months after introduction. Perinatal mortality was nonsignificantly reduced after the intervention. The results are highly relevant in low-income countries, where quality of care is challenged by a lack of continuing education. TRIAL REGISTRATION clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01945931

Background Health workers in many low-income countries are not adequately trained to deliver pregnant women safely. In response to this, the Safe Delivery App (SDA) has been developed, which provides animated clinical instruction videos in basic emergency obstetric and neonatal care. The SDA aims to improve knowledge and skills of health workers located in the periphery of the health system in order to improve quality of care and potentially save the lives of mothers and newborns. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the users’ experiences with using the SDA and in which ways the SDA influences their work situation and their perceived ability to conduct safe deliveries. Methods Eleven focus group discussions and four individual interviews were conducted with a total of 56 midwives, nurses and health extension workers from five districts in West Wollega Zone, Oromiya region of Ethiopia. The data further include observations and informal conversations. All interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, checked for corrections and analysed using systematic text condensation. Results The findings indicate that health workers perceive the SDA as a useful tool, which helps them memorize and update knowledge and skills, and improves their confidence. User patterns follow the relevancy of the tool to the health workers’ work situation - those who conduct many deliveries have more often used the app in emergency situations, whereas those who conduct few deliveries more often use it to improve their knowledge and to provide health education to pregnant women. Thus, the SDA is used in varying ways depending on internal and external factors such as own competencies, availability of equipment and frequency of births attended. Health workers experienced that community members showed more recognition and trust in their abilities and ascribed this to their increased confidence in assisting in deliveries. The increased recognition from communities may also be associated to a medical technology. Conclusion The health workers perceive the SDA as having improved their ability to manage complications during childbirth and have gained increased recognition and trust from the communities.

Background Postpartum haemorrhage is one of the leading causes of maternal mortality in low-income countries. Improving health workers' competencies in obstetric emergencies in low-income settings, has been recognized as an important factor in preventing maternal mortality and morbidity. mHealth interventions in maternal and newborn health care has shown the potential to improve health service delivery. Strong study designs such as randomized controlled trials are missing to estimate the effectiveness of the mHealth interventions. Methods Between August 2013 and August 2014, 70 health facilities in West Wollega Region, Ethiopia were included and randomized to intervention or control in a cluster randomized controlled trial. At intervention facilities birth attendants were provided with a smartphone with the SDA installed. Of 176 midwives and “health extension workers,” 130 completed at 12 months follow-up. At baseline and after 6- and 12-months participants were assessed. Knowledge was tested by a Key Feature Questionnaire, skills by an Objective Structured Assessment of Technical Skills in a structured role-play scenario. Results Baseline skills scores were low and comparable with a median of 12/100 in the intervention and the control group. After 6 months skills had doubled in the intervention group (adjusted mean difference 29.6; 95% CI 24.2–35.1 compared to 1·8; 95% CI – 2.7 to 6.3 in the control group). At 12 months skills had further improved in the intervention group (adjusted mean difference 13.3; 95% CI 8.3–18.3 compared to 3.1; 95% CI – 1.0 to 7.3 in the control group). Knowledge scores also significantly improved in the intervention group compared to the control (adjusted mean difference after 12 months 8.5; 95% CI 2.0–15.0). Conclusion The Safe Delivery App more than doubled clinical skills for managing postpartum haemorrhage among birth attendants making it an attractive tool to reduce maternal mortality. Trial registration: Clinicaltrial.gov Identifier NCT01945931. September 5, 2013.