Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile app in an ecological momentary assessment of early breastfeeding

Abstract

Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) is a novel data collection method that samples subject experiences in real-time—minimizing recall bias. Here, we describe the feasibility of EMA to track breastfeeding behavior through a mobile phone app. During their birth hospitalization, we approached healthy, first-time mothers intending to exclusively breastfeed for at least two months to participate in a study tracking breastfeeding through eight weeks postpartum. Participants downloaded a commercially available smartphone app, entered information and thoughts about breastfeeding as they occurred, and emailed this data weekly. We called participants at two and eight weeks to assess breastfeeding status. At the eight week call, we also assessed participants’ experiences using the app. . Of the 61 participants, 38% sent complete or nearly complete feeding data, 24% sent some data, and 38% sent no data; 58% completed at least one free-text breastfeeding entry and five women logged daily or near daily entries. Compared to women who sent no data, those who sent any were more likely to be married, highly educated, intend to breastfeed more than six months, have a more favorable baseline attitude toward breastfeeding, and less likely to have used formula during hospitalization. There was a high degree of agreement between participant-reported proportion of breast milk feeds via app and interview data at two weeks (ICC 0.97). Experiences with the app ranged from helpful to too time-consuming or anxiety-provoking. Participants and researchers encountered technical issues related to app use and analysis, respectively. While our data do not support the feasibility of stand-alone app-based EMA to track breastfeeding behavior, it may provide rich accounts of the breastfeeding experience for certain subgroups of women.

Contribuições dos aplicativos móveis para a prática do aleitamento materno: revisão integrativa

“…(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) With regards to the research design, five were descriptive, (17,(20)(21)(22)(23) one qualitative, (18) one methodological, (19) one experimental without randomization, (25) and the other experimental with randomization. (24) The predominant level of evidence was four, (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) followed by three, (25) and two. (24) The methodological analysis of rigor focused on level A, (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) and only one on B.…”

“…(24) The predominant level of evidence was four, (17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23) followed by three, (25) and two. (24) The methodological analysis of rigor focused on level A, (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) and only one on B. (17) The studies were published between 2015-2017, in the English language, in periodicals of the United States, (16,17,(20)(21)(22) United Kingdom, (23,24) and Australia.…”

“…(24) The methodological analysis of rigor focused on level A, (18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25) and only one on B. (17) The studies were published between 2015-2017, in the English language, in periodicals of the United States, (16,17,(20)(21)(22) United Kingdom, (23,24) and Australia. (18,19) Among the studied population, three were from the United States, (17,20,21) two from Australia, (18,19) one in Liberia, (22) one from Denmark, (23) and one from India.…”

“…(17) The studies were published between 2015-2017, in the English language, in periodicals of the United States, (16,17,(20)(21)(22) United Kingdom, (23,24) and Australia. (18,19) Among the studied population, three were from the United States, (17,20,21) two from Australia, (18,19) one in Liberia, (22) one from Denmark, (23) and one from India. (24) One of the articles (16) did not have the location identified.…”

Decreased fetal movement and mobile application interventions during pregnancy

“…Wrong population (5) Cheng, Huang et al (2016) Target population are postpartum women. Demirci and Bogen (2016) Target population are postpartum women. Maycock, Scott et al (2015) Target population are male partners.…”