Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30567693›Full record

ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2018

The Impact of a Maternal Education Program Through Text Messaging in Rural China: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial.

Ri-Hua Xie, Hongzhuan Tan, Monica Taljaard, Yan Liao, Daniel Krewski, Qingfeng Du, Shi Wu Wen

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT01775150 (Using Mobile Phone Text Messaging to Reduce Maternal and Infant Deaths in Remote Rural Areas in China), which is not on this map. Cited by 6 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
3.0field-weighted citation impact, top 8% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT01775150 naunknown statusnot on this map

Using Mobile Phone Text Messaging to Reduce Maternal and Infant Deaths in Remote Rural Areas in China

TypeinterventionalSponsorOttawa Hospital Research InstituteRan2011 to 2013Enrolled5,646ConditionsBleeding, Infection, Malnutrition, ComplicationsArmshealth education
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 12 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2022
    Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Trial
  5. Review
  6. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Ri-Hua XieDepartment of Nursing, Nanhai Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1652-3044
Hongzhuan TanXiangya School of Public Health, Central South University, Changsha, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4292-5947
Monica TaljaardClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3978-8961
Yan LiaoClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8584-7467
Daniel KrewskiMcLaughlin Centre for Population Health Risk Assessment, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0533-5734
Qingfeng DuGeneral Practice Center, Nanhai Hospital, Southern Medical University, Foshan, China.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5100-0831
Shi Wu WenClinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7227-0283
University of Ottawa · CACentral South University · CNSouthern Medical University · CN

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIn recent years, attempts have been made to use mobile phone text messaging (short message service, SMS) to achieve positive results for a range of health issues. Reports on the impact of maternal education programs based on this widely available, inexpensive, and instant communication tool are sparse.

objectiveThis study aimed to explore the impact of a maternal education program through text messaging.

methodsWe conducted a cluster randomized trial in a remote region in the Chinese province of Hunan between October 1, 2011, and December 31, 2012. We used county as the unit of randomization (a total of 10 counties), with half of the counties randomly allocated to the intervention arm (with maternal education material adapted from the World Health Organization being delivered by text messaging to village health workers and pregnant women alike) and the other half to the control arm (normal care without text messaging). Data on maternal and infant health outcomes and health behaviors were collected and compared between the 2 arms, with maternal and perinatal mortality as the primary outcomes.

resultsA total of 13,937 pregnant women completed the follow-up and were included in the final analysis. Among them, 6771 were allocated to the intervention arm and 6966 were allocated to the control arm. At the county level, the mean (SD) of maternal mortality and perinatal mortality rate were 0.0% (0.1) and 1.3% (0.6), respectively, in the intervention arm and 0.1% (0.2) and 1.5% (0.4), respectively, in the control arm. However, these differences were not statistically significant. At the individual level, there were 3 maternal deaths (0.04%) and 84 perinatal deaths (1.24%) in the intervention arm and 6 maternal deaths (0.09%) and 101 perinatal deaths (1.45%) in the control arm. However, the differences were again not statistically significant.

conclusionsAdequate resources should be secured to launch large-scale cluster randomized trials with smaller cluster units and more intensive implementation to confirm the benefits of the text messaging-based maternal education program suggested by this trial.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT01775150; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01775150 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/74cHmUexo).

Indexed as

cluster trialinfant healthmaternal educationmaternal healthtext messaging

Identifiers

PMID30567693
PMCPMC6315224
OpenAlexW2899351974

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.