SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2024
Effectiveness of mHealth Apps for Maternal Health Care Delivery: Systematic Review of Systematic Reviews.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 24 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
24 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Barriers and facilitators of messaging platforms as a means of maternal support and care in rural communities: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- The impact of a digital self-care intervention based on mHealth on reducing sleep disorders during pregnancy: a quasi-experimental controlled study.Reproductive health · 2025Trial
- Efficacy of a Personalized mHealth App in Improving Micronutrient Supplement Use Among Pregnant Women in Karachi, Pakistan: Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Trial
- The FemTech revolution: Unlocking the potential of new technology for optimizing pregnancy outcomes in low- and middle-income countries and remote areas.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Article
- A Pilot mHealth Text Messaging Program Targeting Parents During the First 2000 Days: Nonrandomized Repeat Cross-Sectional Analysis to Evaluate Feasibility, Engagement, Acceptability, and Potential Effectiveness.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Artificial intelligence for personalized multiple micronutrient supplementation in maternal health.International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics: the official organ of the International Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics · 2026Review
- Determining the usage preferences and expectations of postpartum women regarding mobile applications developed for the postpartum period.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Development and Launch of a Dutch Mobile App (MediMama) on Over-the-Counter Medication Safety During Pregnancy and Breastfeeding: Development and Usability Study.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2026Article
- Defining "critical" maternal health information for healthy lifestyle self-management in pregnancy: perspectives of pregnant women and obstetricians in China and Malaysia.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Article
- Cross-context qualitative synthesis of a mobile obstetric referral emergency system (MORES) in Ghana and Liberia.PloS one · 2026Article
- Design and impact of gamification, theory-driven frameworks, and human-centered design in mobile health applications for preconception care: A systematic review protocol.Journal of education and health promotion · 2026Review
- Community health workers' usability and acceptability of an mHealth tool for post-cesarean assessments: A mixed-methods study in rural Rwanda.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- The Impact of Preeclampsia and Gestational Diabetes on Future Maternal Cardiometabolic Health.Acta physiologica (Oxford, England) · 2025Review
- Digital Health Interventions in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- A Virtual Reality-Based mHealth App to Enhance Health Care Skills and Promote Health Equity by Empowering Health Care Professionals to Provide Empathetic, Compassionate, and Unbiased Patient Care Through Digital Experiential Learning: Qualitative Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Usability and Acceptability of a Pregnancy App for Substance Use Screening and Education: A Mixed Methods Exploratory Pilot Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2025Article
- Barriers and facilitators for mHealth utilization in pregnancy care: a qualitative analysis of pregnant women and stakeholder's perspectives.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- LoVE4MUM Mobile App to Prevent Postpartum Depression: Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.JMIR research protocols · 2025Article
- mHealth knowledge and usage in maternal healthcare delivery: perspectives and experiences of healthcare practitioners in Ghana.BMJ open · 2025Article
- Evaluating the impact of engaging healthcare providers in an AI-based gamified mHealth intervention for improving maternal health outcomes among disadvantaged pregnant women in Lebanon.Frontiers in digital health · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundGlobally, the use of mobile health (mHealth) apps or interventions has increased. Robust synthesis of existing systematic reviews on mHealth apps may offer useful insights to guide maternal health clinicians and policy makers.
objectiveThis systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness or impact of mHealth apps on maternal health care delivery globally.
methodsWe systematically searched Scopus, Web of Science (Core Collection), MEDLINE or PubMed, CINAHL, and Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews using a predeveloped search strategy. The quality of the reviews was independently assessed by 3 reviewers, while study selection was done by 2 independent raters. We presented a narrative synthesis of the findings, highlighting the specific mHealth apps, where they are implemented, and their effectiveness or outcomes toward various maternal conditions.
resultsA total of 2527 documents were retrieved, out of which 16 documents were included in the review. Most mHealth apps were implemented by sending SMS text messages with mobile phones. mHealth interventions were most effective in 5 areas: maternal anxiety and depression, diabetes in pregnancy, gestational weight management, maternal health care use, behavioral modification toward smoking cessation, and controlling substance use during pregnancy. We noted that mHealth interventions for maternal health care are skewed toward high-income countries (13/16, 81%).
conclusionsThe effectiveness of mHealth apps for maternity health care has drawn attention in research and practice recently. The study showed that research on mHealth apps and their use dominate in high-income countries. As a result, it is imperative that low- and middle-income countries intensify their commitment to these apps for maternal health care, in terms of use and research.
trial registrationPROSPERO CRD42022365179; https://tinyurl.com/e5yxyx77.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What Socratic holds
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.