302: Identifying Low-Income Pregnant Women’s Experiences and Preferences with Mobile Health Technology

Rapid expansion of mobile technology has resulted in the development of many mobile health ("mHealth") platforms for health monitoring and support. However, their applicability, desirability, and tailoring for pregnant women, particularly in populations who experience the greatest health inequities, such as women with diabetes mellitus (DM), remains unknown. The objective is to understand low-income pregnant women's experiences and preferences for mHealth support tools during pregnancy. This qualitative investigation addressed the knowledge, attitudes, experiences, and preferences of low-income pregnant women regarding use of mHealth applications to support pregnancy and improve self-management. Low-income pregnant and postpartum women were included in either individual interviews or focus groups; the cohort included women with and without type 2 or gestational DM. Analysis was performed with the constant comparison method. In this population of 45 (N=37 with DM) low-income, largely minority, pregnant and postpartum women, 100% reported access to smartphones, with a majority reporting experience with apps. Women’s interest in mHealth to support health and engagement during pregnancy was high. Preferences for general mHealth features addressed tracking gestation, visualizing progress, convenient access to information, support for better management of pregnancy-related tasks, education that reduces uncertainty, and support communities (Table 1). Preferred design elements included personalization, interactive features, and simple interface. Women with DM expressed similar preferences but had DM-specific needs, including support tools for DM self-management such as glucose tracking and nutrition information (Table 2). Women, especially those with medical complications of pregnancy such as DM, desire the mHealth to support engagement and improved health during pregnancy. Further work to develop mHealth interventions tailored for target populations remains a key step in reducing health inequities and promoting access to evidence-based perinatal health interventions.View Large Image Figure ViewerDownload Hi-res image Download (PPT)