OBJECTIVES

Recently, attempts have been made to use mobile phone text messaging, phone calls, and application to achieve positive outcomes in maternal and child health outcomes. Existing evidence on its use to improve the outcomes in mother and child are sparse. This study synthesizes and critically reviews the existing level of evidence on the use of mobile-based services for maternal and perinatal healthcare utilization and its impact.

METHODS

This systematic review followed the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement. A systematic search was performed in MEDLINE. Two independent researchers undertook study selection and data extraction. Results were reported narratively. The systematic review only included studies that were randomized controlled trials.

RESULTS

A total of 551 references were identified, of which nine studies were included in this review. The maternal education using text messages was found to be effective in decreasing both maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Further, maternal education reported to increase, facility delivery, vaccine uptake, care-seeking for newborn illness and postnatal-care appointments. In particular, management of gestation diabetes using mobile health intervention was associated with positive outcomes in terms of decreased complications in both pregnant women and fetuses. Postnatal care appointments were reported higher with the use of mobile health interventions as compared to their control groups the group using mobile health interventions on comparing to controls. Mobile phone utilization was also reported to improve the coverage of recommended antenatal care practices, including syphilis and HIV testing. The call center was an efficient approach for the measurement of post-discharge childbirth outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS

Mobile phone call/SMS/Application utilization was found to increase the healthcare facility uptake and reporting. Its usage was associated with favorable outcomes in both mother and child. Mobile health interventions could be successfully used for improving outcomes in different healthcare programs.