Effectiveness of mobile applications in pregnant women's adherence to prenatal consultations: randomized clinical trial
Francisca Marta de Lima Costa Souza, Wenysson Noleto dos Santos, Rebecca Stefany da Costa Santos, Vera Lúcia Morais da Silva, Rogéria Moreira de Abrantes, Veronica Feitosa Ribeiro Soares, Richardson Augusto Rosendo da Silva
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile application for cell phones in the adherence of pregnant women to prenatal consultations. METHOD: a randomized controlled clinical trial, simple-blind with two parallel groups, conducted from January to December 2018. Data collection was carried out through a structured interview at the end of the third trimester of pregnancy. For analysis, Chi-Square and Mann-Whitney tests were used. The sample consisted of 88 pregnant women from 2 Family Health Strategies in Northeast Brazil. Participants were randomized into two groups: intervention (IG), who used the application, and control (CG), who attended prenatal consultations. RESULTS: pregnant women who used the application (IG) attended a greater number of consultations when compared to participants in the CG, identifying a statistical difference between the groups (p<0.05). CONCLUSION: the application showed to be an effective health technology to improve adherence to prenatal care. Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials: RBR-74SNST.