The Impact of Mobile Health Interventions on Maternal and Child Health: Insights from the Growing Healthy Study
Background
The use of mobile health interventions (mHealth) in maternal and child health care is growing globally with the potential for extensive reach, low costs, and a reduced burden on health services. A systematic review of 245 mHealth studies in the maternal and child health field found that nearly half of the interventions used mobile apps and over a third included some form of health education or promotion. Research suggests that in high-income countries, mothers and their infants utilise more healthcare services during the early months compared to later in childhood. This pattern is demonstrated across different types of families, with single-parent and low-income families often relying more heavily on these services. Many of these visits are unrelated to illness where parents are seeking reassurance and general information about normal infant behaviour especially around feeding and growth. As healthcare costs rise, and out-of-pocket expenses increase, there is a need to explore alternative support options.
Study Aim
This study aimed to examine the impact of an infant feeding app (an earlier version of My Baby Now app called Growing healthy) on health service usage and out of pocket costs for families in the first nine months of their infants’ life.
Study Design
- The study utilised an experimental design with two groups: an intervention group and a non-randomized comparison group.
- Participants included expectant parents (more than 30 weeks gestation) and parents of infants up to three months old, all of whom were older than 18 years of age, living in Australia and able to understand and read English.
Intervention Details
- Participants in the intervention group were provided access to an app, website, and an online forum offering evidence-based information on infant feeding for the first nine months. They received three tailored text messages per week on general infant care, feeding and maternal wellbeing.
- The comparison group utilised usual care and were not provided access to the app.
Data Collection and Analysis
Surveys were administered at three time points: baseline, six months, and nine months. The surveys collected information on the utilisation of health services including the types of services sought and the associated out-of-pocket expenses. The data was analysed to assess differences in healthcare utilisation and costs between the two groups.
Results
Healthcare Usage
The study findings highlighted those participants using the app:
- were 64% less likely to seek advice from health services when compared to the comparison group*
- had a significantly lower likelihood of visiting GPs and paediatricians or calling Maternal and Child Health Nurse (MCHN) helplines*.
*after controlling for sociodemographic differences between the two groups
Out-of-Pocket Costs
- 53% from both the intervention and comparison groups reported paying out-of-pocket for healthcare services.
- The highest out-of-pocket costs were associated with chiropractors/osteopaths, followed by paediatricians and after hours visits to parenting centres.
Discussion
- The app reduced the likelihood of parents seeking advice from health services for issues relating to infant feeding, growth and activity, resulting in fewer overall services used.
- This reduction in service utilisation pertaining to non-acute illness, has the potential to ease the demand on healthcare systems, particularly GPs and paediatricians. Health economic modelling suggests the potential MBS cost-saving via reduction in child GP visits ($6,194,090 per annum) and in paediatrician visits ($706,156 per annum) alone.
- Whilst use of the app reduced overall service usage, there was no significant differences in out-of-pocket costs for parents using the app when compared to parents not using the app.
Conclusion
The study indicates that mHealth interventions can effectively reduce healthcare service utilisation for infant feeding and general care in the early months of life. As the cost of healthcare continues to rise, solutions like these apps could play a critical role in promoting better health outcomes without imposing additional financial strain on the health system and families themselves, particularly for disadvantaged families.