Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Feb 13, 2020
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 13, 2020 - Apr 9, 2020
Date Accepted: Jan 17, 2021
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Delivering Perinatal Health Information via a Voice Interactive App: A Mixed Method Study
ABSTRACT
Background:
Perinatal healthcare is critically important to maternal infant health outcomes. The U.S. fares considerably worse than comparable countries for maternal and infant mortality rates. As such, alternative models of care or engagement are warranted. Ubiquitous digital devices and increased utilization of digital health tools have the potential to extend the reach to women and infants in their everyday lives and make positive impacts to their health outcomes. As voice-enabled devices become more mainstream, research is prudent to establish evidence-based practice on how to best leverage voice interaction to promote maternal infant health.
Objective:
Our primary aim was to assess the feasibility and usability of voice technology in perinatal health education. A secondary aim was to explore perceptions and attitudes of pregnant women towards perinatal health content delivered through voice.
Methods:
The study was a mixed method design. Study activities included completing baseline surveys, using a voice interactive app for two-weeks, and participating in exit interviews. Through the intervention, SMILE, users were able listen to perinatal health content delivered through mini-podcasts and provide immediate verbal feedback. Descriptive analysis was performed on quantitative survey data. Podcast feedback was analyzed using sentiment and thematic analysis. Interview data was analyzed using thematic analysis.
Results:
19 pregnant women (ranging 17-36 weeks pregnant) were consented. Themes identified as important for perinatal health information include: establishing routines, expected norms and realistic expectations, and providing key takeaways. Themes identified important for voice interaction include: customization and user preferences, privacy, family and friends, and context and convenience. Qualitative analysis suggested that perinatal health promotion content delivered by voice should be accurate, succinctly delivered, and highlight key takeaways. Perinatal health interventions with voice-interaction delivery should provide users with the ability to customize the intervention, but also provide opportunities to engage family members, particularly spouses. To leverage the convenience of voice technology, solution must consider user contexts (e.g. timing or ability to listen/talk versus non-voice interaction with the system) in designing intervention activities.
Conclusions:
Findings from this research inform future content, design, and delivery considerations of perinatal digital health interventions and contribute to an evolving domain of digital health intervention research using voice interactive technology. Clinical Trial: n/a
Citation
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Copyright
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