Accepted for/Published in: Journal of Medical Internet Research
Date Submitted: Dec 8, 2021
Open Peer Review Period: Dec 8, 2021 - Dec 23, 2021
Date Accepted: Mar 1, 2022
(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Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Are Digital Interventions Effective for Preventing Alcohol Consumption in Pregnancy?: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis
ABSTRACT
Background:
Alcohol consumption in pregnancy has been associated with serious fetal health risk and maternal complications. While previous systematic reviews of digital interventions during pregnancy have targeted smoking cessation and flu vaccine uptake, fewer studies have sought to evaluate their effectiveness in preventing alcohol consumption during pregnancy.
Objective:
This systematic review aims to assess 1) whether digital interventions are effective in preventing alcohol consumption during the pregnancy/pregnancy-planning period, and 2) the differential effectiveness of alternative digital intervention platforms, i.e., computer, mobile, text messaging.
Methods:
PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Web of Science were searched for studies with digital interventions aiming to prevent alcohol consumption among pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant. A random-effects primary meta-analysis was conducted to estimate the combined effect size and extent to which different digital platforms were successful in preventing alcohol consumption in pregnancy.
Results:
Six studies were identified and included in the final review. The primary meta-analysis produced a sample-weighted odds ratio (OR) of 0.62 (95% CI: 0.42-0.91, p-value = 0.0150) in favor of digital interventions decreasing risk of alcohol consumption during pregnancy when compared to controls. Computer/internet-based interventions (OR: 0.59, 95% CI: 0.38-0.93) were an effective platform for preventing alcohol consumption. Too few studies of text messaging (OR: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.29-2.52) were available to draw a conclusion.
Conclusions:
Overall, our review highlights the potential for digital interventions to prevent alcohol consumption among pregnant women and women planning to become pregnant. Considering the advantages of digital interventions in promoting healthy behavioral changes, future research is necessary to understand how certain platforms may increase user engagement and intervention effectiveness to prevent women from consuming alcohol during their pregnancies. Clinical Trial: N/A
Citation
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Copyright
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