JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

After hospital discharge, parents of preterm infants need accessible and reliable information to gain confidence and skills in their child-caring abilities and parental autonomy. Parental need for information after hospital discharge includes topics related to prematurity, such as crying, feeding, sleeping, infant care, general health, and neuromotor development. However, parents report difficulty in finding and understanding this information. Mobile apps have the potential to improve information provision.

Objective:

The aim of this systematic app review was to identify and evaluate the content, quality, and usability of information provided via mobile apps for parents of preterm infants targeting the period after hospital discharge.

Methods:

We systematically searched the Apple App Store, Google Play Store, and Google along with a literature search using PubMed. Multiple keywords were used (e.g. "preterm baby", "app", and "home"). Apps were included when they provided information for parents on topics and content related to prematurity after hospital discharge. To examine app content related to the post-discharge period, apps were reviewed and topics were identified. The Mobile App Rating Scale (MARS) was used to measure the app’s quality, and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-AV) was used to measure the app’s usability (Actionability and Understandability).

Results:

After the initial search, the title and descriptions of 202 apps were screened for eligibility. Eventually, nine English apps were included in the review. Information related to the post-discharge period constituted only a small part of the app’s content. Most commonly addressed topics related to the period at home were vaccinations, follow-up, feeding, and using home oxygen. Using the MARS, only one of nine apps received a good score for overall quality (“My preemie app”) and seven apps received an acceptable score. Only four apps scored high on Understandability of the PEMAT-AV, and six apps scored high on Actionability. No Dutch apps were identified.

Conclusions:

The current availability of mobile information apps for parents of preterm infants targeting the period after hospital discharge is limited. Nine English apps were identified, that contained a small portion related to the post-discharge period. This content does not match with earlier indicated parental information needs, on topics such as crying, diaper change or parental well-being are often missing. The overall quality of the apps is only acceptable. Although the reliability of the information was close to good, the understandability of the apps was moderate. Recommendations for future app development include more relevant and understandable information related to the post-discharge period, that meets the demand of VP parents.