Currently submitted to: JMIR mHealth and uHealth
Date Submitted: Mar 12, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 13, 2026 - May 8, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited.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.
Motivations behind the development of digital decision support tools in maternal and fetal care: a review
ABSTRACT
Background:
Over the past decade, there has been a surge in the development and integration of digital health applications into healthcare. It has been suggested that these tools have the potential to enhance patient outcomes, streamline decision-making, and improve communication between patients and healthcare professionals. Maternal and fetal care presents a unique context for digital innovation, where dynamic physiological changes and complex risk assessment create opportunities for decision support tools.
Objective:
This review aimed to map the current landscape of digital tools developed for decision support and risk assessment in maternal and fetal care, and to explore the motivations driving their development.
Methods:
A structured literature search was conducted in the National Library of Medicine and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews from database inception to 2025. Studies were eligible if they described electronic decision support or risk assessment tools used during pregnancy. Included studies were synthesised thematically to identify key motivational drivers behind app development.
Results:
Twenty-two studies describing 18 distinct applications met inclusion criteria. The tools targeted a wide range of clinical areas in maternal care and were designed for use by patients, clinicians, or both. Six key motivational themes emerged: addressing underdiagnosis; improving care in resource-limited settings; enhancing patient–clinician communication; leveraging technology to achieve public health goals; providing objectivity in clinical decisions; and reducing workload and cost. Collectively, these motivations reflect efforts to respond to real clinical challenges and improve decision-making in pregnancy care.
Conclusions:
Understanding the motivations behind the development of digital tools for clinical decision making should help us to ensure that their implementation does not outpace the acquisition of appropriate and reliable evidence in this rapidly growing field.
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