Mobile phone application in the management of maternal and young child malnutrition: A review

Abstract

Background: Malnutrition is one of the leading causes of maternal and young child mortality in underdeveloped countries, particularly during pregnancy and delivery. The effects of malnutrition in pregnant women include low birth weight, preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, nutrient deficiencies and reduced breast milk production. Mobile phone applications are widely used with features such as portability, ease of communication, storage at relatively low cost that makes such technology attractive to nutritionists.

Objective: To assess if mobile phone applications can be beneficial in maternal and young child malnutrition intervention.

Methods: Zotero reference management software was used to ensure the rigor and reproducibility of the review process. Based on defined key words, a search was conducted on Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, PubMed and Springer databases to retrieve all publications on mobile phone applications in maternal and young child malnutrition interventions. The study used ten articles from unique studies that met the study criteria and are reported in terms of authors, year, sample size, study design and outcome measure.

Results: The articles revealed that mobile phone applications were highly useful in maternal and young child malnutrition intervention, prompting nutrition information seeking and facilitating communication with healthcare providers.

Conclusion: Mobile phone applications are widely acknowledged, and beneficial in maternal and neonatal malnutrition management, they have the potential to improve maternal and young child nutritional status through self-monitoring. Given the low uptake of current mobile phone application, it should be given a significant consideration as a potential strategy for managing maternal and young child malnutrition.