Nutritional, Metabolic, Endocrine Pregnancy and Childbirth
Conditions
Interventions
Standard or Routine antenatal care
Mobile phone based teleconsultation by means of SMS and phone call
Sponsors
Henry Y. Kezelee
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
Female
Inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: In a cluster randomized control trial, the eligibility criteria will be applied to the hospitals and the individual level of analysis. Hospitals with the highest antenatal care attendance, equip medical and laboratory facilities and more screening facilities for ANC will be selected for this study. Phebe and the Charles B. Dunbar hospitals are two centrally referral hospitals located in Liberia with a high level of ANC attendance. These two hospitals will be selected because they provide all the minimum recommended ANC services (drugs availability, laboratory standard, and so on). At the individual level, pregnant women availing ANC for the first time at the selected hospitals will be the sample population. Additionally, Pregnant women with no chronic medical problems, those accessible via mobile phone, and those who are willing to sign the consent form will be eligible for this study. A total of 147 pregnant women will take part in this study. Seventy-five (75) pregnant women will be assigned to each treatment arm.
Exclusion criteria
Exclusion criteria: As exclusion criteria, all pregnant women who have had prior ANC visits, those with chronic health-related problems in pregnancy, those who are not reachable via mobile phone, and finally those who will refuse to sign the consent form. Pregnant women who have had prior ANC visits will be excluded because they have been exposed to other ANC interventions that could affect the outcome variables
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The control intervention will consist of routine/standard antenatal care services. The experimental intervention will consist of mobile phone calls and short messages services (SMS). The primary outcome will be the difference in the average iron status (measured as hemoglobin) between the control group and the intervention group. The indicator for measuring iron status in this study will be hemoglobin measured in g/dl. The cutoff point for normal hemoglobin in pregnancy is >12g/dl. Anemia is considered as hemoglobin level <11g/dl. | — |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| The secondary outcomes will include the prevalence of malaria infection in the control group and the intervention group, the difference in hygiene and health practice between the control group and the intervention group, and the prevalence of pregnant women consuming at least one or more iron-rich food in the control and intervention groups. The time, methods, and frequency of handwashing will be used to evaluate hygiene practices. Malaria Smear or the Rapid Diagnostic Test (RDT) will be used to determine the presence or absence of malaria infection. The Food Frequency 66 Questionnaires will be used to evaluate dietary practices among pregnant women in the control group and those also in the intervention group. | — |
Countries
Liberia
Contacts
Public ContactLeila S. Africa
Research Advisor
Outcome results
None listed