What is it about?
Women who live in rural and underserved communities experience barriers to accessing care during and after pregnancy. We spoke with women and providers about what features they would like to see in an application for self-monitoring of blood pressure and mental health. We describe educational needs, wants, and improvements made to the interface based on mother and provider feedback.
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Why is it important?
Georgia has one of the highest maternal mortality rates in the US, and trends over the last 15 years do not show improvement. One of the leading causes of death is related to pre-eclampsia, eclampsia, and cardiovascular conditions. Did you know that pre-eclampsia deaths occur most often in the postpartum period? Moms told us that they wanted to know what "good" blood pressure was, what "fine" blood pressure was, and that they needed access to educational materials they knew they could trust. Providers in turn want their patients to be knowledgeable and confident in asking questions. Sharing what we learn with our communities is one way to improve women's health.
Perspectives
My family lost my cousin at 38 weeks of pregnancy, and it started with a headache that would not go away - this is a classic sign of pre-eclampsia. It has become a mission for me to make sure moms and their support systems know what to do and look for, to prevent similar tragedies.
Marlo Vernon
Augusta University
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Implementing a self-monitoring application during pregnancy and postpartum for rural and underserved women: A qualitative needs assessment study, PLoS ONE, July 2022, PLOS,
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270190.
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