The Effect of mHealth Intervention for Intrapartum and Postpartum Management on Improving Frontline Health Workers’ Capability and Quality of Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6463-760-1_12How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Frontline Health Workers; mHealth; Intrapartum; Postpartum; LMICs

Abstract

Mobile health (mHealth) technologies have demonstrated considerable potential in enhancing various aspects of healthcare, including maternal care. While a growing body of research explores the role of mHealth in maternal health, limited evidence exists regarding its impact on frontline health workers, particularly within intrapartum and postpartum care settings. This systematic review aims to assess the effectiveness of mHealth interventions in improving frontline health workers’ competencies and the quality of intrapartum and postpartum care in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), as well as to identify best practices for implementation. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in June 2024 across eight major databases—PubMed, MEDLINE (Ovid), Embase (Ovid), Cochrane Library, Web of Science, CINAHL Plus, Global Health (Ovid), and EMCare (Ovid). The review included peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2015 and 2024, encompassing qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies. Nine eligible studies involving frontline health workers were included. Findings indicate that mHealth interventions significantly enhance health workers’ competencies, as evidenced by improvements in knowledge and skill assessments. Quality of care also improved, as shown by increased appropriate referral rates and reduced incidence of postpartum haemorrhage (PPH). Additionally, mHealth use contributed positively to health workers’ self-confidence and perceived professional capability. These outcomes highlight the promise of mHealth tools in strengthening intrapartum and postpartum care delivery in LMICs. To maximize impact, sustained investment and the development of enabling policies are essential to support the integration of mHealth into maternal healthcare systems.

Copyright

© 2025 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ristania Ellya John
AU  - Florian Tomini
PY  - 2025
DA  - 2025/07/03
TI  - The Effect of mHealth Intervention for Intrapartum and Postpartum Management on Improving Frontline Health Workers’ Capability and Quality of Care in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: A Systematic Literature Review
BT  - Proceedings of the 3rd Lawang Sewu International Symposium on Medical and Health Sciences (LEWIS-MHS 2024)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 119
EP  - 146
SN  - 2468-5739
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6463-760-1_12
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6463-760-1_12
ID  - John2025
ER  -