Effects of digital health interventions in women with high-risk pregnancies: a systematic review.
Sehee Kim, Mihyeon Park, Sukhee Ahn
PMID 40017308WHAT IT FOUND
Across seven trials, digital health tools for high-risk pregnancy did not improve primary blood pressure or birth outcomes.
Some secondary anxiety, satisfaction, and illness-perception results were better with the tools.
Key findings
01The main outcomes did not show a clear benefit for digital health interventions compared with usual care.
02Home blood pressure monitoring using a validated device and app-based transmission did not lower mean systolic blood pressure more than usual care.
03In preterm labor trials, the QUiPP app predicted delivery within 7 days, and intervention sites more often followed guideline-recommended management for adverse outcomes.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Only seven randomized trials were included, involving 5,550 women, and they covered only gestational hypertension, preeclampsia, and preterm labor. The review could not combine results into a meta-analysis because outcome measures and intervention timing varied across trials. Two trials had some concerns about outcome measurement because participants knew their group assignment and reported psychological outcomes themselves. The search was limited to English peer-reviewed studies, and gestational diabetes was excluded because other reviews had covered it. The digital interventions were narrow: two phone applications and one internet program, so the review says little about other digital tools. The review did not assess technical problems, cost, device reliability, data security, or communication barriers.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflict of interest. The study was funded by the National Research Foundation of Korea.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that digital health tools improve high-risk pregnancy outcomes. The main blood pressure and birth outcome results did not show clear benefit, and some positive anxiety findings were within-group or secondary, not proven between-group effects.