Efficacy of an e-education program based on the Health Belief Model on exercise management in women with gestational hypertension: A randomized controlled clinical trial.
Wen Xu, Chunfeng Xing, Cong Chen and 3 others
PMID 41684610WHAT IT FOUND
For pregnant women with gestational hypertension, a 6-week app-based education program plus nurse-supported individualized exercise increased exercise frequency and duration and lowered blood pressure.
Preeclampsia was less frequent, but 6-minute walk distance did not differ between groups.
Key findings
01The intervention group increased exercise frequency from 2.4 ± 1.2 to 2.8 ± 1.2 sessions per week, exercise duration from 29.1 ± 8.7 to 43.1 ± 9.9 minutes, and total weekly exercise duration from 73.4 ± 45.4 to 125.8 ± 55.6 minutes, with between-group differences after intervention significant for frequency (P = 0.024) and duration measures (P < 0.001).
02Systolic blood pressure in the intervention group fell from 140.0 ± 5.8 to 135.2 ± 4.7 mmHg and diastolic pressure from 92.4 ± 4.8 to 85.4 ± 4.5 mmHg, while the control group showed no significant within-group change.
03Preeclampsia incidence was lower in the intervention group (P < 0.05), but stillbirth or neonatal death, preterm birth, postpartum hemorrhage, neonatal asphyxia, and 6-minute walk test results did not differ significantly.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
Single-center trial in Shenzhen, China, so generalizability may be limited. Only a 6-week intervention and no postpartum follow-up, so long-term and postpartum effects were not assessed. 13 participants dropped out and were excluded from the final analysis, although intention-to-treat was originally planned. Exercise adherence partly relied on self-reported logs, which may be socially desirable. The intervention bundled routine care, app videos, SMS, weekly calls, wristband monitoring, and individualized exercise prescription, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. The study did not examine differential effects of exercise types or intensities. Adverse pregnancy outcomes were secondary, and the paper reports P values but not exact incidence numbers for these outcomes.
Declared interests
Funded by the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation (grant 2025A1515011703); authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that any single element caused the benefit. The intervention combined routine antenatal care, app videos, SMS reminders, weekly calls, wristband monitoring, and an individualized exercise prescription, and the study cannot separate these components.