Informatics Interventions for Maternal Morbidity: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Individuals of childbearing age in the U.S. currently enter pregnancy less healthy than previous generations, putting them at risk for maternal morbidities such as preeclampsia, gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), and postpartum mental health conditions. These conditions leave mothers at risk for long-term health complications that, when left unscreened and unmonitored, can be deadly. One approach to ensuring long-term health for mothers is designing informatics interventions that: (a) prevent maternal morbidities, (b) treat perinatal conditions, and (c) allow for continuity of treatment. This scoping review examines the extent, range, and nature of informatics interventions that have been tested on maternal morbidities that can have long-term health effects on mothers. It uses MEDLINE, EMBASE, and Cochrane Library to chart demographic, population, and intervention data regarding informatics and maternal morbidity. Studies (n=79) were extracted for analysis that satisfied the following conditions: (a) tested a medical or clinical informatics intervention; (b) tested on adults with a uterus or doctors who treat people with a uterus; and (c) tested on the following conditions: preeclampsia, GDM, preterm birth, severe maternal morbidity as defined by the CDC, and perinatal mental health conditions. Of the 79 studies extracted, 38% (n=30) tested technologies for GDM, 38% (n=30) tested technologies for postpartum depression, and 15.2% (n=12) tested technologies for preeclampsia. In terms of technologies, 35.4% (n = 28) tested a smartphone or tablet app, 29.1% (n=23) tested a telehealth intervention, and 15.2% (n=12) tested remote monitoring technologies (blood pressure, blood glucose). Most (86.1%; n=68) of the technologies were tested for patient physical or mental health outcomes. This scoping review reveals that most tested informatics interventions are those aimed at three conditions (GDM, preeclampsia, mental health) and that there may be opportunities to treat other common causes of maternal mortality (i.e. postpartum hemorrhage) using proven technologies such as mobile applications.