Mobile applications in women’s health education in obstetric and gynecological care

Abstract

Introduction. The dynamic development of new technologies and the dissemination of mobile applications in everyday life create opportunities for using the new form for activities within the framework of women’s health education.

Aim. The work aims to review mobile applications that can be used in women’s health education in obstetrics and gynecology, and to determine their range of functions facilitating independent control of women’s health.

Material and method. The research of mobile applications was limited to the ones available for Android and iOS (iPhone). The source of all information are the websites of the software producers. The criteria for including the application in the analysis were: availability on the website play.google.com and usefulness in obstetric-gynecological care of women. As many as 27 applications with the highest number of downloads became the subject matter of the analysis.

Results. Due to the substantive scope of women’s health education, mobile applications were classified into three groups: 1) helpful in controlling the menstrual cycle, 2) helpful in monitoring pregnancy, 3) used in the prevention of diseases in gynecological-obstetric care. Out of all the applications available, 10 were classified to the first and second group each, and 7 to the third one.

Conclusions. Mobile health applications are a promising strategy for health education as a tool for monitoring, improving self-control, and raising awareness in the care of women.