Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Assessment of Needs and Expectations of Expectant and New Parents as a Fundamental Step in Co-design of a mHealth Application Supporting the First 1000 Days of Life

Laura Brunelli
* ORCID logo ,
Sofia Bussolaro
ORCID logo ,
Raffaella Dobrina
ORCID logo ,
Chiara De Vita
,
Elena Mazzolini
,
Giuseppa Verardi
,
Maura Degrassi
,
Maria Piazza
,
Andrea Cassone
,
Anja Starec
,
Giuseppe Ricci
ORCID logo ,
Sara Zanchiello
,
Tamara Stampalija
Version 1 : Received: 28 November 2022 / Approved: 5 December 2022 / Online: 5 December 2022 (14:43:03 CET)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Brunelli, L.; Bussolaro, S.; Dobrina, R.; De Vita, C.; Mazzolini, E.; Verardi, G.; Degrassi, M.; Piazza, M.; Cassone, A.; Starec, A.; Ricci, G.; Zanchiello, S.; Stampalija, T. Exploring the Needs and Expectations of Expectant and New Parents for an mHealth Application to Support the First 1000 Days of Life: Steps toward a Co-Design Approach. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 1227. Brunelli, L.; Bussolaro, S.; Dobrina, R.; De Vita, C.; Mazzolini, E.; Verardi, G.; Degrassi, M.; Piazza, M.; Cassone, A.; Starec, A.; Ricci, G.; Zanchiello, S.; Stampalija, T. Exploring the Needs and Expectations of Expectant and New Parents for an mHealth Application to Support the First 1000 Days of Life: Steps toward a Co-Design Approach. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 1227.

Abstract

Background. To improve maternal and child health, it is essential to adhere to health-promoting and preventive measures. However, reliable information as well as effective tools are not easy to identify in this field. Our cross-sectional study investigated the needs and expectations of expectant and new mothers and fathers -primary users of an app supporting the first 1000 days of life. Methods. Between May and August 2022, we recruited expectant and new parents by administering a 71-item 5-point Likert scale questionnaire related to content, functionalities, and technical features of a hypothetical app. We stratified responses by sociodemographic characteristics and then performed ward hierarchical clustering. Results. The 94 women and 69 men involved in our study generally agreed with the proposed content, but expressed low interest in certain app functionalities, especially those related to interaction mechanism and interactivity. Women were generally more demanding than men, and family income declined as the needs and expectations increased. Conclusions. Our findings, resulting from the engagement of end-users, may be useful for designers and technology providers to implement mHealth solutions that, in addition to conveying reliable information, are tailored to the needs and preferences of end-users in the first 1000 days of life.

Keywords

mHealth; pregnancy; app; first 1000 days; co-design; expectant parents

Subject

Medicine and Pharmacology, Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health

Copyright: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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