Women's experiences and needs in the use of digital technologies for the management of gestational diabetes: An integrative systematic review.

Abstract

Introduction: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) represents a widespread complication occurring during pregnancy, posing potential risks to both expectant mothers and their babies. Evidence shows that digital technologies provide comparable levels of care to conventional methods for GDM self-management, which help to improve maternal and neonatal outcomes. This systematic review aimed to explore women's experiences in using digital technologies, inform future technology design for gestational diabetes and potentially help improve usability.

Methods: An integrative systematic review including quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method studies. The search was conducted in five databases including CINAHL, Web of Science, Medline, Embase, and PsycInfo. Studies were eligible when including the experience of using digital technologies for GDM self-management from the women's perspective. The screening processes were conducted by two independent reviewers and reached an overall moderate agreement on inter-rater reliability. Quality appraisal was conducted using the Mixed Method Appraisal Tool version 2018.

Results: Thirty peer-reviewed articles were included, with a predominant or partial focus on five types of digital technologies including mobile applications, virtual care services, webpages, digital devices, and online communities. Women's experiences and needs of using GDM digital technologies were synthesised into five overarching themes: (1) sufficient and straightforward GDM-relevant educational information; (2) advanced personalisation and broader commitments in coaching components; (3) easy data recording and advanced data visualisation in data management; (4) improved healthcare professionals' engagement; (5) development of online community interfaces.

Conclusion: This integrative systematic review gives information on the types of available features across technologies and specific preferences for features by women with GDM. According to the inferred gaps, efforts should be made to facilitate women's self-monitoring using data and feedback, provide personalised information corresponding to women's condition, meet different behaviour change needs using customised coaching features, and enable wider access to information and support.