Usability and Quality Evaluation of the "E- Midwife" Mobile Application for Nurse-Midwives in Obstetric Complications: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Obstetric complications are illnesses that develop during childbirth. Smartphones, which facilitate the use of prompt features in the early diagnosis of challenges and quick delivery of respectful maternity care, are one of the most recent advances in health technology. The key objective of this project is to evaluate the usability and quality of the "E-Midwife" mobile application for nurse-midwives, which focuses on obstetric complications.

Methods: This study is a component of a randomized controlled trial on nurse-midwives. This project followed a four-step approach: content development phase, app design phase, app development phase, and usability testing phase. The app was developed using extensive flowcharts, a definition of the navigational framework, a structured database, and user-friendly software. 140 out of the 196 nurse-midwives were allocated to the intervention (n=70) and control group (n=70), using random allocation. The intervention group used the application for 8 weeks. Usability and quality of the application were assessed using the system usability scale and the mobile application rating scale, respectively. SPSS statistical software, version 17, was used to analyze the dat.

Results: The overall score of the usability testing of E-Midwife was 82.75±0.68. The total mean score of quality was 3.77±0.86. Therefore, it was shown to have good usability and quality.

Conclusion: The E-midwife mobile application has a high usability and quality which makes its usage effective and efficient. It is recommended that these similar mobile apps should be used along with other educational methods for educating the nurse-midwives.Trial Registration Number: CTRI/2022/03/040857.