title: Impact of an SMS advice programme on maternal and newborn health in rural China: study protocol for a quasi-randomised controlled trial.
abstract: Expectant mothers in low-income and middle-income countries often lack access to vital information about pregnancy, preparation for birth and best practices when caring for their newborn. Innovative solutions are needed to bridge this knowledge gap and dramatically improve maternal and neonatal health in these settings. This study aims to evaluate the impact of an innovative text messaging intervention on maternal and neonatal health outcomes.
  
  
  
  This study offers expectant mothers in rural China a package of free short messages via cell phone regarding pregnancy and childbirth. These messages are tailored to each mother's gestational week. It is hypothesised that delivering these short advice messages to pregnant women can improve maternal and newborn health. The study uses factorial quasi-randomisation to compare psychological, behavioural and health outcomes between 4 groups: 2 groups receiving different sets of short message interventions (ie, good household prenatal practices and healthcare seeking), a group receiving both interventions and a control group. Treatment assignment occurs at the individual level. The primary outcome is newborn health, measured by appropriateness of weight for gestational age. Secondary outcomes include severe neonatal and maternal morbidity as well as psychological and behavioural measures. This study has enrolled pregnant women who attend county maternal and child health centres for their prenatal visits.
  
  
  
  This pilot is the first large-scale effort to build a comprehensive evidence base on the impact of prenatal text messages via cell phone on maternal and newborn health outcomes in China. The study has broad implications for public health policy in China and the implementation of mobile health interventions in low-resource settings around the world.
  
  
  
  This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the School of Medicine at Xi'an Jiaotong University on 18 January 2013.
  
  
  
  NCT02037087; Pre-results.
authors: Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA.
authors: Yanfang
authors: Y
authors: Su
authors: Nutrition Department, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Changzheng
authors: C
authors: Yuan
authors: School of Public Policy and Administration, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, Shaanxi, China.
authors: Zhongliang
authors: Z
authors: Zhou
authors: Global Health and Population Department, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Jesse
authors: J
authors: Heitner
authors: Vera Solutions, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.
authors: Benjamin
authors: B
authors: Campbell
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001724:Birth Weight; D002681:China; D003376:Counseling; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D000068104:Infant Health; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D000068097:Maternal Health; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012424:Rural Population; D060145:Text Messaging