Voice-Based vs. Text-Based WhatsApp Messaging for Maternal Health Knowledge and Attitudes Among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Abuja, Nigeria
Voice-Based vs. Text-Based WhatsApp Messaging for Maternal Health Knowledge and Attitudes Among Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women in Abuja, Nigeria: A Three-Arm Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
This pilot randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate whether sending maternal health information via voice-based WhatsApp messages is more effective than text-based WhatsApp messages. The study enrolled 79 pregnant and breastfeeding women in Abuja, Nigeria, who were assigned to receive weekly voice messages, text messages, or standard care over an eight-week period. The primary goal is to determine if voice messaging produces greater improvements in maternal health knowledge and attitudes, which could offer a scalable, low-literacy-friendly tool to improve maternal health outcomes in Nigeria.
Studienübersicht
Status
Bedingungen
Detaillierte Beschreibung
Maternal mortality remains unacceptably high in sub-Saharan Africa, and gaps in maternal health knowledge contribute to delayed care-seeking behavior. While mobile health (mHealth) interventions offer scalable solutions, evidence directly comparing voice-based and text-based delivery formats in African settings is lacking.
This three-arm pilot randomized controlled trial was designed to address this gap by evaluating the preliminary effectiveness of voice-based versus text-based WhatsApp messaging on maternal health knowledge and attitudes. The theoretical rationale for the intervention is grounded in media richness and social presence frameworks, which suggest that voice communication conveys paralinguistic cues and creates greater social presence than text alone, potentially reducing cognitive load for women with limited literacy.
Participants were randomized into three arms: voice-based WhatsApp messaging, text-based WhatsApp messaging, or a standard care control group. The intervention consisted of weekly maternal health messages delivered over an eight-week period. The educational content, adapted from WHO and UNICEF maternal health materials, covered topics including nutrition, danger signs, breastfeeding, and postnatal care. Messages were delivered by a trained research assistant via a WhatsApp broadcast list, with the voice arm receiving audio recordings and the text arm receiving written messages of equivalent content.
The primary objective is to determine if voice-based messaging results in greater improvements in maternal health knowledge and attitudes compared to text-based messaging and standard care. Secondary exploratory objectives include assessing changes in a binary knowledge battery. The results of this pilot trial are intended to establish preliminary effect sizes and inform the design of a definitive, multi-site randomized controlled trial to evaluate voice messaging at scale.
Studientyp
Einschreibung (Tatsächlich)
Phase
- Unzutreffend
Kontakte und Standorte
Studienorte
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Federal Capital Territory
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Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, Nigeria, 11101
- Kuchingoro Primary Health Care Centre
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Teilnahmekriterien
Zulassungskriterien
Studienberechtigtes Alter
Akzeptiert gesunde Freiwillige
Studienberechtigte Geschlechter
Beschreibung
Inclusion Criteria:
Pregnant or breastfeeding women attending Kuchingoro Primary Health Care Centre.
Own a mobile phone with WhatsApp capability.
Willing to receive health messages over an eight-week period.
Able to provide informed consent.
Exclusion Criteria:
Inability to provide informed consent.
Any medical condition precluding participation.
Studienplan
Wie ist die Studie aufgebaut?
Designdetails
- Hauptzweck: Versorgungsforschung
- Zuteilung: Zufällig
- Interventionsmodell: Parallele Zuordnung
- Maskierung: Verdreifachen
Waffen und Interventionen
Teilnehmergruppe / Arm |
Intervention / Behandlung |
|---|---|
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Experimental: Voice-Based Messaging
Participants received weekly maternal health audio messages via WhatsApp for eight weeks. |
Participants received weekly maternal health written messages of equivalent content delivered over eight weeks via a WhatsApp broadcast list. Message content was adapted from WHO and UNICEF materials and covered nutrition, danger signs, breastfeeding, and postnatal care. |
|
Aktiver Komparator: Text-Based Messaging
Participants received weekly maternal health text messages via WhatsApp for eight weeks. |
Participants received weekly maternal health written messages of equivalent content delivered over eight weeks via a WhatsApp broadcast list. Message content was adapted from WHO and UNICEF materials and covered nutrition, danger signs, breastfeeding, and postnatal care. |
|
Kein Eingriff: Standard Care
Participants received standard routine care at the health facility without the WhatsApp messaging intervention |
Was misst die Studie?
Primäre Ergebnismessungen
Ergebnis Maßnahme |
Maßnahmenbeschreibung |
Zeitfenster |
|---|---|---|
|
Maternal Health Knowledge Score (Scale b2)
Zeitfenster: Baseline (T0) and 8-week follow-up (T2)
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Assessed using a Likert-type scale (Scale b2) to measure maternal health knowledge. Internal consistency was acceptable (α = .78 at baseline, .81 at follow-up). |
Baseline (T0) and 8-week follow-up (T2)
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Mitarbeiter und Ermittler
Sponsor
Publikationen und hilfreiche Links
Studienaufzeichnungsdaten
Haupttermine studieren
Studienbeginn (Tatsächlich)
Primärer Abschluss (Tatsächlich)
Studienabschluss (Tatsächlich)
Studienanmeldedaten
Zuerst eingereicht
Zuerst eingereicht, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt hat
Zuerst gepostet (Tatsächlich)
Studienaufzeichnungsaktualisierungen
Letztes Update gepostet (Tatsächlich)
Letztes eingereichtes Update, das die QC-Kriterien erfüllt
Zuletzt verifiziert
Mehr Informationen
Begriffe im Zusammenhang mit dieser Studie
Andere Studien-ID-Nummern
- MIVA/REC/2026/0042
- MIVA/REC/2026/0042 (Registrierungskennung: MIVA Open University Research Ethics Committee)
- MIVA/REC/2026/0042 (Andere Kennung: MIVA Open University)
Plan für individuelle Teilnehmerdaten (IPD)
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Beschreibung des IPD-Plans
The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Art der unterstützenden IPD-Freigabeinformationen
- SAFT
- ANALYTIC_CODE
Arzneimittel- und Geräteinformationen, Studienunterlagen
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Arzneimittelprodukt
Studiert ein von der US-amerikanischen FDA reguliertes Geräteprodukt
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