Women's Access to Mobile Phones and Willingness to Utilize mHealth Interventions for Oral Health Promotion in Egypt

Oral Health Clinical Trial

Official title:

Women's Access to Mobile Phones and Willingness to Utilize mHealth Interventions for Oral Health Promotion in Egypt: A Cross-Sectional Study

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Recruiting

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04256109
• Other study ID #: 827
• Status: Recruiting
• Start date: January 11, 2020
• Est. completion date: October 2021

Study information

• Verified date: March 2021
• Source: Ain Shams University
• Contact: Mariam Sharaf, Masters
• Phone: +2 01068022877
• Email: mariamayman[@]dent.asu.edu.eg
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Observational

Clinical Trial Summary

In 2019, it was reported that there were 27.9 million smart phone users and 93.7 million phone subscribers in Egypt. This means that mHealth (which is the use of mobile phones in delivering health-care and public health services) could be a major asset to delivering oral health education to the secluded rural areas or the more under privileged remote areas in the future. However, in order to employ mHealth effectively, it's essential to estimate the percentage of users who, not only have access to mobile technology, but are also willing to utilize mHealth interventions. It is also of great importance to understand the patients' preferences regarding its use. This is in order to tailor an intervention that satisfies their needs for oral health related services. Therefore the aim of this study is to determine the access of Egyptian women to mobile phones, as well as their willingness to utilize mHealth interventions for oral health promotion.

Description:

Dental caries and periodontal diseases contribute greatly to the global burden of oral diseases. Unfortunately, this is more observed in the developing countries. This is mainly attributed to the shortage of oral health personnel that Africa suffers from, which results in oral health services being offered mostly to central and urban areas of Africa.

Women, in particular, suffer from health inequalities. Those inequalities are mainly related to socioeconomic status and the geographic region in which they reside.

A study conducted in Egypt in 2014 underlined the oral health inequalities present within the country. This study emphasized the need for oral health promotion plans which are specially directed towards individuals with low-income. That is to provide health equity in terms of access to oral health-care services and quality treatment for all the Egyptian population.

One way to address this problem is the use of Electronic health or "eHealth". mHealth, which is a subset of eHealth, is the use of mobile phones to deliver health-care services through short messaging services (SMS), smart phone applications and voice calls. Several studies highlighted that mHealth can be an effective tool in delivering public health services in a cost effective way and without any geographic barriers.

The multitasking capabilities of mobile phones provide a great chance for chronic disease prevention and improvement as it offers remote health education. Moreover, it provides the patients with increased care and allows for self-management. Mobile phones can also be used as reminders for medications and appointments and allow for immediate contact between the doctor and the patient. This way, mHealth offers uninterrupted care, close monitoring to the patients and rapid response from the doctors' side, this is of course regarded as a more comfortable approach to the patients.

The challenge still lies in the adoption and acceptance of mHealth by the patients, which is controlled by the user's willingness to utilize this new technology. This problem is even more observed in the developing countries. Although mHealth interventions were previously attempted to improve oral health, none were implemented in Egypt. This is the first study to explore the potential use of mHealth for oral health promotion in Egypt.

Study procedure:

• After a comprehensive literature review using electronic databases (PubMed and Web of Science), studies assessing the accessibility to mobile phones, ability to use mobile phones, willingness to utilize mHealth interventions, usage patterns of mobile phones, preferences regarding mHealth, barriers and motivators for participating in mHealth were identified.

• Using nine similar studies, a structured English language interviewer-administered questionnaire was developed after modifying their original questionnaires to serve the aim of our study and ensure culture appropriateness.

• Forward translation of the English questionnaire into Arabic language was done .

• One well-trained investigator will conduct all interviews.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Recruiting
• Enrollment: 541
• Est. completion date: October 2021
• Est. primary completion date: September 2021
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Female
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Egyptian women.

• Older than 18 years of age.

• Currently residing in Egypt.

• Mentally and medically fit to participate in the study.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Women who do not consent to participate in the study.

• Women seeking emergency dental treatment.

• Women who do not own or share a mobile phone. Their number will be reported by using a flow chart

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• eHealth
• mHealth
• Oral Health

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Egypt	Faculty of Dentistry, Ain Shams University	Cairo

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Ain Shams University

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Egypt, 

References & Publications (8)

Cormick G, Ciganda A, Cafferata ML, Ripple MJ, Sosa-Estani S, Buekens P, Belizán JM, Althabe F. Text message interventions for follow up of infants born to mothers positive for Chagas disease in Tucumán, Argentina: a feasibility study. BMC Res Notes. 2015 Sep 29;8:508. doi: 10.1186/s13104-015-1498-9. — View Citation

James DC, Harville C 2nd, Whitehead N, Stellefson M, Dodani S, Sears C. Willingness of African American Women to Participate in e-Health/m-Health Research. Telemed J E Health. 2016 Mar;22(3):191-7. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2015.0071. Epub 2015 Aug 27. — View Citation

James DCS, Harville C 2nd. Smartphone Usage, Social Media Engagement, and Willingness to Participate in mHealth Weight Management Research Among African American Women. Health Educ Behav. 2018 Jun;45(3):315-322. doi: 10.1177/1090198117714020. Epub 2017 Jun 13. — View Citation

Mangin D, Parascandalo J, Khudoyarova O, Agarwal G, Bismah V, Orr S. Multimorbidity, eHealth and implications for equity: a cross-sectional survey of patient perspectives on eHealth. BMJ Open. 2019 Feb 12;9(2):e023731. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023731. — View Citation

Marhefka SL, Turner D, Lockhart E. Understanding Women's Willingness to Use e-Health for HIV-Related Services: A Novel Application of the Technology Readiness and Acceptance Model to a Highly Stigmatized Medical Condition. Telemed J E Health. 2019 Jun;25(6):511-518. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2018.0066. Epub 2019 Jan 18. — View Citation

Treskes RW, Koole M, Kauw D, Winter MM, Monteiro M, Dohmen D, Abu-Hanna A, Schijven MP, Mulder BJ, Bouma BJ, Schuuring MJ. Adults with congenital heart disease: ready for mobile health? Neth Heart J. 2019 Mar;27(3):152-160. doi: 10.1007/s12471-019-1237-2. — View Citation

van den Houten MML, Spruijt S, Fokkenrood HJP, Scheltinga MRM, Teijink JAW. User Preferences for Mobile Health Interventions: A Survey among Intermittent Claudication Patients and Their Physical Therapists. Ann Vasc Surg. 2018 Jan;46:249-256. doi: 10.1016/j.avsg.2017.08.020. Epub 2017 Sep 8. — View Citation

Yamin F, Kaewkungwal J, Singhasivanon P, Lawpoolsri S. Women's Perceptions of Using Mobile Phones for Maternal and Child Health Support in Afghanistan: Cross-Sectional Survey. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Apr 10;6(4):e76. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.9504. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Percentage of women in Egypt who have access to mobile phones.	Arabic language interviewer-administered questionnaire	January 2020-June 2020
Primary	Percentage of women in Egypt who are willing to utilize mHealth interventions for oral health promotion.	Arabic language interviewer-administered questionnaire	January 2020-June 2020
Secondary	Mobile phones' usage patterns by women in Egypt.	Arabic language interviewer-administered questionnaire	January 2020-July 2020
Secondary	Percentage of different methods preferred by women in Egypt for receiving mHealth services	Arabic language interviewer-administered questionnaire	January 2020-July 2020