Assessing Feasibility of an Early Childhood Intervention Using Mobile Phones Among Low-Income Mothers of Newborns: Qualitative Interview Study

Abstract

Background Many children aged younger than 5 years living in low- and middle-income countries are at risk for poor development. Early child development (ECD) programs are cost-effective strategies to reduce poverty, crime, school dropouts, and socioeconomic inequality. With the spread of low-cost mobile phones and internet access in low- and middle-income countries, new service delivery models such as mobile phone–aided interventions have a great potential to improve early childhood development. Objective This study aimed to identify the beliefs on importance of ECD, feasibility of a proposed intervention using mobile phones and factors that may affect the usability of the intervention among mothers of newborns in a poverty-stricken area in southwestern China. Methods We conducted an in-depth, semistructured interview study of 25 low-income mothers of newborns recruited from two county hospitals in Yunnan Province. We applied the health belief model and cultural competence theories to identify the facilitators, barriers, and preferences among the target population for parenting knowledge. Results The results showed that the participants had low health literacy and high perceived needs for learning ECD knowledge. At the same time, they experienced several barriers to learning parenting information and following evidence-based instructions including having limited time, limited financial resources, and different opinions on childcare among family members. Many participants preferred to receive personalized messages tailored to their specific needs and preferred videos or graphics to text only in the messages. Many favored a separate module to support postpartum mental health. Conclusions The study assessed the acceptability of an early childhood intervention using mobile phones to meet the needs of the target population based on their beliefs, traits, and preferences and provided suggestions to refine the intervention to improve its usability.