Validating PreCHAT: A Digital Preconception Health Risk Assessment Tool to Improve Reproductive, Maternal and Child Health

Abstract

Study background Despite the growing understanding of preconception care, numerous barriers to its delivery still exist, including a lack of evidence-based, accessible screening tools. Purpose To validate a new digital Preconception Health Assessment Tool (PreCHAT) against the current best practice, physician-delivered tool in Ontario, Canada, and explore how PreCHAT’s design impacts its risk identification abilities relative to the comparison tool. Methods A criterion validation study was conducted with 53 female participants aged 18–44 years. Participants completed both tools in a controlled setting. PreCHAT was completed on a tablet individually by participants, while the comparison tool was administered by a physician. Three physicians administered the comparison tool. Measures of strength of agreement between PreCHAT and the comparison tool were calculated using percent agreement, Cohen's Kappa, and prevalence-adjusted and biased-adjusted kappa (PABAK). Results PreCHAT identified 135 individual risk factors, while the comparison tool identified 102. Both tools shared the same 14 domains of preconception care and 88 risk factors; of the 88 risk factors, PreCHAT identified an average of 3.42 (p < 0.0001) more risks per participant than the comparison tool. PABAK scores indicated almost perfect agreement between PreCHAT and the comparison tool. Conclusions This study suggests that PreCHAT is valid against the current best practice tool and is broader in its risk identification among individuals of reproductive age. PreCHAT's patient-facing, digital, EMR-integrated design may offer unique benefits to providers and patients. PreCHAT offers providers an innovative approach to deliver preconception care and may positively impact reproductive, maternal, and child health.