The United States has the highest maternal mortality rate when compared to 10 other developed nations. Up to 60% of pregnancy-related deaths and adverse health outcomes in the U.S. can be prevented by broadening accessibility, having higher quality of care, and improving education and available resources. Proper preventive and continuity of both prenatal and postpartum care is imperative, and health organizations play a foundational role in improving maternal health outcomes for our nation.
Technology’s Role
In an increasingly technology-driven world, organizations continually lean on digital trends to drive growth and business efficiencies. 97% of U.S. adults own a mobile phone, and with generative AI platforms such as ChatGTP and social media AI photo filters becoming mainstream, we’re beginning to see the power and potential of next generation technology.
But how does this tie into health organizations and maternal health?
A lot more than you may think. mPulse Mobile has harnessed innovative technology and digital trends and applied them to the healthcare landscape to educate and empower health consumers to take action. By borrowing inspiration from the world’s most innovative digital trends, we continually deliver best-in-class health outcomes. Technology’s leading trends, our in-house learning and design experts, and access to rich data and population insights enable us to create highly relevant and engaging digital experiences. Our solution to prenatal and postpartum care leverages this expertise and tackles the challenges associated with our nation’s poor maternal health outcomes, opening doors to accessibility, catering to care preferences, and building knowledge.
Broadening Access
We know 97% of American adults own a mobile phone, so leveraging this communication channel to reach more consumers is a great place to start. Being able to scale this resource requires automation, and to avoid abrasion, we lean on conversational AI and Natural Language Understanding (NLU) to direct consumers to the right tools and resources.
The ability to send pregnant members a list of ObGyns and clinics closest to where they live, or a phone number to call and schedule removes barriers and makes it easier to set up an appointment in a manner of minutes. If the member replies they don’t have access to reliable transportation, for example, NLU can recognize that barrier, and automatically reply with resources available that provide low or no-cost transportation options.
Care Preferences and Health Equity
The disparities in maternal health outcomes and the lack of representation and consideration for consumers who are disadvantaged by our health system is undoubtable and requires prioritization. mPulse Mobile is committed to helping reduce maternal health disparities and inequities by designing our programs to be relevant, relatable and address the needs and preferences of diverse communities.
Our pregnancy solution is culturally competent, with multilingual messaging and NLU tailoring, and inclusive replies and opt-outs (miscarriage opt-out, not saying “pregnant women”). For SDoH level data, we factor in zip codes to deliver relevant resource links, and inclusive visual and streaming content representation. To create a personalized and relevant experience throughout, the member’s due date is used to provide timely information, and custom keys (name, provider name, ect.) further enhance personalization.
Building Knowledge
Information sharing and access to news today is more broadly available thanks to smart devices and the internet. With Americans spending an average of 1,300 hours each year on social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok, it’s critical to derive inspiration from these platforms to maximize engagement and remove friction. More than 50% of expectant Americans download and use pregnancy-related apps for educational resources and pregnancy-related updates. Health organizations are perfectly positioned to harness these trends and provide a frictionless experience to expectant consumers to not only engage, but to deliver the right education and resources, close care gaps, and gather rich population insights.
mPulse Mobile’s prenatal and postpartum solution uses a combination of expert-led videos from Dr. Christine Noa Sterling, board-certified ObGyn, interactive modules, and short stories and animations to educate, and empower members around key milestones related to theirs and their baby’s health. Content is sent via SMS at key moments based on each consumer’s due date and encourages them to schedule routine appointments and make healthier choices. Our in-house team of behavioral scientists and instructional strategists leverage learning theory and high-quality cinematography and animation to produce content designed to drive action. See for yourself.
mPulse’s Prenatal and Postpartum Solution
mPulse Mobile’s pregnancy solution is a 12+ month interactive SMS program designed to improve quality performance and deliver better health outcomes. The solution specifically targets multiple HEDIS® measures and is proven to engage and deliver outcomes such as a 2X engagement rate with maternity care management services, a 7.1pp increase in the prenatal and postpartum care measure (PPC) owned by NCQA, and 61% engagement across 400,000 Medicaid members. By incorporating our behavior change methodology throughout all conversations and streaming content, our comprehensive approach broadens access, caters to individual preferences, and educates to improve health outcomes at scale.
