Clinical trial NCT03853850: Using Mobile Phone Text Messaging System to Improve Exclusive Breastfeeding Rate in a Resource-poor Caribbean Island
Official title: Strengthening Babies Through Mobile Health
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Phase: NA
Conditions: Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, Exclusive
Lead sponsor: University of California, Davis
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Public Hospital Roatan, Honduras
name: University of California, San Francisco
First posted: 2019-02-26
Enrollment: 582
Sex: FEMALE
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: NA
Intervention model: SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose: SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Brief summary: This study will evaluate whether sending educational and supportive mobile phone text messages to mothers of infants, from babies' day of birth until 6 months of age, increases the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Roatan, Honduras.

Detailed description: Encouraging and educational text messages and animations were created based on barriers to breastfeeding found during preceding focus groups and a baseline survey. Messages were written in English and translated into Spanish, with back-translation to ensure accuracy. Mothers who plan to or are already breastfeeding will be recruited and invited to participate in the study in the post-partum ward after delivery at Public Hospital Roatán. Written informed consent will be obtained. Three animated videos will be shown to mothers at enrollment providing information regarding breastfeeding technique, breastfeeding encouragement and general breastfeeding information. SMS messages will start at time of enrollment and continue through six months after enrollment. Messages will be delivered through Telerivet, an SMS interactive platform designed to send the educational and motivational messages to mothers' cell phones.

The intervention group will be polled when infants turn two months, four months, and six months regarding their infant feeding practices through Telerivet via SMS messaging. The primary outcome of this study is exclusive breastfeeding at 2 months of age, as compared to the exclusive breastfeeding rate obtained in our baseline cross sectional survey. Exclusive breastfeeding will be defined as giving only mother's breastmilk in the 24 hours preceding the interview. Mothers will also be asked if they are breastfeeding at all, age of infant when they last gave breast milk, the incidence of diarrheal illness in the past two weeks, and any other foods / liquids given to infant.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Recently delivered full term infants (\>37 weeks gestation, less than 72 hours old)
* 18 years of age or older, or emancipated minor, or if parent able to consent if \<18 years of age
* Intent to breastfeed
* Own a phone that can receive SMS messages
* Able to send SMS reply messages

Exclusion Criteria:

* Mothers who report they can not read in Spanish nor English

Primary outcomes:
measure: Exclusive breastfeeding rate at 2 months of age
timeFrame: 2 months after date of enrollment
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Exclusive breastfeeding rate at 4 months of age
timeFrame: 4 months after date of enrollment
measure: Exclusive breastfeeding rate at 6 months of age
timeFrame: 6 months after date of enrollment
measure: Breastfeeding rate at 4 months of age
timeFrame: 4 months after date of enrollment
measure: Breastfeeding rate at 6 months of age
timeFrame: 6 months after date of enrollment
measure: Diarrheal disease at 2 months of age
timeFrame: 2 months after date of enrollment
measure: Diarrheal disease at 4 months of age
timeFrame: 4 months after date of enrollment
measure: Diarrheal disease at 6 months of age
timeFrame: 6 months after date of enrollment
measure: Infant feeding practice at 2 months of age
timeFrame: 2 months after date of enrollment
measure: Infant feeding practice at 4 months of age
timeFrame: 4 months after date of enrollment
measure: Infant feeding practice at 6 months of age
timeFrame: 6 months after date of enrollment
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Coxen Hole
country: Honduras
facility: Public Hospital Roatan
state: Roatan
Study officials:
affiliation: University of California, Davis
name: Caroline Chantry, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
affiliation: University of California, Davis
name: Lisa Rasmussen, MD
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: