Evidence map›Paper›PMID 25789477›Full record

ArticlePloS one2015

Prevalence of mobile phones and factors influencing usage by caregivers of young children in daily life and for health care in rural China: a mixed methods study.

Michelle Helena van Velthoven, Ye Li, Wei Wang, Li Chen, Xiaozhen Du, Qiong Wu, Yanfeng Zhang, Igor Rudan, Josip Car

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
3.7field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed, 16 citations in OpenAlex.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Michelle Helena van VelthovenGlobal eHealth Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Ye LiDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Wei WangDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Li ChenDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Xiaozhen DuDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Qiong WuDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Yanfeng ZhangDepartment of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Paediatrics, Beijing, China.
Igor RudanCentre for Population Health Sciences and Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.
Josip CarGlobal eHealth Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Capital Institute of Pediatrics · CNImperial College London · GBUniversity of Edinburgh · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionTo capitalise on mHealth, we need to understand the use of mobile phones both in daily life and for health care.

objectiveTo assess the prevalence and factors that influence usage of mobile phones by caregivers of young children. MATERIALS AND

methodsA mixed methods approach was used, whereby a survey (N=1854) and semi-structured interviews (N=17) were conducted concurrently. The quantitative and qualitative data obtained were compared and integrated. Participants were caregivers of young children in Zhao County, Hebei Province, China.

resultsFour main themes were found: (i) trends in mobile phone ownership; (ii) usage of mobile phone functions; (iii) factors influencing replying to text messages; and (iv) uses of mobile phones for health care. The majority of 1,854 survey participants (1,620; 87.4%) used mobile phones, but usage was much higher among mothers (1,433; 92.6%) and fathers (41; 100.0%) compared to grandparents (142; 54.6%). Parents were able to send text messages, grandparents often not. Factors influencing the decision to reply to text messages in daily life were checking the mobile phone, trusting the sender, emotion or feeling when receiving a text message, the importance of replying and ease of use of text messages. Of 1,620 survey participants who used a mobile phone, about one in four (432; 26.7%) had used it for health care in the past three months and most (1,110; 93.5%) of 1,187 who had not wished to use their phone to receive health information.

conclusionWe found that usage of mobile phones is high, several factors influencing usage and an interest of caregivers to use phones for health care in Zhao County, rural China, which can be used to inform studies in settings with similar characteristics. Future work needs to assess factors influencing mobile phone usage in-depth to optimize experiences of users for specific mHealth-based interventions.

Indexed as

CaregiversRural PopulationAdultCell PhoneChinaDelivery of Health CareFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornMaleMiddle AgedTelemedicineYoung Adult

Identifiers

PMID25789477
PMCPMC4366174
OpenAlexW2136149515

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.