ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2023
Texting for life: a mobile phone application to connect pregnant women with emergency transport and obstetric care in rural Nigeria.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 8 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
8 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 13 citations in OpenAlex.
- Barriers and facilitators of messaging platforms as a means of maternal support and care in rural communities: A systematic review.PloS one · 2025Pooled it
- Cross-context qualitative synthesis of a mobile obstetric referral emergency system (MORES) in Ghana and Liberia.PloS one · 2026Article
- A comprehensive model of maternal health behavior: the interplay of sociodemographic and digital determinants in Nigeria.Cadernos de saude publica · 2026Article
- Digital Health Interventions in Emergency Obstetric and Newborn Care Services in Low- and Middle-Income Countries: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- A scoping review of digital technologies in antenatal care: recent progress and applications of digital technologies.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2025Article
- Understanding urban-rural inequality in early maternal discharge following facility-based vaginal delivery in Nigeria: A multivariate decomposition analysis.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- The Impact of Digital Health Solutions on Bridging the Health Care Gap in Rural Areas: A Scoping Review.The Permanente journal · 2024Article
- Types, reporting and acceptability of community-based interventions for stillbirth prevention in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA): a systematic review.EClinicalMedicine · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
12 authors at 5 institutions in 5 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDifficulty in transportation to access skilled providers has been cited repeatedly as a major barrier to utilization of emergency obstetric care in Nigeria.
objectiveThe objective of this paper is to describe the design, implementation, and outcomes of a mobile phone technology aimed at rapidly reaching rural Nigerian women who experience pregnancy complications with emergency transportation and access to providers.
methodThe project was implemented in 20 communities in two predominantly rural Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Edo State, in southern Nigeria, as part of a larger implementation project aimed at improving the access of rural women to skilled pregnancy care. The digital health innovation named Text4Life, allowed women to send a brief message from their mobile phone to a server linked to Primary Health Care (PHC) facilities and to access pre-registered transport owners. Pregnant women were registered and taught to text short messages to a server from their mobile phones or those of a friend or relative when they experience complications.
resultsOver 18 months, 56 women out of 1620 registered women (3.5%) texted the server requesting emergency transportation. Of this number, 51 were successfully transported to the PHC facilities, 46 were successfully treated at the PHC, and five were referred to higher-level care facilities. No maternal deaths occurred during the period, while four perinatal deaths were recorded.
conclusionWe conclude that a rapid short message sent from a mobile phone to a central server and connected to transport providers and health facility managers is effective in increasing the access of pregnant women to skilled emergency obstetric services in rural Nigeria.
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