Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40075230›Full record

Trial reportNature medicine2025

The impact of interactive text communication on neonatal mortality in Kenya: a randomized controlled trial.

Jennifer A Unger, John Kinuthia, Brenda Wandika, Anna Hedstrom, Erica Wetzler, Jenna I Udren, Millicent Masinde, Esther M Choo, Olivia Schultes, Peninah Kithao and 8 more

Registry-linked trialAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Nature medicine, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT04598165 (Mobile WACh NEO Randomized Clinical Trial), which is not on this map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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.

NCT04598165 nacompletednot on this map

Mobile WACh NEO Randomized Clinical Trial: Mobile Phone 2-Way Short Message Service (SMS) Versus Control to Reduce Neonatal Mortality in Kenya

TypeinterventionalSponsorWomen and Infants Hospital of Rhode IslandRan2020 to 2023Enrolled5,020ConditionsNeonatal Death, Perinatal Death, DepressionArmsInteractive two-way SMS dialogue
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
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

18 authors.

Jennifer A UngerDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, Women and Infants Hospital, Providence, RI, USA. jennifer_unger@brown.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6317-226X
John KinuthiaDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Brenda WandikaDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Anna HedstromDepartment of Pediatrics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Erica WetzlerDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3076-5034
Jenna I UdrenDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9523-1041
Millicent MasindeDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Esther M ChooDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Olivia SchultesDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Peninah KithaoDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
June MoraaDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Esther AkinyiDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Lusi OsbornDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Emmaculate NzoveDepartment of Research & Programs, Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi, Kenya.
Barbra A RichardsonDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
Manasi KumarInstitute of Excellence in Global Health Equity, New York University, New York, NY, USA.
Dalton WamalwaDepartment of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Nairobi, Nairobi, Kenya.
Keshet RonenDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.

Funding

University of Washington/Fred Hutch Center for AIDS ResearchP30AI027757 · NIAID · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI CONNIE L CELUM · 1988 to 2026
$104.9M
Mobile WACh NEO: Mobile Solutions for Neonatal Health and Maternal SupportR01HD098105 · NICHD · WOMEN AND INFANTS HOSPITAL-RHODE ISLAND · PI UNGER, JENNIFER · 2019 to 2023
$2.8M
Leveraging interactive SMS messaging to monitor and support maternal mental health in KenyaK18MH122978 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON · PI RONEN, KESHET · 2020 to 2021
$256k
NIAID NIH HHS P30 AI027757NICHD NIH HHS R01 HD098105NIMH NIH HHS K18 MH122978U.S. Department of Health & Human Services | NIH | Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) 1R01HD098105
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Text communication between newborns' caregivers and healthcare workers allows for real-time decisional guidance; however, its impact on neonatal health outcomes is unknown. Mobile WACh NEO (MWACh NEO) was a parallel, unblinded and individually randomized controlled trial at six health facilities across Kenya. Pregnant women at 28-36 weeks gestation were randomized (1:1) to the MWACh NEO intervention or standard of care. MWACh NEO delivered automated maternal and neonatal health text messages to participants up to 6 weeks postpartum and allowed free text communication with a nurse. This trial sought to determine if text communication decreased neonatal mortality. The analysis was intention to treat. From September 2020 until June 2022, 5,020 participants were enrolled and randomized. One hundred and thirty-six participants were excluded because of incomplete mortality data, leaving 2,442 participants in each group for the analysis. Eighty-three neonatal deaths occurred for a neonatal mortality rate of 18.8 per 1,000 live births in the intervention group and 15.2 per 1,000 live births in the control group, with a risk ratio of 1.25 (0.81, 1.91), P = 0.31. No adverse events related to the intervention were reported. Text communication did not decrease neonatal mortality compared to standard of care. Most neonates died before discharge from the facility. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT04598165 .

Indexed as

Infant MortalityText MessagingAdultFemaleHumansInfantInfant, NewbornKenyaMalePregnancy

Identifiers

PMID40075230

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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.