Efficacy of a Personalized mHealth App in Improving Micronutrient Supplement Use Among Pregnant Women in Karachi, Pakistan: Parallel-Group Randomized Controlled Trial

Micronutrient deficiencies in folate, ferritin, calcium, and vitamin D are common during pregnancy in low- and middle-income countries, often due to inadequate diets. Micronutrient supplementation can address this need, whereas innovative awareness strategies in antenatal practices could enhance supplement use compliance. We evaluated the efficacy of a personalized mobile health (mHealth) intervention, hypothesizing a 30% improvement in supplement use in the intervention group compared to a conventional face-to-face counseling group. This study concluded that an appropriately implemented mHealth intervention can improve antenatal vitamin D supplementation. Affordable, accessible, and personalized counseling through mHealth could ameliorate micronutrient status during pregnancy.