Young Women's Needs Regarding Sexual Preventive Behaviours and Unwanted Pregnancies.

Unwanted pregnancies are considered a public health problem that affects women's mental health and quality of life. The aim of this paper was to access university students' understanding and behaviours regarding unwanted pregnancies and identify their needs to prevent them. Qualitative descriptive design was used, and 13 semi-structured interviews were carried out. Women between 18 and 20 years old participated. They discussed a lack of training for themselves, their partners, and their families, their desire to have access to non-in-person health care resources, and their belief that contraception was expensive. Emotional aspects were relevant, affecting the way communication is established with those close to them and with health professionals. Despite the existence of access to sexual health resources, the findings show the existence of needs related to the prevention of unwanted pregnancies. The findings are presented grouping the main identified needs as "related to capability", "related to opportunity", and "related to motivation". Among the aspects to consider when designing interventions to prevent unwanted pregnancies are the feelings shown by these women, the inclusion of couples and family members in educational programs, and access to non-face-to-face health resources and less expensive contraceptive methods. Interventions for social support and understanding of women are necessary both to prevent unwanted pregnancies and to support adolescents with unwanted pregnancies by avoiding criminalization or blame.

Assessment of content, behavior change techniques, and quality of unintended pregnancy apps in Spain: Systematic search on app stores.

Objective: Unintended pregnancies are a public health problem that represents 48% of global pregnancies. Despite the proliferation of smartphones there is limited data on the app's features on unintended pregnancy. The purpose of this research was to identify free apps available in Spanish, in the iOS Store and Google Play, which can be recommended to prevent unintended pregnancies in adolescents. Methods: A systematic search to identify apps was performed in the iOS App Store and in Google Play aiming to replicate the way a patient might access an "unintended pregnancy prevention" app. Additionally, the quality, using the Mobile Application Rating Scale, and content were assessed. Results: A total of 4614 apps were identified, of which 8 were retrieved for assessment (0.17%). The mean for objective and subject quality was 3.39 (standard deviation (SD) = 0.694) and 1.84 (SD = 0.626), respectively. A total of 16 thematic categories were identified. The mean of topics covered in the apps was 5.38 (SD = 2.925) being those related to contraception the more frequent. Conclusion: The results of the present study suggest that only a small percentage of free pregnancy prevention apps in Spanish should be recommended. The contents of the apps retrieved meet the potential necessities of adolescents.

Content, Behavior Change Techniques, and Quality of Pregnancy Apps in Spain: Systematic Search on App Stores.

BACKGROUND: Women consult information in mobile apps (apps) during pregnancy, and even obstetrics specialists highlight that pregnancy is the ideal moment for the use of apps as consultation sources. However, the high number of apps designed for pregnancy requires a careful assessment to determine their suitability before recommendation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study is to identify the apps available in Spanish that can be recommended based on their content, behavior change techniques (BCTs), and quality as a complementary tool during pregnancy. METHODS: A systematic search on app stores to identify apps was performed in the Apple App Store and Google Play with the subject term "pregnancy." The apps meeting the following criteria were chosen: pregnancy-related content, free, and available in Spanish. An app was excluded if it was classified as a game or entertainment and thus lacking an educational or health aim and if it did not target the population under study. The selected apps were downloaded, and their quality was assessed using the Mobile Application Rating Scale (MARS), with the BCTs included evaluated using the BCT taxonomy version 1 and its content. RESULTS: A total of 457 apps were identified, 25 of which were downloaded for assessment (5.6%). The median for objective and subjective quality was 2.94 (IQR 2.71-3.46) and 1.75 (IQR 1.25-2.25), respectively. Regarding content, the median of topics included in the apps was 23 (IQR 16-23), with weight gain, nutrition, fetal development, and physical activity being the most common. The median number of BCTs was 12 (IQR 0.5-3.5). The most frequently identified BCTs in the apps were "Self-Monitoring of Outcomes," followed by "Goal Behavior" and "Instructions." Statistically significant correlations were observed between objective quality and content (ρ=0.624; P=.001), subjective quality and content (ρ=0.638; P=.001), objective quality and BCTs (ρ=0.672; P<.001), subjective quality and BCTs (ρ=0.623; P<.001), and BCTs and content (ρ=0.580; P=.002). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that only a small percentage of free pregnancy apps available in Spanish should be recommended. The apps with the best MARS scores were those that addressed a higher number of topics and included a higher number of BCTs. Those with the best content and quality, and a higher number of BCTs included could be recommended by health professionals.