Preliminary Design Validation of a mHealth Tool for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Management and Education in Bangladeshi Women

This research presents the preliminary design of a mobile health (mHealth) application specifically tailored for Bangladeshi women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM), a condition affecting roughly 10% of pregnant women globally and around 35% within Bangladesh, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). Despite the high prevalence, there is a significant lack of awareness and education about GDM in Bangladesh, exacerbated by language barriers that render existing digital solutions less accessible. Our proposed preliminary designed mHealth app breaks these barriers by offering comprehensive management and educational resources for GDM in the Bangla language, addressing both pre and post-pregnancy needs. To align the app's functionality with the actual needs of potential users, personas created from the studied papers and survey was conducted, leading to the development of a paper-based low-fidelity prototype. The app features include Food and Water Intake tracking, Physical Activity monitoring, Reminders, GDM education, Chat Forums for community support, and Quizzes for engagement. Preliminary feedback indicated that 53.8 % of participants favored the integrated features and expressed a willingness to use and recommend the app. The design of the app adheres to User-Centered Design (UCD) principles, ensuring it is intuitive and beneficial for managing health, enhancing GDM understanding, and promoting a healthier lifestyle among pregnant women in Bangladesh.