“TreC Mamma” is here: the app for all expecting women developed in Trentino

There are many on the stores of the main operating systems, and every mother can choose according to the graphic style and functions available. But TreC Mamma stands out among them for a number of features.
First, TreC Mamma is part of the actions of the experimental program of innovation and health research of the “Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence – tools to bring the Health Service closer to citizens and for the development of the provincial system” Trento Province project, approved by the Provincial Council in December 2022.
The App also offers content validated by a multidisciplinary working group within APSS, which was organized taking into account gestational age.
Special attention was paid to inclusion: the App was developed in three languages, Italian, English and French. 
We also addressed access security: mothers will be able to install the App on their smartphones for free, through their SPID (public digital identity system) or CIE (electronic identity card). In this way, their profiles will be linked to the APSS information system and will allow them to view their upcoming follow-up appointments scheduled through the Apss CUP (Booking system). Once the privacy policy has been accepted, the mother will simply choose a personal pin code that will be used for later access.
To ensure continuous support, TreC Mamma offers content that can be used from the first weeks of pregnancy through after delivery, but, in the future, it will be extended to the first 1000 days of the baby’s life. The App has been also designed to raise awareness on all the local maternity support services available, so that women can receive all the assistance they need.
And finally, the additional goal of the App is to do research involving women and families. The research projects, designed by health professionals, will allow them to experiment with new services, partly provided through new technologies, with the aim of improving the Trentino health system.
Use is simple and intuitive. Once personal data (weight, height and some pregnancy data), have been entered on the main screen, the chatbot (whose name is GEA) will welcome the mother and provide her with information related to the week of gestation and the development of the baby. On the home page, users can find the contacts for local consulting services, the appointments scheduled through CUP, while the navigation menu, located at the bottom of the screen, allows access to in-depth information on physical health and mental well-being: illustrations and information are available both in text, video and audio format specially made for the mothers. In the personal diary, the mother can record milestones, baby’s movements, etc., view her data, the expected date of delivery, enter parameters relating to weight or pressure and monitor their progress on the graphs.
The “other” section contains useful information, such as the numbers for the local hospital and consultancy services, welcome videos and presentation of maternity care programs. Additionally, the app provides a way to contact the “assistance” service in case of technical issues as well as a form for collecting feedback, which ensures users and developers the possibility of continuing to improve the App and the services dedicated to mothers.
The App is the result of a close collaboration between a number of organizations: information and indications contents have been prepared by doctors, midwives, psychologists and health professionals from Apss and the Province. The team has also worked hard to propose content in a simple and pleasant way by involving professionals from the Pavonian Artigianelli Institute for Graphic Arts in Trento.The DHI Lab laboratory at FBK’s Center for “Digital Health and Wellbeing” instead dealt with the IT infrastructure.

Comments

“The TreC Mamma App is an important tool, which goes in the direction of local healthcare, close to citizens, in this case designed precisely for future mothers. The application adds to the many services active in the province of Trento, just think of the local birth program, of which it is a natural extension, and which once again testifies to the traditional vocation of ur local communities to protect the health of mothers and children. We are sure that it will represent a valid support for all mothers, where to find all needed information and keep track of the many small but significant moments of this special phase of their lives”, commented provincial councilor for health, social policies, disability and family Stefania Segnana.

“A first and significant result of the ‘Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence’ project that sees the Province, Apss and Fbk within the Digital Health Competence Centre – TrentinoSalute4.0 and that demonstrates the commitment of the Trentino research and innovation system for the development of the TreC Mamma technology platform in the ‘First 1000 days of life’ program. Our investments in digital health are bringing significant results in the context of prevention, virtual consultation and patient care to apply the concept of health service in a more modern, efficient and innovative key. Today, with TreC Mamma, we are facing an important occasion in which research, digital transformation and services meet to promote the well-being of future mothers, while supporting the scientific and technological advancement of our local communities”, these are the words of the provincial councilor for economic development, research and work, Achille Spinelli.

“I am sure that the application designed to support future mothers throughout the entire period of pregnancy, from conception to childbirth until the first years of the child’s life, so rich in content and information, will be very useful. A project that, together with the other major maternal and child health program entitled “Percorso anscita, ostetrica dedicata” that reached 81% of women in 2022, we hope can further support them in this delicate phase of their lives. TreC Mamma also represents an excellent example of what advantages digital technology can bring to the issues of health and well-being, in this specific case to the safety of the mother and her child”, said Antonio Ferro, APSS Director.

“The Trec Mamma App is the result of a great multidisciplinary work of gynecologists, obstetricians, psychologists and pediatricians that has allowed the creation of content validated by pregnant health professionals and therefore safe and more reliable than other news that women can find online from unverified or commercial sources. It has been created to support all future mothers during pregnancy, providing important information, without replacing the obstetric visits that remain and should remain the pivotal moment for the evaluation of fetal maternal well-being in pregnancy. So we can say that the App is one of the first objectives achieved in the field of community health center-hospital cooperation for which we are all working in this period”said Fabrizio Taddei, director of the Ob-gyn inter-hospitalDepartment.

“Midwives have contributed to the development of the application since the design and testing phase with the involvement of a group of women who we thank today for their time. As of today, we midwives have an additional tool that adds to the already proven “Percorso nascita, ostetrica dedicata” program that from pregnancy planning is responsible for providing support to women and couple until 2 months after childbirth. As of today, we will offer future mothers, in addition to a trusting relationship with their dedicated midwife, smart and up-to-date support through the initiatives and programs already promoted in person in the community clinics and aimed at the promotion, maintenance and healthy recovery of pregnant women and in the first 1000 days of life, ” said Vanda Chiodega, obstetric coordinator, organizational position of the APSS community clinics.

“The TreC Mamma App is a starting point: on this first version in the coming months we will build other innovative and personalized features together with healthcare professionals and mothers. Fbk ‘s role is to add to this App AI applications that will have to be studied within research and innovation projects. For example, chatbots will be designed and validated, that provide educational or cognitive behavioral interventions for well-being and mental health, or that answer questions based on certified materials, “said Fbk Secretary General Andrea Simoni.

(ml, at, rc)