MIDWIVES' READINESS TO USE DIGITAL APPLICATIONS: A NEEDS ANALYSIS FOR AN APPLICATION-BASED MATERNAL-CHILD HEALTH EDUCATION MODEL IN SOUTH SUMATRA

Abstract

Digital transformation of primary health services requires readiness among health workers, including midwives, who act as both users and facilitators of technology in infant and toddler health services. This study aimed to analyze midwives' needs and readiness to use digital applications, as part of the analysis stage of developing an application-based education and counseling model for meeting infants' and toddlers' basic needs. A descriptive-analytic, cross-sectional design was used, based on the Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation (ADDIE) model. The population consisted of midwives working in South Sumatra Province, with a sample of 225 respondents. Data were collected from 17 April to 27 July 2026 using an electronic questionnaire tested for validity and reliability (Cronbach's Alpha 0.856–0.979), following ethical approval from the Health Research Ethics Committee of Poltekkes Kemenkes Palembang. Data were analyzed using univariate and bivariate (Chi-Square) analysis. Results showed that 51.6% of midwives had good readiness, while 48.4% had insufficient readiness. Significant associations were found between readiness and mothers' behavior in meeting children's basic needs (p=0.001), service barriers (p<0.001), need for digital applications (p<0.001), need for application features (p<0.001), length of work (p=0.022), and frequency of smartphone use for seeking health information (p=0.028), but not with education, smartphone type, daily smartphone-use duration, prior application experience, or workplace internet access (p>0.05). More than half of midwives already show good readiness to use digital applications, closely related to their perceived need for the application and its features, providing an empirical basis for the application's design and development stages.