Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study

Abstract

Objective The objective of this study is to understand the perceptions of new mothers using virtual care via video conferencing to gain insight into the benefits and barriers of virtual care for obstetric patients. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients attending the Kingston Health Sciences Centre. The interviews were 20–25 min in length and recorded through an audio recorder. Thematic analysis was conducted in order to derive the major themes explored in this study. Results New mothers must often adopt new routines to balance their needs and their child’s needs. These routines could impact compliance and motivation to attend follow-up care. In our study, participants expressed high satisfaction with virtual care, emphasizing benefits related to comfort, convenience, communication, socioeconomic factors, and the ease of technology use. Participants also perceived that they could receive emotional support and build trust with their health care providers despite the remote nature of their care. Due to its ease of use and increased accessibility, we argue that virtual care shows promise to facilitate long-term compliance to care in obstetric patients. Conclusions Virtual care is a useful modality that could improve compliance to obstetric care. Further research and clinical endeavours should examine how social factors and determinants intersect to determine how they underpin patient perceptions of virtual and in-person care.

Factors affecting the mental health of pregnant women using UK maternity services during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative interview study

“…While remote healthcare appointments may have increased access to healthcare among some groups during the pandemic, offering appointments remotely in the future is not likely to be a preference reported by all, particularly for those with serious health concerns [ 47 ]. Qualitative research interviews conducted in Canada suggest that women may prefer virtual postnatal care because it helps to regulate their family routine, reduce stress and save on expenses associated with travel to consultations [ 48 ]. However, for participants in our study experiencing a first pregnancy, pregnancy complications or a pre-existing health condition, compulsory remote care was a source of great concern, leading to feelings of uncertainty and increased stress.…”

Digital healthcare: the future

“…21 It is clear that virtual care is well tolerated by patients and, in some cases, preferred. 22 Clinicians have found it effective and perhaps superior to a traditional care model. 23 How this is reimbursed will impact the development of these services.…”

Realist inquiry into Maternity care @ a Distance (ARM@DA): realist review protocol

“…One of the most commonly reported covid-related changes to all forms of service provision in maternity care has been an increase in the use of remote/virtual consultations using telephone or video 4 7 10–18. For example, one recent survey of all 194 obstetric units in England (42% response rate) found that 89% reported using digitally delivered consultation methods in antenatal care and 56.8% for postnatal care 7.…”

“…Overall, existing research on DC-CON in maternity care shows that it can be safe and acceptable in controlled conditions 27–29 35 37–41. Research also shows that the experiences of staff and women with DC-CON vary quite significantly 7 12 34 39 42–50. A gap remains, therefore, in understanding the conditions required for safe and acceptable DC-CON implementation and in understanding the factors that underpin variation in experience.…”