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...

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Main Authors: Megan Saad, Sophy Chan, Lisa Nguyen, Siddhartha Srivastava, Ramana Appireddy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2021-08-01
Series:BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03999-9
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author Megan Saad
Sophy Chan
Lisa Nguyen
Siddhartha Srivastava
Ramana Appireddy
author_facet Megan Saad
Sophy Chan
Lisa Nguyen
Siddhartha Srivastava
Ramana Appireddy
author_sort Megan Saad
collection DOAJ
description 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.
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spelling doaj.art-c874ebda8c9d4b37a524b0cdf8fc9cd92022-12-21T22:45:04ZengBMCBMC Pregnancy and Childbirth1471-23932021-08-0121111010.1186/s12884-021-03999-9Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative studyMegan Saad0Sophy Chan1Lisa Nguyen2Siddhartha Srivastava3Ramana Appireddy4School of Medicine, Queen’s UniversityDepartment of Medicine, Queen’s UniversityDepartment of Medicine, Queen’s UniversityDepartment of Medicine, Queen’s UniversityDepartment of Medicine, Queen’s UniversityAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03999-9TelemedicinePostpartum PeriodPostnatal CareQualitative ResearchSocial Determinants of Health
spellingShingle Megan Saad
Sophy Chan
Lisa Nguyen
Siddhartha Srivastava
Ramana Appireddy
Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
Telemedicine
Postpartum Period
Postnatal Care
Qualitative Research
Social Determinants of Health
title Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
title_full Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
title_fullStr Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
title_full_unstemmed Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
title_short Patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care: a qualitative study
title_sort patient perceptions of the benefits and barriers of virtual postnatal care a qualitative study
topic Telemedicine
Postpartum Period
Postnatal Care
Qualitative Research
Social Determinants of Health
url https://doi.org/10.1186/s12884-021-03999-9
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