ABSTRACT
IntroductionPregnant people have a higher risk of severe COVID-19 disease. They have been disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 infection control policies, which exacerbated conditions resulting in intimate partner violence, healthcare access, and mental health distress. This project examines the impact of accumulated individual health decisions and describes how perinatal care and health outcomes changed during the COVID-19 pandemic. ObjectivesO_LIQuantitative strand: Describe differences between 2019, 2021, and 2022 birth groups related to maternal vaccination, perinatal care, and mental health care. Examine the differential impacts on racialized and low-income pregnant people. C_LIO_LIQualitative strand: Understand how pregnant peoples perceptions of COVID-19 risk influenced their decision-making about vaccination, perinatal care, social support, and mental health. C_LI Methods and analysisThis is a Canadian convergent parallel mixed-methods study. The quantitative strand uses a retrospective cohort design to assess birth group differences in rates of Tdap and COVID-19 vaccination, gestational diabetes screening, length of post-partum hospital stay, and onset of depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder, using administrative data from ICES, formerly the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (Ontario) and PopulationData BC (PopData) (British Columbia). Differences by socioeconomic and ethnocultural status will also be examined. The qualitative strand employs qualitative description to interview people who gave birth between May 2020-December 2021 about their COVID-19 risk perception and health decision-making process. Data integration will occur during design and interpretation. Ethics and disseminationThis study received ethical approval from McMaster University and the University of British Columbia. Findings will be disseminated via manuscripts, presentations, and patient-facing infographics. Strengths and limitations of this studyO_LIPopulation-based administrative data cohorts are very large, ensuring that analyses are high-powered. C_LIO_LIMixed-methods design will allow us to offer explanation for changes in healthcare use observed through administrative data. C_LIO_LICross-provincial design permits examination of the potential impacts of COVID-19 infection prevention and control policies on pregnant peoples health. C_LIO_LIUse of Canadian Index of Multiple Deprivation will allow us to examine differences in healthcare use according to economic, racial, and immigration factors. C_LIO_LITeam includes 5 co-investigators with lived experience of pandemic pregnancies. C_LI