How midwives implemented teleconsultations during the COVID-19 health crisis: a mixed-methods study.
BMJ Open
; 12(4): e057292, 2022 04 01.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-1774966
ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVES:
Our primary and secondary objectives were to measure and understand the determinants of independent midwives' implementation of teleconsultations and their intention to continue these in the future.DESIGN:
A two-phase mixed-methodsapproach:
(1) quantitative data to measure factors determining the initiation and continuation of teleconsultation, collected by an online survey from 29 April to 15 May 2020, at the end of the first COVID-19 lockdown, followed by (2) qualitative data to understand these determinants, by interviewing some participants in May-July 2020 to explore the quantitative findings in more detail.SETTING:
Mainland FrancePARTICIPANTS:
The target population comprised independent midwives currently practising in France. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOMEMEASURES:
The primary and secondary outcomes were binary variables implementation of teleconsultations, and intention to continue them. The qualitative results provided the themes explaining these decisions.RESULTS:
We obtained 1491 complete responses from independent midwives, that is, 28.3% of French independent midwives, and interviewed 22 volunteers among them. Among the 1491, 88.5% implemented teleconsultations and 65.8% intended to continue them. Both individual and organisational factors favoured implementation of teleconsultations older age (adjusted OR (aOR) 0.40, 95% CI 0.28 to 0.58), female gender (aOR 6.88, 95% CI 2.71 to 17.48), married or living with a partner (aOR 1.67, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.52) and working in a group practice (midwives only-aOR 2.34, 95% CI 1.47 to 3.72; multiprofessional group-aOR 1.75, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.64). The qualitative analysis did not identify any new factors but helped us to understand the satisfaction better midwives adopted telemedicine for their patients' access to and continuity of care, to maintain their professional activity and income, and to limit the risks of infection.CONCLUSION:
Personal and organisational factors motivated the implementation of teleconsultation during the pandemic, but maintaining it raises technical, regulatory, and ethical issues.Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Remote Consultation
/
COVID-19
/
Midwifery
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
/
Qualitative research
/
Randomized controlled trials
Limits:
Female
/
Humans
/
Pregnancy
Language:
English
Journal:
BMJ Open
Year:
2022
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bmjopen-2021-057292
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