TY  - JOUR
AU  - Quinn, Lauren Marie
AU  - Olajide, Oluwafumbi
AU  - Green, Marsha
AU  - Sayed, Hazem
AU  - Ansar, Humera
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/8/31
TI  - Patient and Professional Experiences With Virtual Antenatal Clinics During the COVID-19 Pandemic in a UK Tertiary Obstetric Hospital: Questionnaire Study
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e25549
VL  - 23
IS  - 8
KW  - antenatal
KW  - virtual clinic
KW  - technology
KW  - COVID-19
KW  - United Kingdom
KW  - pandemic
KW  - feasibility
KW  - effective
KW  - telehealth
KW  - virtual health
AB  - Background: The COVID-19 pandemic required rapid implementation of virtual antenatal care to keep pregnant women safe. This transition from face-to-face usual care had to be embraced by patients and professionals alike. Objective: We evaluated patients’ and professionals’ experiences with virtual antenatal clinic appointments during the COVID-19 pandemic to determine satisfaction and inquire into the safety and quality of care received. Methods: A total of 148 women who attended a virtual antenatal clinic appointment at our UK tertiary obstetric care center over a 2-week period provided feedback (n=92, 62% response rate). A further 37 health care professionals (HCPs) delivering care in the virtual antenatal clinics participated in another questionnaire study (37/45, 82% response rate). Results: We showed that women were highly satisfied with the virtual clinics, with 86% (127/148) rating their experience as good or very good, and this was not associated with any statistically significant differences in age (P=.23), ethnicity (P=.95), number of previous births (P=.65), or pregnancy losses (P=.94). Even though 56% (83/148) preferred face-to-face appointments, 44% (65/148) either expressed no preference or preferred virtual, and these preferences were not associated with significant differences in patient demographics. For HCPs, 67% (18/27) rated their experience of virtual clinics as good or very good, 78% (21/27) described their experience as the same or better than face-to-face clinics, 15% (4/27) preferred virtual clinics, and 44% (12/27) had no preference. Importantly, 67% (18/27) found it easy or very easy to adapt to virtual clinics. Over 90% of HCPs agreed virtual clinics should be implemented long-term. Conclusions: Our study demonstrates high satisfaction with telephone antenatal clinics during the pandemic, which supports the transition toward widespread digitalization of antenatal care suited to 21st-century patients and professionals. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - https://www.jmir.org/2021/8/e25549
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/25549
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34254940
DO  - 10.2196/25549
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/25549
ER  -