Caring for high-risk pregnancies: A feasibility study of applying web- and mobile-based technologies

Authors
Maliheh Ghalandarabadi
Haleh Ayatollahi
Morteza Hemmat
Abstract
Introduction

High-risk pregnancy means that there is an illness or there are severe complications and problems that may cause fetal loss and as a result, requires continuous care. It seems that using telemedicine technology will provide wider access to prenatal care. The aim of this study was to compare the feasibility of using web and mobile-based technologies in high-risk pregnancy care.

Materials and methods

This study is a cross-sectional study. The study population included midwives and gynecologists working at the University of Medical Sciences hospitals in Iran. The data were collected by using two five-point Likert scale questionnaires which were designed based on the literature review. The questionnaires included two main sections: demographic questions and questions related to the feasibility study in five areas. Face and content validity of the questionnaires were confirmed by the experts in related fields and the reliability was checked by using the test-retest method (r = 0.83). The data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics.

Results

In this study, 103 questionnaires were distributed and 79 questionnaires were completed by 50 midwives (63.29%) and 29 gynecologists (36.71%). In general and particularly from the technical perspective, midwives (P-value = 0.001) and gynecologists (P-value = 0.003) believed that using mobile-based technologies was more feasible than using web-based technologies in high-risk pregnancy care.

Conclusion

Overall, the results showed that the feasibility of using mobile-based technologies was higher compared to using web-based technologies in high-risk pregnancy care. Therefore, it seems that planning for the future technological direction and providing mobile-based applications should be taken into account to improve the quality of prenatal care and to increase access to healthcare services for high-risk pregnant women.
Keywords
Feasibility study
High-risk pregnancy
Telemonitoring
Mobile health
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