A double-edged sword—telemedicine for maternal care during COVID-19: findings from a global mixed-methods study of healthcare providers

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Abstract

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid implementation of telemedicine for the provision of maternal and newborn healthcare. The objective of this study was to document the experiences with providing telemedicine for maternal and newborn healthcare during the pandemic among healthcare professionals globally.

Methods

The second round of a global online survey of maternal and newborn health professionals was conducted, disseminated in 11 languages. Data were collected between 5 July and 10 September 2020. The questionnaire included questions regarding background, preparedness and response to COVID-19, and experiences with providing telemedicine. Descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic analysis were used to analyse responses, disaggregated by country income level.

Results

Responses from 1060 maternal and newborn health professionals were analysed. Telemedicine was used by 58% of health professionals and two-fifths of them reported not receiving guidelines on the provision of telemedicine. Key telemedicine practices included online birth preparedness classes, antenatal and postnatal care by video/phone, a COVID-19 helpline and online psychosocial counselling. Challenges reported lack of infrastructure and technological literacy, limited monitoring, financial and language barriers, lack of non-verbal feedback and bonding, and distrust from patients. Telemedicine was considered as an important alternative to in-person consultations. However, health providers emphasised the lower quality of care and risk of increasing the already existing inequalities in access to healthcare.

Conclusions

Telemedicine has been applied globally to address disruptions of care provision during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, some crucial aspects of maternal and newborn healthcare seem difficult to deliver by telemedicine. More research regarding the effectiveness, efficacy and quality of telemedicine for maternal healthcare in different contexts is needed before considering long-term adaptations in provision of care away from face-to-face interactions. Clear guidelines for care provision and approaches to minimising socioeconomic and technological inequalities in access to care are urgently needed.

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Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Anthony Smith, Emma Thomas, Centaine Snoswell … (2020)

The current coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic is again reminding us of the importance of using telehealth to deliver care, especially as means of reducing the risk of cross-contamination caused by close contact. For telehealth to be effective as part of an emergency response it first needs to become a routinely used part of our health system. Hence, it is time to step back and ask why telehealth is not mainstreamed. In this article, we highlight key requirements for this to occur. Strategies to ensure that telehealth is used regularly in acute, post-acute and emergency situations, alongside conventional service delivery methods, include flexible funding arrangements, training and accrediting our health workforce. Telehealth uptake also requires a significant change in management effort and the redesign of existing models of care. Implementing telehealth proactively rather than reactively is more likely to generate greater benefits in the long-term, and help with the everyday (and emergency) challenges in healthcare.

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Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study

Timothy Roberton, Emily Carter, Victoria Chou … (2020)

Summary Background While the COVID-19 pandemic will increase mortality due to the virus, it is also likely to increase mortality indirectly. In this study, we estimate the additional maternal and under-5 child deaths resulting from the potential disruption of health systems and decreased access to food. Methods We modelled three scenarios in which the coverage of essential maternal and child health interventions is reduced by 9·8–51·9% and the prevalence of wasting is increased by 10–50%. Although our scenarios are hypothetical, we sought to reflect real-world possibilities, given emerging reports of the supply-side and demand-side effects of the pandemic. We used the Lives Saved Tool to estimate the additional maternal and under-5 child deaths under each scenario, in 118 low-income and middle-income countries. We estimated additional deaths for a single month and extrapolated for 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months. Findings Our least severe scenario (coverage reductions of 9·8–18·5% and wasting increase of 10%) over 6 months would result in 253 500 additional child deaths and 12 200 additional maternal deaths. Our most severe scenario (coverage reductions of 39·3–51·9% and wasting increase of 50%) over 6 months would result in 1 157 000 additional child deaths and 56 700 additional maternal deaths. These additional deaths would represent an increase of 9·8–44·7% in under-5 child deaths per month, and an 8·3–38·6% increase in maternal deaths per month, across the 118 countries. Across our three scenarios, the reduced coverage of four childbirth interventions (parenteral administration of uterotonics, antibiotics, and anticonvulsants, and clean birth environments) would account for approximately 60% of additional maternal deaths. The increase in wasting prevalence would account for 18–23% of additional child deaths and reduced coverage of antibiotics for pneumonia and neonatal sepsis and of oral rehydration solution for diarrhoea would together account for around 41% of additional child deaths. Interpretation Our estimates are based on tentative assumptions and represent a wide range of outcomes. Nonetheless, they show that, if routine health care is disrupted and access to food is decreased (as a result of unavoidable shocks, health system collapse, or intentional choices made in responding to the pandemic), the increase in child and maternal deaths will be devastating. We hope these numbers add context as policy makers establish guidelines and allocate resources in the days and months to come. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Global Affairs Canada.

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Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions

Nils Haug, Lukas Geyrhofer, Alessandro Londei … (2021)

Assessing the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is critical to inform future preparedness response plans. Here we quantify the impact of 6,068 hierarchically coded NPIs implemented in 79 territories on the effective reproduction number, Rt, of COVID-19. We propose a modelling approach that combines four computational techniques merging statistical, inference and artificial intelligence tools. We validate our findings with two external datasets recording 42,151 additional NPIs from 226 countries. Our results indicate that a suitable combination of NPIs is necessary to curb the spread of the virus. Less disruptive and costly NPIs can be as effective as more intrusive, drastic, ones (for example, a national lockdown). Using country-specific 'what-if' scenarios, we assess how the effectiveness of NPIs depends on the local context such as timing of their adoption, opening the way for forecasting the effectiveness of future interventions.

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Author and article information

Journal

Journal ID (nlm-ta): BMJ Glob Health

Journal ID (iso-abbrev): BMJ Glob Health

Journal ID (hwp): bmjgh

Journal ID (publisher-id): bmjgh

Title: BMJ Global Health

Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group (BMA House, Tavistock Square, London, WC1H 9JR )

ISSN (Electronic): 2059-7908

Publication date Collection: 2021

Publication date (Electronic): 25 February 2021

Volume: 6

Issue: 2

Electronic Location Identifier: e004575

Affiliations

[1 ]departmentICRH, Department of Public Health and Primary Care , Ghent University , Gent, Belgium

[2 ]departmentDepartment of Public Health , Institute of Tropical Medicine , Antwerpen, Belgium

[3 ]departmentPublic Health , Institute of Tropical Medicine , Antwerpen, Belgium

[4 ]departmentDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , University of Lagos , Idi-Araba, Nigeria

[5 ]departmentObstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences , University of California , San Francisco, California, USA

Author notes

[Correspondence to ] Dr Anna Galle; anna.galle@ 123456ugent.be

Author information

Anna Galle http://orcid.org/0000-0003-1427-5067

Anteneh Asefa http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4470-1848

Bosede Bukola Afolabi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7511-7567

Alison Marie El Ayadi http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2674-4887

Article

Publisher ID: bmjgh-2020-004575

DOI: 10.1136/bmjgh-2020-004575

PMC ID: 7908054

PubMed ID: 33632772

SO-VID: d1414093-55d7-4948-bfcc-fa931ab6d706

License:

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

History

Date received : 27 November 2020

Date revision received : 03 February 2021

Date accepted : 10 February 2021

Funding

Funded by: FundRef http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100003130, Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek;

Funded by: FundRef http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100006338, Vlaamse Interuniversitaire Raad;

Funded by: The Institute of Tropical Medicine’s COVID-19 Pump Priming fund supported by the Flemish Government, Science & Innovation;

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Keywords: maternal health

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Keywords: maternal health

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A double-edged sword—telemedicine for maternal care during COVID-19: findings from a global mixed-methods study of healthcare providers

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Novel Coronavirus Disease COVID-19

Most cited references 59

Telehealth for global emergencies: Implications for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

Early estimates of the indirect effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on maternal and child mortality in low-income and middle-income countries: a modelling study

Ranking the effectiveness of worldwide COVID-19 government interventions

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