A Qualitative Examination of Patient Experiences and Determinants of Virtual Postnatal Follow-Up Visits

Objective: : This study aimed to understand the perceptions of new mothers using virtual care in the form of video conferencing to gain insight into the social and environmental determinants that could potentially impact compliance for post-natal follow-up visits. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 15 patients of Kingston Health Sciences Centre. The interviews were 20-25 minutes in length and recorded through an audio recorder. Thematic analysis was conducted in order to derive the major themes explored in this study. Results: : In general, new mothers reported high satisfaction with virtual care, emphasizing benefits related to comfort, convenience, communication, socioeconomic factors, and the ease of technology use. Conclusions: : Not only can virtual care address many of the barriers that new mothers face in accessing in-person healthcare services, but virtual care can also elucidate various social and environmental determinants responsible for facilitating access to postnatal follow-up care. Further research and clinical endeavours should focus on these various determinants (and the ways they intersect) and how they underpin patient perceptions of virtual and in-person care. Such a lens not only addresses the struggle of long-term patient compliance to maternal health care, but will additionally shed light on how to make obstetric care more equitable.