Telehealth Systems for Midwifery Care Management during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Ahmadreza Shamsabadi; Kowsar Qaderi; Pegah Mirzapour; Hengameh Mojdeganlou; Paniz Mojdeganlou; Zahra Pashaei; Fateme Bahador; Akram  Zhianifard; Ali Abedi; Esmaeil Mehraeen

doi:10.18502/jimc.v6i2.12232

Ahmadreza Shamsabadi Department of Health Information Technology, Esfarayen Faculty of Medical Sciences, Esfarayen, Iran
Kowsar Qaderi Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran
Pegah Mirzapour Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Hengameh Mojdeganlou Department of Pathology, Urmia University of Medical Sciences, Urmia, Iran
Paniz Mojdeganlou Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Zahra Pashaei Iranian Research Center for HIV/AIDS, Iranian Institute for Reduction of High Risk Behaviors, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Fateme Bahador Department of Health Information Technology, Ferdows Paramedical School, Birjand University of Medical Sciences, Birjand, Iran
Akram Zhianifard Department of Medical Education, School of Medicine, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Ali Abedi Department of Nursing, Esfarayen Faculty of Medical Sciences, Esfarayen, Iran
Esmaeil Mehraeen Department of Health Information Technology, Khalkhal University of Medical Sciences, Khalkhal, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/jimc.v6i2.12232

Keywords: COVID-19, m-Health, Midwifery care, Pregnancy, Telehealth, Telemonitoring, Virtual clinic

Abstract

Background: Intrinsic features of COVID-19 disease, including the severity of the virus transmission and mortality rates, make it difficult to provide obstetric care to pregnant women. In this regard, telemedicine can provide comprehensive midwifery care relying on new technologies, such as virtual clinic, telehealth, tele-monitoring, m-Health, wearable sensors, and the internet of medical things. The objective of this study is to identify the application and requirements of a telehealth system for midwifery care.

Methods: We conducted a literature search from 2019/12/1 to 2022/10/1 using the following electronic scientific databases: Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Science Direct, and Google Scholar. We carried out hand searches from the reference lists of retrieved studies of journals.

Results: We showed that, during COVID-19 pandemic, prenatal care via telehealth increased and telehealth is a good strategy for prenatal and post-partum disease managements. Mental health services are also feasible via telehealth. These new technologies also reduce the risks associated with interpersonal contacts in COVID-19 pandemic.

Conclusion: With the COVID-19 pandemic, telehealth became the norm. The future of medical services will be built around this technology and that is a great opportunity to move toward a great evolution.