Providers' Satisfaction with Provision of Prenatal Care During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Pregnant women are among a high-risk patient population for contracting COVID-19, but they still require adequate prenatal care throughout pregnancy to ensure optimal health for both the fetus and mother. Many prenatal appointments have transitioned to telemedicine visits due to the contagious nature of COVID-19. Provider satisfaction is an important metric to study as there is an association between provider satisfaction, the quality of care they provide, and patient satisfaction. Thus, understanding provider satisfaction with providing prenatal care via various visit types and factors that determine this satisfaction is fundamental, especially as there are limited studies on provider satisfaction with prenatal care. A survey questionnaire was disseminated to prenatal care providers through email and online methods. The questionnaire was developed from an adapted provider satisfaction theoretical framework to evaluate health care professionals' satisfaction with delivering prenatal care using telemedicine. The adapted model assesses five main components: Professionals' Demographics, Care Setting, Intrinsic Factors, Motivations, and Experiences. Twenty-six physicians completed the survey questionnaire. Demographics factors, such as provider age and providers years in practice, compared with categories of audio telehealth and video telehealth satisfaction did not have statistically significant differences. 100% of providers reported being satisfied with their overall ability to provide prenatal care, and 92.3% reported being satisfied with the overall prenatal care provided after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. 63.6% of providers reported satisfaction with their ability to provide appropriate prenatal care via telehealth. 60% of providers reported being satisfied with video telehealth prenatal care provided compared to 36% being satisfied with audio telehealth prenatal care provided. 48% of providers reported that they will continue to use telehealth prenatal care visits after the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical analysis used to compare continuation of telehealth use in the future to certain demographic factors, provider age and provider years in practice, found that neither provider age nor years of practice were statistically different. Prenatal care provider demographics, experiences, motivations, and intrinsic factors were not associated with providers' satisfaction of provision of prenatal care, and providers reported differing satisfaction between prenatal care visit types.