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REVIEW article

Front. Glob. Womens Health
Sec. Maternal Health
Volume 5 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fgwh.2024.1470674

Healthcare providers' experiences of maternity care service delivery during the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom: A follow-up systematic review and qualitative evidence synthesis

Provisionally accepted
Tisha Dasgupta Tisha Dasgupta 1Emily Bousfield Emily Bousfield 1,2Yosha Pathak Yosha Pathak 1Gillian Horgan Gillian Horgan 1Lili Peterson Lili Peterson 1Hiten D Mistry Hiten D Mistry 1Milly Wilson Milly Wilson 1Meg Hill Meg Hill 3Valerie Smith Valerie Smith 4Harriet Boulding Harriet Boulding 1Kayleigh S Sheen Kayleigh S Sheen 1,5,6Aricca Van Citters Aricca Van Citters 7Eugene C Nelson Eugene C Nelson 7Emma L Duncan Emma L Duncan 1Peter von Dadelszen Peter von Dadelszen 1The RESILIENT Study Group The RESILIENT Study Group 8Sergio A. Silverio Sergio A. Silverio 1,9*Laura A Magee Laura A Magee 1
  • 1 King's College London, London, England, United Kingdom
  • 2 The University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom
  • 3 The RESILIENT Study Patient & Public Involvement & Engagement Advisory Group, London, United Kingdom
  • 4 University College Dublin, Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland
  • 5 The RESILIENT Study Technical Advisory Group, London, United Kingdom
  • 6 University of the West of England, Bristol, England, United Kingdom
  • 7 Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, United States
  • 8 The RESILIENT Study Group, London, United Kingdom
  • 9 University of Liverpool, Liverpool, North West England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Problem and Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was substantial reconfiguration of maternity care services, affecting both users and healthcare providers (HCPs), in the United Kingdom (UK) and globally. Aim: To further our understanding of the impact of maternity service reconfigurations in the UK, from the perspective of maternity HCPs. Methods: Scopus, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and the Cochrane COVID Study Register were searched for relevant studies reporting qualitative data from the UK, published in English between 01 June 2021 and 30 September 2023. Qualitative data on HCPs’ experiences of maternity care reconfiguration during the pandemic was extracted from 15 studies. Data were subjected to thematic synthesis according to key service reconfigurations. Results: Nine themes were identified: Care-seeking and Care Experience: Changes to existing care, Limitations placed on the partner, Mental health and lack of support networks, and Barriers to successful implementation of reconfiguration strategies; Virtual Care: Impact on quality of care, Increased convenience and flexibility, and Digital exclusion; and Ethical Future of Maternity Care Services: Optimising patient care, and Service users and staff as the driving force for change. No studies reported on the concepts of Self-monitoring or COVID-19 vaccination. Discussion and Conclusion: The review findings highlight HCPs’ views of the need for greater inclusion of partners, choice of virtual or in-person care for birthing people; and a need for co-designed services for future policy-making.

    Keywords: COVID-19, Maternity services, healthcare professionals, Systematic review, qualitative research

    Received: 25 Jul 2024; Accepted: 11 Nov 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Dasgupta, Bousfield, Pathak, Horgan, Peterson, Mistry, Wilson, Hill, Smith, Boulding, Sheen, Van Citters, Nelson, Duncan, von Dadelszen, Study Group, Silverio and Magee. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Sergio A. Silverio, King's College London, London, WC2R 2LS, England, United Kingdom

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.