A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom

Jonathan Chaloner; Irtiza Qureshi; Mayuri Gogoi; Winifred Ekezie; Amani Al-Oraibi; Fatimah Wobi; Joy O. Agbonmwandolor; Laura B. Nellums; manish Pareek

doi:10.18332/ejm/171802

A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom

Jonathan Chaloner
, Irtiza Qureshi
, Mayuri Gogoi
, Winifred Ekezie
, Amani Al-Oraibi
, Fatimah Wobi
, Joy O. Agbonmwandolor
, Laura B. Nellums
, manish Pareek

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

8 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Introduction:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women were regarded as vulnerable to poor health outcomes if infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. To protect the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Health Service (NHS) and pregnant patients, strict infection control policies and regulations were implemented. This study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive health services during the pandemic from the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for these patients.

Methods:
This qualitative study involved HCWs from the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH) project. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone with 44 diverse HCWs. Transcripts were thematically analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s principles of qualitative analysis.

Results:
Three key themes were identified during analysis. First, infection control policies impacted appointment availability, resulting in many cancellations and delays to treatment. Telemedicine was also used extensively to reduce risks from face-to-face consultations, disadvantaging patients from minoritized ethnicities. Secondly, staff shortages and redeployments reduced availability of consultations, appointments, and sonography scans. Finally, staff and patients reported challenges accessing timely, reliable and accurate information and guidance.

Conclusions:
COVID-19 demonstrated how a global health crisis can impact maternal and reproductive health services, leading to reduced service quality and surgical delays due to staff redeployment policies. Our findings underscore the implications of policy and future health crises preparedness. This includes tailored infection control policies, addressing elective surgery backlogs early and improved dissemination of relevant vaccine information.

Original language	English
Article number	30
Number of pages	7
Journal	European Journal of Midwifery
Volume	7
Issue number	November
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/171802
Publication status	Published - 15 Nov 2023

Bibliographical note

© 2023 Chaloner J. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Funding

UK-REACH is supported by a grant (MR/V027549/1) from the MRC-UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) and the Department of Health and Social Care through the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) rapid response panel to tackle COVID-19. Core funding was also provided by NIHR Biomedical Research Centres. MP is funded by an NIHR Development and Skills Enhancement Award and also acknowledges support from the NIHR Leicester BRC and NIHR ARC East Midlands. LBN is supported by the Academy of Medical Sciences (SBF005/1047). This work is carried out with the support of BREATHE—the Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health (MC_PC_19004) funded through the UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund and delivered through Health Data Research UK. The authors have completed and submitted the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. The authors declare that they have no competing interests, financial or otherwise, related to the current work. Manish Pareek reports funding/ support from UKRI-MRC and grants from UKRI-MRC, NIHR, SANOFI and GILEAD paid to Institution. He also reports consulting fees from QIAGEN and PFIZER paid to him.

Funders	Funder number
Health Data Research Hub for Respiratory Health	MC_PC_19004
NIHR ARC
UK Research and Innovation Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund
UKRI-MRC
UK Research and Innovation
National Institute for Health and Care Research
Department of Health and Social Care
Academy of Medical Sciences	SBF005/1047
NIHR Great Ormond Street Hospital Biomedical Research Centre
NIHR Leicester Biomedical Research Centre

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being

Keywords

COVID-19
vaccine hesitancy
healthcare workers
redeployment
policies and guidelines
infection controls

Access to Document

10.18332/ejm/171802Licence: CC BY 4.0

Chaloner et al. - 2023 - A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal... services in the UK
© 2023 Chaloner J. et al. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Final published version, 236 KBLicence: CC BY 4.0

Cite this

Chaloner, J., Qureshi, I., Gogoi, M., Ekezie, W., Al-Oraibi, A., Wobi, F., Agbonmwandolor, J. O., Nellums, L. B., & Pareek, M. (2023). A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom. European Journal of Midwifery, 7(November), Article 30. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/171802

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abstract = "Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women were regarded as vulnerable to poor health outcomes if infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. To protect the United Kingdom{\textquoteright}s (UK) National Health Service (NHS) and pregnant patients, strict infection control policies and regulations were implemented. This study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive health services during the pandemic from the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for these patients. Methods: This qualitative study involved HCWs from the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH) project. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone with 44 diverse HCWs. Transcripts were thematically analyzed following Braun and Clarke{\textquoteright}s principles of qualitative analysis. Results: Three key themes were identified during analysis. First, infection control policies impacted appointment availability, resulting in many cancellations and delays to treatment. Telemedicine was also used extensively to reduce risks from face-to-face consultations, disadvantaging patients from minoritized ethnicities. Secondly, staff shortages and redeployments reduced availability of consultations, appointments, and sonography scans. Finally, staff and patients reported challenges accessing timely, reliable and accurate information and guidance. Conclusions: COVID-19 demonstrated how a global health crisis can impact maternal and reproductive health services, leading to reduced service quality and surgical delays due to staff redeployment policies. Our findings underscore the implications of policy and future health crises preparedness. This includes tailored infection control policies, addressing elective surgery backlogs early and improved dissemination of relevant vaccine information. ",

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Chaloner, J, Qureshi, I, Gogoi, M, Ekezie, W, Al-Oraibi, A, Wobi, F, Agbonmwandolor, JO, Nellums, LB & Pareek, M 2023, 'A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom', European Journal of Midwifery, vol. 7, no. November, 30. https://doi.org/10.18332/ejm/171802

A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom. / Chaloner, Jonathan; Qureshi, Irtiza; Gogoi, Mayuri et al.
In: European Journal of Midwifery, Vol. 7, No. November, 30, 15.11.2023.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom

AU - Chaloner, Jonathan

AU - Qureshi, Irtiza

AU - Gogoi, Mayuri

AU - Ekezie, Winifred

AU - Al-Oraibi, Amani

AU - Wobi, Fatimah

AU - Agbonmwandolor, Joy O.

AU - Nellums, Laura B.

AU - Pareek, manish

PY - 2023/11/15

Y1 - 2023/11/15

N2 - Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women were regarded as vulnerable to poor health outcomes if infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. To protect the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Health Service (NHS) and pregnant patients, strict infection control policies and regulations were implemented. This study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive health services during the pandemic from the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for these patients. Methods: This qualitative study involved HCWs from the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH) project. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone with 44 diverse HCWs. Transcripts were thematically analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s principles of qualitative analysis. Results: Three key themes were identified during analysis. First, infection control policies impacted appointment availability, resulting in many cancellations and delays to treatment. Telemedicine was also used extensively to reduce risks from face-to-face consultations, disadvantaging patients from minoritized ethnicities. Secondly, staff shortages and redeployments reduced availability of consultations, appointments, and sonography scans. Finally, staff and patients reported challenges accessing timely, reliable and accurate information and guidance. Conclusions: COVID-19 demonstrated how a global health crisis can impact maternal and reproductive health services, leading to reduced service quality and surgical delays due to staff redeployment policies. Our findings underscore the implications of policy and future health crises preparedness. This includes tailored infection control policies, addressing elective surgery backlogs early and improved dissemination of relevant vaccine information.

AB - Introduction: During the COVID-19 pandemic, pregnant women were regarded as vulnerable to poor health outcomes if infected with the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) virus. To protect the United Kingdom’s (UK) National Health Service (NHS) and pregnant patients, strict infection control policies and regulations were implemented. This study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive health services during the pandemic from the experiences of healthcare workers (HCWs) caring for these patients. Methods: This qualitative study involved HCWs from the United Kingdom Research study into Ethnicity and COVID-19 outcomes in Healthcare workers (UK-REACH) project. Semi-structured interviews and focus groups were conducted online or by telephone with 44 diverse HCWs. Transcripts were thematically analyzed following Braun and Clarke’s principles of qualitative analysis. Results: Three key themes were identified during analysis. First, infection control policies impacted appointment availability, resulting in many cancellations and delays to treatment. Telemedicine was also used extensively to reduce risks from face-to-face consultations, disadvantaging patients from minoritized ethnicities. Secondly, staff shortages and redeployments reduced availability of consultations, appointments, and sonography scans. Finally, staff and patients reported challenges accessing timely, reliable and accurate information and guidance. Conclusions: COVID-19 demonstrated how a global health crisis can impact maternal and reproductive health services, leading to reduced service quality and surgical delays due to staff redeployment policies. Our findings underscore the implications of policy and future health crises preparedness. This includes tailored infection control policies, addressing elective surgery backlogs early and improved dissemination of relevant vaccine information.

KW - COVID-19

KW - vaccine hesitancy

KW - healthcare workers

KW - redeployment

KW - policies and guidelines

KW - infection controls

UR - http://www.europeanjournalofmidwifery.eu/A-qualitative-study-exploring-healthcare-workers-lived-nexperiences-of-the-impacts,171802,0,2.html

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DO - 10.18332/ejm/171802

M3 - Article

SN - 2585-2906

VL - 7

JO - European Journal of Midwifery

JF - European Journal of Midwifery

IS - November

M1 - 30

ER -

A qualitative study exploring healthcare workers’ lived experiences of the impacts of COVID-19 policies and guidelines on maternal and reproductive healthcare services in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Funding

UN SDGs

Keywords

Access to Document

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