Perspectives of high-risk pregnant women on home care program in high-risk pregnancies: A multicenter, qualitative study

Abstract

Objective: To explore the perspectives of high-risk pregnant women regarding the home care program for high-risk pregnancies.

Methods: This qualitative study was conducted in a university hospital and 5 comprehensive health centers in Ahvaz, Iran, from February 2023 to July 2023. The sampling method used was purposive sampling considering the maximum possible diversity, which continued until data saturation. 11 in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with high-risk pregnant women. Data were simultaneously analysed using Graneheim and Lundman content analysis by MAXQDA version 20 software.

Results: Data analysis extracted 3 themes, 12 categories, and 26 subcategories. The themes and categories were “high-risk pregnancy and related issues (pursuing treatment and paying attention to the high-risk situation by pregnant women, psychological aspect of high-risk pregnancy on pregnant women and caregivers, emotional and physical aspects of high-risk pregnancy, the consequences of high-risk pregnancy on the people around them and empowerment of high-risk pregnant women)”, “support dimension (family and community support for high-risk pregnant women)”, and “framework of program (acculturalization, means and equipment, security, manpower and the necessary arrangements for the home care)”.

Conclusions: High-risk pregnancy affects various aspects of the lives of high-risk pregnant women and their families. Creating the necessary conditions for providing care at home plays a vital role in supporting high-risk pregnant women and removing related obstacles to receiving prenatal care in person. It will be especially beneficial for high-risk pregnant women in low-income areas.

Keywords

High-risk pregnancy / Home care / Program / Qualitative study

Confilct of interest statement

Authors declare no conflict of interest.

Funding

No funding was obtained for this study.

Acknowledgements

The article is part of the results of the PhD thesis of the first author (MS) in reproductive health, which was approved by Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, Shahroud, Iran (ethics code: IR.SHMU.REC.1401.152). We would like to express our gratitude to the research vice-chancellor of Shahroud University of Medical Sciences, the student research committee, and all care providers who patiently participated in this study.

Authors’ contributions

Masoumeh Sayahi carried out study design, data acquisition (interview with participants), data analysis and interpretation, and wrote the article. Shahrbanoo Salehin contributed to the study design, data interpretation, supervising and editing the article. Mehrnoosh Zakerkish contributed to data interpretation, supervising and editing the article. Afsaneh Keramat contributed to study design, supervising and data interpretation. Shahrbanoo Goli contributed to study design and data analysis.

Publisher’s Note

The Publisher of the Journal remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

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