Effectiveness of Telehealth in Obstetric and Gynecologic Care: A Systematic Review of Health Outcomes

Overview

Journal Cureus

Specialty Biomedical Engineering

Date 2024 Dec 9

PMID 39651021

Authors

Nihal Eltayeb Abdalla Elsheikh

Selma Mohammed Abdelgadir Elhabeeb

Hanady Me M Osman

Ali Hadi M Alhajri

Salem Mesfer S Alsaqoor

Norah Aboud M Alwadai

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Telehealth applications are growing in the fields of obstetrics and gynecology. Strong scientific analysis and clinical recommendations are necessary for these innovative advancements. The purpose of this study was to conduct a thorough evaluation of how telehealth interventions can enhance obstetric and gynecologic health outcomes. Using pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria, we searched the literature using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. 968 pertinent research articles were found in these databases, and Endnote software checked them for duplication. Only fifty-two of these articles were deemed relevant after a thorough text examination. Every study that was included had its risk of bias evaluated using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). Overall, telehealth interventions enhanced breastfeeding and smoking cessation obstetric outcomes. While preserving mother and fetal outcomes, telehealth interventions reduced the requirement for high-risk obstetric monitoring office visits. According to one study, women with gestational hypertension had lower rates of preeclampsia diagnoses. For continued use of injectable and oral contraceptives, telehealth treatments proved successful; one text-based study discovered higher rates of oral contraception after six months. When medication abortion services were provided via telehealth, access to early abortion was enhanced, and clinical outcomes were comparable to those of in-person care. Few studies have indicated the value of telehealth in improving the notification of test results for sexually transmitted infections and in improving the symptoms of urine incontinence with app-based interventions. Early availability of medical abortion services, breastfeeding, perinatal smoking cessation, telehealth therapies, and high-risk obstetrics schedule optimization were all linked to better obstetric outcomes. More carefully planned research is required to look at these and other interventions in order to produce data that can guide choices regarding the integration of more recent telehealth technology into obstetrics and gynecology practices.

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