The Effectiveness of Telemedicine as a Supplementary Antenatal Care in Increasing Knowledge of Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: Limited access to health services can occur because an area is difficult to reach, lack of health personnel and facilities, and due to social changes such as during a pandemic. This systematic review aims to study the effectiveness of telemedicine as an antenatal care supplement in increasing the knowledge of pregnant women.Methods: Perform a search for PubMed, ProQuest, and Scopus data sources with population-based keywords, intervention, comparison, and predefined results. The assessment of article quality used the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical assessment tool.Results: Four studies were synthesized in this systematic review, 2 were experimental studies and the other 2 were descriptive studies. The intervention that was given was the use of telemedicine as a tool to deliver health education or a tool to monitor the physical condition of the mother from a distance. The message given can be in the form of a written message, voice message, or video. Interactive communication between mothers and health care providers can be done with this technology.Conclusion: The application of telemedicine as an effort to increase the knowledge of pregnant women in settings with difficult access to health facilities and pandemic conditions is quite developing, but still requires further study regarding pregnancy outcomes. Further research is needed on the use of telemedicine concerning health costs and costs incurred by both parties. In Indonesia, there are still opportunities to develop telemedicine conceptually and the technology that will be used.