VIRTUAL COMMUNITY for PREGNANT WOMEN

Tzu Chi University

Status: Completed

Conditions: Normal Pregnancy

Treatments: Other: virtual community

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03692923

TCU

Details and patient eligibility

About

The study aimed to investigate the effect of exclusive peer-to-peer virtual support on pregnant women's well-being including physical symptoms, depression, social support, maternal attachment, and pregnancy adaptation.

Full description

The pregnancy period is marked by not only the joy and excitement of bonding with her baby but also dramatic changes in her body. The Internet's convenience and anonymity provide great possibilities for pregnant women to create a social network for sharing personal stories, seeking information and asking questions, and expressing own emotions and concerns.

Although health-related online communities are emerging rapidly around the globe, little is known about the impact of a virtual peer community on pregnant women's well-being.

The study enrolled 138 pregnant women, who were assigned to either the experimental or control groups. After obtaining informed consent from participants, we asked them to fill out the baseline questionnaires (Time 1). The first and second follow-ups (Times 2 and 3) were conducted at 22-24 and 36-38 weeks of pregnancy, respectively. Participants in the experimental group received ordinary prenatal care in addition to virtual community participation, and those in the control group received only ordinary prenatal care.

Enrollment: 138 patients

Sex: Female

Ages: 20+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. Pregnant women were older than 20 years old
2. Had at least 9 years of education.

Exclusion criteria

1. Had complications in this pregnancy
2. Had underlying medical problems with pregnancy.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Other

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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138 participants in 2 patient groups

control group

No Intervention group

Description:

participants received ordinary prenatal care.

virtual community group

Experimental group

Description:

participants were invited to join a virtual community to interact with peers in addition to their ordinary prenatal care.

Treatment:

Other: virtual community