Flynn Breanna, Sergeant Anjali, Tam Genevieve, Gomes Megan, Gill Roopan
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, The Ottawa Hospital, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
Womens Health (Lond). 2025 Jan-Dec;21:17455057241311424. doi: 10.1177/17455057241311424.
Early pregnancy loss (EPL) occurs in 10%-15% of all pregnancies but remains an underrecognized and undertreated condition. In Canada, resources to support individuals and their partners facing EPL remain scarce despite a high burden of psychosocial sequelae. Digital health tools hold the potential to fill important gaps in reproductive healthcare.
We sought to better understand the perspectives of individuals who experienced pregnancy loss and explore how digital health tools could offer support.
We conducted a qualitative study with grounded theory methodology to address our objectives.
The study was conducted between September 2021 and April 2022 in Ottawa, Canada. Participants between 18 and 45 years of age who resided in Canada and experienced EPL up to 12 + 6 week gestation within the last 2 years were included. Enrolled participants who provided informed consent completed a single in-depth interview. Data were analyzed iteratively by two trained research team members with thematic techniques supported by NVivo software.
Interviews were conducted with 14 participants who had experienced EPL. All participants identified as female and resided in Canada, with 28.6% ( = 4) between 26 and 30 years of age, and the remaining 71.4% ( = 10) between 31 and 40. Qualitative analysis identified three primary themes centered around participants' experiences of miscarriage, access to information and support for EPL in Canada, and desires and preferences for a digital miscarriage tool.
Miscarriage is an emotionally difficult experience for women and their loved ones, who often do not receive timely and compassionate care within the healthcare system. Participants were highly motivated to co-develop a digital intervention for EPL that is designed to fill gaps in care. The digital companion would assist individuals through their miscarriage journey by providing evidence-based and locally relevant medical information as well as avenues to access both professional and informal forms of psychosocial support.
早期妊娠丢失（EPL）在所有妊娠中发生率为10%-15%，但仍是一种未得到充分认识和治疗的情况。在加拿大，尽管心理社会后遗症负担沉重，但为面临早期妊娠丢失的个人及其伴侣提供支持的资源仍然稀缺。数字健康工具有可能填补生殖保健方面的重要空白。
我们试图更好地了解经历过妊娠丢失的个人的观点，并探索数字健康工具如何提供支持。
我们采用扎根理论方法进行了一项定性研究以实现我们的目标。
该研究于2021年9月至2022年4月在加拿大渥太华进行。纳入年龄在18至45岁之间、居住在加拿大且在过去2年内经历过妊娠丢失且妊娠周数达12+6周的参与者。提供知情同意的登记参与者完成了一次深度访谈。由两名经过培训的研究团队成员使用NVivo软件支持的主题技术对数据进行迭代分析。
对14名经历过早期妊娠丢失的参与者进行了访谈。所有参与者均为女性且居住在加拿大，28.6%（n=4）年龄在26至30岁之间，其余71.4%（n=10）年龄在31至40岁之间。定性分析确定了三个主要主题，围绕参与者的流产经历、在加拿大获取早期妊娠丢失信息和支持的情况，以及对数字流产工具的期望和偏好。
流产对女性及其亲人来说是一段情感上艰难的经历，他们在医疗系统中往往得不到及时和富有同情心的护理。参与者非常有动力共同开发一种针对早期妊娠丢失的数字干预措施，旨在填补护理空白。数字伴侣将通过提供基于证据且与当地相关的医疗信息以及获得专业和非正式心理社会支持的途径，帮助个人度过流产过程。
