The Effect of Virtual Education on Fear Caused by COVID-19 Pandemic in Pregnant Women: A Quasi-Experimental Study

Background & aim: Pregnant women are concerned about their health as well as their infants during the COVID-19 pandemic. The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of virtual education on fear caused by COVID-19 in pregnant women. Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted in Dezful, Iran from November to January 2020. Seventy-three women were assigned to two groups of intervention (n=37) and control (n=36). Virtual training was implemented for the intervention group through sending a combination of audio and video files, educational videos, educational messages and messages for relaxation techniques every three days for four weeks during pregnancy, childbirth and hospital stay. The self-structured questionnaire of pregnant women’s fear of COVID-19 was used to collect data two weeks after intervention. Paired t-test, Independent T Test¬, Chi- square, McNemar, and Mann-Whitney U tests were used for data analysis. Results: After the intervention, the mean score of fear caused by COVID-19 significantly decreased in pregnant women of the intervention (65.48±12.50) compared to the control group (92.22±14.03) (P<0.001). Also, the level of fear of Covid-19 significantly reduced in the intervention (86.5% moderate vs 13.5% severe fear) compared to the control group (8.3% moderate vs 91.7% severe fear) (P<0.001). Conclusion: Virtual education reduces the fear of pregnant women caused by COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, they are motivated to attend prenatal visits more regularly and this can improve pregnancy outcomes. Virtual education is therefore recommended to be used in health centers and midwifery clinics during Covid-19 pandemic.