VIRTUAL COMMUNITY for PREGNANT WOMEN

Sponsor

Tzu Chi University (Other)

Overall Status

Completed

CT.gov ID

NCT03692923

Collaborator

National Science Council, Taiwan (Other)

138

Enrollment

Arms

Actual Duration (Months)

Study Details

Study Description

Brief Summary

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.

Condition or Disease	Intervention/Treatment	Phase
Normal Pregnancy	Other: virtual community	N/A

Detailed 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.

Study Design

Study Type:

Interventional

Actual Enrollment :

138 participants

Allocation:

Non-Randomized

Intervention Model:

Parallel Assignment

Masking:

None (Open Label)

Primary Purpose:

Other

Official Title:

Impact of A Peer Virtual Community on Pregnant Women's Well-being: A Quasi-experimental Study

Actual Study Start Date :

May 1, 2012

Actual Primary Completion Date :

Jan 31, 2015

Actual Study Completion Date :

Jan 31, 2015

Arms and Interventions

Arm	Intervention/Treatment
No Intervention: control group participants received ordinary prenatal care.
Experimental: virtual community group participants were invited to join a virtual community to interact with peers in addition to their ordinary prenatal care.	Other: virtual community

Arm

Intervention/Treatment

No Intervention: control group

participants received ordinary prenatal care.

Experimental: virtual community group

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

Other: virtual community

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

The pregnancy adaptation scale [repeated measured at second trimester (22-24 weeks of pregnancy), and the third trimester (36-38 weeks of pregnancy).]
Used to investigate the changes in the scores of pregnancy adaptation. Items are scored from 0 to 3 and they are summed to compute a total score ranging from 0 to 84. Higher scores indicate better pregnancy adaptation.
The Edinburgh Depression Scale [repeated measured at second trimester (22-24 weeks of pregnancy), and the third trimester (36-38 weeks of pregnancy).]
Used to investigate the changes in the scores of depression. Items are scored from 0 to 3 and they are summed to compute a total score ranging from 0 to 30. The cut-off point for depression is a total score of 12 or above.

Secondary Outcome Measures

The Symptoms Checklist [repeated measured at second trimester (22-24 weeks of pregnancy), and the third trimester (36-38 weeks of pregnancy).]
Used to investigate the changes in the scores of pregnancy-related physical symptoms. Items are scored from 1 to 4 and they are summed to compute a total score ranging from 22 to 88. Higher scores indicate experiencing more symptoms.
The Social Support Scale [repeated measured at second trimester (22-24 weeks of pregnancy), and the third trimester (36-38 weeks of pregnancy).]
Used to investigate the changes in the scores of social support perception. Items are scored from 1 to 5 and they are summed to compute a total score ranging from 20 to 100. higher scores indicate perceived higher social support from family, peer pregnant women, friends, and healthcare providers.
The Maternal-Fetal Attachment Assessment Scale [repeated measured at second trimester (22-24 weeks of pregnancy), and the third trimester (36-38 weeks of pregnancy).]
Used to investigate the changes in the scores of maternal-fetal attachment. Items are scored from 1 to 5 and they are summed to compute a total score ranging from 39 to 195. Higher scores indicate higher maternal-fetal attachment.

Eligibility Criteria

Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study:

20 Years and Older

Sexes Eligible for Study:

Female

Accepts Healthy Volunteers:

Yes

Inclusion Criteria:

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

Exclusion Criteria:

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

Contacts and Locations

Locations

No locations specified.

Sponsors and Collaborators

Tzu Chi University
National Science Council, Taiwan

Investigators

None specified.

Study Documents (Full-Text)

None provided.

More Information

Publications

None provided.

Responsible Party:

WAN-RU WU, Assistant Professor, Tzu Chi University

ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier:

NCT03692923

Other Study ID Numbers:

First Posted:

Oct 2, 2018

Last Update Posted:

Oct 4, 2018

Last Verified:

Oct 1, 2018

Individual Participant Data (IPD) Sharing Statement:

Plan to Share IPD:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Drug Product:

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated Device Product:

Study Results

No Results Posted as of Oct 4, 2018