Reported information sharing and satisfaction with maternity care providers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Associations with socioeconomic status and shifts to telehealth

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected pregnant people’s prenatal care, labor, and delivery experiences. Given these rapid changes, providers have needed to be proactive in sharing information about COVID-19-related care impacts. The purpose of this study was to investigate: (a) Whether patient demographics or disrupted care (eg, canceled appointments and rapid shift to telehealth) is associated with patient-reported information sharing from the providers; and (b) Whether patient-reported provider information sharing or disruptions to care are associated with patient satisfaction with provider. Methods: Data come from a convenience sample of 1999 pregnant people living in the United States who completed an online survey between April 16 and May 7 2020. Results: Thirty-eight percent of participants said that their provider had not discussed how the pandemic would affect their care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Participants with lower education, less income, or whose appointments had been canceled or rescheduled because of the pandemic were significantly less likely to report information sharing. Provider satisfaction was significantly lower among participants who did not report information sharing, those who had appointments by way of telehealth, and those who reported that all their appointments had been rescheduled/canceled. Discussion: At the beginning of the pandemic, there were significant socioeconomic inequities in reported information sharing by the providers, which in turn was negatively associated with provider satisfaction. Providers need to be aware of the role implicit bias may play in information sharing—both generally and during public health crises—and consider ways to reduce the impacts of disrupted care delivery on patient satisfaction. If left unaddressed, perceived poor provider communication and associated low satisfaction with providers could contribute to adverse perinatal outcomes.