Innovative online care: A cross-sectional survey study of potential benefits and challenges of online lactation consultation service with paediatrician consultation

Muhammad Akhter Hamid; Anubha Kumar; Luxhman Gunaseelan; Atchaya Arulchelvan; Abhinav Sinha; Sidra Razi; Muzhda Subhan; Sarah Subhan; Suruchi Kapoor; Asim Salim

doi:10.1093/pch/pxac074

Innovative online care: A cross-sectional survey study of potential benefits and challenges of online lactation consultation service with paediatrician consultation

Paediatr Child Health. 2022 Aug 19;27(7):414-420. doi: 10.1093/pch/pxac074. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Authors

Affiliations

¹ Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
² Research Director, Ontario Breastfeeding Clinic, Ontario, Canada.
³ Saba University School of Medicine, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Medical Student, University of Buckingham, Buckingham, UK.
⁵ Decision, Risk, and Operations (DRO) Division, Graduate School of Business, Columbia University, New York, USA.
⁶ Xavier School of Medicine, Oranjestad, Aruba.
⁷ Department of Internal Medicine, Washington University in Saint Louis, St Louis, Missouri, USA.
⁸ Department of Internal Medicine, Westchester Medical Center, Valhalla, New York, USA.
⁹ Government Medical College Kozhikode, Kozhikode, India.
¹⁰ Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

Background: Telelactation, a virtual lactation support platform, is a convenient and effective way of providing virtual breastfeeding support services and communicating proper breastfeeding techniques to new mothers to address any breastfeeding challenges and boost overall maternal breastfeeding confidence all from the comfort of their homes. This Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) covered service benefits more mothers in the remote areas where in-person LC service is not easily accessible.

Objective: The objective of this cross-sectional survey study is to explore the feasibility, potential benefits, and challenges, and level of patient satisfaction in virtual lactation consultation services along with virtual paediatrician consultation available in Ontario, Canada.

Method: Patient satisfaction was assessed using a structured online survey as a part of a cross-sectional observational study that asked questions relevant to several independent demographic variables as well as specific Likert type scale questions to gauge patient satisfaction with virtual lactation consultation.

Results: Data were analyzed from 177 survey responses (n=177), of which study revealed that 86.44% (153/177) were satisfied with the virtual lactation services they received. Patient satisfaction was found to be higher in the first-time mothers with high school or undergraduate education between the age group of 26 to 35 years living in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA). In terms of connectivity, participants from the GTA had a better experience overall compared those living outside the GTA.

Conclusion: OHIP covered telelactation with a paediatrician consultation is an innovative and feasible health care delivery platform for providing remote professional breastfeeding support to mothers of all socio-economic strata with great potential to further improve both patient experience and efficiency in patient care.

Keywords: Delivery of health care; Lactation consultation; Patient satisfaction; Remote professional support; Telelactation.