Telemedicine and Pregnancy Care from the Perspective of Iranian Pregnant Women: A Study Based on the Technology Acceptance Model

Background: It is apparent that telemedicine will only be a useful health service when individuals start using it. Therefore, the general attitude of end-users toward the acceptance of telemedicine services will play a significant role. Objectives: The present study is the first step in designing telemedicine services for pregnant mothers, with the aim of investigating the views of pregnant women regarding receiving tele-pregnancy care using the technology acceptance model (TAM). Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted during the year 2021 on 200 pregnant women with gestational age of more than 12 weeks selected through simple random sampling in Karaj, Iran. The telemedicine acceptance questionnaire based on an extended TAM containing 25 questions in nine constructs was used to collect data. Descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation (SD), were reported. Results: In this study, the mean age of the participants was 25.29 (SD = 5.62) years. A significant majority, specifically 95.5% of the participants, displayed a high level of acceptance toward incorporating telemedicine into their healthcare routine. In addition, the lowest mean scores of domains were related to technology anxiety, 26.18 (SD = 16.17), and perceived risk, 26.83 (SD = 16.26), Conclusions: Based on the TAM, the results of this study highlight the readiness and acceptance of pregnant women toward receiving tele-prenatal care.