Impact of a peer virtual community on pregnant women's well-being: A repeated-measure and quasi-experimental study

Aim To investigate the effects of a virtual community on pregnant women's well-being. Background The virtual social network has been growing rapidly but its effects remain unclear. Design A repeated-measure and quasi-experimental study. Methods We designed a closed Facebook community for peer-to-peer interaction with no mediator. A total of 121 pregnant women were assigned to either experimental or control group. Data were collected from May 2012-January 2015 using five instruments related to pregnant women's well-being. Results Significant differences on pregnant women's well-being were not found between groups. However, higher adherence to the virtual community was significantly related to first-time pregnant women and women whose pregnancy was assisted by a technology treatment. Conclusions Nurses and midwifes are recommended to pay more attentions on first-time pregnant women and women whose pregnancy was assisted by a technology treatment regarding their pregnancy-related concerns. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03692923.