Skip to content
DraconiticResearch
Search Sources API
220,618 studies31 sourcesUpdated 56 min ago
Peer-reviewedCC BY-NC 4.0Women's Health

“It wasn’t just a robot”: Women’s and providers’ experiences with telerobotic ultrasound in rural prenatal care

  • Amal Khan1,2
  • Reanna Prychak2,3
  • Brent Burbridge2
  • Ivar Mendez2,4
4 affiliations
  1. 1Department of Community Health & Epidemiology, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
  2. 2Virtual Health Hub, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
  3. 3College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
  4. 4Department of Surgery, College of Medicine, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Read full textDOICite

Abstract

Background: Women living in rural and remote communities face longstanding barriers to accessing prenatal diagnostic care, including long travel distances, limited appointment availability, and delayed diagnostic evaluation. Telerobotic ultrasound may improve prenatal care by expanding access through imaging in local communities. However, little is known about women’s lived experiences with this technology and providers’ perspectives on cultural safety within prenatal care.

Objectives: To explore women’s and providers’ experiences and perceptions of telerobotic ultrasound in prenatal care.

Design: Qualitatively driven mixed-methods study.

Methods: Postpartum women with experience using or declining telerobotic ultrasound, along with providers involved in service delivery in Gravelbourg and Saskatoon, participated in semi-structured remote interviews and were offered nine-point Likert-scale surveys. Discussion topics included decision-making, cultural and linguistic considerations, and integration of telerobotic imaging into rural care. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using inductive coding, constant comparison, and framework-informed interpretation in NVivo 15.

Results: A total of 40 participants took part in the study, including 19 patient participants and 21 provider participants, all of whom completed interviews. Survey findings, based on 7 sufficiently complete patient surveys and 10 provider surveys returned within the data-collection period, supplemented the qualitative findings. Participants reported improved access to prenatal care, particularly through reduced travel and local service availability. However, limited awareness, inconsistent communication, and gaps in knowledge were identified as key barriers to uptake. Participants also highlighted challenges related to cultural and linguistic accommodation and reliance on technological infrastructure. Cultural and linguistic aspects were often characterized by uncertainty, with many patients reporting neutral views on cultural sensitivity and language accessibility. Patients expressed mixed levels of trust and information sufficiency, while providers reported confidence in image quality and workflow integration but identified gaps in language accessibility and patient preparedness.

Conclusion: Telerobotic ultrasound in prenatal diagnostic care was perceived as acceptable and potentially beneficial for improving access, but attention to cultural safety, communication, workflow alignment, and reliable technical support will be important when expanding service delivery.

Related

  1. Lived Experiences of Bladder and Bowel Dysfunction for People With Multiple Sclerosis and Their Providers: A Qualitative Meta-Synthesis
    Lauren Van Valkenburgh, Sarah Poinski-McCoy, Valerie J. Block +2
    International Journal of MS CarePeer-reviewedLicence not statedFull textGeneral medicinePMC
  2. A lightweight portable ultrasound robot for autonomous liver sonography
    Zihan Li, Yixiao Xu, Lei Zhang +8
    Nature CommunicationsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Full textGeneral medicineCrossref
  3. Enhancing prenatal diagnostic workflow: a deep learning-based system for multi-class fetal ultrasound classification across all gestational stages
    Chen-Shen Shih, Chia-Hao Danny Yang, Tung-Yao Chang +1
    Scientific ReportsPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-ND 4.0Obstetrics, gynaecology & paediatricsCrossref
  4. Prenatal ultrasound diagnosis and follow-up tracking of a case of congenital coronary artery fistula.
    Haoliang Huang, Yuxia Liang, Yuhua Yu +2
    BMC cardiovascular disordersPeer-reviewedCC BY-NC-NDFull textCardiovascular medicineEurope PMCDOAJ
  5. Robot-Assisted Radical Prostatectomy Using the Hugo RAS System: The First 15 Cases by a First-Year Novice Surgeon Without Prior Console Experiences.
    Che-Hsueh Yang, Daniela-Viviana Barbulescu, Lucian Marian +5
    The international journal of medical robotics + computer assisted surgery : MRCASPeer-reviewedCC BYFull textGeneral medicineEurope PMCPMC

Cite

BibTeXRIS
BibTeX
@article{khan2026wasnt,
  title = {{“It wasn’t just a robot”: Women’s and providers’ experiences with telerobotic ultrasound in rural prenatal care}},
  author = {Amal Khan and Reanna Prychak and Brent Burbridge and Ivar Mendez},
  journal = {Women's Health},
  year = {2026},
  month = oct,
  doi = {10.1177/17455057261494262},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057261494262},
  note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY  - JOUR
TI  - “It wasn’t just a robot”: Women’s and providers’ experiences with telerobotic ultrasound in rural prenatal care
AU  - Amal Khan
AU  - Reanna Prychak
AU  - Brent Burbridge
AU  - Ivar Mendez
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/01
JO  - Women's Health
DO  - 10.1177/17455057261494262
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1177/17455057261494262
AB  - Background: Women living in rural and remote communities face longstanding barriers to accessing prenatal diagnostic care, including long travel distances, limited appointment availability, and delayed diagnostic evaluation. Telerobotic ultrasound may improve prenatal care by expanding access through imaging in local communities. However, little is known about women’s lived experiences with this technology and providers’ perspectives on cultural safety within prenatal care.  Objectives: To explore women’s and providers’ experiences and perceptions of telerobotic ultrasound in prenatal care.  Design: Qualitatively driven mixed-methods study.  Methods: Postpartum women with experience using or declining telerobotic ultrasound, along with providers involved in service delivery in Gravelbourg and Saskatoon, participated in semi-structured remote interviews and were offered nine-point Likert-scale surveys. Discussion topics included decision-making, cultural and linguistic considerations, and integration of telerobotic imaging into rural care. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed using inductive coding, constant comparison, and framework-informed interpretation in NVivo 15.  Results: A total of 40 participants took part in the study, including 19 patient participants and 21 provider participants, all of whom completed interviews. Survey findings, based on 7 sufficiently complete patient surveys and 10 provider surveys returned within the data-collection period, supplemented the qualitative findings. Participants reported improved access to prenatal care, particularly through reduced travel and local service availability. However, limited awareness, inconsistent communication, and gaps in knowledge were identified as key barriers to uptake. Participants also highlighted challenges related to cultural and linguistic accommodation and reliance on technological infrastructure. Cultural and linguistic aspects were often characterized by uncertainty, with many patients reporting neutral views on cultural sensitivity and language accessibility. Patients expressed mixed levels of trust and information sufficiency, while providers reported confidence in image quality and workflow integration but identified gaps in language accessibility and patient preparedness.  Conclusion: Telerobotic ultrasound in prenatal diagnostic care was perceived as acceptable and potentially beneficial for improving access, but attention to cultural safety, communication, workflow alignment, and reliable technical support will be important when expanding service delivery.
SN  - 1745-5057
SN  - 1745-5065
ER  -