Table 2

Characteristics of qualitative studies

Study author Country/Region or city	Stated method	Methodology/ Theoretical framework	Data collection/Timing of collection	Aim	Sample/Type of sampling	Setting of midwifery service	Mode of telehealth used	Type of care pertinent to study
Hearn et al25 Australia, NW suburbs of Melbourne	Qualitative	Interpretive phenomenology	Semi-structured interviews September and October 2020	To understand the lived experiences of midwives providing care in the suburbs of Melbourne, Victoria during COVID-19	n=8 midwives Purposive with snowball sampling approach	Hospital and community settings	Phone, Zoom, Facetime	Pregnancy-related, labour and delivery, post partum
Jacobsen et al26 USA, Seattle	Qualitative	Phenomenological approach	Semi-structured interviews February to April 2021	To explore the needs, barriers and success of community midwifery during COVID-19 and how these experiences can help inform future efforts to sustain community-based midwifery	n=11 community midwives Convenience	Community settings/out-of-hospital births	Unknown	Pregnancy-related, labour and delivery, post partum
Perrenoud et al23 Switzerland, French-speaking region	Qualitative	Socio-anthropological approach with ethnographic methods	Field work and semi-structured December 2018 to January 2020 (one part of a larger three part study)	To describe and analyse how community midwives and other health and social care workers and women communicate between postpartum home visits through instant message applications	n=14 midwives n=6 social workers n=7 nurses n=2 adult n=1 director of institution n=20 immigrant women Purposive	Community settings	Instant messaging, WhatsApp	Post partum
Spiby et al27 England, The Midlands	Qualitative	Interpretive phenomenology	Focus groups and interviews Date unknown	To explore midwives’ concerns, experiences and perceptions of the purpose of telephone contacts with women in early labour	N=18 midwives Purposive	Hospital setting	Telephone	Labour delivery and triage