Perceptions of rural maternal and child health workers on using smartphone-based virtual patients to evaluate perinatal depression screening abilities: a qualitative study.

ABSTRACT:

Aims

This study aims to explore the perceptions of maternal and child health (MCH) workers regarding the use of smartphone-based virtual patients (VPs) to assess perinatal depression (PND) screening abilities and to collect feedback for iterative enhancement of the VPs.

Design

A qualitative study employing inductive content analysis to identify key themes from the responses of MCH workers.

Setting

The study was conducted in six counties across Yueyang City and Yiyang City, Hunan Province, between November 2023 and January 2024.

Methods

The MCH workers who completed the VPs test were selected through convenience and purposive sampling to participate in semistructured interviews via video conferencing. A total of 40 MCH workers completed semistructured individual

SUBMITTER: Wang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12414164 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature