Lethargic Medical Innovation Implementation Scene Awakened by COVID-19 : Identifying barriers and facilitators for medical innovations within prenatal care in Sweden

Abstract: Maternal health has been found to lag significantly behind in medical innovations compared to other branches of medicine such as radiology. Prenatal care, being part of maternal health, seems to be no different. Driven by this fact, this study first attempts to investigate the state of innovation implementation within the context of prenatal care in Sweden. Then, it continues with the identification of critical barriers and facilitators for the implementation of medical innovations within the same field and context as medical innovations are at some point necessary. Considering the nature of the issues at hand a qualitative study was deemed more suitable and hence was conducted. The overall work consists of a literature review alongside a planned and executed empirical study. The empirical study was conducted as a single case study comprising of three stakeholder groups that were of interest. These were: doctors, midwives, and healthcare managers. Participants were approached using a combination of convenience and snowball sampling. A series of semi-structured interviews were conducted with actors located throughout Sweden. With the help of thematic analysis, a holistic view supported by all three stakeholder groups was able to arise leading to multi-faceted insights. Results show that the medical innovation implementation state within prenatal care in Sweden could have been characterised as lethargic before the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic as no significant medical innovations had emerged in the field until then. However, it is discovered that COVID-19 signalled the end of this reality and abruptly moved the existing innovation implementation climate. Furthermore, regarding the potential introduction of medical innovations in prenatal care, important barriers and facilitators were discovered. The findings of the study can be of use to actors attempting to implement medical innovations in the future within prenatal care or other clinical areas and contexts.