The effect of educational intervention on the quality of life of women suffering from pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective

The present study aimed to determine the influence of educational interventions on improving the quality of life (QOL) of women suffering from pregnancy-related nausea and vomiting (NVP) as a systematic review.

Methods

The current systematic review followed the standard Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) checklist guideline. The English electronic databases were used to identify relevant studies published 2000 until 14 August 2023. The search strategies employed were based on Mesh browser keywords and free-text words. The study risk of bias was evaluated using the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing the risk of bias tools and publication bias was evaluated using a funnel plot and Begg and Egger tests. The heterogeneity of the studies was evaluated using I² and tau-squared tests. Data were analyzed using the RevMan 5 software. Results of the random-effects meta-analysis were presented using the standard mean difference, along with a 95% confidence interval (CI).

Results

Out of the seven randomized clinical/control trial (RCT) studies with a total of 946 subjects included in the review, five studies reported a significant result, indicating that the interventions had a statistically significant effect on the QOL of women suffering NVP and in two studies did not have a significant result. A subgroup analysis was done based on the type of quality-of-life measurements. The pooled standardized mean difference (SMD) of four articles (Nausea and Vomiting Pregnancy Quality of Life, NVPQOL) with a total of 335 subjects was −2.91, and CI of −4.72 to −1.11, p value = .002, I² = 97.2%. The pooled SMD of three articles (SF36) with a total of 611 subjects was −0.05, and CI of −0.23 to −0.12, p value = .550, I² = 10%.

Conclusions

The overall results of the analysis indicated that educational intervention had a small positive impact on the QOL of women experiencing NVP. However, to draw a better conclusion, it is recommended to conduct further studies with larger sample sizes and longer follow-up periods.

Keywords:

• Quality of life
• women’s health
• education
• hyperemesis gravidarum
• pregnancy

Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Clinical Research Development Center of Ayatollah Mousavi Hospital, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, for their collaboration.

Author contributions

The Research question was formulated by (AM) & (MP). A comprehensive search and data extraction were done by MP. Two investigators (AM and MP) independently evaluated the risk of bias for each selected study. Analysis, interpretation, and reporting were supervised by OS and AM. All authors contributed to the drafting and revising of the article and agreed with the final version of the manuscript to be submitted to the journal; they also met the criteria of authorship.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Consent form

Not applicable.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The dataset used in the present study is available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by Zanjan University of Medical Sciences with Code A-12-344-40.