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Published on: January 12, 2018
Internet use in pregnancy informs women's decision making: a web-based survey
Briege M Lagan1, Marlene Sinclair, W George Kernohan
1School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee, Scotland, UK.
Birth (Berkeley, Calif.)
|June 19, 2010
Summary
Pregnant women extensively use the Internet for health information, influencing decisions and increasing confidence. Healthcare providers should guide women in using online resources effectively.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Health Informatics
- Maternal Health
Background:
- Ubiquitous internet access presents new challenges and opportunities in healthcare.
- Pregnant women increasingly seek health information online, necessitating a deeper understanding of this behavior.
- Kuhlthau's information-seeking model provides the theoretical framework.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate why and how pregnant women utilize the internet as a health information source.
- To determine the impact of internet use on pregnant women's decision-making processes.
Main Methods:
- Exploratory and descriptive study design.
- Data collected via a validated, reliable web-based questionnaire.
- 613 women from 24 countries completed the survey over 12 weeks.
Main Results:
- 97% used search engines for diverse pregnancy information and social networking.
- 94% supplemented professional health information; 83% used it for decision-making.
- Dissatisfaction with healthcare providers (48.6%) and time constraints (46.5%) drove internet use.
- Internet usage significantly increased women's confidence in pregnancy-related decisions (p < 0.05).
Conclusions:
- The internet significantly influences health information seeking and decision-making during pregnancy.
- Healthcare professionals must support pregnant women in retrieving, interpreting, and applying online health data.
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