Mothers' Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Information Seeking

Jang, Juyoung; Dworkin, Jodi; Hessel, Heather

doi:10.1089/cyber.2014.0533

Cited by 34 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…Recent studies show that postpartum women now use information and communication technologies to search for health information more frequently (Gibson and Hanson 2013; Jang et al 2015). However, we do not know if increased access to the Internet has affected information seeking for postpartum low-income mothers.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers

Guerra‐Reyes

Christie

Prabhakar

et al. 2016

Matern Child Health J

132

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Objectives To assess low-income mothers’ perceptions of their postpartum information needs; describe their information seeking behavior; explore their use of mobile technology to address those needs; and to contribute to the sparse literature on postpartum health and wellness. Methods Exploratory community-based qualitative approach. Interviewees were recruited among clients of community partners and had children aged 48 months and under. A survey assessing demographics was used to identify low-income mothers. 10 low-income mothers were recruited from survey participants to complete in-depth interviews regarding postpartum information needs, information seeking, and technology use. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded by three researchers independently. Narratives were analyzed along predetermined (etic) and emergent (emic) categories. Results Establishing breastfeeding and solving breastfeeding problems were central postpartum concerns leading to information seeking. Interviewees reported almost exclusive use of mobile phones to access the Internet. Mobile applications were widely used during pregnancy, but were not valuable postpartum. Face-to-face information from medical professionals was found to be repetitive. Online information seeking was mediated by default mobile phone search engines, and occurred over short, fragmented time periods. College graduates reported searching for authoritative knowledge sources; non-graduates preferred forums. Conclusions for Practice Low-income postpartum women rely on their smartphones to find online infant care and self-care health information. Websites replace pregnancy-related mobile applications and complement face-to-face information. Changes in searching behavior and multitasking mean information must be easily accessible and readily understood. Knowledge of page-rank systems and use of current and emergent social media will allow health-related organizations to better engage with low-income mothers online and promote evidence-based information.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers

Guerra‐Reyes

Christie

Prabhakar

et al. 2016

Matern Child Health J

132

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Evidence indicates that first-time pregnant women or those caring for their first infant are particularly likely to use digital health technology as they have a stronger need and desire to acquire pregnancy and child health information and seek social support [16,17]. Some women turn to digital media to compensate for the lack of information or support provided during prenatal visits [18].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Listening to Communities: Mixed-Method Study of the Engagement of Disadvantaged Mothers and Pregnant Women With Digital Health Technologies

Guendelman¹,

Broderick²,

Mlo³

et al. 2017

J Med Internet Res

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BackgroundUS health care providers are increasingly demanding patient engagement with digital health technologies to enroll in care, access personal health information, communicate with providers, and monitor their own health. Such engagement may be difficult for disadvantaged populations who may have limited health literacy, time constraints, or competing priorities.ObjectiveWe aimed to understand the extent of adoption and use of digital health tools and to identify key perceived psychological motivators of technology use among disadvantaged first-time pregnant women and mothers of young children.MethodsWe recruited women from health organizations serving low-income communities in the Midwest and on the East and West coasts. A total of 92 women participated in 14 focus groups. During each session, we administered worksheets that measured 3 utilization outcomes: the number of recent Web-based health-seeking activities, current use of digital health-management practices (eg, accessing personal health information, communicating with providers, and scheduling appointments), and potential adoption of digital health-management tools among low users or nonusers. Responses to the worksheets and to a pre-focus group survey on demographics, technology access, and motivators of use were examined to create user profiles. Separate regression models identified the motivators (eHealth literacy, internal health orientation, and trust in digital information) associated with these outcomes. Qualitative data were incorporated to illustrate the worksheet responses. ResultsWhereas 97% of the participants reported that they had searched for health information on the Internet in the past year, 42% did not engage in digital health-management practices. Among the low users and nonusers, 49% expressed interest in future adoption of digital health tools. Web-based health information-seeking activities were associated with digital health-management practices (P<.001). When controlling for covariates, eHealth literacy was positively correlated with the number of Web-based health-seeking activities (beta=.03, 95% CI 0.00-0.07). However, an internal health orientation was a much stronger correlate of digital health-management practices (beta=.13, 95% CI 0.02-0.24), whereas trust in digital information increased the odds of potential adoption (vs no adoption) in adjusted models (OR 5.21, 95% CI 0.84-32.53). Demographic characteristics were not important drivers of digital health use and few differences distinguished use among mothers and pregnant women.ConclusionsSeeking health information on the Internet may be an important gateway toward engaging in digital health-management practices. Notably, different consumer motivators influence digital health tool use. The relative contributions of each must be explored to design tools and interventions that enhance competencies for the management of self and child health among disadvantaged mothers and pregnant women. Unless we address disparities in digital health tool use, benefits from their use w...

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“…Through a content analysis of breastfeeding concerns and questions expressed on http://Babycenter.com's Breastfeeding Support and Help online community boards, we were able to evaluate the kinds of questions mothers posted and the content and process they used to respond. This study is particularly innovative because although many have examined mother's online information seeking (Bernhardt & Felter, ; Jang et al, ; Porter & Ispa, ; Ruthven, Buchanan, & Jardine, ), none have examined how women seek and respond to breastfeeding information via online discussion forums. Our results demonstrate that women on an online breastfeeding forum are seeking logistical information related to the how‐tos of breastfeeding from other mothers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With the decline of breastfeeding, generations of knowledge around this health behaviour were also diminished. Now, as mothers seek out information around breastfeeding, many are turning to online message boards, listservs, or social media for advice (Jang, Dworkin, & Hessel, ; Plantin & Daneback, ; Porter & Ispa, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Am I doing this wrong?” Breastfeeding mothers' use of an online forum

Lebron

George

Eckembrecher

et al. 2019

Maternal & Child Nutrition

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As mothers seek out information around breastfeeding, many are turning to online message boards, listservs, or social media for advice. Babycenter.com, a parenting website with widespread use, hosts a Breastfeeding Support and Help community forum with over 140,000 users and more than one million conversation threads.The purpose of this study is to examine this online support forum to understand the information seeking and sharing practices of its users. We extracted a total of 258 original posts and 1,445 corresponding comments from Babycenter.com's breastfeeding forum posted over a 10-day period. Using content analysis, we coded the posts into 15 categories reflective of the types of information users were seeking.We then randomly selected 45 conversation threads across the most popular categories to further understand how users were sharing information. The most popular breastfeeding topics for which users sought out information included feeding challenges, supply issues, feeding schedule and duration, pumping, physical health, excretion issues, storing milk, nipple issues, and general breastfeeding questions. Participants elicited information from others using interviewing questions and built consensus around issues by agreeing with previous posts. They shared their knowledge and personal breastfeeding experiences and also provided encouragement to continue breastfeeding and overcome challenges. Online support forums are actively being used by breastfeeding mothers seeking information from others with similar experiences. This presents an important resource for breastfeeding mothers and may, therefore, be an important component of future breastfeeding interventions. KEYWORDSbreastfeeding confidence, breastfeeding duration, breastfeeding knowledge, breastfeeding promotion, breastfeeding support, qualitative methods

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Mothers' Use of Information and Communication Technologies for Information Seeking

Cited by 34 publications

References 20 publications

Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers

Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers

Listening to Communities: Mixed-Method Study of the Engagement of Disadvantaged Mothers and Pregnant Women With Digital Health Technologies

“Am I doing this wrong?” Breastfeeding mothers' use of an online forum

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