Online Pediatric Information Seeking Among Mothers of Young Children: Results From a Qualitative Study Using Focus Groups

Abstract

BackgroundPre-natal and post-natal periods are times when many women actively seek health information from multiple sources, including the Internet. However, little is known about how pregnant women and mothers of young children seek and process online pediatric health information.ObjectiveTo explore why and where mothers of young children look for online health information and how they determine if the information they receive is trustworthy.MethodsFocus groups were conducted in a Southeastern US city to provide an in-depth exploration of web-related behaviors and beliefs among mothers who work inside and outside of the home. Data from the focus groups were coded using deductive and inductive coding schemes and content was analyzed for the existence of themes.ResultsTwenty mothers of young children participated in four focus groups. Most participants sought information on the Internet during pregnancy and nearly all sought online information after their child was born, primarily to diagnose or treat pediatric conditions and to seek advice on parenting and development. Participants mainly used commercial information websites for health information and many expressed disdain for commercial product websites. Many also expressed concerns about the reliability of health information on the web and described strategies for determining how much they trust each website.ConclusionsWomen appear to be high information seekers during pregnancy and the first few years following delivery, and this period represents an important window of time for providing online health information. Participants suggested that online information sources and motives for providing online information should be clear in order to increase perceptions of trust. Participants expressed preference for online clinical health information that is presented by clinical professionals, and online parenting advice that is presented from other parents.

Key Lessons and Impact of the Growing Healthy mHealth Program on Milk Feeding, Timing of Introduction of Solids, and Infant Growth: Quasi-Experimental Study (Preprint)

“…This is consistent with findings from our qualitative follow up interviews with parents where they reported engagement with the program was promoted by the credibility of the program source, the user friendly interface and tailoring of content and push notifications to baby's ages and key transition points. Our findings are congruent with existing research which suggests parents are increasingly relying on online source of information about infant feeding and care [23][24][25][26][27].…”

“…Evidence suggests that while parents increasingly rely on the internet for information on infant feeding and care [23][24][25][26][27] less research has been conducted on the use of smart phone apps in the post partum period. One study reported that low income women commonly use apps during pregnancy, but not in the post-partum period because of the limited availability of high quality apps, creating a 'post-partum app gap' [28].…”

Invisible work of using and monitoring knowledge by parents (end-users) of children with chronic conditions

“…Examination of parents' health information sources reveal that parents use a large number and wide variety of sources such as newsletters, conferences, meetings, magazines and television [8,11]. Parents' information seeking patterns have been found to change over time and relate to their children's immediate needs and concerns [8,12,13] Lastly, parents gauge the quality of the information that is given to them and desire guidance when seeking health information independently [7,11,12,14]. These studies suggest that parents engage in many activities related to accessing information however how parents actually use health information in caring for their children or in working with health providers or teachers is unknown.…”

Informatie op het internet over timeout als opvoedstrategie. Een analyse met inhoudelijke en formele criteria

“…In plaats van het internet te diskwalificeren als informatiebron (zie Drayton et al, 2014) worden in studies over de kwaliteit van informatie op het internet vaak vier opties onderscheiden om de risico's van gebrekkige informatie tegen te gaan: het vergroten van de 'mediawijsheid' van de gebruiker (Bernhardt & Felter, 2004;Boston, Ruwe, Duggins, & Willging, 2005;Chen et al, 2000;Semere et al, 2003), het versterken van de verantwoordelijkheid van de beroepskrachten (D'Alessandro & Dosa, 2001;Nieuwboer, 2014;Sim et al, 2007), het hanteren van een 'gouden standaard ' (D'Alessandro & Kingsley, 2002;Hardwick & MacKenzie, 2003;Scullard, Peacock, & Davies, 2010) en het instellen van een keurmerk (Dornan & Oermann, 2006;HON).…”