Re-visiting the digital divide: health information seeking in a pre-natal program in a minority urban health center (original) (raw)
Related papers
Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers
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 indepth 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 pregnancyrelated 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.
Internet and Computer Access and Use for Health Information in an Underserved Community
Ambulatory Pediatrics, 2005
Background.-The ''digital divide'' is the gap between those with access to information tools such as the Internet and those without access. The gap has been described by income, education, age, and race. Little information exists on computer and Internet access and use for health information by parents, particularly among populations of low income and low education level.
Ethnicity, digital divides and uses of the Internet for health information
Computers in Human Behavior, 2015
The present study investigates the influence of racial/ethnic and cognitive factors on use of the Internet as a channel for public health information. A random sample of 310 residents age 18 years or older provided valid survey responses. Multivariate analyses establish the importance of self efficacy in determining online search motivations, outcome expectancies and behaviors, although we fail to confirm the existence of any kind of ''racial divide'' in Internet use. The relatively modest role played by ethnicity-in determining online uses and self efficacy-underscores the significance of using attitudinal variables alongside traditional demographic and media use measures of communication technology use.
2021
This paper presents results of a qualitative descriptive study conducted to understand parents’ experiences with digital technologies during their transition to parenting (i.e. the period from pre-conception through postpartum). Individuals in southwest Ontario who had become a new parent within the previous 24 months were recruited to participate in a focus group or individual interview. Participants were asked to describe the type of technologies they/their partner used during their transition to parenthood, and how such technologies were used to support their own and their family's health. Focus group and interview transcripts were then subjected to thematic analysis using inductive coding. Ten focus groups and three individual interviews were conducted with 26 heterosexual female participants. Participants primarily used digital technologies to: (1) seek health information for a variety of reproductive health issues, and (2) establish social and emotional connections. The na...
Internet Usage among Pregnant Women for Seeking Health Information: A Review Article
Iranian Journal of Nursing and Midwifery Research, 2018
Background: In recent years, the Internet has become one of the most popular sources of health information for users, and pregnant women are no exception. This study aimed to investigate Internet usage among pregnant women for achieving health information on the finding of related studies. Materials and Methods: This review study was conducted by searching databases such as IranMedex, Magiran, Scientific Information Database, Irandoc, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Scopus in December 2016. Restrictions were placed on publication to within 16 years and language of publication was restricted to English and Persian. Keywords used in the search included information-seeking behavior, information-seeking, information needs, access to information, pregnancy, and pregnant women. Results: This search resulted in 106 related publications and among them sixteen articles met inclusion criteria. This review showed that the use of the Internet by pregnant women was driven b...
Health Information & Libraries Journal, 2012
Background: The relationship between health information seeking, patient engagement and health literacy is not well understood. This is especially true in medically underserved populations, which are often viewed as having limited access to health information. Objective: To improve communication between an urban health centre and the community it serves, a team of library and information science researchers undertook an assessment of patients' level and methods of access to and use of the Internet. Methods: Data were collected in 53 face-to-face anonymous interviews with patients at the centre. Interviews were tape-recorded for referential accuracy, and data were analysed to identify patterns of access and use. Results: Seventy-two percentage of study participants reported having access to the Internet through either computers or cell phones. Barriers to Internet access were predominantly lack of equipment or training rather than lack of interest. Only 21% of those with Internet access reported using the Internet to look for health information. Conclusion: The findings suggest that lack of access to the Internet in itself is not the primary barrier to seeking health information in this population and that the digital divide exists not at the level of information access but rather at the level of information use.
Use of the Internet by pregnant women to seek information about pregnancy and childbirth
Informatics for Health and Social Care, 2020
Pregnant women get information about pregnancy andchild-birth from many sources, including the Internet. There is alack of evidence about the extent to which pregnant women usethis source. This study aimed to investigate the use of the Internetby pregnant women to search for information about pregnancyand childbirth. This study was conducted in Kerman, Iran. Threehundred eighty-five pregnant women waiting for their appointmentswith obstetricians/gynecologists participated in the survey byfilling out a questionnaire. The most common searched topicswere nutrition in pregnancy (81%), fetal development (67%), andcomplications of pregnancy (49%). The most popular sources ofinformation were physicians (61%), the Internet (51%), and printedsources (41%), respectively. More than half of the participantsdid not share the retrieved information from the Internet with theirhealth professionals. After being examined by a physician, 43% ofthe participants searched the Internet about the discussed topic.Beside physicians, the Internet is the second common source ofpregnancy and childbirth information for Iranian pregnant women.Future studies are needed to analyze the quality and accuracy ofonline pregnancy and childbirth information.
Low-Income Parents' Values Involving the Use of Technology for Accessing Health Information
Technology is increasingly available to end users of low socioeconomic status (SES), yet little is known about how these users' values affect the interfaces they prefer when seeking information related to their child's health. We investigate low-SES parents' preferences when it comes to technology to track and learn about their child's developmental milestones using both qualitative and quantitative analyses. We follow the methods outlined by Value Sensitive Design (VSD) and found that the three most relevant values for information seeking are Convenience, Learning/Bonding and Trust. We also discuss how these values drive their technology preferences in tracking their child's developmental milestones. We also present a series of design principles for information communication technology for low-SES user groups that were derived directly from our qualitative research with 51 participants. We note that although working in this unique problem space necessitated following an abridged VSD paradigm our results align with the core set of values suggested by VSD.