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Health information needs of pregnant women: information sources, motives and barriers
Author(s) -
Kamali Sudabeh,
Ahmadian Leila,
Khajouei Reza,
Bahaadinbeigy Kambiz
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
health information and libraries journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.779
H-Index - 38
eISSN - 1471-1842
pISSN - 1471-1834
DOI - 10.1111/hir.12200
Subject(s) - pregnancy , medicine , childbirth , information needs , family medicine , health information , obstetrics , health care , nursing , economic growth , genetics , world wide web , computer science , economics , biology
Background Pregnant women should be provided with relevant and useful information to manage this specific period of their lives. Assessing information needs of this group is a prerequisite for providing this information. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the information needs of pregnant women during their pregnancy and childbirth. Methods This descriptive study was conducted on the pregnant women who attended antenatal clinics and obstetricians/gynaecologists’ offices in Kerman, Iran, in 2015. Data were collected using a self‐administered, valid and reliable questionnaire. A total of 400 women participated in the study. Findings Most pregnant women needed information about care of the foetus ( n = 344, 86%), physical and psychological complications after delivery ( n = 333, 83%), development and growth of the foetus ( n = 330, 82.5%), pregnancy nutrition ( n = 327, 82%) and special tests during pregnancy ( n = 326, 81.5%). They mostly ( n = 195, 49%) looked for information when they were suffering from a disease or pregnancy complications. Conclusions As pregnant women need extensive information to be able to take care of themselves and their babies, their information needs should be identified and taken into consideration when planning educational programmes for this group of women.