Dianne Rodger

Pregnant women’s use of information and communications technologies to access pregnancy-related health information in South Australia

This paper examines how pregnant women living in South Australia use information and communication technologies (ICTs), principally Internet and mobile phones, to access pregnancy-related information. It draws on 35 semistructured interviews conducted as part of the Health-e Baby project, a qualitative study designed to assess the information needs and ICT preferences of pregnant women cared for at a South Australian metropolitan teaching hospital. Our research shows that although ICTs offer exciting possibilities for health promotion and the potential for new forms of communication, networking and connection, we cannot assume the effectiveness of communicating through such channels, despite near universal levels of ICT access. In turn, this highlights that if e-mediated health promotion is to be effective, health promoters and practitioners need to better understand ICT access, usage and content preferences of their clients.

''Who's afraid?'': Attitudes of midwives to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for delivery of pregnancy-related health information

BACKGROUNDnUsage rates for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in healthcare have been increasing in recent years, but often lag behind general usage rates for populations as a whole. Research into such differential rates of ICT use across different segments of the population has identified a number of possible causal factors that limit usage.nnnAIMnThe research investigated midwives attitudes and experiences of ICT use to identify potential causal factors that encourage or inhibit their usage in antenatal care.nnnMETHODSnSemi-structured interviews, focus groups and short surveys were conducted with midwives who provide antenatal education at an Australian metropolitan hospital. Thematic and statistical analyses were used to interpret the data.nnnFINDINGSnAlthough midwives recognised the potential benefits of using ICTs to deliver pregnancy-related health information many had reservations about their use in everyday work. These reservations centred on lack of training in use of ICTs, the perceived legal risks associated with social media, potential violations of patient privacy, misdiagnosis and misunderstandings between midwife and client.nnnCONCLUSIONnMidwives face a number of barriers to effective use of ICTs in healthcare including material access, skills access, usage access and motivational access. Motivational access appears to be a key concern due to the high perception of risk associated with social media in particular. Reducing the motivational barriers through a range of interventions with midwifery staff may assist in overcoming other barriers to ICT use in antenatal care. Further research is required to determine whether these findings are generalisable to other healthcare contexts.

How midwives tailor health information used in antenatal care

OBJECTIVEnto examine the informal approaches taken by midwives and other antenatal staff to adapt health communication to the needs of their patients, as well as their perception of the barriers faced when trying to provide tailored health promotion.nnnDESIGNnqualitative research methods (participant observation, individual and group interviews) were utilised to gain an understanding of how media and communication resources were used in practice within the study hospital.nnnSETTINGna major metropolitan teaching hospital located in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.nnnPARTICIPANTSnindividual semi-structured interviews with antenatal staff (n=8) were combined with group interviews (n=2; total number of staff=13), and observational research.nnnFINDINGSnmidwives and other antenatal staff use a range of strategies to meet the perceived health literacy level of their patients. However, their attempts to tailor health information to individual needs are frequently based on incomplete information about patients health literacy, may be inconsistent in delivery and content and are seldom assessed to determine whether communication has been understood or led to patient behaviour change.nnnKEY CONCLUSIONSnmidwives fully recognise the need to adapt standard printed materials to meet the diverse health literacy needs of patients but lack the resources required to evaluate whether these adaptations have positive effect.nnnIMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICEnmidwives commitment to improving health communication provides a latent resource that institutions can build on to improve health outcomes for patients with low health literacy. This requires improvements in health communication training, willingness to use a range of validated instruments for measuring health literacy, and commitment to use of innovative approaches to health promotion where these have been shown to have a positive impact on health behaviours.

Understanding the Role of Medium in the Control and Flows of Information in Health Communication

In this article we look at the use of social, digital and online media as a possible resource in health promotion. We do this through a framework of medium theory—which allows us to consider the social and power relations that circulate through and are generated by different mediums. The application of medium theory has great potential for communications literature and this article attempts to refine it by indicating how it may be pertinent in a health communication context. We analyzed health promotion literature to assess the current attitudes of medical professionals to the use of social and online media. Our own research discussion is based on a project in a metropolitan hospital, which has mapped media access and use by clients in an antenatal clinic as well as attitudes of staff. We outline the strategies the project is developing, using social, digital, mobile and online media to address the information needs of the clinic’s clients in new ways.

‘Passing Time’: A Qualitative Study of Health Promotion Practices in an Antenatal Clinic Waiting Room

The authors explore the information needs and preferences of pregnant women through a study of health-promotion strategies employed in an antenatal clinic waiting room at a tertiary hospital in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide, Australia. Conducted as part of a wider health communication project (‘Health-e Baby’), the chapter provides a detailed assessment of how these spaces are used by staff to convey health messages related to pregnancy and how pregnant women interacted with these materials whilst waiting for their appointments. Rodger, Skuse and Wilmore’s observational data is complimented by data drawn from semi-structured interviews (n = 35), which enables them to explore how waiting rooms can be used to maximise the potential efficacy of health promotion interventions at these important sites of interaction with antenatal patients. Preliminary insights from this chapter challenge assumptions about the efficacy of current uses of antenatal waiting rooms as a setting for the communication of health information.