title: Use of a pregnancy support web site by low-income African American women.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the feasibility and usage pattern of a social support Web site by low-income pregnant African American women.
  
  
  METHODS
  Descriptive.
  
  
  METHODS
  Homes of participants.
  
  
  METHODS
  Nineteen pregnant African American women who were pregnant for the first time, were low risk, and attending a prenatal clinic.
  
  
  METHODS
  Culturally congruent Web site providing information on pregnancy-related health behaviors and other pregnancy issues.
  
  
  METHODS
  Number of visits to Web site, most popular pages, content analysis of postings, and e-mails to a nurse.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Participants were able to learn to use the Web site easily. They accessed the discussion board the most frequently, followed by changes during pregnancy by month, ask-a-nurse feature, ultrasound, stories about pregnant women, and spirituality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The discussion board is the most effective way to deliver informational social support on a comprehensive social support Web site.
authors.affiliation: College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29209, USA. joanne.herman@sc.edu
authors.forename: JoAnne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herman
authors.forename: Kathryn
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mock
authors.forename: Deborah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blackwell
authors.forename: Tara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hulsey
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001294:Attitude to Health; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008490:Medical Informatics; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011203:Poverty; D011247:Pregnancy / Q000523:psychology*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors