title: Pregnant women's use of information and communications technologies to access pregnancy-related health information in South Australia.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, School of Social Sciences, Discipline of Anthropology and Development Studies, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA 5005, Australia.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rodger
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Skuse
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wilmore
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Humphreys
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dalton
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Flabouris
authors.forename: V L
authors.initials: VL
authors.lastname: Clifton
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone / Q000295:instrumentation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000639:trends; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D020380:Needs Assessment; D057240:Patient Preference; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards* / Q000639:trends; D036301:Qualitative Research; D013021:South Australia; D013685:Telecommunications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult