title: Does social support predict pregnant mothers' information seeking behaviors on an educational website?
abstract: We examine how social support (perceived support and support from a spouse, or committed partner) may influence pregnant women's information seeking behaviors on a pregnancy website. We assess information seeking behavior among participants in a trial testing the effectiveness of a web-based intervention for appropriate gestational weight gain. Participants were pregnant women (N = 1,329) recruited from clinics and private practices in one county in the Northeast United States. We used logistic regression models to estimate the likelihood of viewing articles, blogs, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and resources on the website as a function of perceived social support, and support from a spouse or relationship partner. All models included socio-demographic controls (income, education, number of adults and children living at home, home Internet use, and race/ethnicity). Compared to single women, women who were married or in a committed relationship were more likely to information seek online by viewing articles (OR 1.95, 95 % CI [1.26-3.03]), FAQs (OR 1.64 [1.00-2.67]), and blogs (OR 1.88 [1.24-2.85]). Women who felt loved and valued (affective support) were more likely to seek information by viewing articles on the website (OR 1.19 [1.00-1.42]). While the Internet provides a space for people who have less social support to access health information, findings from this study suggest that for pregnant women, women who already had social support were most likely to seek information online. This finding has important implications for designing online systems and content to encourage pregnant women with fewer support resources to engage with content.
authors.affiliation: Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education, UCSF, 1524 8th Ave, San Francisco, CA, 94122, USA, jamie.guillory@ucsf.edu.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Guillory
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Niederdeppe
authors.forename: Hyekung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Pollak
authors.forename: Meredith
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Olson
authors.forename: Geri
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gay
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D004522:Educational Status; D005191:Family Characteristics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet; D016013:Likelihood Functions; D016015:Logistic Models; D017533:Marital Status; D009511:New England; D011247:Pregnancy; D037841:Pregnant People / Q000523:psychology*; D012944:Social Support; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018454:Spouses / Q000523:psychology*; D015430:Weight Gain / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult