Information Seeking During Pregnancy: Exploring the Changing Landscape and Planning for the Future

Executive Summary

Introduction

Public health programs are created on the foundation of evidence informed practice. The goal of the Reproductive Health Program Standard is “to enable individuals and families to achieve optimal preconception health, experience a healthy pregnancy, have the healthiest newborn(s) possible, and be prepared for parenthood” (Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, 2010). In order to achieve this goal, the Reproductive Health Program team at Wellington-Dufferin-Guelph Public Health (WDGPH) conducted a literature review to understand how pregnant women access or receive information about pregnancy. One of the recommendations from this review was to conduct a survey with pregnant women in Wellington, Dufferin and Guelph (WDG) to better understand the pregnancy information needs and interests of the local population. Promising approaches and tools identified in the literature review guided the development of the local survey, focusing on: 1) information technology (i.e., text messaging, apps, email, and social media), 2) health care provider outreach, and 3) public awareness.
 
The objectives of the local survey for pregnant women were to:
  1. Determine how pregnant women in WDG are accessing pregnancy related information
  2. Learn which sources of information are most useful
  3. Understand how pregnant women in WDG would like to receive pregnancy related information from WDGPH
  4. Gain insight into the role of healthcare providers in relation to Internet-based resources; including the distribution of resources to pregnant clients and discussing Internet-based information accessed by them.
Share this page