Online resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences.

Mackintosh, N; Agarwal, S; Adcock, K; Armstrong, N; Briley, A; Patterson, M; Sandall, J; Sarah Gong, Q

Online resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences.

Mackintosh, N Agarwal, S Adcock, K Armstrong, N Briley, A Patterson, M Sandall, J

Sarah Gong, Q

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Publisher:: Elsevier BV
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Midwifery, 2020, 90
Issue Date:: 2020-07-18

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Mackintosh, N
dc.contributor.author	Agarwal, S
dc.contributor.author	Adcock, K
dc.contributor.author	Armstrong, N
dc.contributor.author	Briley, A
dc.contributor.author	Patterson, M
dc.contributor.author	Sandall, J https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2000-743X
dc.contributor.author	Sarah Gong, Q
dc.date.accessioned	2020-08-27T03:21:19Z
dc.date.available	2020-07-18
dc.date.available	2020-08-27T03:21:19Z
dc.date.issued	2020-07-18
dc.identifier.citation	Midwifery, 2020, 90
dc.identifier.issn	0266-6138
dc.identifier.issn	1532-3099
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142392
dc.description.abstract	OBJECTIVE:Assess the role of online resources and apps for women's help seeking and staff's response to concerns in the perinatal period. DESIGN:Online survey. Descriptive analysis of women's use and experiences of digital resources for self-diagnosis and help seeking, drawing on numerical and free-text responses. SETTING:Two tertiary referral centres and one district general hospital in two UK geographic locations. PARTICIPANTS:632 postnatal women, surveyed over a 4 month period. MEASUREMENTS:Women's access to digital devices; frequency and type of health concerns experienced after 22 weeks' gestation; variability in use and experiences of websites/apps; perceptions of staff's response to concerns after help-seeking. FINDINGS:1254 women were approached over a 4-month period; 632 participated (response rate: 50%). Women reported a 'mix and match' blended use of digital resources to both learn about, and self-diagnose/self-triage for potential complications in pregnancy as an adjunct to care provided by maternity staff. Over half the participants experienced concerns about themselves or their baby after 22 weeks. The top concern was fetal movements, reported by 62%. Women used 91 different digital resources to help with understanding and decision-making, in addition to seeking support from family, friends and healthcare professionals. Enabling features of staff responses were identified from free-text responses (n = 292) by women who sought professional help regarding their health concerns, and influencing factors at clinical, organisational and digital level. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:Online information retrieval and digital self-monitoring is increasingly integral to women's self-care during pregnancy and offers opportunities to support escalation of care and shared decision-making. Further work should assess optimal inclusion of this 'digital work' into clinical consultations.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	Elsevier BV
dc.relation.ispartof	Midwifery
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1016/j.midw.2020.102803
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights	Elsevier required licence: © 2020 . This manuscript version is made available under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/. The definitive publisher version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.midw.2020.102803	en_US
dc.subject	1110 Nursing, 1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine, 1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject.classification	Nursing
dc.title	Online resources and apps to aid self-diagnosis and help seeking in the perinatal period: A descriptive survey of women's experiences.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	90
utslib.location.activity	Scotland
utslib.for	1110 Nursing
utslib.for	1114 Paediatrics and Reproductive Medicine
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Midwifery
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2020-08-27T03:21:13Z
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	90

Abstract:

OBJECTIVE:Assess the role of online resources and apps for women's help seeking and staff's response to concerns in the perinatal period. DESIGN:Online survey. Descriptive analysis of women's use and experiences of digital resources for self-diagnosis and help seeking, drawing on numerical and free-text responses. SETTING:Two tertiary referral centres and one district general hospital in two UK geographic locations. PARTICIPANTS:632 postnatal women, surveyed over a 4 month period. MEASUREMENTS:Women's access to digital devices; frequency and type of health concerns experienced after 22 weeks' gestation; variability in use and experiences of websites/apps; perceptions of staff's response to concerns after help-seeking. FINDINGS:1254 women were approached over a 4-month period; 632 participated (response rate: 50%). Women reported a 'mix and match' blended use of digital resources to both learn about, and self-diagnose/self-triage for potential complications in pregnancy as an adjunct to care provided by maternity staff. Over half the participants experienced concerns about themselves or their baby after 22 weeks. The top concern was fetal movements, reported by 62%. Women used 91 different digital resources to help with understanding and decision-making, in addition to seeking support from family, friends and healthcare professionals. Enabling features of staff responses were identified from free-text responses (n = 292) by women who sought professional help regarding their health concerns, and influencing factors at clinical, organisational and digital level. KEY CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:Online information retrieval and digital self-monitoring is increasingly integral to women's self-care during pregnancy and offers opportunities to support escalation of care and shared decision-making. Further work should assess optimal inclusion of this 'digital work' into clinical consultations.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/142392