Pregnancy and internet: sociodemographic and geographic differences in e-health practice. Results from an Italian multicenter study

Abstract Objectives Since the new millennium, the number of e-health users has significantly increased. Among these, a particular category of people who are interested by this phenomenon is the one of pregnant women. The aim of the present study is to assess the sociodemographic and geographic diffe...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Public health (London) 2015-09, Vol.129 (9), p.1258-1266
Main Authors: Scaioli, G, Bert, F, Galis, V, Brusaferro, S, De Vito, E, La Torre, G, Manzoli, L, Messina, G, Torregrossa, M.V, Ricciardi, W, Gualano, M.R, Siliquini, R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Consumer Health Information
Cross-Sectional Studies
e-Health
Female
Geographic differences
Geography
Humans
Infectious Disease
Information Seeking Behavior
Internal Medicine
Internet
Internet - utilization
Italy
Logistic Models
Multivariate Analysis
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women - psychology
Qualitative Research
Socioeconomic Factors
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult
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Summary:Abstract Objectives Since the new millennium, the number of e-health users has significantly increased. Among these, a particular category of people who are interested by this phenomenon is the one of pregnant women. The aim of the present study is to assess the sociodemographic and geographic differences existing in a sample of Italian pregnant women who search for information on the web. Study design Multicenter cross-sectional survey. Methods The present study has been conducted from November 2011 to September 2012, in seven Italian cities, located in the North, in the Centre and in the South of Italy. Data were collected through an anonymous questionnaire, administered in waiting rooms of outpatient departments by trained medical doctors. Data were analysed through multivariate logistic regression models. Results Overall, 1347 responders were interviewed. Eighty-six percent of them declared to surf the internet to retrieve pregnancy-related information. The most searched topics were fetal development (51.3%), healthy lifestyle during pregnancy (48.7%), physiology of pregnancy (39.8%), generic and specific tips/advices during pregnancy (37.2%) and lactation (36.8%). Statistically significant differences ( P  
ISSN:0033-3506
1476-5616
DOI:10.1016/j.puhe.2015.06.012