"Who's afraid?": attitudes of midwives to the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) for delivery of pregnancy-related health information.

Background: Usage rates for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in healthcare have been increasing in recent years, but often lag behind general usage rates for populations as a whole. Research into such differential rates of ICT use across different segments of the population has identified a number of possible causal factors that limit usage.

Aim: The research investigated midwives' attitudes and experiences of ICT use to identify potential causal factors that encourage or inhibit their usage in antenatal care.

How midwives tailor health information used in antenatal care.

Objective: to examine the informal approaches taken by midwives and other antenatal staff to adapt health communication to the needs of their patients, as well as their perception of the barriers faced when trying to provide tailored health promotion.

Design: qualitative research methods (participant observation, individual and group interviews) were utilised to gain an understanding of how media and communication resources were used in practice within the study hospital.

Setting: a major metropolitan teaching hospital located in the Northern suburbs of Adelaide, South Australia.

Pregnant women's use of information and communications technologies to access pregnancy-related health information in South Australia.

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.