Many women are turning to the Internet to meet their health information needs, but the large amount of information available, as well as the unknown reliability and applicability of information can be overwhelming. Studies in specific patient populations have determined that patients given access to personalized, on-line medical information are more satisfied with their care than patients provided generalized information. None of these studies have looked at whether this type of patient education would be helpful for pregnant women. This study is being done to determine whether pregnant women who have access to their own health records and personalized health information over the Internet are more satisfied with their prenatal care, and if they are more compliant with health visits and tests, compared to pregnant women who receive only generic pregnancy information on the Internet and from pamphlets
Many women are turning to the Internet to meet their health information needs, but the large amount of information available, as well as the unknown reliability and applicability of information can be overwhelming. Studies in specific patient populations have determined that patients given access to personalized, on-line medical information are more satisfied with their care than patients provided generalized information. None of these studies have looked at whether this type of patient education would be helpful for pregnant women. This study is being done to determine whether pregnant women who have access to their own health records and personalized health information over the Internet are more satisfied with their prenatal care, and if they are more compliant with health visits and tests, compared to pregnant women who receive only generic pregnancy information on the Internet and from pamphlets Women are being randomly assigned to receive secure access to pregnancy health information links chosen by the centre's physicians, or to receive these links with access to their online personal health that includes the antenatal record and a section of their care planner, from the centre's electronic medical record
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
193
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada
Uptake of Service
Number of log-ins
Time frame: 11 months
Easy to Log on
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Information Easy to Understand
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Learned Something New
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Easy to Find Information
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Helped me Stay Healthy
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Helped me Learn About Risks
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Helped me Understand Tests
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Helped me Make Decisions
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
Helped me Remember Appointments
Women were asked to rate their agreement with statements about the website from strongly agree (1) to strongly disagree (5) on a five-point scale. Results presented here are mean responses to questionnaire about the pregnancy website in the two randomized groups.
Time frame: 11 months
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