TITLE:
Pregnant Women’s Perceptions of Patient-Provider Communication for Health Behavior Change during Pregnancy
AUTHORS:
Jenn Leiferman, Elizabeth Sinatra, Jennifer Huberty
KEYWORDS:
Pregnancy, Prenatal Health, Health Care
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.4 No.11,
August
26,
2014
ABSTRACT: Aim: The primary aim of
the project was to conduct focus groups with pregnant women to examine their
perceptions on patient and health care provider (HCP) communication during
prenatal visits pertaining to health behavioral change. In particular, to
determine what types of communication facilitate or prevent patient engagement
and adherence to certain health behaviors related to smoking cessation, engagement
in physical activity, healthy eating and healthy weight gain, and stress
management. Methods: Participants were recruited from the obstetric and
midwifery clinics at the University of Colorado Hospital. Twenty-four pregnant,
English-speaking women between the ages of 18 and 46 years old, the majority of
which had full health insurance coverage, participated in one of three focus
groups that were conducted. The transcripts were coded for themes and patterns.
Results identified numerous current practices of HCPs, facilitators and
barriers in care, and patient recommendations related to effective
patient-provider communication. Results: Overall many women received basic
information about most health behaviors (i.e. healthy eating, physical
activity, and smoking cessation) with the exception of stress management from
their HCPs via their introductory information packet. However, typically there
was no follow-up beyond receipt of the packet. As a result, women sought
information online from numerous sources. Unfortunately, this information often
conflicted with HCP provided information, as did the information provided from
multiple HCPs in group care settings. A major facilitator of behavioral change
pertained to building trust and rapport as it directly enhanced the perceived
quality of patient-provider communication on prenatal health behaviors. Across
all behaviors, women voiced the need for available resources that were credible
and referenced by their HCPs. Conclusions: These findings provide a better understanding
of what facilitates and prevents women from engaging in healthy behaviors
during their pregnancy, in addition to improving patient and provider
communication.