@Article{info:doi/10.2196/jmir.3916,
author="Chilukuri, Nymisha
and West, Meredith
and Henderson, Janice Lynn
and Lawson, Shari
and Ehsanipoor, Robert
and Costigan, Kathleen
and Polk, Sarah
and Bennett, Wendy",
title="Information and Communication Technology Use Among Low-Income Pregnant and Postpartum Women by Race and Ethnicity: A Cross-Sectional Study",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2015",
month="Jul",
day="03",
volume="17",
number="7",
pages="e163",
keywords="pregnancy; health services accessibility; postpartum period; cell phones; text messaging; Internet; health status disparities; Hispanic Americans",
abstract="Background: Pregnancy and the postpartum period provide windows of opportunity to impact perinatal and lifelong preventive health behavior for women and their families, but these opportunities are often missed. Understanding racial/ethnic differences in information and communication technology (ICT) use could inform technology-based interventions in diverse populations. Objective: The objective of the study was to evaluate differences in the use of ICT between racial and ethnic groups as well as by English language proficiency. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of 246 women who were aged 18 years or older and pregnant or within 1 year of delivery. They were recruited from 4 hospital-based outpatient clinics and completed a self-administered survey. We used multivariate regression analysis to evaluate the association between race/ethnicity and ICT (mobile phone/short message service [SMS] text message, Internet, and social network) usage by race/ethnicity and perceived English language proficiency after adjusting for age, income, marital status, and insurance status. Results: In all, 28{\%} (69/246) of participants were Latina, 40{\%} (98/246) were African American, 23{\%} (56/246) were white, and 9{\%} (23/246) from other racial/ethnic groups. Of the Latinas, 84{\%} (58/69) reported limited English language proficiency and 59{\%} (41/69) were uninsured. More than 90{\%} of all participants reported mobile phone use, but more than 25{\%} (65/246) had changed phone numbers 2 or more times in the past year. Compared to white women, African American women were less likely to SMS text message (OR 0.07, 95{\%} CI 0.01-0.63) and Latinas were less likely to use the Internet to find others with similar concerns (OR 0.23, 95{\%} CI 0.08-0.73). Women with limited English language proficiency were less likely to use the Internet overall (OR 0.30, 95{\%} CI 0.09-0.99) or use email (OR 0.22, 95{\%} CI 0.08-0.63) compared to women with adequate English language proficiency. Conclusions: Mobile phones are widely available for the delivery of health interventions to low-income, racially diverse pregnant and postpartum women, but disparities in Internet use and SMS text messaging exist. Interventions or programs requiring Web-based apps may have lower uptake unless alternatives are available, such as those adapted for limited English proficiency populations. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/jmir.3916",
url="http://www.jmir.org/2015/7/e163/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.3916",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26142162"
}