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Beliefs about medicines and information needs among pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium

Tijdschriftbijdrage - Tijdschriftartikel

PURPOSE: To explore beliefs about medicines and information needs among pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium and to identify patient characteristics associated with beliefs about medicines. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was performed at the outpatient obstetrics clinic of the University Hospital Leuven, Belgium, between December 2016 and March 2017. All pregnant women ā‰„ā€‰18 years were invited to complete a web survey. The survey consisted of general and pregnancy-specific statements of the "Beliefs about Medicines" questionnaire and questions about information needs. Descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, Fisher's exact tests, and multinomial logistic regression were used to analyze the findings. RESULTS: In total, 372 pregnant women participated. Most women showed positive attitudes towards medicines in general. However, almost 90% of women agreed to have a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy compared with non-pregnant situations. Likewise, 40% preferred natural remedies during pregnancy. Education in healthcare and education level were the main determinants associated with beliefs, with highly educated women showing a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy (pā€‰=ā€‰0.005). Most women searched online for pregnancy-related information (85%) and for information about medicines (74%). However, less than one-third discussed online-retrieved information with healthcare professionals (HCPs). CONCLUSIONS: Pregnant women visiting a tertiary hospital in Belgium showed a higher threshold to use medicines during pregnancy compared with non-pregnant situations and had high information needs, including for information about medicines during pregnancy. HCPs should be aware of women's individual beliefs, guide them towards reliable websites, and discuss online-retrieved information during counseling.
Tijdschrift: European Journal of Clinical Pharmacology
ISSN: 0031-6970
Issue: 7
Volume: 75
Pagina's: 995 - 1003
Jaar van publicatie:2019
BOF-keylabel:ja
IOF-keylabel:ja
BOF-publication weight:1
CSS-citation score:2
Auteurs:International
Authors from:Higher Education
Toegankelijkheid:Open