A Qualitative Study of Pregnant Women's Perspectives on Antibiotic Use for Mom and Child: Implications for Developing Tailored Health Education Interventions

Trust in experts, not trust in national leadership, leads to greater uptake of recommended actions during the COVID-19 pandemic

Evidence suggests that people vary in their desire to undertake protective actions during a health emergency, and that trust in authorities may influence decision making. We sought to examine how the trust in health experts and trust in White House leadership during the COVID‐19 pandemic impacts individuals' decisions to adopt recommended protective actions such as mask‐wearing. A mediation analysis was conducted using cross‐sectional U.S. survey data collected between March 27 and 30, 2020, to elucidate how individuals' trust in health experts and White House leadership, their perceptions of susceptibility and severity to COVID‐19, and perceived benefits of protecting against COVID‐19, influenced their uptake of recommended protective actions. Trust in health experts was associated with greater perceived severity of COVID‐19 and benefits of taking action, which led to greater uptake of recommended actions. Trust in White House leadership was associated with lower perceived susceptibility to COVID‐19 and was not associated with taking recommended actions. Having trust in health experts is a greater predictor of individuals' uptake of protective actions than having trust in White House leadership. Public health messaging should emphasize the severity of COVID‐19 and the benefits of protecting oneself while ensuring consistency and transparency to regain trust in health experts.

Perspectives of Pregnant and Breastfeeding Women on Participating in Longitudinal Mother-Baby Studies Involving Electronic Health Records: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND

Electronic health records (EHRs) hold great potential for longitudinal mother-baby studies, ranging from assessing study feasibility to facilitating patient recruitment to streamlining study visits and data collection. Existing studies on the perspectives of pregnant and breastfeeding women on EHR use have been limited to the use of EHRs to engage in health care rather than to participate in research.

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study is to explore the perspectives of pregnant and breastfeeding women on releasing their own and their infants' EHR data for longitudinal research to identify factors affecting their willingness to participate in research.

METHODS

We conducted semistructured interviews with pregnant or breastfeeding women from Alachua County, Florida. Participants were asked about their familiarity with EHRs and EHR patient portals, their comfort with releasing maternal and infant EHR data to researchers, the length of time of the data release, and whether individual research test results should be included in the EHR. The interviews were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were organized and coded using the NVivo 12 software (QSR International), and coded data were thematically analyzed using constant comparison.

RESULTS

Participants included 29 pregnant or breastfeeding women aged between 22 and 39 years. More than half of the sample had at least an associate degree or higher. Nearly all participants (27/29, 93%) were familiar with EHRs and had experience accessing an EHR patient portal. Less than half of the participants (12/29, 41%) were willing to make EHR data available to researchers for the duration of a study or longer. Participants' concerns about sharing EHRs for research purposes emerged in 3 thematic domains: privacy and confidentiality, transparency by the research team, and surrogate decision-making on behalf of infants. The potential release of sensitive or stigmatizing information, such as mental or sexual health history, was considered in the decisions to release EHRs. Some participants viewed the simultaneous use of their EHRs for both health care and research as potentially beneficial, whereas others expressed concerns about mixing their health care with research.

CONCLUSIONS

This exploratory study indicates that pregnant and breastfeeding women may be willing to release EHR data to researchers if researchers adequately address their concerns regarding the study design, communication, and data management. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should be included in EHR-based research as long as researchers are prepared to address their concerns.

Perspectives of pregnant and breastfeeding women on longitudinal clinical studies that require non-invasive biospecimen collection - a qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Investigation of the microbiome during early life has stimulated an increasing number of cohort studies in pregnant and breastfeeding women that require non-invasive biospecimen collection. The objective of this study was to explore pregnant and breastfeeding women's perspectives on longitudinal clinical studies that require non-invasive biospecimen collection and how they relate to study logistics and research participation.

METHODS

We completed in-depth semi-structured interviews with 40 women who were either pregnant (n = 20) or breastfeeding (n = 20) to identify their understanding of longitudinal clinical research, the motivations and barriers to their participation in such research, and their preferences for providing non-invasive biospecimen samples.

RESULTS

Perspectives on research participation were focused on breastfeeding and perinatal education. Participants cited direct benefits of research participation that included flexible childcare, lactation support, and incentives and compensation. Healthcare providers, physician offices, and social media were cited as credible sources and channels for recruitment. Participants viewed lengthy study visits and child protection as the primary barriers to research participation. The barriers to biospecimen collection were centered on stool sampling, inadequate instructions, and drop-off convenience.

CONCLUSION

Women in this study were interested in participating in clinical studies that require non-invasive biospecimen collection, and motivations to participate center on breastfeeding and the potential to make a scientific contribution that helps others. Effectively recruiting pregnant or breastfeeding participants for longitudinal microbiome studies requires protocols that account for participant interests and consideration for their time.