Table 3 Top Focus Group Themes
Theme | Open Code | Definition | Sample comment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Use of Technology | Use of Mobile Applications | Comments that describe how individuals navigate their pregnancy journey with the help of smartphone applications. | “Well, for pregnancy, I use the What to Expect app. I use that one a lot. So, it gives you different stories of what you will go through, what symptoms you might have. It will also tell you what you need energy—or to eat. Things like that.” (Participant F2A2) | ||
Education/ Information | Means of Information Seeking | Individuals describe how they use technologies such as social forums to gather information of interest about their pregnancy. | “It was almost like, well, you don’t have a heartbeat so I asked other mothers, and they were, like, oh, that happened to me, just give it a couple of weeks and the heartbeat should be there then. Then a couple more weeks and the heartbeat is there.” (Participant F2A3) | ||
Information on Mental Health | Comments where individuals describe instances when they were wanting or needing information on mental health but could not find it | “Of the seven apps that I have to track everything, nothing says, if you have a history of miscarriages—like I do—like both of us, I guess—or if you have a history of depression, anxiety, or PTSD, or all of these different things, how do you now cope with, is this a normal feeling?” (Participant F2A1) | |||
Sharing of Stories and Narratives | Individuals share pregnancy information and experiences through a personal story-telling format. | “I’m in the Mommy group, so a lot of people who’s been out there that’s gotten pregnant, they still sit down and talk and say, okay, I’m going through this—because I was scared because they tell me my baby didn’t even have a heartbeat—they was, like, oh, just give it time, like a couple weeks… I was, like, five weeks so it was still early—and the doctor already telling me to get rid of it.” (Participant F2A3) | |||
Digital Data | Managing lab results | Individuals express confusion and sometimes frustration with the various channels available to share lab results as well as the want of lab results even if normal. | “Sometimes they call—only if it’s abnormal, but some of us, we just want to know, hey, like I have a bleeding disorder—well, what’s my level? What’s my level? Should I be doing.” (Participant F1A3) | ||