Identifying Self-Management Support Needs for Pregnant Women With Opioid Misuse in Online Health Communities: Mixed Methods Analysis of Web Posts
- Resource Type
- article
- Authors
- Liang, Ou Stella; Chen, Yunan; Bennett, David S; Yang, Christopher C
- Source
- Journal of Medical Internet Research, Vol 23, Iss 2, p e18296 (2021)
- Subject
- Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics
R858-859.7
Public aspects of medicine
RA1-1270
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 1438-8871
40102432
BackgroundThe current opioid crisis in the United States impacts broad population groups, including pregnant women. Opioid use during pregnancy can affect the health and wellness of both mothers and their infants. Understanding women’s efforts to self-manage opioid use or misuse in pregnancy is needed to identify intervention points for improving maternal outcomes. ObjectiveThis study aims to identify the characteristics of women in an online health community (OHC) with opioid use or misuse during pregnancy and the self-management support needs of these mothers. MethodsA total of 200 web posts by pregnant women with opioid use participating in an OHC were double coded. Concepts and their thematic connections were identified through an inductive process until theoretical saturation was reached. Statistical tests were performed to identify patterns. ResultsThe majority of pregnant women (150/200, 75.0%) in the OHC exhibited signs of misuse, and 62.5% (125/200) of the participants were either contemplating or pursuing dosage reduction. Self-managed withdrawal was more common (P