INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOR OF PREGNANT WOMEN ATTENDING ANTENATAL CARE IN KUMBOTSO LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA

ABSTRACT The study surveyed information seeking behavior of women attending antenatal clinic: A case study of women in Kumbotso local government . The Main objective of the study was to identify the information needs of women attending antenatal clinic in Kumbotso local government and also establish their information seeking behavior. The specific objectives of the study were: to identify sources of maternal information used by women, to find out the accessibility of maternal information among women, to establish the relevancy of maternal information among women, to investigate the information-seeking behavior of women and to ascertain challenges women face in order to access maternal information. The researcher used qualitative methodology for the study. The population was defined as all women in the reproductive age group who had given birth within the previous two years and had been receiving health services at Kumbotso health centre, Kabwe. Kumbotso Township was 1,974 and the sample size was 70 respondents. This study used semistructured interviews and focus group discussion, as data collection methods. Information seeking behavior was assessed using three variables namely; age group, income levels and education level, information seeking was highest among those women in the age groups below twenty years, twenty-twenty four years and twenty five- twenty nine years and also had the highest needs like first pregnancy. Furthermore, the women who were involved in trading were not able to seek needed information due to their busy schedule. The major sources of seeking information were through interpersonal sources as well as the clinic, those women who had attained secondary education sought maternal information from other sources which included brochures and birth plans. The respondents faced some challenges when accessing health information which mainly included; Language barrier where some nurses could not accurately explain certain vital issues in the local language, inadequate human resource constrain health services for women and poor attitude of health workers towards the women. The study recommended that; health practitioners must utilize commonly used media such as televisions and radios to convey the information needed by pregnant women and should ensure easy access to information for example, oral transmission; group the women in smaller groups during health talks. Furthermore, health practitioners should include peer education and involvement of family members which is important for better engagement in reproductive health and family planning programs. Therefore, the study concluded that the information seeking behavior of the women under study was good since information was mostly sought in accordance with medical regulations.