Determinants of Maternal Health-Seeking Behaviour in the Digital Age: A Cross-Sectional Study in Selangor Malaysia

Maternal health information-seeking behaviour (MHSB) refers to the active efforts of pregnant women to obtain specific information to ensure continuity of care, enhance resilience against health risks and prevent complications. Advances in digital health (DH) and the increasing use of social media (SM) as a source of health information during pregnancy have the potential to improve MHSB and access to healthcare services. However, the dissemination of inaccurate information may negatively impact maternal and fetal health outcomes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of MHSB among pregnant women and its association with the use of SM, DH and tele-primary care systems. A cross-sectional study of 385 pregnant women through stratified random sampling from selected maternal and child health clinics in Selangor was conducted from January to June 2022 using a validated self-administered questionnaire. The findings indicated that 50.9% of pregnant women exhibited good MHSB, while the remaining proportion demonstrated lower engagement in information-seeking behaviour. The study also found a significant association between maternal age and MHSB (χ2(1) = 5.889, p = 0.015) and the need for health information (χ2(1) = 33.0, p < 0.001). A multivariate binary logistic regression analysis depicted that a one-unit increase in the need for health information raised the likelihood of engaging in MHSB by 1.040 times (AdjOR: 1.040; 95% CI: 1.023-1.058; p < 0.001). This study offers valuable insights into the MHSB of pregnant women in planning for potential strategies to enhance their access to accurate and relevant health information.