For women with limited resources, possessing a strong network may be critical to a livelihood and coping with life’s problems and difficulties (Adams, Nababan, & Hanifi, 2015). The provision of successful web-based support should include facilities for reliable information, interactive support, and social networking (Sparud-Lundin, Ranerup, & Berg, 2011). Rural geographic location presents multiple complications in regard to receiving adequate health care (Amoah et al., 2018). To improve obstetric outcomes in low-income women, fundamental support to receive more frequent prenatal care is needed as well as a modification of lifestyle risk factors. The risk for abortion, preterm delivery, preeclampsia, eclampsia, obstetric hemorrhage, stillbirth, and gestational diabetes increases with both inadequate prenatal care and low socioeconomic status (SES; Kim et al., 2018). Because inadequate prenatal care is associated with poor obstetric outcome, strategies and best practices for reaching pregnant women are essential.
It is recommended that the national health policy should avoid solely concentrating on the enhancement of adequate prenatal care, but rather focus on the need for social interventions aimed at determinants of health to improve pregnancy outcomes in mothers of low SES (Kim et al., 2018). With the use of the internet and social media, new opportunities are created for clients and families to actively participate in their care, self-manage their medical problems, learn from those with similar conditions, and improve overall communication with their healthcare providers. Social media users who perceive social networking ads (SNA) as vividness, information, and entertainment generally have direct and significant influence on consumer’s participation and engagement behavior. Social media markers should focus on videos, images, and status to draw attention of social media users to view the SNA, but avoid flashy practices such as too many links or graphs (Kujur & Singh, 2017).
Pregnant women in rural areas do not have access to adequate pre-natal care, with the help of Facebook, a social media platform, the May School of Nursing and Health Sciences remodeled a page titled, “AMY’s Baby Bunch.” This page includes common myths, interactive polls, and community outreach programs that provide educational resources to those living in rural Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties. Through Facebook, rural women at different stages of pregnancy used the interactive polls and tips to facilitate change in their pregnancy through different levels of evidence-based practice.
In November of 2018, when the student nurses took over the page, it had received 55 likes. Once the page has been liked by a constituent, information from the site will begin to show more frequently on their personal page. Their initial post about the importance of folic acid reached 50 people with 16 engagements. Two weeks later, before the publishing of the second post, the page increased to 58 likes. The second published post, about what to eat and what not to eat during Thanksgiving, reached 234 people with 18 engagements. Two weeks later, the page increased to 59 likes. The third published post, in regards to getting the flu shot while pregnant, reached 184 people and had 17 engagements. The student nurses then switched the page to interactive polls. Each individual that voted correctly was entered into a drawing to win free prizes. The polls were updated monthly and used colorful graphics to attract viewer’s attention, per evidence-based practice findings. Before the first poll was created the number of likes on the page was reevaluated and was at 63. The first poll was published with a statement regarding whether or not pregnant women should be eating for two. The answer options were true or false. The right answer was false and had a total of 39 votes. The post reached 926 people and had 79 engagements. A post including the correct answer and a rationale as to why it was correct was then published with a link providing further explanation regarding a healthy diet during pregnancy. This post had eight engagements and reached 128 people. Before the second pole was created the number of likes on the page was reevaluated again. The page had an increase to 74 likes. The second poll asked whether eating peanuts and dairy products while pregnant will cause the baby to become allergic to them. Again, the answer options were true or false. The right answer was false. This poll had a total of 25 votes, 37 engagements, and 408 people reached. An introduction of the team members running the page was posted to help build a therapeutic relationship with the women engaged on the site. A picture of the team members was uploaded to the page that included a short excerpt of why the page is important to them and why they are involved with this project. This post had 339 engagements and reached 909 people. The number of results have shown the May School of Nursing and Health Sciences a steady increase in the number of likes, engagements, people reached, and votes from post to post. Since there is an increase, the page’s purpose has been fulfilled by providing educational resources to those living in rural Avery, Mitchell, and Yancey counties. In the future, additional social media platforms may be used as leverage to attract a surplus of rural pregnant women and provide further educational resources. A continuation of this project is expected to help determine what educational resources are needed in rural communities and what additional resources can be leveraged to support the data results.
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