EVALUATION OF “YOUR PREGNANCY” ‐ A NEW ZEALAND HEALTH INFORMATION BOOKLET FOR PREGNANT WOMEN

Abstract

“Your Pregnancy” is a health information booklet distributed to all pregnant women in New Zealand free of charge. Evaluation of the accessibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of the booklet was undertaken. Two groups of women were surveyed 4 ‐ 5 months after their first babies were born. The first group of women (n=281) was surveyed before the booklet was introduced and the second group (n=267) after its distribution. The overall response rate was 79 per cent. Accessibility of the booklet was assessed from the survey of the second group of women. The majority of women received the booklet eventually, but only 62 per cent in the first trimester. Of those women who received the booklet, 73 per cent passed it on to others. Evaluation of the bookletd's acceptability was undertaken by calling for submissions from professional and lay groups (n=41) on all aspects of the booklet and from analysis of responses to the second survey. The booklet was generally acceptable to women and health professionals. Effectiveness of the booklet was gauged by comparing the two groups of women on the extent to which their needs for information had been met, the ease with which they could question others about their pregnancy, locus of control, self‐care and self‐knowledge. The only variable which showed a change between the two surveys was an improvement in the extent to which women's needs for information had been met. 1989 Public Health Association of Australia