Abstract
Excessive use of mobile phones might bring negative physical and psychological consequences to pregnant women. This study aims to explore the potential determinants of pregnant women's mobile phone use behavior to assist healthcare providers in the development of guideline programs. In order to explain the behavior, we developed a theoretical model based on the widely applied theory of planned behavior (TPB) by incorporating two additional constructs of personal habit and perceived risk. Structural equation modeling technique is employed to estimate the model based on questionnaire survey. Research results clearly show that behavior attitude and perceived behavior control play dominant roles in determining the intention and behavior. It is interesting to find that perceived risk and personal habit are less important in determining pregnant women's behavior of mobile phone use. Finally, suggestions are put forward to reduce the risk of mobile phone use during pregnancy.
Highlights
In the past few decades, the rapid development of mobile Internet has changed people’s lifestyle
The candidate measurements were selected according to our theoretical model and the face-to-face interview. e construct Behavior attitude (BA) was initially measured with four elements: reducing family conflict (Q10), relieving fatigue (Q11), improving sleeping quality (Q12), and keeping physically and mentally healthy (Q13)
We extended the theory of planned behavior (TPB) by adding two constructs Personal habit (PH) and Perceived risk (PR) to consider the influence of habits and possible risks on the maternal behavior of mobile phone use [22, 24]
Summary
In the past few decades, the rapid development of mobile Internet has changed people’s lifestyle. It is unsurprising that mobile Internet has substantially improved the health care level [6, 7]. We can use mobile apps for purchasing drugs from online pharmacies [8], making online appointment with doctors [9], online diagnosis and monitoring [10], etc. In spite of these advantages, the negative financial, social, and health impacts of mobile phone use deserve our attention, especially for teenagers, pregnant women, and elderly people [11]. Exposure to radio frequency fields is increasingly common, and fetuses and children may be more vulnerable than adults [12]
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