Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) affects a growing proportion of pregnancies each year. While there is research examining women's experiences of managing GDM within the context of existing healthcare, including technologically-oriented interventions, there has been little investigation into the way women already access technology available to hand.
Drawing on new data from a mixed methods study that includes a national online survey with 379 participants from across Australia and thousands of Facebook posts from two of Australia’s largest GDM groups, we present the findings in relation to the self-reported uses of the internet, social media and apps for education, care and support of GDM. In particular, we look at the role of closed Facebook groups focused on GDM, describing these self-organised and voluntarily administered groups. We examine the way crowdsourced intelligence occurs, what is most frequently discussed in these groups, and analyse how membership and participation in these groups may impact decision-making and negotiations around care. These self-reports are triangulated with an analysis of posts based on timeframe sampling from the GDM Australian groups (combined membership currently > 8000). Our results also include reported use of apps and which have been deemed most useful as self-management aids.
This research provides insight into how the internet impacts women's interactions with the healthcare professionals who provide GDM advice and support, and how social media can provide a whole-of-system and even national perspective on GDM for women who would otherwise only know of their own experience of care. e-patients are those who seek health-related information online and it has been suggested that if e-patients were taken into account in a more structured way, a different healthcare system would emerge. (1) Our findings provide practical understanding of e-patients and how they cope with the demands of GDM during pregnancy. Based on our data, we also suggest some ways healthcare professionals can better communicate with GDM patients and manage the condition in the digital age.