2.3 | Data collection
The data were collected using the “Pregnancy Information Form , the “Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale” (TPDS), and the“Health Seeking Behaviour Scale” (HSBS).
The Pregnancy Information Form (PIF): The form was developed by the researcher by scanning the literature and includes socio-demographic (age, education, etc.) and obstetric characteristics (number of pregnancies, etc.).5,11,22-27
The Tilburg Pregnancy Distress Scale (TPDS): Pop et al. (2011)28 developed the scale to determine distress (stress, anxiety, depression) during pregnancy. The Turkish validity and reliability study of the scale was conducted by Çapık and Pasinlioğlu (2015).23 It is a self-rating scale consisting of 16 items, and each item is rated in a 4-point Likert-type. 11 items are reverse coded (3,5,6,7,9,10,11,12,13,14,16). The lowest and the highest scores to be obtained from the scale is 0 and 48, respectively. It has two sub-scales: “negative affectivity (min:0, max:33 points) and partner involvement” (min:0, max:15). The scale can be applied to those at least 12 weeks pregnant. The cut-off point of the scale is 28 points and above. A total score of 28 and above indicates the pregnant women at risk for distress (stress, anxiety, depression). The Cronbach Alpha coefficient for the total score of the scale is 0.83.
The Health Seeking Behaviour Scale (HSBS): Created by Kıraç (2019),29 the scale consists of 12 items. It is a 5-point Likert type and includes 3 sub-scales: “online, professional, and traditional”. “Online health-seeking behaviour” is to seek help from various health sources and expert opinions via Internet; “Professional health-seeking behaviour” refers to getting help from health institutions and health professionals. “Traditional health-seeking behaviour” includes using complementary and alternative medicine methods and getting information from friends, etc. The scores to be obtained from the scale range from 12 to 60. As the score increases, the participants’ health-seeking behaviour increases. Cronbach Alpha is 0.75 for the total score on the scale.
To collect the data, we presented two options to the participants, who were admitted to the outpatient clinic for pregnancy follow up and agreed to participate in the study. The first option was to distribute the scales in paper form, and the second one was to send the data collection forms via the survey online to the WhatsApp’s of the participants. 30 pregnant women chose the first option and filled out the data collection forms in an appropriate room of the hospital. The other 331 pregnant women participated in the survey online. The telephone number of the researcher was given to all pregnant women so that they could call if they did not understand any item while filling out the questionnaire. Data collection time takes 15-20 minutes.