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.