Objective:
Pregnant and breastfeeding women constitute a vulnerable population that is frequently exposed to large volumes of health-related information, particularly in contexts of health uncertainty and crisis. Although access to timely and credible health information is essential for informed decision-making, excessive exposure may result in cognitive burden and lead to Information Avoidance, especially when individuals perceive difficulties in processing or evaluating available information. This study aimed to examine the predictive roles of Cognitive Beliefs, Meta-Cognitive Beliefs, Information Overload, and Health Literacy in explaining Health Information Avoidance among pregnant or breastfeeding women within a general health information context.
Method:
This descriptive–correlational study was conducted on a sample of 328 pregnant or breastfeeding women residing in Bushehr, Iran, who were receiving routine health and care services. Participants were selected through stratified random sampling from 15 primary health care centers. Data were collected using validated instruments, including the Health Information Avoidance Scale, the Short Form of the Health Literacy Questionnaire (HELIA-SF), the Health Information Overload Scale, the Cognitive Health Beliefs Questionnaire, and the Meta-Cognitive Health Beliefs Questionnaire (MCQ-HA). Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics, one-sample t-tests, Pearson correlation coefficients, and multiple linear regression (enter method) with SPSS version 26.
Results:
The results indicated that mean scores for Information Avoidance, Information Overload, Cognitive Beliefs, and Meta-Cognitive Beliefs were below the theoretical midpoint of their respective scales, whereas Health Literacy was significantly above average. Health Information Avoidance was positively correlated with Information Overload (r = 0.33), Meta-Cognitive Beliefs (r = 0.34), and Cognitive Beliefs (r = 0.31), and negatively correlated with Health Literacy (r = –0.19), all at p < 0.001. Multiple regression analysis demonstrated that Information Overload (β = 0.24), Meta-Cognitive Beliefs (β = 0.27), and Health Literacy (β = –0.25) were significant predictors of Information Avoidance (p < 0.001). In contrast, Cognitive Beliefs did not show a significant direct effect when controlling for other variables (β = –0.06, p = 0.462). The final model accounted for 20.4% of the variance in Information Avoidance (R² = 0.204).
Conclusions:
The findings underscore the central role of Information Overload, maladaptive Meta-Cognitive Beliefs, and Health Literacy in shaping Health Information Avoidance among pregnant and breastfeeding women. Higher perceived cognitive burden and dysfunctional Meta-Cognitive Beliefs were associated with increased avoidance, whereas higher Health Literacy was linked to reduced Information Avoidance. These results highlight the importance of interventions focused on improving Health Literacy, optimizing health information environments, and addressing maladaptive Meta-Cognitive Beliefs to support informed health-related decision-making, particularly among vulnerable populations.