Abstract:
This research aimed to develop a Health Information Literacy (HIL) framework specifically
tailored for pregnant women in Eastern Ethiopia. Pregnant women require HIL to make informed
decisions about their health, identify their information needs, access reliable sources of health
information, and overcome barriers to information access. The study employed mixed-method
research approach, combining quantitative and qualitative methods, and focused on pregnant
women attending Antenatal Care (ANC) in Dil-Chora, Karamara, and Jugal Hospitals. The
research objectives were to assess the levels of health information literacy among pregnant
women, identify factors influencing health information literacy, and develop fremwork to
consicuative sampling interview and survey were two of the data collection methods used. To
ensure the quality of the data, pre-testing, language editing, and consulting with medical
professionals during the questionnaire development process were implemented. According to the
study, while 25.0% of participants felt less capable, 75.0% of participants said they were confident
in their ability to use health information to make decisions about their well-being. Furthermore,
although 46.1 percent encountered difficulties, 53.9 percent said they were able to apply
pregnancy health-related information to their own lives. The study helps to close the gap between
the experiences of pregnant women and the current approaches to health information literacy. It
offers substitute plans and methods to raise this target group's level of health information literacy.
The results also highlight how crucial it is to take into account the various settings and constraints
surrounding information access, especially in rural areas. The developed HIL framework can
serve as a valuable tool for empowering pregnant women with the necessary skills to access,
evaluate, understand, and apply health information in their decision-making process
