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Are midwives planning to consider the different

characteristics and needs of Gen Z women?

Dallas Knight PhD Candidate

University of Otago, New Zealand

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In age

“mature” student

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At the end of this session participants should:

1. Understand Gen Z are different

2. Realise technology is changing and it is changing society

3. Be aware of some implications for the future of midwifery care

objectives

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Gen Z

~1995

~2005http://www.flickr.com/photos/ari/857518594/

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conn

ecte

d(to

oth

er p

eopl

e)

ubiquitous

information & communication

using technology

‘normal’ and ‘natural’

new & different connections

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2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010*0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100Global ICT developments, 2000-2010*

Mobile cellular telephone subscriptions Internet users

Fixed telephone lines Mobile broadband subscriptions

Fixed broadband subscriptions

Pe

r 1

00

inh

ab

itan

ts

*EstimatesSource: ITU World Telecommunication /ICT Indicators database

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Billions (5.3) of mobile cellular subscriptions

Source: The World in 2010 ITU facts and figures (International Telecommunications Union)

Su

bsc

rip

tio

ns

(bil

lio

n)

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Global numbers of Internet users has doubled (2005 – 2010)

Source: ITU World Telecommunication/ICT Indicators database

http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/05/the-evolution-of-cell-phone-design-between-1983-2009/ 9

convergence of hardwarecomputers & cellular phones

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Trend

convergence of hardwarecomputers & cellular phones

2 0 0 4

development of the web

Few content producers

Many readers

Read only

Few participate

Many content producers

Many readers & producers

Interactive

Many participate2

0

0

4

Web 1.0 Web 2.0

Consumer participationHealth professionals

know best

Health information is dispensed for

consumers to use

Web 2.0 technology

provides the platform

Consumers participate

User-generated content

PatientsLikeMe.com

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development of the web

2 0 0 4 2

0

0

4

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evolution of telecommunications

Rapid recent increase

New faster standards

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tools

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summary

Cellular networks

Computing devices

Wireless Internet & Wireless

LAN

Cell phone devices

Web 2.0

New media

Maslow’s hierarchy of

needs

Drawn from: A.H. Maslow, A Theory of Human Motivation, Psychological Review 50(4) (1943):370-96

women’s needs

17http://youtorq.com/about.php

http://rutherfordncedc.com/call-centers.html

mHealth

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Mobile phones in the developing world (simple and cheap)

• about 70% of the world’s 5 billion mobile phones are in the developing world

• 90% of the worlds population has access to a mobile signal

• by 2015 about 60% of mobile phones are expected to be web enabled

http://www.abiresearch.com/press/3471-More+than+60%25+of+Handsets+Will+Have+Mobile+Browsers+in+2015

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In developing countries

cheap mobile technology is empowering

http://www.womendeliver.org/updates/entry/mhealth-solutions-to-improve-maternal-health/

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• “mHealth has a crucial and even inevitable role in future healthcare, and

• the development and exploitation requires a top-down strategy or framework to match and encourage a bottom-up innovation by healthcare practitioners.”

Patricia Mechael

http://www.globalproblems-globalsolutions-files.org/pdfs/mHealth_Barriers_White_Paper.pdf [Accessed April 30 2011].

mHealth

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Development & exploitation

of eHealth

Healthcarepracticioners

HealthcareConsumers:

•Clients•Patients•Women

Healthcareorganisations

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“Organisations that do not embrace the Web’s natural

communication-oriented strengths will fail when they enter into

competition with those that do.”

GOVERNOR, J., NICKULL, D. & HINCHCLIFFE, D. 2009. Web 2.0 Architectures, O'Reilly Media Inc. P80

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Mobile Internet?

Yes. Ubiquitous Information

24/7 communication

Oh No!!! Yes!(Gen Z)

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Here we are in a virtual conference room courtesy of Otago

Polytechnic, facilitator, Sarah Stewart. Sue Hickton and others

(thanks)

New ZealandW

estern

Austr

alia

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In the United States of AmericaA private/public-federal government co-operative

http://www.text4baby.org/

text4baby

Breastfeedingnz

NZ Government initiativeWith strong midwife representation

http://www.moh.govt.nz/moh.nsf/indexmh/breastfeeding

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Un-used channelshttp://www.flickr.com/people/dailypic/

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Does all communication need to be face to face?

What about Skype?

http://www.mi.sanu.ac.rs/vismath/jadrbookhtml/part48.html

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Technology is not a solutionSolutions are found when the use of tools is maximised

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Midwives care for ‘well women’

“It is the midwife who has the complete range of skills necessary to provide the total maternity service for well women and their babies.”(Maggie Banks, New Zealand midwife)

BANKS, M. 2011. Reclaiming Midwifery Care as a Foundation for Promoting 'Normal' Birth [Online]. Birth International. Available: http://www.webcitation.org/5yH3wRYsZ [Accessed April 28 2011]

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Women’s needsInformation and communication needs for well women during pregnancy and postnatally are integral to midwifery service facilitation.

Is the use of information and communication technologies sufficiently considered?

By whom?

32http://tinyurl.com/3zba7sd

Gatekeepers or

Facilitators

33DANGER

http://tinyurl.com/4ynpkju

34Image of “making ‘Dontcha Wish Your Cell Phone Was Hot Like Me?’ courtesy of ARI on Flickr.

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Are there implications for midwifery?

Do you and your organisation consider

‘women-facing’ technologies

over ‘midwife-facing’

technologies?Women-centred

approach to service delivery maximising attributes of new ICT

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Midwives

Organisations

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Is your organisation considering the characteristics & needs of Gen Z women?