Abstract
The aim of the present study is to design a consumer behavior model of pregnant mothers in choosing a specialist doctor. The research method is applicable in terms of its purpose, and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) in terms of its implementation method. The statistical population of the study in the qualitative part includes 20 pregnant mothers from the middle and upper classes of Mashhad, experienced their first pregnancy, selected by snowball sampling method. The quantitative statistical population includes 384 pregnant mothers selected as samples by a purposive and judgmental sampling method. Data collection in the qualitative part was carried out through semi-structured interviews and in the quantitative part, a researcher-made questionnaire. For analysis in the qualitative part, phenomenological analysis with a Claise approach was used for text data analysis, and in the quantitative part, SPSS and Lisrel software were used. The results of the qualitative part of the research showed that 45 codes were identified in the form of 18 sub-themes and 9 themes, which include the characteristics of the gynecologist, introducing friends and acquaintances, dynamism at work, having hardware and equipment, insurance and salary laws, physician up-to-dateness, criterion-centeredness, gaining positive relationships with patients, and development-centeredness. The results of the quantitative part showed that the personal characteristics of the physician affect the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist. The way the physician provides medical services affects the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist. The characteristics of the relationship between the physician and the patient affect the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist.
Introduction
The concept of mental involvement plays an important role in interpreting today's consumer behavior. Evidence of this claim is numerous studies that have examined the relationship between purchasing and consumption decisions and consumer mental involvement. The importance of examining the concept of mental engagement lies in its function as a motivational force that can describe different stages in the consumer decision-making process, such as the extent of information search, the duration of the decision-making process, the formation of beliefs, attitudes, and opinions, as well as behavioral consequences such as different search behaviors, brand switching, brand commitment, brand loyalty, repeated product use, and shopping enjoyment (Vazgazi Doost & Memarian, 2014). Information seeking behavior is a set of activities that an individual performs to satisfy his or her information needs. The type of information and cognitive need that an individual obtains from his or her information needs affects his or her search methods, or in other words, his or her information seeking behavior. One of the most important information needs of individuals in everyday life is information needs related to health (Amanda et al., 2021).
The set of activities that are carried out to meet these types of needs is known as health information seeking behavior. Acquiring information seeking skills in the field of health, also referred to as health information seeking behavior, is considered one of the important skills in the field of searching and retrieving useful health information. Health information seeking behavior is the purposeful behavior of individuals to satisfy health information needs and indicates how they search, find, and use information related to diseases. Much research has been conducted in order to understand the information needs in the field of health and the health information seeking behaviors of individuals. Over the past 2 decades, research related to health information seeking behavior has been pursued in several areas related to health. Among the important research areas in the field of health are issues related to women, pregnancy, and related fields. In this regard, research has been conducted in the field of health information seeking behaviors and health information needs related to pregnancy, most of which have been conducted in Western countries (Seyyed Hossini et al., 2022). Pregnancy is the most sensitive and important stage of women's lives. Although it is a natural condition, pregnancy is considered a vulnerable and stressful period in a woman's life. An experienced obstetrician and gynecologist plays an important role in the lives of women, especially pregnant mothers, especially when the pregnant mother is expecting the birth of her child in the last days of this sensitive period. In fact, in such circumstances, the obstetrician and gynecologist can help the pregnant mother in family planning and provide appropriate ways to diagnose her body's diseases, treat them, and many other problems (Fischer et al., 2015). Therefore, this study seeks to answer the question: What is the consumer behavior pattern of pregnant mothers in choosing a specialist doctor?
Theoretical framework
Pregnancy
Pregnancy is a natural phenomenon, and the various changes that occur in all body parts are intended to adapt and prepare the mother's body for pregnancy so that the fetus grows well in the mother's womb, the mother passes the 9-month pregnancy period safely, and gives birth to a healthy fetus (Foraty et al., 2019).
Information-seeking behavior
Health information-seeking behavior is the purposeful behavior of individuals to satisfy their health information needs and indicates how they search, find, and use information related to diseases (Jung, 2014).
Consumer behavior
The customer's perception of the ease of using services affects the customer's overall evaluation of the services, as well as their satisfaction, service value, understanding, trust, and loyalty. The importance of each dimension of ease of use of services in different types of services varies according to the type and taste of the customer. Customers who value saving time place greater importance on ease of use of services. Service providers also aim to increase the positive output that the customer receives. One of these positive outcomes is satisfaction. It can be said that there is a positive relationship between customer satisfaction and behavioral intentions (Ahmadi, 2018).
Consumer Lived Experience
The lived experience originates from the phenomenological concept and is rooted in the active approach to cognition. As such, the active and passive lived experience appears to be holistic, complex in timing, and somewhat pre-reflexive (Dieumegard et al., 2022(.
The lived experience of pregnant mothers
Adapting skills appropriate to the needs of clients to receive health care in an economically viable way is an important tool to achieve these goals. In the field of healthy reproductive care, ensuring, maintaining and promoting maternal health during pre-pregnancy, pregnancy, reducing infant and maternal mortality, identifying high-risk cases and paying special attention to them, predicting and preventing pregnancy complications, and preparing parents for childbirth are important goals of care provided to mothers (Homer et al., 2019).
Johnson et al. (2021) examined important criteria in choosing a gynecologist among Lebanese women. The results showed that key factors in choosing a doctor included the quality of consultation (such as professionalism, empathy, communication skills), the doctor's reputation (recommendation from others, presence in the media), ease of access (proximity to the office, reasonable cost), the doctor's educational background and experience, physical characteristics (gender, appearance, office design), and preference for a female doctor. Also, multivariate analyses showed that the demographic characteristics of the patients affected the importance of these factors.
Safaei et al. (2022) investigated the identification of the components of patient trust in the doctor and understood how to improve patients' "trust" in doctors. The results of this study showed that patient trust in the doctor is a complex, two-way relationship influenced by a variety of components. According to the findings of this study, the trust-building factors of the patient-doctor relationship were classified into three macro-levels (social-cultural), intermediate level (legal-moral), and micro-level (professional-specialized, individual-psychological). In addition, the subcategories or subcomponents of this study include "social trust, social satisfaction, cultural education, management and treatment environment, legal rights, ethical principles, treatment and health facilities, confidentiality, scientific ethics, legal rights, ethical principles, professional commitment to confidentiality, clinical-specialized knowledge, verbal-communication skills, credibility, patient awareness and treatment experience, and demographic variables."
Research Methodology
The research method is applicable in terms of its purpose, and mixed (qualitative-quantitative) in terms of its implementation method. The statistical population of the study in the qualitative section includes 20 pregnant mothers from the middle and upper classes of Mashhad experienced their first pregnancy, by snowball sampling method. The quantitative statistical population includes 384 pregnant mothers selected as samples using purposive and judgmental sampling methods. Data collection in the qualitative section was carried out through semi-structured interviews and in the quantitative section, a researcher-made questionnaire.
Research findings
For the qualitative analysis, phenomenological analysis with the Claise approach was used to analyze textual data, and for the quantitative part, SPSS and Lisrel software were used. The results of the qualitative research showed that 45 codes were identified in the form of 18 sub-themes and 9 themes, which include the characteristics of a gynecologist, introducing friends and acquaintances, dynamism at work, having hardware and equipment, insurance and salary laws, physician up-to-dateness, criterion-centeredness, establishing positive relationships with patients, and development-centeredness. The results of the quantitative research showed that the personal characteristics of the physician affect the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist. The way the physician provides medical services affects the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist. The characteristics of the relationship between the physician and the patient affect the consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a gynecologist.
Conclusion
The present study was conducted with the aim of designing a consumer behavior model of pregnant mothers in choosing a specialist physician. The results of this study are consistent with the results of Hosseini et al. (2022), Siavoshi et al. (2022), Mohammadi & Didekhani (2023), Akbarilakeh & Shouaybi (2021), Kohbor et al, (2021), Foraty et al. (2020), Hajifoghaha et al. (2019), Anjarani et al. (2023), and Shen et al. (2022).
Najmabadi et al. (2025) showed that artificial intelligence technology can pave the way for the development of cognitive, emotional and social skills in learners by providing smart learning environments, content personalization, the possibility of rapid feedback and strengthening teacher-student interaction. On the other hand, challenges such as the lack of appropriate infrastructure in many schools, inequality in access to technology, weak technical knowledge of teachers, ethical concerns in collecting and analyzing personal data, and lack of localized educational resources are considered obstacles to the effective use of this capacity. The prospective analysis of this article indicates that artificial intelligence if properly managed, developing ethical frameworks, and empowering human resources, can play a role as a powerful tool in improving the quality of skill-based education.
Considering the results obtained, it is suggested that attention be paid to the aspects, dimensions, and type of participation of gynecologists in creating consumer behavior of pregnant mothers in choosing a doctor.