Devon Greyson

​Within the medical research, evidence on the risks and benefits of cannabis use in pregnancy and lactation is lacking. Information that does exist on this topic is often inconclusive or conflicting. Cannabis use is also highly stigmatized and often politicized that is a contextual component that has potentially significant effects on an individual’s information seeking and informed decision-making process. A deeper exploration of information seeking behaviour and decision-making relating to cannabis use in pregnancy and lactation can help practitioners who seek to support their patients in informed decision-making. This study asks: 1) what are the information needs of individuals considering cannabis use in pregnancy and lactation and how adequately are these needs met by existing resources, and 2) in what ways are information triangulation, or other information seeking behaviours, used to meet identified information needs? This study is a secondary analysis of data collected through phone interviews with 23 participants in 2020 and applies qualitative deductive and inductive coding that is grounded in Reflexive Thematic Analysis. Four overarching themes were developed and explored, contributing to the development of a novel information behaviour model of ‘Everyday Triangulation’ that is proposed in this thesis. Everyday Triangulation (ET) is situated within the current literature as an information behaviour that is distinct from other information behaviours and established forms of triangulation in academic research. ET is a complex information behaviour that combines several layered information behaviours in an iterative process that is performed in response to a complex information need.

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