Article

Toward wellness: Women seeking health information

June 2004
Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 55(8):709-730

June 2004
55(8):709-730

DOI:10.1002/asi.20016

Source
DBLP

Authors:

Drew Procaccino

Rider University

As health information seekers pursue their “right to know” when investigating medical options, the question of reliable health information resources becomes paramount. Previous research has not addressed widely the connection between women as the health information seeker and quality health information, nor has women's awareness of specific health and medical resources been adequately evaluated. A study with a convenience sample of 119 women assessed the process of seeking health information (women's health information needs, the search strategies they employed for filling the information need, and the use of the health information found), and their awareness of specific health and medical information resources. Our survey instrument was based on Kuhlthau's Information Search Process (ISP) model. Results appeared to address the uncertainty stage of the ISP model, as there were conflicting responses regarding the facility of locating information, the usefulness of the information found, and whether or not the subjects' health questions were answered. The study also identified a low awareness by our respondents of specific health and medical information resources. There is an opportunity for health information providers to play a role in mediating at this uncertainty stage to connect health information seekers with reliable information.

Measuring Everyday Health Information Literacy: A Survey of Pakistani Married Working Women

Article

Mar 2022
LIBRI

Health Information Literacy (HIL) influences the decision making of individuals towards the understanding of health-related matters. Married women are the major contributors to family members’ health decisions in a country like Pakistan, where the role of women in family life is very significant. In most families, women are responsible for food selection, cooking, management of the home, including cleanliness etc. Married working women have an integral role both at home and workplace. The current study explores the everyday health information literacy (EHIL) of 213 married working women using a survey research design with a convenient sampling technique from two prominent universities of Lahore, Pakistan. The study’s findings reveal that most of the married working women (3.57 mean value) are well-aware of the sources from where the health-related information can be obtained. Sixty-two percent of the respondents prefer using allopathic healthcare methods for medical treatment. Moreover, 38 percent of women do not understand health-related terminologies. It has been noted that age, education, nature of the job, birthplace, nuclear family system, and educational environment are the significant demographic factors that contribute towards the levels of EHIL.

Relationship Between Rate of Access to Resources and Guidelines of Health Information and Quality of Life in Women Referring to Hospitals in Qom in 2016

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2019

Background & Objectives: In Iran, few studies have been conducted on health information sources. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between rate of access to resources and guidelines of health information and quality of life in women referring to hospitals in Qom city in 2016. Materials & Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study was performed on 254 women referring to hospitals in the city of Qom in 2016. The subjects were selected via multi-stage sampling method. Data were collected by a researcher-made questionnaire on sources and guidelines of health information and the valid Quality of Life Questionnaire. The collected data were entered into SPSS V.20 software and were analyzed using Chi-square, ANOVA, and Pearson correlation coefficient tests. Results: There was a significant negative correlation between the quality of life score and the use of the resources and guidelines of health information (r=-0.14, p=0.02), as with increasing the use of the resources and guidelines of health information, the score of quality of life of the subjects reduced. In addition, there was a significant relationship between educational level and type of the resources and guidelines of health information (p

Knowledge of epilepsy, quality of life, and psychiatric comorbidities in Lebanese adults with epilepsy

Article

Oct 2022
EPILEPSY BEHAV

Introduction: People with epilepsy (PWE) face a variety of psychosocial challenges. A lack of knowledge of epilepsy, a high level of depression and anxiety and a low quality of life (QoL) are among the major problems that affect most PWE. The objective of this study was to examine the association of sociodemographic characteristics, clinical factors and knowledge of epilepsy with the level of QoL, and the presence of psychiatric comorbidities. Method: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Lebanon. The PWE were recruited from neurologists’ clinics in Beirut and its suburbs. A questionnaire translated into Arabic was used and composed of four parts: sociodemographic factors, clinical characteristics, psychosocial characteristics (QoL, psychiatric disorders), and knowledge epilepsy scale. Backward logistic regression models were developed, the associations were estimated by odds ratio (OR), and the level of significance was set at p ≤ 0.05. Results: Four hundred and four PWE were recruited in this study. About a half of PWE had controlled epilepsy (46.3 %) and 40.3 % had epilepsy for less than 5 years. The QoL was low for 38.6 % of PWE and 30.2 % had psychiatric comorbidities. More than half of PWE had a good level of knowledge (71.5 %). Controlled epilepsy (OR = 1.8; 95 %CI: 1.2–2.9), and good knowledge about epilepsy (OR = 5.5; 95 %CI: 3.4–9.1) were associated with better QoL. Patients on polytherapy with anti-seizure drugs (OR = 0.6; 95 %CI: 0.4–0.9), experienced side effects of anti-seizure drugs (OR = 0.6; 95 %CI: 0.4–0.9) and with psychiatric comorbidities (OR = 0.6; 95 %CI: 0.3–0.9) had a lower QoL. A high number of nonpsychiatric comorbidities (OR = 2.5; 95 %CI: 2.0–3.1) and a polytherapy increased the risk of having psychiatric comorbidities (OR = 1.8; 95 %CI: 1.1–2.8). Conclusions: Good knowledge of epilepsy and the absence of psychiatric comorbidities are important predictors of good QoL in Lebanese PWE. Educational programs are needed to reduce misconceptions about epilepsy and improve mental health of PWE.

Health Information-seeking through Personal Health Records among Women Susceptible to Breast Cancer

Article

Full-text available

Mar 2021

Objective: Health information-seeking is an essential component of health-related behavior and decision-making. Access to personal health records (PHRs), offered by healthcare providers, is an essential tool to access health information. However, little is known about predictive factors of use of PHRs as a medium of health information among women. In this study, we explored health information-seeking’s decision processes through PHRs among middle-aged and older women susceptible to developing breast cancer. Methods: We used data from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey in the United States and employed a 2-part Hurdle model. The study sample included 1159 women aged 40 to 75 years. Results: The Hurdle estimation found that health information-seeking through PHRs consists of 2 distinct decision processes: (1) the use of PHRs and (2) the frequency of use; different sets of factors are associated with each decision process. Women’s demographic characteristics were found to be the primary factors for PHR use. In contrast, socioeconomic factors, salience, self-efficacy, and general health status were more likely to be the main factors affecting the frequency of use. Conclusions: Based on the findings, providing greater access to PHRs to women, particularly those with health needs or concerns, should be considered by policymakers. Additionally, the issue of the digital divide in PHR use should be addressed.

The costs outweigh the benefits: seeing side-effects online may decrease adherence to statins

Article

Full-text available

Aug 2020
BMC MED INFORM DECIS

Background: The prevalence of medical misinformation on the Internet has received much attention among researchers concerned that exposure to such information may inhibit patient adherence to prescriptions. Yet, little is known about information people see when they search for medical information and the extent to which exposure is directly related to their decisions to follow physician recommendations. These issues were examined using statin prescriptions as a case study. Methods: We developed and used a tool to rank the quality of statin-related web pages based on the presence of information about side effects, clinical benefits, management of side effects, and misinformation. We then conducted an experiment in which students were presented with a hypothetical scenario in which an older relative was prescribed a statin but was unsure whether to take the medication. Participants were asked to search the web for information about statins and make a recommendation to this relative. Their search activity was logged using a web-browser add-on. Websites each participant visited were scored for quality using our tool, quality scores were aggregated for each participant and were subsequently used to predict their recommendation. Results: Exposure to statin-related benefits and management of side effects during the search was significantly associated with a higher probability of recommending that an older relative adhere to their physician's recommendation. Exposure to misinformation and side effects were not associated, nor were any other participant characteristics. Bigram analyses of the top reasons participants gave for their recommendation mirrored the statistical findings, except that among participants who did not recommend following the prescription order, myriad side effects were mentioned. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that units of information people see on health-related websites are not treated equally. Our methods offer new understanding at a granular level about the impact of Internet searches on health decisions regarding evidence-based recommended medications. Our findings may be useful to physicians considering ways to address non-adherence. Preventive care should include actively engaging patients in discussions about health information they may find on the web. The effectiveness of this strategy should be examined in future studies.

Public Health and Online Misinformation: Challenges and Recommendations

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2020

The internet has become a popular resource to learn about health and to investigate one's own health condition. However, given the large amount of inaccurate information online, people can easily become misinformed. Individuals have always obtained information from outside the formal health care system, so how has the internet changed people's engagement with health information? This review explores how individuals interact with health misinformation online, whether it be through search, user-generated content, or mobile apps. We discuss whether personal access to information is helping or hindering health outcomes and how the perceived trustworthiness of the institutions communicating health has changed over time. To conclude, we propose several constructive strategies for improving the online information ecosystem. Misinformation concerning health has particularly severe consequences with regard to people's quality of life and even their risk of mortality; therefore, understanding it within today's modern context is an extremely important task. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 41 is April 1, 2020. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Factors Influencing User Satisfaction with University Library Websites in Myanmar(21.6.2024)

Article

Jun 2024

This study aims to develop a comprehensive technological framework anchored in a theoretical model to assess user satisfaction with university library websites (ULWs) in Myanmar. Adopting a quantitative approach, data were obtained via convenience sampling and subsequent inferential analysis. The target population for this study investigated users of various ULWs in Myanmar who were utilizing six university libraries. Of the collected responses, 273 valid surveys were analyzed using SPSS (version 25) and AMOS. Tools such as structural equation modeling and confirmatory factor analysis played pivotal roles in data interpretation and hypothesis validation. The proposed model highlights the significance of information quality, system quality, and librarian services in influencing both perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEOU), culminating in user satisfaction. Notably, information quality and librarian services primarily impact PU, while system quality is more influential on PEOU. Interestingly, while PU has a direct bearing on user satisfaction, PEOU does not. Moreover, demographic elements such as age, gender, and education level introduce considerable differences in the utilization of ULW services. Drawing from the study’s findings, recommendations are made for ULW managers in Myanmar to bolster services, aligning with user preferences. The resulting framework offers tangible benefits to Myanmar’s educational sector, including academia, government entities, librarians, and policy framers. This pioneering research delves into the realm of ULWs in Myanmar’s higher education sector. Practically, the research underscores the necessity for stakeholders, encompassing Myanmar’s library experts and governing bodies, to elevate the standard of ULWs. Theoretically, a salient takeaway is the direct linkage between heightened usefulness and increased user satisfaction. Keywords: user satisfaction, university library websites, information system success model, technology acceptance model, Myanmar

The preferred IT sources and tools of Iranian people for accessing health information

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2023
BMC PUBLIC HEALTH

Introduction People need health information to maintain their health. Despite the variety of sources and tools for providing health information, there is little evidence about Iranian people's preferences in using these sources and tools. The objective of this study was to identify the preferred health information sources, tools, and methods for presenting health information in these tools. Methods This national survey was conducted among a sample of 4000 Iranian people between April and September 2021. The data was collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire (α = 0.86) consisting of four sections: participants' demographic information, current sources of obtaining health information, preferred information technology (IT) tools for accessing health information, and the method of presenting this information. Linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between demographic factors and other questions. Results The participants received health information mostly from the "Internet" (3.62), "family or friends" (3.43), "social networks" (3.41), "specific websites" (3.41), and "mobile apps" (3.27). "Social networks" (3.67), Internet "websites" (3.56), and "mobile apps" (3.50) were the most suitable tools for receiving health information. The participants preferred the presentation of health information in the form of "Images" (3.85), "educational videos" (3.69), and "texts" (3.53). Age, education, and marital status had a significant relationship with most of the preferred information sources, tools, and information presentation methods ( p < 0.05). Conclusion The results of this study showed that Iranian people are more active information seekers than passive ones compared to a decade ago. The preferred sources and tools identified in this research can be used by healthcare planners and policy-makers in Iran and other developing countries to design and develop IT interventions that meet people's needs. Improving access to the Internet, social networks, and mobile apps and providing health information via images, educational videos, and texts on these platforms enhance access to the information people need.

Knowledge exchange sessions on primary health care research findings in public libraries: A qualitative study with citizens in Quebec

Article

Full-text available

Jul 2023
PLOS ONE

Little is known about knowledge transfer with the public. We explored how citizens, physicians, and communication specialists understand knowledge transfer in public spaces such as libraries. The initial study aimed at evaluating the scaling up of a program on disseminating research findings on potentially inappropriate medication. Twenty-two citizen workshops were offered by 16 physicians and facilitated by 6 communication specialists to 322 citizens in libraries during spring 2019. We did secondary analysis using the recorded workshop discussions to explore the type of knowledge participants used. Participants described four kinds of knowledge: biomedical, sociocultural beliefs, value-based reasoning, and institutional knowledge. Biomedical knowledge included scientific evidence, research methods, clinical guidelines, and access to research outcomes. Participants discussed beliefs in scientific progress, innovative clinical practices, and doctors' behaviours. Participants discussed values related to reliability, transparency, respect for patient autonomy and participation in decision-making. All categories of participants used these four kinds of knowledge. However, their descriptions varied particularly for biomedical knowledge which was described by physician-speakers and communication specialists-facilitators as scientific evidence, epidemiological and clinical practice guidelines, and pathophysiological theories. Communication specialists-facilitators also described scientific journalistic sources and scientific journalistic reports as proxies of scientific evidence. Citizens described biomedical knowledge in terms of knowledge to make informed decisions. These findings offer insights for future scientific knowledge exchange interventions with the public.

Use of Media and Internet for Pregnancy, Birth and Cesarean Section Information

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Oct 2022

Abstract Pregnancy, which is one of the important periods of a woman's life, is a process in which she focuses on the health of herself and her baby. The unpredictable process of pregnancy and the increasing need for information led women to use the internet. It has been observed that women turn to the internet to obtain information about their mental and physical changes during pregnancy, their birth and postpartum processes, due to privacy, accessibility and the scope of available information. It is stated that social media and forum sites, which provide an environment for expressing themselves interactively in online environments, facilitate adaptation to the role of motherhood. It has been found that women prefer pages that contain humorous posts that normalize pregnancy and difficulties in pregnancy. At the same time, it was determined that women preferred forum sites to discuss their concerns about abnormal findings about the baby or themselves. While it was determined that 41.3% of the women used at least one mobile application related to pregnancy, it is stated that these applications provide the opportunity to determine their birth dates, to monitor themselves in terms of body weight, physical activity levels, diet, mental and emotional changes. In addition, it has been determined that health professionals, family, social environment, as well as the internet and media have an effect on women's birth preferences. It has been determined that the shares and comments made on social media and internet sites about vaginal birth and cesarean section are effective in birth preferences. It is seen that women frequently use the internet and media during pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum processes. Health professionals can be effective in controlling the accuracy of information shared on the internet and media. Nurses and midwives can take a more active role in the internet and media. Keywords: Pregnancy, Internet Use, Media, Birth Preference, Nurse

The Unlikelihood Effect: When Knowing More Creates the Perception of Less

Article

Full-text available

Oct 2022

People face increasingly detailed information related to a range of risky decisions. To aid individuals in thinking through such risks, various forms of policy and health messaging often enumerate their causes. Whereas some prior literature suggests that adding information about causes of an outcome increases its perceived likelihood, we identify a novel mechanism through which the opposite regularly occurs. Across seven primary and six supplementary experiments, we find that the estimated likelihood of an outcome decreases when people learn about the (by- definition lower) probabilities of the pathways that lead to that outcome. This "unlikelihood" bias exists despite explicit communication of the outcome's total objective probability and occurs for both positive and negative outcomes. Indeed, awareness of a low-probability pathway decreases subjective perceptions of the outcome's likelihood even when its addition objectively increases the outcome's actual probability. These findings advance the current understanding of how people integrate information under uncertainty and derive subjective perceptions of risk. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Smartphone apps for spiritual wellness

Article

Full-text available

Sep 2022

Tim Gorichanaz

Smartphone applications (apps) to promote wellness constitute a burgeoning industry, part of broader societal developments in “digital wellness.” This paper examines the affordances and interaction styles in a selection of apps that support spiritual wellness, which is a foundational and scarcely acknowledged dimension of wellness. Spiritual wellness itself entails six dimensions: belief in an organizing force, connectedness, faith, compassion, meaning of life, and meaning of death. This paper surveys the smartphone applications currently available that support spiritual wellness and discusses how these apps relate to the six aspects of spiritual wellness, discussing one application in depth for each aspect. In all, the surveyed apps employ a small set of interaction styles, including: timers, notifiers, card decks, and journals. This framework contributes to our understanding of the space of spiritual digital wellness applications. Opportunities for further development and engagement in each aspect are discussed.

Communication Factors Influencing Behavioral Intention of Prevention and Community Engagement during COVID-19 in the United States

Article

Jul 2022

This study examined how internal (uncertainty, susceptibility, severity, anxiety, and fear) and external motivators (descriptive norms, parasocial interaction, and identification) account for information seeking, message reception, and behavioral intention of COVID-19 prevention and community engagement. A total of 500 US adults’ responses were collected and analyzed. Results found that both internal and external motivators positively predicted COVID-19 information seeking. External motivators were significantly related to message reception, whereas internal motivators were not. The results imply that external motivators and self-efficacy interacting with internal motivators can be catalysts for the behavioral intention of COVID-19 prevention and community engagement. Study results suggest that emphasizing social influence and public figures’ messages in health campaigns may be effective communication strategies for COVID-19 prevention and community engagement.

Cancer Survivors' Emotional Well-being: Roles of Internet Information Seeking, Patient-centered Communication, and Social Support

Article

Aug 2021
J HEALTH COMMUN

Cancer survivors' emotional well-being is an integral part of their overall health and may influence their recovery and survival. The current study used the 2018 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 5 Cycle 2 (N = 593) to evaluate the determinants of cancer survivors' emotional well-being. Internet cancer information seeking, social support, patient-centered communication, cancer beliefs, and self-efficacy to take care of one's health were examined as factors to be associated with cancer survivors' emotional well-being using structural equation modeling. Social support, cancer beliefs, and self-efficacy to take care of one's health were found to be significantly associated with emotional well-being among cancer survivors. Cancer beliefs mediated the associations of cancer information seeking using the Internet, social support, and patient-centered communication with cancer survivors' emotional well-being while health self-efficacy mediated the associations of social support and patient-centered communication with cancer survivors' emotional well-being. It is important for health practitioners to focus on improving social support, self-efficacy for managing health, and cancer-related beliefs in order to enhance the emotional well-being of cancer survivors.

For Better or for Worse? A Framework for Critical Analysis of ICT4D for Women

Preprint

Full-text available

Aug 2021

Diffusion of ICTs provide possibilities for women empowerment by greater participation and enhanced gender-based digital equality. However, a critical analysis reveals that as ICT diffusion widens, there is a persistent threat of widening the gender-based digital divide and exposes women to online sexual abuses, predominantly in developing countries characterized by the gendered nature of the social structure. Instead of accepting ICT as the facilitator to women empowerment, in this paper, we develop a critical research framework for a gender-focused examination of ICT4D studies. Critical research methodology provides the appropriate ontology unveiling social realities through challenging the status quo and exposing the deeper societal inequalities. Using the critical research framework developed, we investigate past ICT4D initiatives and artifacts from literature and draw critical conclusions of its benefits and issues. This study would aid future ICT4D research to investigate areas of gender discrimination and understand the role of ICTs in a critical light.

COVID-19 Information Seeking and Utilization Among Women in Warri Metropolis, Delta State, Nigeria

Article

Full-text available

Jan 2021

The study is intended to explore COVID-19 information seeking and utilization among women in Warri Metropolis, Delta State, Nigeria. Descriptive survey research design was adopted using a self-constructed questionnaire to collect data. Data were analyzed using simple percentages. Findings revealed that a majority of the women need information on COVID-19 preventive measures, followed by causes of the pandemic; Internet is the source of COVID-19 information used by the highest number of respondents, followed by television and social media; a majority of them consider the authority of the source of the information on coronavirus followed by usefulness of the information; a majority access COVID-19 information to enable them identify symptoms of the disease followed by protection against COVID-19 infection while concern for reliability of much of the available information on the pandemic was a major barrier to their utilization of COVID-19 information. It is recommended that effort should be made by government to get mobile network operators to reduce network tariff.

Health information needs, sources of information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women: a systematic review of research

Article

Apr 2021

Ashraf Ghiasi

Introduction: Awareness of health information needs, sources of health information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women is critical for the development of health interventions and provides high-quality prenatal care for them. Hence, the aim of this review study was to summarize evidence from studies evaluating health information needs, sources of information and barriers to accessing health information of women during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for relevant studies published between 1 January 2000 and 24 May 2018. The methodological quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2018) was used to appraise the qualitative studies. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Thirty-one studies from 14 countries met criteria for inclusion in this review. The majority of articles focused on information needs and sources of information used by women during pregnancy. The most common information needs among women during pregnancy were information about unborn child, nutrition, and labor/delivery. The most frequent information source used by women during pregnancy was health professionals followed by informal source (family and friends), and Internet. The most prominent barriers to information access included the following: feeling ashamed or embarrassed to talk about pregnancy-related issues, long waiting times at clinic to see a health provider, and lack of adequate information resources. Conclusions: Due to the limited number of studies examining barriers to health information seeking among pregnant women, further research is warranted. Further qualitative research is also recommended to explore pregnant women’s perceptions of, and satisfaction with the use of health information sources.

Health information needs, sources of information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women: a systematic review of research

Article

Mar 2021

Ashraf Ghiasi

barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women is critical for the development of health interventions and provides high-quality prenatal care for them. Hence, the aim of this review study was to summarize evidence from studies evaluating health information needs, sources of information and barriers to accessing health information of women during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for relevant studies published between 1 January 2000 and 24 May 2018. The methodological quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2018) was used to appraise the qualitative studies. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Thirty-one studies from 14 countries met criteria for inclusion in this review. The majority of articles focused on information needs and sources of information used by women during pregnancy. The most common information needs among women during pregnancy were information about unborn child, nutrition, and labor/delivery. The most frequent information source used by women during pregnancy was health professionals followed by informal source (family and friends), and Internet. The most prominent barriers to information access included the following: feeling ashamed or embarrassed to talk about pregnancy-related issues, long waiting times at clinic to see a health provider, and lack of adequate information resources. Conclusions: Due to the limited number of studies examining barriers to health information seeking among pregnant women, further research is warranted. Further qualitative research is also recommended to explore pregnant women’s perceptions of, and satisfaction with the use of health information sources.

Health information needs, sources of information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women: a systematic review of research Health information needs, sources of information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women: a systematic review of research

Article

Mar 2021

Ashraf Ghiasi

Introduction: Awareness of health information needs, sources of health information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women is critical for the development of health interventions and provides high-quality prenatal care for them. Hence, the aim of this review study was to summarize evidence from studies evaluating health information needs, sources of information and barriers to accessing health information of women during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect, and Google Scholar for relevant studies published between 1 January 2000 and 24 May 2018. The methodological quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2018) was used to appraise the qualitative studies. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Thirty-one studies from 14 countries met criteria for inclusion in this review. The majority of articles focused on information needs and sources of information used by women during pregnancy. The most common information needs among women during pregnancy were information about unborn child, nutrition, and labor/delivery. The most frequent information source used by women during pregnancy was health professionals followed by informal source (family and friends), and Internet. The most prominent barriers to information access included the following: feeling ashamed or embarrassed to talk about pregnancy-related issues, long waiting times at clinic to see a health provider, and lack of adequate information resources. Conclusions: Due to the limited number of studies examining barriers to health information seeking among pregnant women, further research is warranted. Further qualitative research is also recommended to explore pregnant women's perceptions of, and satisfaction with the use of health information sources.

Health Information-Seeking Behaviors and Source Preferences between Chinese and U.S. Populations

Article

Aug 2020

This study examined similarities and differences in health information-seeking behaviors between American and Chinese people using data from the 2017 U.S. Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and the 2017 China HINTS. It is one of the first studies that use comparable samples and survey instruments to make direct comparisons of the two populations’ health information-seeking behaviors. Results showed that Americans (including different racial/ethnic groups in the U.S.) were more likely to actively seek health information than Chinese people. Americans were also more likely to use mediated communication as their primary sources of health information while Chinese people favored interpersonal sources. Chinese people reported lower quality of doctor-patient communication than their American counterparts. These differences between the two countries highlight the importance of using different information sources to reach specific populations, and the need to develop tailored public health intervention programs in different cultures.

Do Written Resources Help or Hinder Equitable and Inclusive Physical Activity Promotion?

Article

Jul 2020

To sensitize individuals, organizations, and communities to the sociostructural barriers individuals with disabilities face, Mace et al. (1997) advanced seven principles of universal design (as cited by the Center for Excellence in Universal Design, n.d.). Each principle provides guidance on how spaces, products, and services can be developed or adapted to encourage usability by all individuals. Researchers and practitioners in adapted physical activity (APA) have worked to further extend the application of the principles of universal design into the physical domain, which helps expand opportunities for all to fully participate within exercise, sport, and physically active recreation. A less scrutinized sociostructural barrier in APA promotion is the suitability of materials used to teach adults experiencing disability ways to adapt leisure and exercise routines (Thomas & Cardinal, 2020a). However, on the basis of a recent meta-analysis (Thomas et al., 2018), knowledge of the degree suitability issues pervading materials used in routine APA promotion strategies or programs is limited. Further, it appears research has yet to gauge the prevalence of suitability issues in physical activity promotion from a broader universal design framework. These gaps in kinesiology knowledge represent fruitful lines of future research. In this essay, we present recommendations for future research toward addressing suitability knowledge gaps within APA promotion. Consistent with the call for leadership beyond college and university campuses to drive change as experts (NAKHE Newsletter, 2019, p. 4), such lines of inquiry would promote the dissemination of resources that support efforts to bring about full participation in the physical domain.

Analyzing Suitability: Are Adult Web Resources on Physical Activity Clear and Useful?

Article

Feb 2020
QUEST

Education is central to promoting healthy, active lifestyles, but most educational materials may be less than suitable for public dissemination. Related kinesiology studies have mainly focused on the reading grade level of print materials. Suitability encompasses more qualities than that and also concerns digital media. This study had two purposes: (a) critically appraise the suitability of free web articles focused on physical activity promotion that lay adults would locate via the Internet, and (b) determine if the suitability level of web articles was associated with their source of production. An adapted Suitability Assessment of Materials protocol was used. A sample of 139 web articles was obtained (mean publication year = 2015.97, ±2.42). The sample aggregate suitability level was satisfactory, but most were unsatisfactory on eight subdomains. Production source was associated with suitability level for two subdomains. The implications of our findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are presented.

Exploring Internet and Media-mediated Health Information within the Context of Personal Health Management

Conference Paper

Full-text available

Oct 2013

Shelagh K. Genuis

This qualitative paper explores how health information mediated by the internet and media is used and made valuable within the life of consumers managing non-crisis health challenges, and how informal information seeking and gathering influences self-positioning within patient-clinician relationships. Findings have implications for health information literacy and collaborative, patient-centred care.Cette étude qualitative explore comment l’information sur la santé relayée par Internet et les médias est utilisée et rendue utile dans le contexte de consommateurs gérant des problèmes médicaux non urgents, et comment la recherche et la collecte d’information informelles influencent l’auto-positionnement dans la relation patient clinicien. Les résultats ont des applications dans la maîtrise de l’information médicale et les soins collaboratifs centrés sur le patient.

Constructing Sense from Uncertain and Evolving Health Information

Article

Oct 2013

Shelagh K. Genuis

This qualitative study explored individuals’ everyday life experiences as they interacted with and integrated uncertain health information mediated by formal and informal sources. Findings demonstrate that knowledge translation is a multifaceted, ongoing process of social construction. The study has implications for health literacy and shared decision-making.Cette étude qualitative explore les expériences individuelles quotidiennes dans une option d’interaction et d’intégration de renseignements médicaux incertains provenant de sources formelles et informelles. Les résultats démontrent que le transfert de connaissances est un processus de construction sociale continu à multiple facettes. L’étude a des répercussions sur la littératie en santé et la décision par consensus.

Health information needs, sources of information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women: a systematic review of research

Article

Jun 2019

Ashraf Ghiasi

Introduction: Awareness of health information needs, sources of health information, and barriers to accessing health information among pregnant women is critical for the development of health interventions and provides high-quality prenatal care for them. Hence, the aim of this review study was to summarize evidence from studies evaluating health information needs, sources of information and barriers to accessing health information of women during pregnancy. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted using Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, ScienceDirect and Google Scholar for relevant studies published between 1 January, 2000 and 24 May, 2018. The methodological quality of cross-sectional studies was assessed using the STROBE checklist. The Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP, 2018) was used to appraise the qualitative studies. Data were analyzed descriptively. Results: Thirty one studies from 14 countries met criteria for inclusion in this review. The majority of articles focused on information needs and sources of information used by women during pregnancy. The most common information needs among women during pregnancy were information about unborn child, nutrition, and labor / delivery. The most frequent information source used by women during pregnancy was health professionals followed by informal source (family and friends), and Internet. The most prominent barriers to information access included the following: feeling ashamed or embarrassed to talk about pregnancy related issues, long waiting times at clinic to see a health provider, and lack of adequate information resources. Conclusions: Due to the limited number of studies examining barriers to health information seeking among pregnant women, further research is warranted. Further qualitative research is also recommended to explore pregnant women’s perceptions of, and satisfaction with the use of health information sources.

Health Information Communication in Rural Settings During Crises

Chapter

Dec 2023

Hilda Mwangakala

The chapter explores the critical role of health information communication in rural settings during pandemics. It looks into rural populations' unique challenges in accessing health information, information dissemination, and improving health outcomes. The chapter discusses the current health information communication in rural settings, the need for tailoring health information, the barriers, and the potential of technology and innovations in improving access to rural information. It also highlights the importance of cultural sensitivity and policy considerations in effectively addressing health information disparities in rural areas.

Health Information Repertoires of Implant Patients: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Multiple Source Use and the Role of Health-Related Motives

Article

Sep 2023

Magazines' Construction of Life Markers: From Youth to Old Age

Chapter

Feb 2020

Joy Jenkins

Health Information Literacy and the Experience of 65 to 79 Year Old Australians

Chapter

Jan 2016

Information Literacy (IL) is presented here from a relational perspective, as people's experience of using information to learn in a particular context. A detailed practical example of such a context is provided, in the Health Information Literacy (HIL) experience of 65 to 79 year old Australians. A phenomenographic investigation found five qualitatively distinct ways of experiencing HIL: Absorbing (intuitive reception), Targeting (a planned process), Journeying (a personal quest), Liberating (equipping for independence), and Collaborating (interacting in community). These five ways of experiencing indicated expanding awareness of context (degree of orientation towards their environment), source (breadth of esteemed information), beneficiary (the scope of people who gain), and agency (amount of activity) across HIL core aspects of information, learning, and health. These results illustrate the potential contribution of relational IL to information science.

Technology-Enhanced Health Communities:

Chapter

Apr 2010

Information behaviour in high risk decision making: Study of international postgraduates

Article

Sep 2022
J INF SCI

This article explores the role of information in high risk consumer decision making. Forty-two qualitative interviews were undertaken with international non-EU postgraduates when making the high risk decision to study in a UK Business School. Prospective international postgraduates moved iteratively through the stages in Kuhlthau’s Information Search Process model and learnt from the search process they had undertaken in a continuous cyclical manner. Word-of-mouth recommendations were the most influential sources of information gathered, and online sources were perceived to be credible regardless of their origins. The perception of risk impacted the rigour of the information search process. An iterative decision making cycle model is proposed with Kuhlthau’s model and word of mouth information at its core, which reflects the connectedness of individuals in this digital era. This study provides new insights by combining both marketing and LIS models and extends Kuhlthau’s research into a new context.

Examining the Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Article

Aug 2022

In order to inform understanding of the public's health information management during the COVID-19 pandemic, we applied a modification of TMIM from a serial mediation model to a conditional process model (moderated mediation). In doing so, the current study attempted to refine some of the relational propositions of the original TMIM with a focus on efficacy while addressing the distinction between a mediator and a moderator in a behavioral decision model. Findings from an online survey of U.S. adults (n = 488) demonstrated that anxiety can positively motivate evaluation of information seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic context, a unique context of application for TMIM. Efficacy was found to be qualified as an individual difference variable that moderates the relationships of uncertainty perception and health decision. Our newly proposed conditional process framework of the TMIM opens research directions in health information-seeking and encourages researchers to continuously incorporate updated methodological thought and approach in applying and building communication theory.

How scared are Americans of the Zika virus? The role of threat, efficacy, and third-person perception to induce protective behaviors

Article

Jul 2022
Health Market Q

This study examines how public perception of threat and efficacy (on self and others) influence their tendency to take preventive action against the Zika virus by surveying 1,152 U.S. adults in Texas and Florida. Findings show that individuals were likely to take protective actions when they: (1) saw a high risk of the disease (high threat) and were confident about their ability to reduce the danger (high efficacy); and (2) perceived others as having a high risk (high threat), but lacked the ability to reduce the danger (low efficacy). Further, the study discusses practical implications for the design of public health campaigns.

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2021

This present study aims to examine the information needs and information-seeking behavior of Dengue-affected and non-affected people by exploring their information needs, resources used, and obstacles encountered. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 100 Dengue patients and 200 non-patients. The collected data were analyzed by applying descriptive and inferential statistics. The findings revealed that a majority of the respondents had information needs regarding nutritional options, best approaches to treatment, and expected benefits of treatment. They mostly sought information to keep themselves up-to-date and to prevent the disease. Television, Internet search engines, and social media outlets were frequently used information sources along with information-seeking from family and friends. Respondents with higher academic qualifications reported comparatively higher Dengue-related information needs. Moreover, age was a positive predictor of both their information needs and frequency of using health information sources. The findings will be helpful for healthcare providers to tailor Dengue awareness campaigns and prevention strategies according to the public needs and preferences.

A Meta-Analysis of Factors Related to Health Information Seeking: An Integration from Six Theoretical Frameworks

Article

Sep 2021
COMMUN RES

Prior studies have investigated the antecedents of Health Information Seeking (HIS) using different theoretical frameworks, whereas the inconsistencies in the reported findings warrant a more comprehensive synthesis of this body of knowledge. This meta-analysis identified 12 major antecedents of HIS from six widely used information seeking models examining HIS, developed an organizing framework that segmented current antecedents into cognitive, affective, sociocultural, and information carrier categories, and compared their associations with HIS by meta-analyzing 89 empirical studies (N = 62,957). Results showed that seeking-related subjective norms and information utility yielded the strongest associations with HIS, whereas cognitive and affective factors demonstrated weaker associations with HIS. Illness types, information-seeking channels, and sampling methods significantly moderated the associations between some predictors and HIS. Implications and directions for future research were discussed.

“I talked to a couple of friends that had it”: Informal feminized health networks and contraceptive method choices

Article

Aug 2021

Scholars recognize that social networks can influence a number of health behaviors, including women's contraceptive method choices. However, the gendered dynamics underlying the process of using informal information sources to make decisions about contraception has received less attention. Using 30 semi-structured interviews with women enrolled in a contraceptive initiative in the western United States, we explore how women use gendered understandings of medicine and feminized social networks to make decisions about contraceptives. Frequently categorizing their experiences in medical settings as unsatisfactory, women often turn to social support networks of other women—what we call “informal feminized health networks”—to gather information about the effects of contraceptives on women's bodies and to make decisions about which contraceptives are best. While informal feminized health networks are useful, women utilize them alongside unsatisfactory experiences in clinical settings. Working to uproot the paternalistic legacy of institutionalized medicine and improving provider-patient communication will enhance contraceptive access and help women reach their reproductive goals.

On the Alignment Between Self-Declared Gender Identity and Topical Content from Wikipedia

Article

Jun 2021

Wikipedia is an important information source for much of the world. One well-established problem is that editors of Wikipedia are overwhelmingly men. This gender gap in participation has resulted in a concern that the content suffers biases as a result of the bias in participation. This problem is hard to study, because the relationships between participation, gender identity, and content have not been established. Prior studies, mostly with children, have shown some differences in topical preferences based on sex. However, this issue has not been studied with adults and has not been considered from more than a binary stance. In this study, we work to understand how gender identity relates to topical preferences. Through an empirical study, we ask participants to declare a gender identity and then present them with pairs of topical article content from Wikipedia. Through thousands of participants and tens of thousands of paired content trials, we uncover relationships between self-declared gender identity and topical preferences. Further, by focusing on topics that have a statistically significant bias, we leverage two of Wikipedia's category systems to illustrate relative categorical differences that are similar to categorical differences described in prior work. The discussion focuses on the subtly of these differences, potential future research, and the implications for interventions based on topical content. Further, the results help us reflect on relationships that might explain the persistent and worsening gender gap in participation.

Cyber Behaviors in Seeking Health Information

Chapter

Jan 2019

This chapter discusses health information seeking (HIS) behavior in general and then collaborative HIS behavior in terms of the current status, the representative researchers and their work, and challenges and future directions. All aspects of collaborative HIS constitute a wide field, and thus, this paper focuses on the HIS social dimension and explores how collaborative HIS could contribute to promoting people's positive health behavior. Afterwards, collaborative information seeking systems are introduced, and future directions and conclusion are discussed.

Early Motherhood in Digital Societies: Ideals, Anxieties and Ties of the Perinatal

Book

Dec 2019

Ranjana Das

Tracking Future Path of Consumers' Empowerment in E-Health

Chapter

Jan 2016

Developments in ICT have created a new generation of networking technology that affects all areas, including healthcare. The use of ICT in healthcare organizations, for example in health information systems (HIS), has developed the same way as the wider landscape, and includes the use of Internet-based technology. The adoption of social network features as the ‘front end' of electronic health (e-health) systems is believed to boost sharing between consumers, leading to greater satisfaction. E-health is likely to become more consumer-centric, accommodating consumers' participation in the healthcare process, including decision-making. The government of Taiwan has successfully implemented a National Health Insurance (NHI) system as the foundation for e-health. Improvements in technology may drive changing consumer behavior concerning healthcare services. This paper addresses some important concepts, milestones, challenges, and future direction of consumer empowerment in Taiwan, and proposes that empowerment will be personal, social, and medical.

Gender and Information Behavior

Article

Jul 2020

Rita Marcella

This entry reviews research into gender and information over the last 30 years, identifying the most significant themes to emerge. Gender and information behavior has received sporadic and patchy consideration to date, with most frequent attention being given to: (a) improving health information literacy in a context of wide acceptance that access to reliable information can improve health outcomes; and (b) the value of information access in opening up opportunities for women in situations of geographic or societal isolation. While both are worthy of attention, more might have been achieved in considering less pragmatic and more philosophical aspects of how women construe, interact with, and use information in all aspects of their lives.

Health information needs of 1000 midlife Singaporean women

Article

Jun 2020

Objectives: Due to demographic changes, aging is a health priority. We aimed to identify midlife women’s perceived health information needs and the preferred method(s) of information delivery. Methods: A questionnaire was offered to women, aged 45–69 years, attending gynecological clinics during April/May 2016, collecting age and ethnicity data. Participants were asked to indicate important midlife health topics out of 26 topics, including ‘other’. For each topic, six delivery options were offered. Age was stratified by 5-year intervals. Associations with age and ethnicity were examined using Pearson’s chi-square tests (p < 0.05); analyses were performed with SPSS version 22.0. Results: The top health topics chosen were gynecological cancer (66.0%), joint/muscle aches and pain (64.4%), bone health (63.2%), breast screening (55.9%), and heart health (55.3%). Adjusted results from the logistic regression model found that the odds of choosing the topics gynecological cancer, cervical screening, and complementary and alternative medicine for menopausal symptoms were significantly lower in age groups 55–59, 60–64 and 65–69 years compared to age group 45–49 years. Both Malay and Indian women were less likely to report bone health as important (odds ratio = 0.59, 95% confidence interval = 0.41–0.86) and (odds ratio = 0.64, 95% confidence interval = 0.42–0.98), respectively. Written leaflets were chosen by the majority (84.7%). Conclusion: This study of over 1000 midlife Asian women found that holistic health information is desired and requires tailoring by age, not ethnicity. Written information was preferred over support groups. These findings will guide clinical health services in delivering patient-centered information resources for midlife women.

IwC Special Issue “Feminism and HCI: New Perspectives” Special Issue Editors’ Introduction

Article

Sep 2011

As a word and as a set of theories and practices, feminism is a poorly understood concept. However, feminist perspectives have a lot in common with user- and value-centered design processes such as those espoused within the field of Human Computer Interaction. Examples include consideration of alternative viewpoints, considerations of agency (who get to say/do what and under what circumstances) and the development of reflective and reflexive methods for understanding how, when, where and why people do what they do. In the “Feminism and HCI: New Perspectives” special issue, we have invited researchers and practitioners to reflect on the ways in which feminist thinking, theory, and practice can and does have an impact on the field of Human Computer Interaction. This introductory editorial offers more background to our view that there is great value to understanding the actual and potential impact of feminist thinking on HCI, followed by a précis of each paper. We close with some observations regarding common themes, points of contention and possibilities for future work.

An empirically grounded sociotechnical perspective on designing virtual agents for older adults

Article

Mar 2020

Autonomous, intelligent virtual agents (IVAs) are increasingly used commercially in essential information spaces such as healthcare. Existing IVA research has focused on microscale interaction patterns, for example those related to the usability of artificial intelligence systems. However, the sociotechnical patterns of users’ information practices and their relationship with the design and adoption of IVAs have been largely understudied, especially when it comes to older adults, who stand to benefit greatly from IVAs. Yet, exposing such patterns may more meaningfully relate sociotechnical considerations to users’ perceptions and attitudes toward the adoption of emerging technologies such as IVAs. We explore here the feasibility of information models in informing our understanding of how older adults may use and perceive an IVA. To do this, we relate the insights and findings from a case study of health information IVAs to the six stages of the information search process model (ISP). By doing this, we uncover sociotechnical issues pertinent to each stage of the ISP which help to better contextualize (older) users’ interaction with intelligent interfaces such as IVAs. Through this, we argue for the potential of information models to inform the design of interactive user interfaces from a sociotechnical approach.

‫_ ‫ﺗﺤﻠ‬ ‫ﻴﻞ‬ ‫ﻧ‬ ‫ﻴﺎزﻫﺎي‬ ‫اﻃﻼﻋﺎﺗﻲ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﺑﻬﺪاﺷﺖ‬ ‫ﺳ‬ ‫ﻼﻣﺖ‬ ‫ﻛﺎرﺑﺮان‬ ‫ﺳﺎ‬ ‫در‬ ‫ﻳﺖ‬ ‫ﭘﺎﺳﺦ‬ ‫و‬ ‫ﭘﺮﺳﺶ‬ ‫ﻳﺎﻫﻮ‬ ‫‫ا‬

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2019

Abstract Background and Aim: People refer to virtual information resources for answering their medical questions. One of these resources includes question and answering (Q&A) sites in medicine. This study aims to analyze health questions posted on the Yahoo Answers to identify health information needs, the motivations for asking questions, evaluation of information user satisfaction resulted from received answer, the reason of using answers, the using aspects of given information and the types of selection criteria people employ when they select best answers in Yahoo! Answers. Method: A survey was conducted using an online questionnaire. Email invitations were sent to 1015 users of Yahoo! Answers and 100 users filled the questionnaire. Moreover, 500 questions, 50 from each health subject category, were subject to content analysis using MAXQDA. Having no cost, having fun and social connection in Yahoo! Answers constitute the most important motivations for using the health group of Yahoo! Answers. The findings show that “concise answers” is considered as users’ satisfaction factor. Results: The findings showed that the concern about themselves, family, people who they care about, the lack of information and the knowledge gap, validating information from other people, the lack of social support, particularly insurance and income are among the main reasons for users to ask questions. Prevention and health promotion, turning the guesses to certainty, consultation before treatment, surgery, or taking certain medications constitute most of the cases users use from the received answers of the questions. The Socio- emotional value was particularly a prominent criteria from User-Perspective in this study for selecting the best answer. Conclusion: According to this research, it was found that natural cure and remedies, orthodontics, losing weight methods, loosing fats, skin diseases and how to treat them, foot pain and the related problems, male genitalia, the use of eye lenses, menstruation and the problems related to the sleeping constitutes the most categories of subjects in the health part of Yahoo! Answers. The results show that most of the questions are related to a particular disorder or disease like general information, the symptoms, causes, diagnoses, treatments, prognoses of the disease.

Perceived Barriers to Accessing Pregnancy-Related Health Information Among Married Adolescent Women: A Qualitative Study in Iran

Article

Aug 2019
J PEDIATR ADOL GYNEC

Study objective: To date, no study has reported barriers to accessing pregnancy-related health information among married women younger than the age of 19 years. Indeed, the voice of the girls being married is absent in the literature. We sought to explore the barriers to accessing pregnancy-related health information from the perspective of Iranian married adolescent women. Design: Qualitative study. Setting: The research was conducted in Mashhad city (health care centers) and Shahrood County (a maternity teaching hospital, and urban/rural health care centers) in Iran. Participants, interventions, and main outcome measures: Twenty-four married adolescent women aged 14-19 years were recruited through purposive sampling. Individual in-depth interviews were tape-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using conventional content analysis. Prolonged engagement with participants, maximum-variation sampling, member checking, peer deferring, and external audit were used to enhance the rigor of the study. Results: The results showed 3 categories: "structural barriers," "individual barriers," and "sociocultural barriers." The structural barriers category consisted of 2 subcategories, namely, poor quality of education and counseling in the health care centers, and transportation barriers. The 2 subcategories of the individual barriers category consisted of affective barriers and cognitive barriers. The sociocultural barriers category included the following 2 subcategories: husband's decision-making power and fear of being labeled infertile. Conclusion: The barriers identified in this study should be considered when designing educational interventions for married adolescent women. Moreover, further research is needed to enhance current knowledge on this topic.

The Changing Role of Indian Women in the Information Age

Chapter

Full-text available

Jun 2019

Anindita Paul

Women in India have traditionally held roles and responsibilities that are typical to the Indian household that concern the domestic. Restricted access to the external world leads to restricted access to information. However, with the advent of Information Age, it has become possible for women to have better access to information through various ICT devices that were hitherto absent. This paper looks into the impact of the information-age on the role of women in India. Data were collected from five Indian women from the Indian state of Kerala. The findings indicated that women have various roles in the Information Age. What has not changed is women's focus on family responsibilities. Rather, the information-age has empowered Indian women with information at her fingertips. The study has its implication in understanding the 21st century Indian woman. Organisations and businesses can reevaluate and formulate strategies and schemes to target audiences that are women who are decision-makers or influencers of products and services.

A logic of choice: Problematizing the documentary reality of Canadian aging in place policies

Article

Mar 2019
J AGING STUD

Nicole K. Dalmer

The home environment is pivotal in the lives of older people, intimately intertwined with one's sense of self and belonging. Aging in place (AIP), continuing to live in the same or familiar place or community for as long as possible not only fulfills a neoliberal and economic imperative but aligns with the wishes of a majority of older Canadians, who prefer to age in place. Despite policies' contributions to differing experiences of aging, the potential bearing of the narratives embedded within AIP or age-friendly policies remains unexamined. Within an institutional ethnography method of inquiry, this study applied Bacchi's “What's the Problem Represented to be?” (WPR) approach to structure the discovery of governing narratives about familial care work embedded within seven Canadian aging in place policies at the municipal, provincial, and federal level. I analyzed these policies for their role in coordinating the experiences of caring for an older adult who is aging in place in London, Canada's first age-friendly city. Of particular interest for this study is uncovering whether these texts recognize the work, and in particular the information work, of providing care to an older adult who is AIP. The policies' overall focus on self-reliance, independence, and resourcefulness frames aging in place as a process that can and should be responsibly managed. Information is introduced as a helpful tool to secure and preserve older adults' independence and usefulness to their community. The policies' problematizations frame successful aging in place as governed through a logic of choice, where a complex problem is framed as a matter of choice. Ultimately, however, while the policies offer a number of different “choices” for older adults to AIP, a critical unpacking of the problematizations reveals the choice to AIP to be illusory. There is only one option presented in the policies and that is to AIP.

Temporally Inexpensive, Affectively Expensive: Digitally-Mediated Maternal Interpersonal Ties in the Perinatal Months

Article

Dec 2018

Ranjana Das

This article presents findings on the Internet and maternal interpersonal connections in the critical "perinatal" period before and immediately after childbirth. Drawing on qualitative interviews and online data from a range of digital sites, I advance the central argument that digitally-mediated interpersonal connections are critical components of contemporary motherhood, but that these ties have complex positive and less than positive nuances in the perinatal period. Unpacking this argument in three steps, I first discuss how the moral weight of motherhood in neoliberal societies, rendered particularly visible in the perinatal period, complicates a central boundary in the study of online interpersonal relationships between information and communication. Second, I note the relative significance, in emotional terms, of temporally-contained social ties in digitally-mediated perinatal connections. Third, I consider how the material and emotional roles of traditionally held-to-be-important offline maternal support networks are re-negotiated, re-positioned and even bypassed through online ties. © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of International Communication Association. All rights reserved.

Health information work and the enactment of care in couples and families affected by Multiple Sclerosis

Article

Jan 2019

Given the considerable emphasis placed on informed choice, the management of health information has become an increasingly important part of living with chronic illness. This paper explores the intra‐familial dynamics of managing health information in the context of chronic illness. Drawing on 77 interviews with people affected by Multiple Sclerosis in the UK (patients, partners, family members and close friends), we show how families develop their own idiosyncratic information practices, including the careful, at times strategic, seeking, sharing and withholding of information. We describe how one individual, most commonly either the patient or their partner, often takes primary responsibility for managing growing quantities of health information. Doing this is a complex task, yet its dynamics within the family unit remain invisible and unacknowledged. In this paper we: (a) stress the importance of understanding information management in chronic illness as a collective process across all those affected, patients as well as carers; (b) conceptualise the process of managing health information in this context as ‘health information work’; and (c) analyse it as part of the wider care practices families engage in and as a form of care in its own right.

The Online Health Care Revolution: How the Web Helps Americans Take Better Care of Themselves

Article

Full-text available

Nov 1999

Decision aids for patients facing health treatment or screening decisions: Systematic review

Article

Full-text available

Oct 1999

To conduct a systematic review of randomised trials of patient decision aids in improving decision making and outcomes. We included randomised trials of interventions providing structured, detailed, and specific information on treatment or screening options and outcomes to aid decision making. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data on several evaluation criteria. Results were pooled by using weighted mean differences and relative risks. 17 studies met the inclusion criteria. Compared with the controls, decision aids produced higher knowledge scores (weighted mean difference=19/100, 95% confidence interval 14 to 25); lower decisional conflict scores (weighted mean difference=-0.3/5, -0.4 to -0.1); more active patient participation in decision making (relative risk = 2.27, 95% confidence interval 1. 3 to 4); and no differences in anxiety, satisfaction with decisions (weighted mean difference=0.6/100, -3 to 4), or satisfaction with the decision making process (2/100,-3 to 7). Decision aids had a variable effect on decisions. When complex decision aids were compared with simpler versions, they were better at reducing decisional conflict, improved knowledge marginally, but did not affect satisfaction. Decision aids improve knowledge, reduce decisional conflict, and stimulate patients to be more active in decision making without increasing their anxiety. Decision aids have little effect on satisfaction and a variable effect on decisions. The effects on outcomes of decisions (persistence with choice, quality of life) remain uncertain.

Public library consumer health information pilot project: Results of a National Library of Medicine evaluation

Article

Full-text available

Nov 2000
Bull Med Libr Assoc

In October 1998, the National Library of Medicine (NLM) launched a pilot project to learn about the role of public libraries in providing health information to the public and to generate information that would assist NLM and the National Network of Libraries of Medicine (NN/LM) in learning how best to work with public libraries in the future. Three regional medical libraries (RMLs), eight resource libraries, and forty-one public libraries or library systems from nine states and the District of Columbia were selected for participation. The pilot project included an evaluation component that was carried out in parallel with project implementation. The evaluation ran through September 1999. The results of the evaluation indicated that participating public librarians were enthusiastic about the training and information materials provided as part of the project and that many public libraries used the materials and conducted their own outreach to local communities and groups. Most libraries applied the modest funds to purchase additional Internet-accessible computers and/or upgrade their health-reference materials. However, few of the participating public libraries had health information centers (although health information was perceived as a top-ten or top-five topic of interest to patrons). Also, the project generated only minimal usage of NLM's consumer health database, known as MEDLINEplus, from the premises of the monitored libraries (patron usage from home or office locations was not tracked). The evaluation results suggested a balanced follow-up by NLM and the NN/LM, with a few carefully selected national activities, complemented by a package of targeted activities that, as of January 2000, are being planned, developed, or implemented. The results also highlighted the importance of building an evaluation component into projects like this one from the outset, to assure that objectives were met and that evaluative information was available on a timely basis, as was the case here.

Health Information on the Internet: Accessibility, Quality, and Readability in English and Spanish

Article

Full-text available

May 2001

Despite the substantial amount of health-related information available on the Internet, little is known about the accessibility, quality, and reading grade level of that health information. To evaluate health information on breast cancer, depression, obesity, and childhood asthma available through English- and Spanish-language search engines and Web sites. Three unique studies were performed from July 2000 through December 2000. Accessibility of 14 search engines was assessed using a structured search experiment. Quality of 25 health Web sites and content provided by 1 search engine was evaluated by 34 physicians using structured implicit review (interrater reliability >0.90). The reading grade level of text selected for structured implicit review was established using the Fry Readability Graph method. For the accessibility study, proportion of links leading to relevant content; for quality, coverage and accuracy of key clinical elements; and grade level reading formulas. Less than one quarter of the search engine's first pages of links led to relevant content (20% of English and 12% of Spanish). On average, 45% of the clinical elements on English- and 22% on Spanish-language Web sites were more than minimally covered and completely accurate and 24% of the clinical elements on English- and 53% on Spanish-language Web sites were not covered at all. All English and 86% of Spanish Web sites required high school level or greater reading ability. Accessing health information using search engines and simple search terms is not efficient. Coverage of key information on English- and Spanish-language Web sites is poor and inconsistent, although the accuracy of the information provided is generally good. High reading levels are required to comprehend Web-based health information.

Consumer-driven, patient-centered health care in the age of electronic information

Article

Full-text available

Feb 2002

Nancy Calabretta

Americans are turning in increasing numbers to the Internet for information related to their health. Access to information that was previously difficult, if not impossible, for consumers to obtain has helped drive a shift in traditional roles for patients and physicians. Technology has made possible additional avenues for communication that can enhance new relationships. Ample opportunities exist for librarians to participate in a collaborative practice role, helping to serve the needs of both consumers and physicians as consumer-driven, patient-centered health care evolves to meet its full potential.

How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus groups, usability tests, and in-depth interviews

Article

Full-text available

Apr 2002
Br Med J

To describe techniques for retrieval and appraisal used by consumers when they search for health information on the internet. Qualitative study using focus groups, naturalistic observation of consumers searching the world wide web in a usability laboratory, and in-depth interviews. A total of 21 users of the internet participated in three focus group sessions. 17 participants were given a series of health questions and observed in a usability laboratory setting while retrieving health information from the web; this was followed by in-depth interviews. Heidelberg, Germany. Although their search technique was often suboptimal, internet users successfully found health information to answer questions in an average of 5 minutes 42 seconds (median 4 minutes 18 seconds) per question. Participants in focus groups said that when assessing the credibility of a website they primarily looked for the source, a professional design, a scientific or official touch, language, and ease of use. However, in the observational study, no participants checked any "about us" sections of websites, disclaimers, or disclosure statements. In the post-search interviews, it emerged that very few participants had noticed and remembered which websites they had retrieved information from. Further observational studies are needed to design and evaluate educational and technological innovations for guiding consumers to high quality health information on the web.

Reader's Guide to Women's Studies

Book

Mar 1998

Eleanor Amico

Unraveling The Mystery of Health – How People Manage Stress and Stay Well

Article

Jan 1987

A. Antonovsky

CHESS: Ten years of research and development in consumer health informatics for broad populations, including the underserved

Article

Oct 2001
Stud Health Tech Informat

This paper reviews the research and development around a consumer health informatics system CHESS (The Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) developed and tested by the Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis at the University of Wisconsin. The review will place particular emphasis on what has been found with regard to the acceptance and use of such systems by high risk and underserved groups.

Health Information on the Internet

Article

May 2001

Context Despite the substantial amount of health-related information available on the Internet, little is known about the accessibility, quality, and reading grade level of that health information.Objective To evaluate health information on breast cancer, depression, obesity, and childhood asthma available through English- and Spanish-language search engines and Web sites.Design and Setting Three unique studies were performed from July 2000 through December 2000. Accessibility of 14 search engines was assessed using a structured search experiment. Quality of 25 health Web sites and content provided by 1 search engine was evaluated by 34 physicians using structured implicit review (interrater reliability >0.90). The reading grade level of text selected for structured implicit review was established using the Fry Readability Graph method.Main Outcome Measures For the accessibility study, proportion of links leading to relevant content; for quality, coverage and accuracy of key clinical elements; and grade level reading formulas.Results Less than one quarter of the search engine's first pages of links led to relevant content (20% of English and 12% of Spanish). On average, 45% of the clinical elements on English- and 22% on Spanish-language Web sites were more than minimally covered and completely accurate and 24% of the clinical elements on English- and 53% on Spanish-language Web sites were not covered at all. All English and 86% of Spanish Web sites required high school level or greater reading ability.Conclusion Accessing health information using search engines and simple search terms is not efficient. Coverage of key information on English- and Spanish-language Web sites is poor and inconsistent, although the accuracy of the information provided is generally good. High reading levels are required to comprehend Web-based health information.

Women's Way of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind

Book

Jan 1986

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(Fourth Edition)

Article

Dec 1969

Women, Health, and Culture.

Article

Mar 1987

No authorship indicated

Patient Education on the Internet

Article

Apr 2002

The Internet, an increasingly pervasive part of our culture, has vastly increased the rate at which information is disseminated. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of medical information on the Internet is false or misleading. Realizing this, many patients would like their physicians to help guide their online searches for medical information, but most physicians do not feel comfortable enough with the Internet to provide this service. A recent poll by Cyberdialogue (2000) found that 70% of all patients would like their physicians to recommend a health care web site for their condition, but that only 4% of patients receive such a recommendation. In recommending medical web sites, physicians need to consider the quality of the web site, the quality of the content, and especially the ethics of the site. The most important ethical standard a web site must meet is the clear separation of its editorial comment from promotional material. Patients do not have enough knowledge to distinguish unbiased information from information designed to push a product or service. There are organizations such as the Health on the Net Foundation and the E-Health Code of Ethics that have established clear quality and ethical criteria, but very few resources exist for these organizations to use in policing the sites that claim to adhere to their criteria. The National Institutes of Health recently started a consumer web site (www.medlineplus.gov) that takes web sites that adhere to their stringent criteria and places them on their web site, thus ensuring proper compliance. Patient education from sources other than face-to-face contact with a physician should be seen as an adjunct to the medical practice of physicians, and not as competition. Information is a form of therapy, and should lead to better referrals, more realistic outcome expectations, better treatment compliance, and better outcomes. As long as patients are referred to information that is unbiased, well-written, and not proprietary, their decision making should be enhanced, bringing them into the decision-making loop. This allows the patient to be much more involved with his or her care. As the medical profession changes from a “gatekeeper” model to a patient choice model, patient education will take on a much greater role.

The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language

Article

Sep 1970

Women's Studies: A Recommended Core Bibliography, 1980-1985

Article

Nov 1987

Welfare Evaluation in Contingent Valuation Experiments With Discrete Responses

Article

Nov 1989

Michael Hanemann

Since the work of Bishop and Heberlein, a number of contingent valuation experiments have appeared involving discrete responses which are analyzed by logit or similar techniques. This paper addresses the issues of how the logit models should be formulated to be consistent with the hypothesis of utility maximization and how measures of compensating and equivalent surplus should be derived from the fitted models. Two distinct types of welfare measures are introduced and then estimated from Bishop and Heberlein's data.

Women's Ways of Knowing: The Development of Self, Voice, and Mind

Article

Nov 1988

The Boston Women's Health Book Collective and Our Bodies, Ourselves: A Brief History and Reflection

Article

Originally published in the Winter 1999 edition of Journal of the American Medical Women's Association. This article offers a brief history of Our Bodies, Ourselves, the landmark book about women's health and sexuality first published in 1970, as well as the Boston Women's Health Book Collective, its author and sponsor of numerous women's health initiatives. The organization's transition from a small, grassroots collective to a non-profit organization working at both the domestic and international levels is briefly discussed, including the development of a more diverse board and staff. Past accomplishments and current concerns of the global women's health movements are described, including some of the larger advocacy organizations now active in the women's health field. Collaboration with feminist physicians over the past two decades is also noted. Our Early History The history of Our Bodies, Ourselves (OBOS) and the Boston Women's Health Book Collective (BWHBC) began in the spring of 1969 at a women's liberation conference held in Boston. At a workshop on "Women and Their Bodies," we discovered that every one of us had a "doctor story," that we had all experienced feelings of frustration and anger toward the medical maze in general, and toward those doctors who were condescending, paternalistic, judgmental, and uninformative in particular. As we talked and shared our experiences, we realized just how much we had to learn about our bodies, that simply finding a "good doctor" was not the solution to whatever problems we might have. So we decided on a summer project: we would research our questions, share what we learned in our group, and then present the information in the fall as a course "by and for women." We envisioned an ongoing process that would involve other women who would then go on to teach such a course in other settings. In creating the course, we learned that we were capable of collecting, understanding, and evaluating medical information; that we could open up to one another and find strength and comfort through sharing some of our most private experiences; that what we learned from one another was every bit as important as what we read in medical texts; and that our experiences frequently contradicted medical pronouncements. Over time these facts, feelings, and controversies were intertwined in the various editions of OBOS.

Introduction to the Special Issue: Everyday life information-seeking research

Article

Dec 2001
LIBR INFORM SCI RES

Seeking Meaning, A Process Approach to Library and Information

Book

Jan 1993

C. C. Kuhltau

Health discussions on the Internet

Article

Dec 2001
LIBR INFORM SCI RES

Marianne Wikgren

The Internet is a convenient but complex source for health information used by an increasing number of health consumers. Especially for people suffering from a chronic illness (e.g., diabetes), information seeking forms a part of the daily management of the disease, a “project of life.” This study of Web texts examines the citation patterns for a specific and controversial health issue: the beneficial or hazardous use of dietary chromium supplementation in diabetes self-management. Texts from different categories of Web sources (scientific, professional, educational, and commercial sources, as well as diabetes discussion groups) were analyzed in order to study how knowledge is transferred between sources, and how diabetics participating in discussion groups refer to and make sense of the information from different sources on the Internet. The citation patterns suggest that deviations from the traditional models of scientific knowledge dissemination can occur in the Internet environment.

The Psychology Of Personal Constructs: A Theory Of Personality

Article

Jan 1963

G. A. Kelly

Women's Preferences for Cancer Information From Specific Communication Channels

Article

Jul 1991

Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well

Article

Jul 1989

Harris Chaiklin

Seeking Meaning: a process approach to library and information services" Ablex Publishing

Article

Jan 2004

Carol Collier Kuhlthau

A Principle of Uncertainty for Information Seeking

Article

Apr 1993
J DOC

Carol Collier Kuhlthau

This paper proposes an uncertainty principle for information seeking. The principle is based on the results of a series of studies conducted by the author into the user's perspective of the information search process. A basic principle of uncertainty is elaborated by six corollaries. The principle is proposed to explain the constructive process of information seeking and use bringing affective considerations to what has usually been regarded as a cognitive process.

The New American Heritage Dictionary of The English Lgnguage

Article

Jul 1993

John H. Dirckx

If your present desk dictionary is a dog-eared, coffee-stained relic that doesn't have entries for hard copy, reggae, or Watergate and thinks a mouse is a small rodent and nothing more, you're due for an update and an upgrade. Anyone who purchases an English dictionary in this last decade of the 20th century expects it to supply definitions not only for standard, formal English words but also for colloquialisms, slang expressions, contemporary catch phrases, and technical terms, along with authoritative data on word origins, hints as to usage and points of grammar, and basic information about noteworthy persons and places. All of this and more comes packaged in an attractive and convenient format in the third edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language.The range of material defined or explained is truly encyclopedic. Alphabetic entries in the body of the dictionary identify hundreds of persons, from Mata

Women, Health, and Medicine in America: A Historical Handbook

Article

Mar 1991

Virginia U Collier

This book is a collection of 20 essays by contemporary historians and sociologists designed to provide an overview of the available literature dealing with the health experiences of women in America. It was conceived to be a single source to which historians and other scholars could turn for a survey of current concepts in women's health history. The book succeeds in providing a descriptive anthology of important historical papers, books, and monographs on varied subjects including orthodox health care (chapters on women and mental illness, gynecology, obstetrics, and reproductive health) and health care providers (chapters on midwives, nurses, physicians, and pharmacists). The extensive "Bibliography by Topic" chapter will be of special use to scholars. Among the contributors, 22 of 26 are female. The majority of the chapters contain social comment, which seems to me not directly pertinent to the stated purpose of the book. The chapter on nurses, a well-written

Information-Seeking Behavior of Gatekeepers in Ethnolinguistic Communities: Overview of a Taxonomy

Article

Jan 1991
LIBR INFORM SCI RES

Cheryl Metoyer-Duran

This article presents a model for information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers. Prior research suggests that ethnolinguistic gatekeepers serve as information disseminators within their ethnic communities. The information-seeking behavior of ethnolinguistic gatekeepers has not been studied in the context of the new user-centered information paradigm. The taxonomy presented here considers the affective and cognitive dimensions of the gatekeeper's information-seeking behavior. A series of profiles that represent a range of gatekeeper information-seeking skills and orientations is derived from the model. The article also proposes a set of hypotheses and discusses the research implications of the model.

Consumer Health Libraries: A New Diagnosis

Article

Jan 1997
LIBR J

Kathleen A. Moeller

Describes the creation of a consumer health library; types of health information and health information consumers; reasons consumers seek health information; collection development and maintenance; and the Internet. Lists 13 best Web sites for traditional and alternative health, children's health, disease control and prevention, and travelers' health information. (PEN)

Mail and Internet Surveys: The Tailored Design Method

Book

Jan 2000

Don A. Dillman

Health discussions on the Internet: A study of knowledge communication through citations

Article

Jan 2001
LIBR INFORM SCI RES

Marianne Wikgren

Everyday life information seeking: Approaching information seeking in the context of “way of life”

Article

Jun 1995
LIBR INFORM SCI RES

Reijo Savolainen

The study offers a framework for the study of everyday life information seeking (ELIS) in the context of way of and mastery of life. Way of life is defined as the “order of things,” manifesting itself, for example, in the relationship between work and leisure time, models of consumption, and nature of hobbies. Mastery of life is interpreted as “keeping things in order;” four ideal types of mastery of life with their implications for ELIS, namely optimistic-cognitive, pessimistic-cognitive, defensive-affective and pessimistic-affective mastery of life are outlined. The article reviews two major dimensions of ELIS, there are. the seeking of orienting and practical information. The research framework was tested in an empirical study based on interviews with teachers and industrial workers, eleven of both. The main features of seeking orienting and practical information are reviewed, followed by suggestions for refinement of the research framework.

A social judgment analysis of information source preference profiles: An exploratory study to empirically represent media selection patterns

Article

Jul 2003
J AM SOC INF SCI TEC

Joette Stefl-Mabry

To better understand how individuals and groups derive satisfaction from information, it is important to identify the information source preferences they apply in information seeking and decision making. Four informal propositions drove the structure and underlying logic of this study, forming a preliminary outline of a theory of information source preference profiles and their influence on information satisfaction. This study employed Social Judgment Analysis (SJA) to identify the information judgment preferences held by professional groups for six selected information sources: word of mouth, expert oral advice, Internet, print news, nonfiction books, and radio/television news. The research was designed as an hypothesis-generating exploratory study employing a purposive sample (n = 90) and generated four empirically supported, testable hypotheses about user satisfaction with information sources. The SJA judgment functions revealed the influences of volume and polarity (i.e., positive versus negative information) on information satisfaction. By advancing the understanding of how information source preferences can be identified empirically and their influence on information satisfaction, this research reflects a first, small step toward understanding “satisficing.” Satisficing behaviors result in early termination of information search processes when individuals, facing incomplete information, are sufficiently satisfied to assume risks and execute decisions.

Women and Health in America, 2nd Ed.: Historical Readings

Article

Judith W. Leavitt

In this thoroughly updated second edition, Judith Walzer Leavitt, a leading authority on the history of women's health issues, has collected thirty-five articles representing important scholarship in this once-neglected field. Timely and fascinating, this volume is organized chronologically and then by topic, covering studies of women and health in the colonial and revolutionary periods and the nineteenth century through the Civil War. The remainder of the book concentrates on the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries and addresses such controversial issues as body image and physical fitness, sexuality, fertility, abortion and birth control, childbirth and motherhood, mental illness, women's health care providers (midwives, nurses, physicians), and health reform and public health. Judith Walzer Leavitt is Ruth Bleier Professor of History of Medicine, History of Science, and Women's Studies and the associate dean of faculty at the medical school, University of WisconsinÃ¢â¬âMadison. Her many books include The Healthiest City and Sickness and Health in America, both also available from the University of Wisconsin Press, as well as Typhoid Mary and Brought to Bed: Childbearing in America 1750Ã¢â¬â1950.

Are “together” people healthier?: Unraveling the Mystery of Health: How People Manage Stress and Stay Well

Article

Jan 1987

Mark J. Yaffe

Women and health in America: Historical readings

Article

Jan 2002

Barbara Baumgartner

Editorial: The Missing Piece: Embracing Shared Decision Making to Reform Health Care

Article

Feb 2000

James N. Weinstein

A new perspective on consumer health Web use: "valuegraphic" profiles of health information seekers.

Article

Feb 2001
Manag Care Q

Only one half of adults in the United States place a high priority on seeking health information. An examination of today's health information seeker based upon health behavioral intentions, values, and priorities (valuegraphics) reveals that an individual's level of health information seeking corresponds to the value he or she places or the quality of health desired, and current level of personal health involvement. The relationship between valuegraphics and health status and health care use is also examined. Findings from a study that identified significant variance in Web use and satisfaction based upon the valuegraphic profiles of visitors to a hospital system-sponsored consumer Web site are also examined. The implications of consumer health valuegraphic profiling to future Web development by health care organizations are discussed.

Personal Health Information-Seeking: A Qualitative Review of the Literature

Article

Feb 2001
Stud Health Tech Informat

P. Zoë Stavri

This qualitative review establishes Personal Health Information-Seeking (PHIS) as a more accurate description of the patient and health education information-seeking activity commonly known as Consumer Health Information Seeking. This review introduces multiple knowledge or domain facets which need to be considered in order to understand the complexities of this behavior by providing a brief overview of key empirical and theoretical work framed around Metoyer-Duran's ethnolinguistic community information theoretical model originally published in 1991, which should guide PHIS system development.

Using the Internet to Teach Consumers about Quality Care

Article

Mar 2002
Joint Comm J Qual Improv

Background: The Internet is an important source of health information for consumers. Patients can learn about their diagnoses, review treatments and medications, and locate other health information for themselves and their families. Information about quality care can also be found on the Internet. Few consumers, though, use these Web sites for learning about quality care. Search for web sites on quality care: In 2000 the investigators searched the Internet and generated a list of approximately 90 relevant Internet documents under the broad heading of quality health care. They then pared the list to 34, by using the Health Information Technology Institute (HITI) criteria. Testing of internet documents by consumers: In the second phase of the project, 5 of the 34 Internet documents were tested by a convenience sample of 32 consumers. Most of the participants had experience in using the Internet, although generally not in the area of quality care. They found the Web sites easy to use and indicated that the Internet resources would help them assess the quality of care they receive from physicians, nurses, and others. Discussion: Web sites need to be evaluated to ensure that the information they provide is accurate and current, among other criteria. All patients should understand their health benefits and the importance of making informed decisions about their health care, as well as how quality care is measured, how to use quality reports, how to choose providers and hospitals, how to assess the quality of their own care and be more involved in it, and what they should do when faced with new diagnoses.

Patient education on the internet: opportunities and pitfalls

Article

May 2002
SPINE

The Internet, an increasingly pervasive part of our culture, has vastly increased the rate at which information is disseminated. Unfortunately, a substantial portion of medical information on the Internet is false or misleading. Realizing this, many patients would like their physicians to help guide their online searches for medical information, but most physicians do not feel comfortable enough with the Internet to provide this service. A recent poll by Cyberdialogue (2000) found that 70% of all patients would like their physicians to recommend a health care web site for their condition, but that only 4% of patients receive such a recommendation. In recommending medical web sites, physicians need to consider the quality of the web site, the quality of the content, and especially the ethics of the site. The most important ethical standard a web site must meet is the clear separation of its editorial comment from promotional material. Patients do not have enough knowledge to distinguish unbiased information from information designed to push a product or service. There are organizations such as the Health on the Net Foundation and the E-Health Code of Ethics that have established clear quality and ethical criteria, but very few resources exist for these organizations to use in policing the sites that claim to adhere to their criteria. The National Institutes of Health recently started a consumer web site (www.medlineplus.gov) that takes web sites that adhere to their stringent criteria and places them on their web site, thus ensuring proper compliance. Patient education from sources other than face-to-face contact with a physician should be seen as an adjunct to the medical practice of physicians, and not as competition. Information is a form of therapy, and should lead to better referrals, more realistic outcome expectations, better treatment compliance, and better outcomes. As long as patients are referred to information that is unbiased, well-written, and not proprietary, their decision making should be enhanced, bringing them into the decision-making loop. This allows the patient to be much more involved with his or her care. As the medical profession changes from a "gatekeeper" model to a patient choice model, patient education will take on a much greater role.

Empirical Studies Assessing the Quality of Health Information for Consumers on the World Wide Web: A Systematic Review

Article

May 2002

The quality of consumer health information on the World Wide Web is an important issue for medicine, but to date no systematic and comprehensive synthesis of the methods and evidence has been performed. To establish a methodological framework on how quality on the Web is evaluated in practice, to determine the heterogeneity of the results and conclusions, and to compare the methodological rigor of these studies, to determine to what extent the conclusions depend on the methodology used, and to suggest future directions for research. We searched MEDLINE and PREMEDLINE (1966 through September 2001), Science Citation Index (1997 through September 2001), Social Sciences Citation Index (1997 through September 2001), Arts and Humanities Citation Index (1997 through September 2001), LISA (1969 through July 2001), CINAHL (1982 through July 2001), PsychINFO (1988 through September 2001), EMBASE (1988 through June 2001), and SIGLE (1980 through June 2001). We also conducted hand searches, general Internet searches, and a personal bibliographic database search. We included published and unpublished empirical studies in any language in which investigators searched the Web systematically for specific health information, evaluated the quality of Web sites or pages, and reported quantitative results. We screened 7830 citations and retrieved 170 potentially eligible full articles. A total of 79 distinct studies met the inclusion criteria, evaluating 5941 health Web sites and 1329 Web pages, and reporting 408 evaluation results for 86 different quality criteria. Two reviewers independently extracted study characteristics, medical domains, search strategies used, methods and criteria of quality assessment, results (percentage of sites or pages rated as inadequate pertaining to a quality criterion), and quality and rigor of study methods and reporting. Most frequently used quality criteria used include accuracy, completeness, readability, design, disclosures, and references provided. Fifty-five studies (70%) concluded that quality is a problem on the Web, 17 (22%) remained neutral, and 7 studies (9%) came to a positive conclusion. Positive studies scored significantly lower in search (P =.02) and evaluation (P =.04) methods. Due to differences in study methods and rigor, quality criteria, study population, and topic chosen, study results and conclusions on health-related Web sites vary widely. Operational definitions of quality criteria are needed.

Consumer Health Informatics-Integrating Patients, Providers, and Professionals Online

Article

Feb 2002

Michele S Klein-Fedyshin

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) means different things to patients, health professionals, and health care systems. A broader perspective on this new and rapidly developing field will enable us to understand and better apply its advances. This article provides an overview of CHI discussing its evolution and driving forces, along with advanced applications such as Personal Health Records, Internet transmission of personal health data, clinical e-mail, online pharmacies, and shared decision-making tools. Consumer Health Informatics will become integrated with medical care, electronic medical records, and patient education to impact the whole process and business of health care.

CHESS: 10 Years of research and development in consumer health informatics for broad populations, including the underserved

Article

Dec 2002
INT J MED INFORM

This paper reviews the research and development around a consumer health informatics system CHESS (The Comprehensive Health Enhancement Support System) developed and tested by the Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis at the University of Wisconsin. The review places particular emphasis on what has been found with regard to the acceptance and use of such systems by high risk and underserved groups.

Effectiveness of Off-line and Web-Based Promotion of Health Information Web Sites

Article

Feb 2002

The relative effectiveness of off-line and web-based promotional activities in increasing the use of health information web sites by target audiences were compared. Visitor sessions were classified according to their method of arrival at the site (referral) as external web site, search engine, or "no referrer" (i.e., visitor arriving at the site by inputting URL or using bookmarks). The number of Australian visitor sessions correlated with no referrer referrals but not web site or search-engine referrals. Results showed that the targeted consumer group is more likely to access the web site as a result of off-line promotional activities. The properties of target audiences likely to influence the effectiveness of off-line versus on-line promotional strategies include the size of the Internet using population of the target audience, their proficiency in the use of the Internet, and the increase in effectiveness of off-line promotional activities when applied to locally defined target audiences.

Seeking Health Care Information: Most Consumers Still on the Sidelines

Article

Apr 2003

Contrary to popular belief that Americans avidly seek health information--especially on the Internet--a majority of Americans in 2001 sought no information about a health concern, according to a Center for Studying Health Systems Change (HSC) study. And, instead of surfing the Internet, the 38 percent of Americans who did obtain health information relied more often on traditional sources such as books or magazines. People living with chronic conditions were more likely to seek information, yet more than half did not. Education is key to explaining differences among people. Those with a college degree are twice as likely to seek health information as people without a high school diploma. As consumers are confronted with more responsibility for making trade-offs among the cost, quality and accessibility of care, credible and understandable information will be critical to empowering consumers to take active roles in managing their care.

East Brunswick, NJ: East Bruns-wick Public Library

A Grice

Grice, A. (2002). Health Resources 2002. East Brunswick, NJ: East Bruns-wick Public Library

Healthcare consumers in the 1990s

Jan 1993

R K Thomas

Thomas, R.K. (1993). Healthcare consumers in the 1990s. Ithaca, NY: American Demographics Books.

Toward wellness: Women seeking health information

Abstract

No full-text available

Recommended publications

Fear and loathing in the information age

Ophthalmology on the Information Superhighway: An Introduction to the Internet

The Information Superhighway as a Missiological Tool of the Trade

The Semantic Web and Educational Technology