Corrigendum to “Health information seeking in the Web 2.0 age: Trust in social media, uncertainty reduction, and self-disclosure” [Computers in Human Behavior 56 (2016) 289–294]

Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. Objective The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. Results A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. Conclusions This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

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Web-Based Health Information Seeking Among Students at Kuwait University: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

JMIR Formative Research ◽

10.2196/14327 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. e14327 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hasan Ashkanani ◽

Rabab Asery ◽

Fajer Bokubar ◽

Noor AlAli ◽

Shahad Mubarak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Survey Study ◽

The Internet ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Kuwait University ◽

Web Based ◽

Factors Associated ◽

The Web

Background Owing to the revolution in technology, the internet has become an important aspect of people’s lives. Modern technology is enabling people from diverse educational backgrounds to use the internet for several purposes, one of which is health information seeking. Recently, Web-based health information has become more popular among patients all over the world and among the general public. Objective This study aimed to investigate the use of Web-based health resources among undergraduate students from different faculties at Kuwait University. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional design with students selected from 8 faculties of Kuwait University, 4 faculties of Literature and 4 faculties of Science. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, and analysis was done using a chi-square test and binary logistic regression to determine the factors associated with seeking health information on the Web. Results The sample size obtained was 1132 with a response rate of 90.27% (1132/1254). Overall, the prevalence of students seeking Web-based health information was 92.66%. (1049/1132) The most significant factors associated with seeking health information on the Web were age, gender, faculty, year of study, primary source of internet, and level of experience with internet use. In total, 90.0% (325/361) of students who were aged older than 21 years used Web-based health information compared with 82.8% (275/332) of those who were aged 18 years. In addition, female students showed a higher prevalence (829/934, 88.8%) of Web-based health information seeking than males (210/270, 77.8%). Students who majored in faculties of Science were more likely to seek health information than those who majored in faculties of Literature. All the differences found in the study were statistically significant (P<.05). Conclusions The study concluded that many people use the internet for seeking health information. Sociodemographic factors have a significant association with Web-based health information seeking. Therefore, doctors must educate the public about the health information websites that can be trusted.

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eHealth Literacy and Web 2.0 Health Information Seeking Behaviors Among Baby Boomers and Older Adults

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/jmir.3992 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. e70 ◽

Cited By ~ 263

Author(s):

Bethany Tennant ◽

Michael Stellefson ◽

Virginia Dodd ◽

Beth Chaney ◽

Don Chaney ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Web 2.0 ◽

Health Information ◽

Baby Boomers ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Ehealth Literacy ◽

Information Seeking Behaviors

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A cross-section study to assess Health Information Seeking Behavior (HISB) in Syria (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.25044 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ayham Research Group ◽

Rashad Almahayni

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Health Information ◽

Cross Section ◽

Search Engines ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Quality Score ◽

Main Question ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Section Study ◽

Reliability Score

BACKGROUND The wide-spread use of the internet, and the numerous websites and platforms it provides access to allow users to reach a multitude of articles on almost any topic, which raises the issue of the quality and reliability of the information obtained online. Without denying the existence of reliable websites, the main question remains whether information seekers are reaching these websites. While many studies have been done to answer these questions, few were undertaken in third world countries. OBJECTIVE This study attempts to shed light on the current Health Information Seeking Behaviors (HISB) in Syria, to provide data, and to lay the ground for future studies. METHODS This is a cross-section study that used a questionnaire to identify and measure different HISB habits in Syria. A chi-square test was used to study the relations between different demographic groups and different HISB groups, and the relations between Different HISB groups. The study used the DISCERN Instrument to assess the reliability and quality of the information obtained by participants, and the means for the reliability score, the quality score, and the total DISCERN Instrument score were calculated and compared to scores of different methods of HISB with a T-score test. RESULTS The study suggests that Search Engines are the most commonly used method when actively seeking health information (52%), followed by official websites (26.6%) and unofficial websites (11.8%), with social media being the least used method (9.7%). Official websites scored the highest mean on the DISCERN Instrument score with 3.77 (±0.651), and the highest mean in reliability with 4.02 (±0.598), while social media scored the highest mean in quality with 3.53 (±1.014). Search Engines scored the lowest means in all 3 aspects, with a total DISCERN score of 3.35 (±0.715), a reliability score of 3.57 (±0.712), and a quality score of 3.11 (±0.915). CONCLUSIONS Official websites need to take more steps to provide better quality information for users. Non-medical provider users search for overview more often, therefore official websites should provide an overview of the topics at the start of their materials.

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A review of theoretical models of health information seeking on the web

Journal of Documentation ◽

10.1108/00220411211225575 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 68 (3) ◽

pp. 330-352 ◽

Cited By ~ 61

Author(s):

Christine Marton ◽

Chun Wei Choo

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Theoretical Models ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

The Web

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Web-Based Health Information Seeking Among Students at Kuwait University: Cross-Sectional Survey Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.14327 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Hasan Ashkanani ◽

Rabab Asery ◽

Fajer Bokubar ◽

Noor AlAli ◽

Shahad Mubarak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Survey Study ◽

The Internet ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Kuwait University ◽

Web Based ◽

Factors Associated ◽

The Web

BACKGROUND Owing to the revolution in technology, the internet has become an important aspect of people’s lives. Modern technology is enabling people from diverse educational backgrounds to use the internet for several purposes, one of which is health information seeking. Recently, Web-based health information has become more popular among patients all over the world and among the general public. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the use of Web-based health resources among undergraduate students from different faculties at Kuwait University. METHODS The study employed a cross-sectional design with students selected from 8 faculties of Kuwait University, 4 faculties of Literature and 4 faculties of Science. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, and analysis was done using a chi-square test and binary logistic regression to determine the factors associated with seeking health information on the Web. RESULTS The sample size obtained was 1132 with a response rate of 90.27% (1132/1254). Overall, the prevalence of students seeking Web-based health information was 92.66%. (1049/1132) The most significant factors associated with seeking health information on the Web were age, gender, faculty, year of study, primary source of internet, and level of experience with internet use. In total, 90.0% (325/361) of students who were aged older than 21 years used Web-based health information compared with 82.8% (275/332) of those who were aged 18 years. In addition, female students showed a higher prevalence (829/934, 88.8%) of Web-based health information seeking than males (210/270, 77.8%). Students who majored in faculties of Science were more likely to seek health information than those who majored in faculties of Literature. All the differences found in the study were statistically significant (<italic>P</italic><.05). CONCLUSIONS The study concluded that many people use the internet for seeking health information. Sociodemographic factors have a significant association with Web-based health information seeking. Therefore, doctors must educate the public about the health information websites that can be trusted.

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The Association Between Health Information Seeking on the Internet and Physician Visits (The Seventh Tromsø Study - Part 4): Population-Based Questionnaire Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.13120 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Kassaye Yitbarek Yigzaw ◽

Rolf Wynn ◽

Luis Marco-Ruiz ◽

Andrius Budrionis ◽

Sunday Oluwafemi Oyeyemi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Media ◽

Health Information ◽

Search Engines ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Web Search ◽

The Internet ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Physician Visits ◽

Web Search Engines

BACKGROUND The internet is being widely used for seeking health information. However, there is no consensus on the association between health information seeking on the internet and the use of health care services. OBJECTIVE We examined the association between health information seeking via the internet and physician visits. In addition, we investigated the association between online health information seeking and the decisions to visit and not to visit a physician. METHODS We used the cross-sectional electronic health (eHealth) data of 18,197 participants from the seventh survey of the Tromsø Study (Tromsø 7). The participants were aged ≥40 years and living in Tromsø, Norway. We used logistic regression models to examine the association between online health information seeking and physician visits, the decision to visit a physician, and the decision not to visit a physician, with adjustment for the demographic status, socioeconomic status, and health status of the participants. RESULTS The use of Web search engines was associated with a physician visit. However, the association was moderated by age, and the OR decreased as age increased. The ORs for the use of Web search engines were 1.99 (95% CI 1.94-2.02) and 1.07 (95% CI 1.03-1.12) at ages 40 and 80 years, respectively. The decision to visit a physician was associated with the use of Web search engines (OR 2.95, 95% CI 2.03-4.46), video search engines (OR 1.43, 95% CI 1.21-1.70), and health apps (OR 1.26, 95% CI 1.13-1.42). The association between social media use and the decision to visit a physician was moderated by gender. Women who used social media had 1.42 (95% CI 1.31-1.55) times higher odds of deciding to visit a physician, whereas the decision to visit a physician was not different between men who used social media and those who did not use social media. Conversely, the decision not to visit a physician was associated with the use of Web search engines (OR 2.78, 95% CI 1.92-4.18), video search engines (OR 1.27, 95% CI 1.07-1.51), social media (OR 1.28, 95% CI 1.10-1.49), and health apps (OR 1.20, 95% CI 1.07-1.35). CONCLUSIONS Health information found on the internet was positively associated with both the decision to visit a physician and the decision not to visit a physician. However, the association of health information seeking with the decision to visit a physician was slightly stronger than the association with the decision not to visit a physician. This could imply that the use of eHealth services is associated with a resultant increase in physician visits. In summary, our findings suggest that the internet serves as a supplement to health care services rather than as a replacement.

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