scholarly journals Meeting the information needs of an evidence-based world

1999 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beth Reid

There are many new and exciting health information developments in Australia today.However, there are also many gaps and problems in the information available to support evidence-based decision-making. For example, computerisation in health lags behind other industries. However, these problems should not prevent us using the available data to manage individual care and the health care system more effectively. It is fruitless to wait for atechnological solution to all our problems. Educational and staff changes are needed to prepare health professionals and patients to use information to make evidence-based decisions and bring health care into the information age.

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Cooke ◽  
Kim Birnie-Gauvin ◽  
Robert J. Lennox ◽  
Jessica J. Taylor ◽  
Trina Rytwinski ◽  
...  

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Anne FitzPatrick ◽  
Alexandra Claudia Hess ◽  
Lynn Sudbury-Riley ◽  
Peter Johannes Schulz

BACKGROUND Although previous research shows broad differences in the impact of online health information on patient-practitioner decision making, specific research is required to identify and conceptualize patient decision-making styles related to the use of online health information and to differentiate segments according to the influence of online information on patient decision making and interactions with health professionals. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate patients’ decision making in relation to online health information and interactions with health care practitioners. We also aimed to present a typology of patients based on significant differences in their decision making. METHODS We applied a large-scale cross-sectional research design using a survey. Data, generated using a questionnaire that was administered by companies specializing in providing online panels, were collected from random samples of baby boomers in the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. The total sample comprised 996 baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964, who had used the internet in the previous 6 months to search for and share health-related information. Data were analyzed using hierarchical cluster analysis and confirmatory factor analysis, as well as one-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and paired sample <italic>t</italic> tests. RESULTS Analyses identified 3 key decision-making styles that served as the base for 4 unique and stable segments of patients with distinctive decision-making styles: the Collaborators (229/996, 23.0%), the Autonomous-Collaborators (385/996, 38.7%), the Assertive-Collaborators (111/996, 11.1%), and the Passives (271/996, 27.2%). Profiles were further developed for these segments according to key differences in the online health information behavior, demographics, and interactional behaviors of patients. The typology demonstrates that collaborative decision making is dominant among patients either in its pure form or in combination with autonomous or assertive decision making. In other words, most patients (725/996, 72.8%) show significant collaboration in their decision making with health care professionals. However, at times, patients in the combination Autonomous-Collaborative segment prefer to exercise individual autonomy in their decision making, and those in the combination Assertive-Collaborative segment prefer to be assertive with health professionals. Finally, this study shows that a substantial number of patients adopt a distinctly passive decision-making style (271/996, 27.2%). CONCLUSIONS The patient typology provides a framework for distinguishing practice-relevant and addressable segments with important implications for health care practitioners, including better-targeted communication programs for patients and more successful outcomes for health care services in the long term.


2003 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 198-201 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly D. Fraser

The cost-effectiveness of home care programs and services is an important area of health care research given the recent growth and continuing trend in home health care, the current state of health care reform in Canada, and changing demographics in Canada. Home care programs often proceed with little evidence-based decision-making. Increased demand for evidence-based decision-making is apparent in not only clinical settings, but also in policy environments thus creating a need for more research in this area. There are presently very few rigorous studies on the cost-effectiveness of home care programs. This systematic literature review addresses the research question, “What is the relationship between cost-consequence evidence and policy implications within the home care context?” The findings are not surprising. They include mixed results and indicate that cost-effectiveness of home care programs is an important area to study in spite of the many challenges. The challenges presented must be acknowledged and addressed in order to produce better research designs in future studies.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document