Air pollution in China: health information seeking and protective behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1495-1506
Author(s):  
Qinghua Yang ◽  
Shiwen Wu
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese People ◽  
Protective Behaviors ◽  
Predicting Factors

Abstract Haze has become one of the most life-threatening problems in China. Chinese people become more dependent on receiving health information from social media, especially WeChat, which shapes their health perceptions and behaviors. Despite the prevalence of health information-seeking behavior (HISB) on WeChat, the predicting factors and consequences of Chinese people’s haze HISB using WeChat remain unclear. To fill this gap, a hypothesized model was proposed under the risk perception attitude framework and tested with a longitudinal web-based survey of Chinese people residing in Mainland China, to understand the antecedents and behavioral outcomes of HISB on WeChat. The results from the structural equation modeling showed that perceived risk significantly predicted haze HISB on WeChat, which predicted the intention of wearing PM2.5 mask but not reducing outdoor exercises. The efficacy beliefs of both protective behaviors were not significant predictor of haze HISB. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

scholarly journals Explaining Online Information Seeking Behaviors in People With Different Health Statuses: German Representative Cross-sectional Survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elena Link ◽  
Eva Baumann ◽  
Christoph Klimmt
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Risk Perceptions ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviors

BACKGROUND Worldwide, the internet is an increasingly important channel for health information. Many theories have been applied in research on online health information seeking behaviors (HISBs), with each model integrating a different set of predictors; thus, a common understanding of the predictors of (online) HISB is still missing. Another shortcoming of the theories explaining (online) HISB is that most existing models, so far, focus on very specific health contexts such as cancer. Therefore, the assumptions of the Planned Risk Information Seeking Model (PRISM) as the latest integrative model are applied to study online HISB, because this model identifies the general cognitive and sociopsychological factors that explain health information seeking intention. We shift away from single diseases and explore cross-thematic patterns of online HISB intention and compare predictors concerning different health statuses as it can be assumed that groups of people perceiving themselves as ill or healthy will differ concerning their drivers of online HISB. Considering the specifics of online HISB and variation in individual context factors is key for the development of generalizable theories. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to contribute to the development of the concept of online HISB in 2 areas. First, this study aimed to explore individual-level predictors of individuals’ online HISB intention by applying the postulates of PRISM. Second, we compared relevant predictors of online HISB in groups of people with different health statuses to identify cross-thematic central patterns of online HISB. METHODS Data from a representative sample of German internet users (n=822) served to explain online HISB intentions and influencing patterns in different groups of people. The applicability of the PRISM to online HISB intention was tested by structural equation modeling and multigroup comparison. RESULTS Our results revealed PRISM to be an effective framework for explaining online HISB intention. For online HISB, attitudes toward seeking health information online provided the most important explanatory power followed by risk perceptions and affective risk responses. The multigroup comparison revealed differences both regarding the explanatory power of the model and the relevance of predictors of online HISB. The online HISB intention could be better explained for people facing a health threat, suggesting that the predictors adopted from PRISM were more suitable to explain a problem-driven type of information-seeking behavior. CONCLUSIONS Our findings indicate that attitudes toward seeking health information online and risk perceptions are of central importance for online HISB across different health-conditional contexts. Predictors such as self-efficacy and perceived knowledge insufficiency play a context-dependent role—they are more influential when individuals are facing health threats and the search for health information is of higher personal relevance and urgency. These findings can be understood as the first step to develop a generalized theory of online HISB.

Intention to View Health TV Programs in South Korea: An Application of the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking

2017 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 526-551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hye-Jin Paek ◽  
Mideum Choi ◽  
Thomas Hove
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Comprehensive Model ◽  
South Korean ◽  
Korean Adults ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Practical Implications

As people have become increasingly concerned about their health, programs about health have proliferated on South Korean television. This study’s purpose is to identify the factors associated with and processes through which Korean adults intend to view health TV programs. The comprehensive model of information seeking (CMIS) was tested using structural equation modeling that was fitted with survey data from a nationally representative sample of 1,020 South Korean adults. Results indicate that the demographic antecedents of being female and older adult and the psychological antecedents of being health conscious and health literate significantly predicted the degree to which people would perceive health TV programs to be useful. Among the information carrier factors of health TV programs, utility was directly related to intention to view, while trust in health information on TV was only indirectly related to intention to view. For theoretical implications, we suggest further conceptual and operational refinement of CMIS. For practical implications, we highlight the importance of motivational and utility factors in predicting people’s intention to view health TV programs. Finally, this study stresses the importance of TV as a viable health information provider that can reduce health information gaps and help people (particularly older adults, the poor, and the less educated) to improve their health knowledge and health behaviors.

scholarly journals The Association of Workplace Health Education on Smoking-Related Behaviour and Unequal Gains by Job Position in China: ABWMC Programme Findings

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoxiang Lin ◽  
Meijun Chen ◽  
Yunting Zheng ◽  
Qingping Yun ◽  
Chun Chang
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Spillover Effects ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Job Position

Abstract BackgroundAlthough the Chinese government has introduced a series of regulations to promote tobacco-related health education in workplaces, the implementation has been far from satisfactory. The aim of the present study was to explore the association of company level tobacco-related health education and employee’s smoking behavior.MethodsData from the 2018 Asia Best Workplace Mainland China programme were employed to address these aims. This was a cross-sectional study that included 14195 employees from 79 companies in mainland China. Spearman correlation tests were used to examine unadjusted correlation between the study variables, and binary logistic regression was used for multivariable analysis. The dependent variables included the smoking-related variables or health information-seeking behaviour. The explanatory variable is the company level tobacco-related health education.ResultsTobacco-related health education was associated with better smoking harm awareness, lower second-hand smoke exposure, better perceived workplace environment and positive health information-seeking behaviour. Job position interacted with health education, suggesting that positive association of health education were smaller for general employees than employees who held an administrative position.ConclusionsWe conclude that workplace tobacco-related health education was not only associated with tobacco control effects but also had spillover effects, which were significant for higher-ranking employees. Policy makers should recognize and reduce the potential health disparities.

Predicting Behaviors to Reduce Toxic Chemical Exposures Among New and Expectant Mothers

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 705-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Mello ◽  
Shelly R. Hovick
Keyword(s):  
Information Seeking ◽  
Perceived Risk ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Environmental Toxins ◽  
Integrative Model ◽  
Equation Modeling ◽  
Childhood Exposure ◽  
Normative Pressure ◽  
Adverse Health Outcomes ◽  
Primary Determinant

There is a growing body of evidence linking childhood exposure to environmental toxins and a range of adverse health outcomes, including preterm birth, cognitive deficits, and cancer. Little is known, however, about what drives mothers to engage in health behaviors to reduce such risks. Guided by the integrative model of behavioral prediction, this study surveyed women who were pregnant and/or had children younger than 7 years ( N = 819) to identify the factors that determine engagement in behaviors to reduce childhood exposure to toxic chemicals in the environment. Structural equation modeling pertaining to three different environmental toxins—bisphenol A, arsenic, and pesticides—demonstrated that perceived normative pressure was the primary determinant of behavior across all three models. Additionally, we identified two key distal variables—perceived risk and information seeking—that not only increased the model’s predictive power but also consistently and positively predicted perceived social norms regarding exposure reduction behaviors. Findings also suggest important differences across these behaviors. Implications for health communication researchers and practitioners developing interventions, communication campaigns, and persuasive messages to promote prenatal and pediatric environmental health are discussed.

scholarly journals The association of workplace health education with smoking-related behaviour and unequal gains by job position in China: ABWMC programme findings

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Haoxiang Lin ◽  
Meijun Chen ◽  
Yunting Zheng ◽  
Qingping Yun ◽  
Chun Chang
Keyword(s):  
Health Education ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Mainland China ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Environmental Perceptions ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviour ◽  
Job Position

Abstract Background Although the Chinese government has introduced a series of regulations to promote tobacco-related health education in workplaces, their implementation has been far from satisfactory. The aim of the present study was to explore the association of company-level tobacco-related health education and employee smoking behaviour. Methods Data from the 2018 Asia Best Workplace Mainland China programme were used to address these aims. This was a cross-sectional study that included 14,195 employees from 79 companies in mainland China. Spearman correlation tests were used to examine unadjusted correlations between the study variables, and binary logistic regression was used for multivariable analysis. The dependent variables included smoking-related variables or health information-seeking behaviour. The explanatory variable was the company-level tobacco-related health education. Results Tobacco-related health education was associated with better smoking harm awareness (OR = 2.23; 95% CI = 1.94–2.56), lower second-hand smoke exposure (OR = 0.73; 95% CI = 0.66–0.81), better perception of the workplace environment (OR = 2.04; 95% CI = 1.84–2.26) and positive health information-seeking behaviour (OR = 2.07; 95% CI = 1.86–2.30). Job position interacted with health education, suggesting that the positive association of health education was lower for general employees than employees who held an administrative position. Conclusions Tobacco-related health education is not only associated with lower SHS exposure but also related to more positive environmental perceptions and health attitudes, and these effects are significant for higher-ranking employees. Policy makers should recognize and reduce these potential health disparities.

Older adults and internet health information seeking

2005 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamer El-Attar ◽  
Jarvis Gray ◽  
Sankaran N. Nair ◽  
Raymond Ownby ◽  
Sara J. Czaja
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Internet Health Information
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