Understanding health empowerment in the context of online information seeking: the perspective of information processing (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fei Jiang ◽  
Yongmei Liu ◽  
Junhua Hu ◽  
Xiaohong Chen
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Source Credibility ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Argument Quality ◽  
Health Empowerment ◽  
Low Health Literacy ◽  
High Health Literacy

BACKGROUND Massive, easily accessible online health information empowers users to better cope with health problems. Most patients search for relevant online health information before seeing a doctor to alleviate information asymmetry. However, the mechanism of how online health information affects health empowerment is still unclear. OBJECTIVE To study how online health information processing affects health empowerment. METHODS A cross-sectional study included 343 samples who had searched online health information before the consultation. Respondents' perceptions of online information cues, benefits, health literacy, and health empowerment were assessed. RESULTS Argument quality and source credibility have significant and positive effects on perceived information benefits, but only argument quality has a significant effect on perceived decision-making benefits. Two types of perceived benefits in turn affect health empowerment. The effects of argument quality on perceived informational benefits and perceived decision-making benefits on health empowerment are significantly stronger for the high health literacy group than the low health literacy group (t = 7.156, p < 0.001; t = 23.240, p < 0.001). While, the effects of source credibility on perceived informational benefits and perceived informational benefits on health empowerment are significantly weaker for the high health literacy group than the low health literacy group (t = -10.497, p < 0.001; t = -6.344, p < 0.001). The effect of argument quality on perceived informational benefits shows no significant difference between high and low health literacy groups. CONCLUSIONS This study found that two information processing routes have significant effects on perceived benefits and health empowerment, the health empowerment processes of high and low health literacy groups are different.

scholarly journals Low-Level Evidence Suggests that Perceived Ability to Evaluate and Trust Online Health Information is Associated with Low Health Literacy

2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 183
Author(s):  
Lindsay Alcock
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Evaluation Criteria ◽  
Positive Association ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Low Level ◽  
Evaluative Criteria ◽  
Low Health Literacy ◽  
The Impact

Objective – To review, based on research evidence, the correlation between low health literacy and four outcomes of interest: (1) the ability to evaluate online health information based on (2) perceived reliability and accuracy, (3) trust in the Internet as an information source, and (4) the application of established evaluation criteria. Design – Systematic review and narrative synthesis. Setting –MEDLINE, PsycInfo, Web of Science, CINAHL, and Communication and Mass-media Complete as well as articles discovered through the snowball method. Subjects – 38 studies identified through a systematic literature search. Methods – An exhaustive list of potential articles was gathered through searching five online databases and Google Scholar, and hand searching of references. Inclusion and exclusion criteria were applied in a two-phase screening process in which two researchers participated to address reliability. Data, including study characteristics and metadata, predictors, assessment methods, and outcomes, were extracted from relevant studies, and then synthesized narratively. Main Results – Following duplication removal 13,632 records were retrieved, 254 of which were identified for full-text assessment. Thirty-eight studies met the eligibility criteria. All studies were non-experimental and therefore graded as a low level of evidence; 35 were cross-sectional designs, 1 a focus group, and 2 were observational studies. Studies varied widely in population definition and sample size and were published between 2001 and 2013, primarily in North America. Overall, a positive association was identified between health literacy and outcomes related to the ability to evaluate or trust Internet health information, while findings were inconsistent related to perceived quality of information and the application of evaluative criteria. Four studies examined the impact of health literacy levels on one or more of the outcomes of interest. The most prevalent outcome measure studied was trust in online health information, and the least prevalent was the use of evaluative criteria. The ability to trust online health information was assessed primarily through self-reporting, half of which utilized the eHealth Literacy scale, the majority of which indicated a positive correlation between education level or low health literacy and the perceived or actual ability to evaluate online health information. No studies on perceived information quality were found to utilize health literacy as an indicator. A positive association between educational level and trust in health information on the Internet was reported in ten studies, while two articles noted a similar correlation based on proxies for health literacy, including English language proficiency and comprehension comfort. In terms of the use of evaluation criteria, only one study focused on health literacy, indicating that those with low health literacy evaluate online health information based on search result placement, celebrity endorsement, image quality, and site authorship, and that they trust university researchers more than government or religious authorities to provide health information. No association was shown between readability or physician-provided online information and evaluation criteria while one study demonstrated that study participants with higher education tended to check author credentials more often when evaluating a website. Conclusion – Effective and informed evaluation of online health information is impacted by low health literacy.

scholarly journals Health Literacy and Online Health Information Processing: Unraveling the Underlying Mechanisms

2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (sup2) ◽  
pp. 109-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Corine S. Meppelink ◽  
Edith G. Smit ◽  
Nicola Diviani ◽  
Julia C. M. Van Weert
Keyword(s):  
Information Processing ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms

scholarly journals Perceived Efficiency Outcomes, Sources and Awareness of Online Health Information among the Elderly during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8121
Author(s):  
Gizell Green ◽  
Riki Tesler ◽  
Cochava Sharon
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Health Information ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Safety Skills ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Information Efficiency ◽  
Online Sources

The Internet and social media are crucial platforms for health information. Factors such as the efficiency of online health information, the outcomes of seeking online health information and the awareness of reliable sources have become increasingly important for the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine differences between elderly individuals’ income above and below the average monthly wage in relation to their online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; to evaluate types of online information sources with online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; and to explore online health information efficiency as a mediator between health status and awareness of online sources. A cross-sectional study design was conducted with 336 elderly participants age 65 or older. The participants volunteered to complete a questionnaire. No differences were found between the two groups regarding efficiency in retrieving health information from official online health sites and Google. Perceived efficiency mediated health status and awareness of online sources. In these challenging times, it is important to provide a tailor-made education strategy plan for reliable sources of online health information for the elderly, in order to enhance their technology safety skills. It is also important to explore other mediating variables between health status and awareness of online sources.

A Tool for Quantifying the Quality of Online Health Information on Student Health Center Websites (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anagha Kulkarni ◽  
Mike Wong ◽  
Tejasvi Belsare ◽  
Risha Shah ◽  
Diana Yu Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Center ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Student Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Student Health Center

BACKGROUND The Internet has become a major source of health information especially for adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, inaccurate, incomplete or outdated health information is widespread online. Often adolescents and young adults turn to authoritative websites such as the student health center (SHC) website of the university they are attending to obtain reliable health information. Although most on-campus SHC clinics comply with the American College Health Association (ACHA) standards, their websites are not subject to any standards or code of conduct. In the absence of quality standards or guidelines, the monitoring and compliance processes do not exist for SHC websites either. As such, there is no oversight on the health information published on the SHC websites by any central governing body. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to enable researchers to monitor online information quality at scale. We have created a tool that can efficiently quantify the quality of information posted on SHC websites about a health topic. Specifically, this quantitative tool provides information on quality, such as reading ease, coverage of the topic, and the degree of fact-based objective information. METHODS Our cross-functional team has designed and developed an open-source software, QMOHI: Quantitative Measures of Online Health Information, using the Agile software development methodology. The QMOHI tool finds the SHC website and gathers information on the specific health topic of interest from a prespecified list of university websites. Based on the retrieved text, the tool computes eight different quality metrics. The QMOHI tool is a fully automated tool that is designed to be scalable, generalizable, and robust. RESULTS The first empirical evaluation shows that the QMOHI tool is highly scalable and substantially more efficient than the manual approach of assessing online information quality. The second experimental results demonstrate QMOHI’s ability to work effectively with starkly different health topics (COVID, Cancer, LARC, and Condom) and with narrowly focused topics (hormonal IUD and copper IUD); thereby establishing the generalizability and versatility of the tool. The results from the last experiment demonstrate that QMOHI is not vulnerable to typical structural changes that SHC websites may undergo (e.g. URL changes) over a long period of time. QMOHI is able to support longitudinal studies by being robust to such website changes. CONCLUSIONS QMOHI allows public health researchers and practitioners to conduct large-scale studies of SHC websites that were previously too time intensive. The capability to generalize broadly or focus narrowly allows for wide applications of QMOHI, equipping researchers to study both mainstream and underexplored health topics. QMOHI’s ability to robustly analyze SHC websites periodically facilitates longitudinal investigations and monitor SHC progress. QMOHI serves as a launching pad for our future work that aims to develop a broadly applicable public health tool for online health information studies with potential applications far beyond SHC websites.

scholarly journals Protocol paper for the ‘Harnessing resources from the internet to maximise outcomes from GP consultations (HaRI)’ study: a mixed qualitative methods study

BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. e024188
Author(s):  
Maureen Seguin ◽  
Laura Hall ◽  
Helen Atherton ◽  
Rebecca Barnes ◽  
Geraldine Leydon ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Current Evidence ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Patient Questionnaires ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Use Of The Internet ◽  
Questionnaire Studies

IntroductionMany patients now turn to the internet as a resource for healthcare information and advice. However, patients’ use of the internet to manage their health has been positioned as a potential source of strain on the doctor–patient relationship in primary care. The current evidence about what happens when internet-derived health information is introduced during consultations has relied on qualitative data derived from interview or questionnaire studies. The ‘Harnessing resources from the internet to maximise outcomes from GP consultations (HaRI)’ study combines questionnaire, interview and video-recorded consultation data to address this issue more fully.Methods and analysisThree data collection methods are employed: preconsultation patient questionnaires, video-recorded consultations between general practitioners (GP) and patients, and semistructured interviews with GPs and patients. We seek to recruit 10 GPs practising in Southeast England. We aim to collect up to 30 patient questionnaires and video-recorded consultations per GP, yielding up to 300. Up to 30 patients (approximately three per participating GP) will be selected for interviews sampled for a wide range of sociodemographic characteristics, and a variety of ways the use of, or information from, the internet was present or absent during their consultation. We will interview all 10 participating GPs about their views of online health information, reflecting on their own usage of online information during consultations and their patients’ references to online health information. Descriptive, conversation and thematic analysis will be used respectively for the patient questionnaires, video-recorded consultations and interviews.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been granted by the London–Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee. Alongside journal publications, dissemination activities include the creation of a toolkit to be shared with patients and doctors, to guide discussions of material from the internet in consultations.

scholarly journals The Online Health Information Needs of Family Physicians: Systematic Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Studies (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piet van der Keylen ◽  
Johanna Tomandl ◽  
Katharina Wollmann ◽  
Ralph Möhler ◽  
Mario Sofroniou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Full Text ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Family Physicians ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Qualitative And Quantitative ◽  
Quantitative Studies

BACKGROUND Digitalization and the increasing availability of online information have changed the way in which information is searched for and retrieved by the public and by health professionals. The technical developments in the last two decades have transformed the methods of information retrieval. Although systematic evidence exists on the general information needs of specialists, and in particular, family physicians (FPs), there have been no recent systematic reviews to specifically address the needs of FPs and any barriers that may exist to accessing online health information. OBJECTIVE This review aims to provide an up-to-date perspective on the needs of FPs in searching, retrieving, and using online information. METHODS This systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies searched a multitude of databases spanning the years 2000 to 2020 (search date January 2020). Studies that analyzed the online information needs of FPs, any barriers to the accessibility of information, and their information-seeking behaviors were included. Two researchers independently scrutinized titles and abstracts, analyzing full-text papers for their eligibility, the studies therein, and the data obtained from them. RESULTS The initial search yielded 4541 studies for initial title and abstract screening. Of the 144 studies that were found to be eligible for full-text screening, 41 were finally included. A total of 20 themes were developed and summarized into 5 main categories: <i>individual needs</i> of FPs before the search; <i>access needs</i>, including factors that would facilitate or hinder information retrieval; <i>quality needs</i> of the information to hand; <i>utilization needs</i> of the information available; and <i>implication needs</i> for everyday practice. CONCLUSIONS This review suggests that searching, accessing, and using online information, as well as any pre-existing needs, barriers, or demands, should not be perceived as separate entities but rather be regarded as a sequential process. Apart from accessing information and evaluating its quality, FPs expressed concerns regarding the applicability of this information to their everyday practice and its subsequent relevance to patient care. Future online information resources should cater to the needs of the primary care setting and seek to address the way in which such resources may be adapted to these specific requirements.

Patients’ Experiences of Diabetes Self-Management Education According to Health-Literacy Levels

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 285-292 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suhyun Kim ◽  
Yeoungsuk Song ◽  
Jihyun Park ◽  
Sonja Utz
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Diabetes Management ◽  
Management Education ◽  
University Hospital ◽  
Self Management ◽  
Lifestyle Modifications ◽  
Low Health Literacy ◽  
Patients With Diabetes ◽  
Conventional Content Analysis ◽  
High Health Literacy

Diabetes self-management is an important part of patient care for those with diabetes. The purpose of this study was to explore patients’ experiences with diabetes self-management education and how these experiences differed by health-literacy levels. A descriptive qualitative design was conducted. In 2016, 20 patients with diabetes who took a formal diabetes self-management course at a university hospital in South Korea were interviewed. A conventional content analysis was conducted. Patients with low health-literacy misunderstood diabetes management, showed passive attitudes towards seeking information, and had difficulty obtaining detailed information. Patients with high health-literacy wanted systematic, in-depth, individualized counselling on lifestyle modifications and medications. Patients’ experiences with diabetes self-management education revealed differences in their health-literacy dimensions. In addition to practising health-literacy precautions, the content and delivery of diabetes self-management education need to be accommodated according to patients’ health-literacy levels to obtain better outcomes.

Improving health information to address low health literacy for patients with multimorbidity

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 481
Author(s):  
Rebecca L. Jessup ◽  
Polina Putrik ◽  
Alison Beauchamp
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Letter To The Editor ◽  
Low Health Literacy

A letter to the editor in response to the recently published article by Hill and Sofra (AHR, vol. 42, no. 2, pp. 134–9) on improving health information.

scholarly journals Utility of medicines information leaflets in hypertensive care in a setting with low health literacy: A cross-sectional study

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. 239920262091003
Author(s):  
Mtungwazi Kudzinesta ◽  
Mwangana Mubita ◽  
Francis Kalemeera ◽  
Brian Godman ◽  
Ester Hango ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Medication Adherence ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Short Form ◽  
Literacy Skills ◽  
Public Health Care ◽  
Hypertensive Patients ◽  
Information Leaflets ◽  
Medicines Information ◽  
Low Health Literacy

Introduction: Higher levels of health literacy improve utilization of health information, medication adherence and outcomes. Few studies evaluate the utility of medicines information in hypertensive care in settings with low health literacy. Aim: To determine the level of health literacy and utility of medicines information leaflets (MILs) among hypertensive patients in public health care in Namibia. Methods: A hospital-based survey among hypertensive patients receiving care at a referral hospital in Namibia from the 8 June 2018 to 29 June 2018. Patient’s health literacy and utility of MIL were assessed using three literacy tools and a survey questionnaire. Quantitative data were analysed using descriptive statistics and qualitative thematic content analysis for factors associate with the utility of the MIL. Results: Of the 139 patients, 63% were female and the mean age was 45.7 (range: 19.0–84.0) years. Over 85.6% had of low literacy skills (Rapid Estimate of Literacy in Medicine (REALM) score <44, that is, unable to read simple health materials), 38.8% had positive Single Item Literacy Screener (SILS) scores (⩾2, require help to read medicines information) and 66.9% had inadequate skills for comprehension, appraisal and decision-making with regard to health information (Health Literacy Skills Instrument-Short Form (HLSI-SF) score <70%). The level of access to and utility of MIL were low, 32.4% and 34.6%, respectively. The main factors associated with poor utility of the MIL were low patient health literacy, lack of guidelines on the use of MIL and MIL written in non-native languages. Conclusion: Low rates of health literacy and utility of MIL were observed among hypertensive patients in Namibia. The integration of health literacy programmes, and MIL guidelines are needed to promote utility of medicine information and improve medication adherence.

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