Undergraduate Students’ Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic

As the COVID-19 pandemic has swept across the world, the amount of health-related information available has skyrocketed. Individuals can easily access health information through the internet, which may influence their thoughts or behavior, causing potential technological risks that may affect their lives. This study examined the online health information-seeking behavior of undergraduate students. Taking health issues as a guiding framework, content analysis was adopted to assess participants’ online health information-seeking behavior using a computer screen recording software, and coding analysis was conducted. The study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic with a formal sample of 101 participants. In terms of online health information-seeking behavior, 59% of the study participants used nouns as keywords, only 27% used Boolean logic retrieval techniques, 81% paid attention to the date of the data, and 85% did not consider the author’s professionalism. The results indicate that health information-seeking behavior and outcome judgments may be a missing piece of the puzzle in higher education. Consequently, the development of online health information-seeking skills through programs for undergraduate students is suggested to ensure that online readers have access to appropriate health information.

Online Health Information Seeking Behavior: A Systematic Review

The last five years have seen a leap in the development of information technology and social media. Seeking health information online has become popular. It has been widely accepted that online health information seeking behavior has a positive impact on health information consumers. Due to its importance, online health information seeking behavior has been investigated from different aspects. However, there is lacking a systematic review that can integrate the findings of the most recent research work in online health information seeking, and provide guidance to governments, health organizations, and social media platforms on how to support and promote this seeking behavior, and improve the services of online health information access and provision. We therefore conduct this systematic review. The Google Scholar database was searched for existing research on online health information seeking behavior between 2016 and 2021 to obtain the most recent findings. Within the 97 papers searched, 20 met our inclusion criteria. Through a systematic review, this paper identifies general behavioral patterns, and influencing factors such as age, gender, income, employment status, literacy (or education) level, country of origin and places of residence, and caregiving role. Facilitators (i.e., the existence of online communities, the privacy feature, real-time interaction, and archived health information format), and barriers (i.e., low health literacy, limited accessibility and information retrieval skills, low reliable, deficient and elusive health information, platform censorship, and lack of misinformation checks) to online health information seeking behavior are also discovered.

The Dispersion of Health Information Seeking Behavior and Health Literacy in a State in the Southern United States: A Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

BACKGROUND Transmission of health information has changed over time from in-person communication to online sources. Patients are able to find, understand, and use their health information without meeting with a healthcare provider and are able to participate more in their healthcare management. In recent years, the Internet has emerged as the primary source of health information, though clinical providers remain the most credible source. Ease of access, anonymity, and busy schedules may be motivating factors to seek health information online. Social media has surfaced as a popular source of health information as it can provide news at a real-time speed. The increase in the breadth and depth of health information online has also led to a plethora of misinformation and individuals are often unable to discern fact from fiction. Competencies in health literacy can help individuals better understand health information and enhance patient decision-making as adequate health literacy is a precursor to positive health information seeking behaviors. Several factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomics are known to moderate the association between health literacy and health information seeking behaviors. OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine the relationship between health literacy and health information seeking behaviors for individuals living in a southern state in the United States considering different demographic factors. METHODS Participants 18 years of age and older were recruited using Qualtrics Research Services and were stratified to match statewide demographic characteristics of race and age. Demographics and frequency and source of health information was collected. The Health Literacy Questionnaire was used to collect self-reported health literacy experiences. SPSSV27 was used for analysis. RESULTS A total of 520 participants met the criteria and completed the survey (mean age 36.3, SD 12.79 years). The Internet was cited as the most used source of health information (mean 2.41, SD 0.93). Females are more likely to seek health information from doctors (r = 0.121, P < .01). Older individuals are less likely to seek health information from the Internet, social media, and friends (r = -.090 to -.225, P < .05) than younger individuals. Cluster analysis demonstrated that individuals with higher levels of health information seeking behaviors are more likely to seek information from multiple sources than those with lower levels of health information seeking behavior (mean range 3.05 – 4.09, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS Age and sex are significantly associated with health information seeking behaviors (HISB). Older adults may benefit from online resources to monitor their health conditions. Higher levels of health literacy are significantly associated with greater HISB. Targeted strategies to improve HISB among individuals with lower levels of health literacy may improve their access, understanding, and use of health information.

Examining the Trends in Online Health Information–Seeking Behavior About Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease in Singapore: Analysis of Data From Google Trends and the Global Burden of Disease Study

Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is the third leading cause of death globally, and timely health care seeking is imperative for its prevention, early detection, and management. While online health information–seeking behavior (OHISB) is increasingly popular due to widespread internet connectivity, little is known about how OHISB for COPD has changed in comparison with the COPD disease burden, particularly at a country-specific level. Objective This study aimed to examine the trends in OHISB for COPD and how that compared with the estimates of COPD disease burden in Singapore, a highly wired country with a steadily increasing COPD disease burden. Methods To examine the trends in OHISB for COPD, we performed Prais-Winsten regression analyses on monthly search volume data for COPD from January 2004 to June 2020 downloaded from Google Trends. We then conducted cross-correlational analyses to examine the relationship between annualized search volume on COPD topics and estimates of COPD morbidity and mortality reported in the Global Burden of Disease study from 2004 to 2017. Results From 2004 to 2020, the trend in COPD search volume was curvilinear (β=1.69, t194=6.64, P<.001), with a slope change around the end of 2006. There was a negative linear trend (β=–0.53, t33=–3.57, P=.001) from 2004 to 2006 and a positive linear trend (β=0.51, t159=7.43, P<.001) from 2007 to 2020. Cross-correlation analyses revealed positive associations between COPD search volume and COPD disease burden indicators: positive correlations between search volume and prevalence, incidence, years living with disability (YLD) at lag 0, and positive correlations between search volume and prevalence, YLD at lag 1. Conclusions Google search volume on COPD increased from 2007 to 2020; this trend correlated with the upward trajectory of several COPD morbidity estimates, suggesting increasing engagement in OHISB for COPD in Singapore. These findings underscore the importance of making high-quality, web-based information accessible to the public, particularly COPD patients and their carers.

Characteristics of the health information seeking behavior of LGBTQ+ individuals: a systematic review on information types, information sources and influencing factors

PurposeLesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ+) individuals' health information seeking is an important topic across multiple disciplines and areas. The aim of this systematic review is to create a holistic view of sexual and gender minority individuals' health information seeking reported in multidisciplinary studies, with regard to the types of health information LGBTQ+ individuals sought and information sources they used, as well as the factors influencing their health information seeking behavior.Design/methodology/approachThe review is based on the literature search in 10 major academic databases. A set of inclusion and exclusion criteria was applied to identify studies that provide evidence on LGBTQ+ individuals' health information seeking behavior. The studies were first screened by title and abstract to determine whether they met the inclusion criteria. The full texts of each relevant study were obtained to confirm whether the exclusion criteria were met. The reference lists of the included studies were manually scanned. The relevant information was then extracted from selected articles and analyzed using thematic content analysis.FindingsA seed set of 3,122 articles published between 1997 and 2020 was evaluated, and 46 total articles were considered for further analysis. The review results show that two major categories of health information sought by LGBTQ+ individuals were sexual and nonsexual, which were further classified into 17 specific types. In terms of health information sources, researchers have reported that online resources, interpersonal sources and traditional media were frequently used. Moreover, 25 factors affecting LGBTQ+ individuals' health information seeking were identified from the literature.Originality/valueThrough evidence-based understanding, this review preliminarily bridged the knowledge gap in understanding the status quo of studies on LGBTQ+ individuals' health information seeking and proposed the potential research directions that information science researchers could contribute to this important area.

Health information-seeking behavior in the time of COVID-19: information horizons methodology to decipher source path during a global pandemic

PurposeTo determine the differences, as represented by information horizons mapping, in the health information-seeking behavior from a group of participants between March 2019 and April 2020 of the novel coronavirus pandemic.Design/methodology/approachIn March 2019, the author conducted a study on health information-seeking behavior in which 149 participants drew information horizons maps in a health-related context. They also took health and information literacy assessments. This exact study was replicated using the same population in April 2020 to determine the differences in what the participants drew on their maps and how these changes interacted with their health and information literacy, their age and their education.FindingsThere is a statistically significant difference in the increased number of sources and the ranked quality of the sources that people used during the pandemic. Participants were much more likely to use credible sources and news sources, especially if they were older, more educated and had higher literacy levels – both health and information. They also relied heavily on social media. The participant group in the pandemic had a much heavier reliance on sources that are often used in a passive encountering way but engaging with them in an active information-seeking manner. The health information-seeking behavior in this study did not adhere to other research that found issue with information overload, avoidance and cyberchondria in response to crisis situations.Originality/valueThis article utilizes information horizons methodology to explore pre- and post-pandemic information-seeking. It is completely unique in this approach.

Predictors of COVID-19 Preventive Perceptions and Behaviors: Two Cross-Sectional Studies of Millennials (Preprint)

BACKGROUND COVID-19 preventive perceptions and behaviors, especially among U.S. Millennials, are an important means by which the pandemic can be slowed and negative health outcomes can be averted. OBJECTIVE This manuscript aims to advance knowledge on COVID-19 preventive perceptions and behaviors and their main predictors, including digital health information seeking behavior (HISB), political party identification, and COVID-19 testing status. METHODS Two cross-sectional online surveys of U.S. Millennials were conducted from April 10-14, 2020 (N=274) and April 27-May 7, 2020 (N=1,037). Regression analyses predicted five dependent variables (i.e., preventive behaviors and perceptions of severity, susceptibility, self-efficacy, and response efficacy), with independent variables including digital HISB for self, digital HISB for another person, political party identification, and COVID-19 testing status. RESULTS Millennials reported lower levels of perceived susceptibility than the other three preventive perceptions (i.e., severity, self-efficacy, response efficacy), as well as fairly high levels of preventive behaviors. Unlike HISB for another person, digital HISB for self was positively associated with the preventive perceptions and behaviors. Respondents who reported being more Republican tended to have lower levels of preventive perceptions, but not lower levels of preventive behaviors. COVID-19 testing status had only two significant effects on the preventive perceptions and behaviors. CONCLUSIONS As the largest and most digitally-savvy generation, Millennials saw COVID-19 as a severe threat, but one that they were less susceptible to. For the Millennial generation, which grew up with the Internet, digital HISB is critical to the development of preventive perceptions and behaviors. These findings have implications for theory, policy, and practical intervention.