Lay interpersonal sources for health information related to beliefs about the modifiability of cancer risk

Predicting and Empowering Health for Generation Z by Comparing Health Information Seeking and Digital Health Literacy: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

BACKGROUND

Generation Z (born 1995-2010) members are digital residents who use technology and the internet more frequently than any previous generation to learn about their health. They are increasingly moving away from conventional methods of seeking health information as technology advances quickly and becomes more widely available, resulting in a more digitalized health care system. Similar to all groups, Generation Z has specific health care requirements and preferences, and their use of technology influences how they look for health information. However, they have often been overlooked in scholarly research.

OBJECTIVE

First, we aimed to identify the information-seeking preferences of older individuals and Generation Z (those between the ages of 18 and 26 years); second, we aimed to predict the effects of digital health literacy and health empowerment in both groups. We also aimed to identify factors that impact how both groups engage in digital health and remain in control of their own health.

METHODS

The Health Information National Trends Survey was adopted for further use in 2022. We analyzed 1862 valid data points by conducting a survey among Chinese respondents to address the research gap. A descriptive analysis, 2-tailed t test, and multiple linear regression were applied to the results.

RESULTS

When compared with previous generations, Generation Z respondents (995/1862, 53.44%) were more likely to use the internet to find out about health-related topics, whereas earlier generations relied more on traditional media and interpersonal contact. Web-based information-seeking behavior is predicted by digital health literacy (Generation Z: β=.192, P<.001; older population: β=.337, P<.001). While this was happening, only seeking health information from physicians positively predicted health empowerment (Generation Z: β=.070, P=.002; older population: β=.089, P<.001). Despite more frequent use of the internet to learn about their health, Generation Z showed lower levels of health empowerment and less desire to look for health information, overall.

CONCLUSIONS

This study examined and compared the health information-seeking behaviors of Generation Z and older individuals to improve their digital health literacy and health empowerment. The 2 groups demonstrated distinct preferences regarding their choice of information sources. Health empowerment and digital health literacy were both significantly related to information-seeking behaviors.

The preferred IT sources and tools of Iranian people for accessing health information

INTRODUCTION

People need health information to maintain their health. Despite the variety of sources and tools for providing health information, there is little evidence about Iranian people's preferences in using these sources and tools. The objective of this study was to identify the preferred health information sources, tools, and methods for presenting health information in these tools.

METHODS

This national survey was conducted among a sample of 4000 Iranian people between April and September 2021. The data was collected using a valid and reliable questionnaire (α = 0.86) consisting of four sections: participants' demographic information, current sources of obtaining health information, preferred information technology (IT) tools for accessing health information, and the method of presenting this information. Linear regression was used to investigate the relationship between demographic factors and other questions.

RESULTS

The participants received health information mostly from the "Internet" (3.62), "family or friends" (3.43), "social networks" (3.41), "specific websites" (3.41), and "mobile apps" (3.27). "Social networks" (3.67), Internet "websites" (3.56), and "mobile apps" (3.50) were the most suitable tools for receiving health information. The participants preferred the presentation of health information in the form of "Images" (3.85), "educational videos" (3.69), and "texts" (3.53). Age, education, and marital status had a significant relationship with most of the preferred information sources, tools, and information presentation methods (p < 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The results of this study showed that Iranian people are more active information seekers than passive ones compared to a decade ago. The preferred sources and tools identified in this research can be used by healthcare planners and policy-makers in Iran and other developing countries to design and develop IT interventions that meet people's needs. Improving access to the Internet, social networks, and mobile apps and providing health information via images, educational videos, and texts on these platforms enhance access to the information people need.

Social Media Communication about HPV Vaccine in China: A Study Using Topic Modeling and Survey

The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is relatively novel to people in China. Social media is becoming an important channel for learning new health information. However, limited is known about what HPV vaccine information has been disseminated on social media, and how such online information is associated with health-related behaviors in China. Based on Longo et al.'s model of patient use of healthcare information for healthcare decision, and Longo's model of health information seeking behaviors, this study examined HPV vaccine-related information type and information acquisition pattern. Following the mixed-methods approach, we first crawled 67,773 postings about HPV vaccine on Weibo, the largest microblogging website in China, and performed topic modeling to identify HPV vaccine-related topics that are prevalent on Weibo. The results showed six major topics about HPV vaccine, namely policy, guidance information, advertising, scandals, personal experience sharing, and HPV risks. Second, we conducted an online survey (n = 1,982) to investigate how scanning, seeking, and discussing the six HPV vaccine topics identified from big data analytics can affect HPV vaccine knowledge, safety concern, and vaccination intention. We documented significant impacts of social media health communication on users' health knowledge, attitude and behavioral intention.

Health Information Sourcing and Health Knowledge Quality: Repeated Cross-sectional Survey

Background

People’s health-related knowledge influences health outcomes, as this knowledge may influence whether individuals follow advice from their doctors or public health agencies. Yet, little attention has been paid to where people obtain health information and how these information sources relate to the quality of knowledge.

Objective

We aim to discover what information sources people use to learn about health conditions, how these sources relate to the quality of their health knowledge, and how both the number of information sources and health knowledge change over time.

Methods

We surveyed 200 different individuals at 12 time points from March through September 2020. At each time point, we elicited participants’ knowledge about causes, risk factors, and preventative interventions for 8 viral (Ebola, common cold, COVID-19, Zika) and nonviral (food allergies, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [ALS], strep throat, stroke) illnesses. Participants were further asked how they learned about each illness and to rate how much they trust various sources of health information.

Results

We found that participants used different information sources to obtain health information about common illnesses (food allergies, strep throat, stroke) compared to emerging illnesses (Ebola, common cold, COVID-19, Zika). Participants relied mainly on news media, government agencies, and social media for information about emerging illnesses, while learning about common illnesses from family, friends, and medical professionals. Participants relied on social media for information about COVID-19, with their knowledge accuracy of COVID-19 declining over the course of the pandemic. The number of information sources participants used was positively correlated with health knowledge quality, though there was no relationship with the specific source types consulted.

Conclusions

Building on prior work on health information seeking and factors affecting health knowledge, we now find that people systematically consult different types of information sources by illness type and that the number of information sources people use affects the quality of individuals’ health knowledge. Interventions to disseminate health information may need to be targeted to where individuals are likely to seek out information, and these information sources differ systematically by illness type.

Associations Between COVID-19 Information Acquisition and Vaccination Intention: The Roles of Anticipated Regret and Collective Responsibility

While public health communication has been suggested to be a key for improving acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination, this study tested mediation pathways through which three types of vaccine information acquisition, i.e. seeking, scanning, and discussing, affect COVID-19 vaccination intention. The pathways comprise two mediators, i.e. anticipated regret due to inaction and collective responsibility. Results suggest that information seeking and discussing may have encouraged the intention to get vaccinated, but mainly indirectly through the two mediators. Information seeking and discussing may have elicited anticipated regret and collective responsibility, which in turn increased vaccination intention. The paths from information scanning were smaller in effect sizes and statistically unacknowledged. Implications and limitations are discussed.

Patient-Centered Communication Mediates the Relationship between Health Information Acquisition and Patient Trust in Physicians: A Five-Year Comparison in China

Public trust in medical profession has declined in the past decades. The deluge of health information available in various sources may be one contributing factor. However, how the health information acquisition influences patient trust remains unclear. With a general basis of Longo's Health Information Model, we proposed and tested mediation pathways linking three types of health information acquisition behaviors (scanning, seeking, and discussing) to patient trust in physicians, mediated by patient-centered communication. By using two iterations of probability sample surveys conducted in 2012 (N = 2568) and 2017 (N = 3090), respectively, in China, this study found that from 2012 to 2017, health information scanning declined. Specifically, the scanning via traditional media (e.g., newspaper, tv) decreased, but increased in the new media (e.g., Web). Besides, both health information seeking and discussing slumped. Among the three dimensions of health information acquisition, health information scanning and discussing exerted direct effects on patient trust. However, patient-centered communication was found to be mediated the relationships between all three types of health information acquisition and patient trust in physicians over time.

Cancer-Related Information Seeking and Scanning Behaviors among Older Chinese Adults: Examining the Roles of Fatalistic Beliefs and Fear

Effective communication in health information plays an important role in health promotion and cancer prevention. Cancer-related information acquisition can happen via active and purposeful seeking, but may also happen less purposely via the routine use of media and interactions with other people (called scanning). We examined seeking and scanning behaviors regarding cancer prevention in older Chinese adults, identified commonly used sources of information of such behaviors, and examined their associations with fatalistic beliefs and cancer fear. A convenience sample of 224 community-dwelling adults aged ≥60 were recruited between May and July in 2013 in Hong Kong. Results suggested that cancer information scanning (79.5%) was more common than information seeking (30.4%) among our participants. Health professional was the most popular source for both scanning (78.7%) and seeking (58.8%) behaviors regarding cancer information. Fatalistic beliefs was significantly and negatively associated with seeking behaviors (OR = 0.50) but not scanning behaviors, and cancer fear showed no relationship with either behavior. This study shows that the cancer information seeking and scanning behaviors were still suboptimal in this age group and adds to the knowledge regarding the associations between fatalistic beliefs and fear with cancer information seeking and scanning behaviors among older Chinese adults.

What is a good medical decision? A research agenda guided by perspectives from multiple stakeholders

Informed and shared decision making are critical aspects of patient-centered care, which has contributed to an emphasis on decision support interventions to promote good medical decision making. However, researchers and healthcare providers have not reached a consensus on what defines a good decision, nor how to evaluate it. This position paper, informed by conference sessions featuring diverse stakeholders held at the 2015 Society of Behavioral Medicine and Society for Medical Decision Making annual meetings, describes key concepts that influence the decision making process itself and that may change what it means to make a good decision: interpersonal factors, structural constraints, affective influences, and values clarification methods. This paper also proposes specific research questions within each of these priority areas, with the goal of moving medical decision making research to a more comprehensive definition of a good medical decision, and enhancing the ability to measure and improve the decision making process.

What women think: cancer causal attributions in a diverse sample of women

Women hold diverse beliefs about cancer etiology, potentially affecting their use of cancer preventive behaviors. Research has primarily focused on cancer causal attributions survivors and participants from non-diverse backgrounds hold. Less is known about attributions held by women with and without a family history of cancer from a diverse community sample. Participants reported factors they believed cause cancer. Open-ended responses were coded and relations between the top causal attributions and key factors were explored. Findings suggest certain socio-cultural factors play a role in the causal attributions women make about cancer, which can, in turn, inform cancer awareness and prevention messages.

Sources of strength-training information and strength-training behavior among Japanese older adults

The promotion of strength training is now recognized as an important component of public health initiatives for older adults. To develop successful communication strategies to increase strength-training behavior among older adults, the identification of effective communication channels to reach older adults is necessary. This study aimed to identify the information sources about strength training that were associated with strength-training behaviors among Japanese older adults. The participants were 1144 adults (60-74 years old) randomly sampled from the registry of residential addresses. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was conducted. The independent variables were sources of strength-training information (healthcare providers, friends, families, radio, television, newspapers, newsletters, posters, books, magazines, booklets, the Internet, lectures, other sources), and the dependent variable was regular strength-training behavior. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify potential relationships. After adjusting for demographic factors and all other information sources, strength-training information from healthcare providers, friends, books and the Internet were positively related to regular strength-training behavior. The findings of the present study contribute to a better understanding of strength-training behavior and the means of successful communication directed at increasing strength training among older adults. The results suggest that healthcare providers, friends, books and the Internet are effective methods of communication for increasing strength-training behaviors among older adults.

Gender differences in health information behaviour: a Finnish population-based survey

Narrowing the gaps in health outcomes, including those between men and women, has been a pronounced goal on the agenda of the Finnish health authorities since the mid-1980s. But still there is a huge gap in favour of women when it comes to life expectancy at birth. People's health information behaviour, that is how people seek, obtain, evaluate, categorize and use relevant health-related information to perform desired health behaviours, is a critical prerequisite to appropriate and consistent performances of these behaviours. With respect to gender, it has been noted that men often are unwilling and lack the motivation to engage with health-related information. The purpose of this study was to investigate how gender affects health information behaviour in the Finnish population aged 18-65 years. The survey data were collected via a questionnaire which was posted to a representative cross section consisting of 1500 Finnish citizens. The statistical analysis consists of ANOVA F-tests and Fisher's exact tests. The results show that women were more interested in and reported much more active seeking of health-related information, paid more attention to potential worldwide pandemics and were much more attentive as to how the goods they purchase in everyday life affect their health than men did. Women also reported receiving far more informal health-related information from close family members, other kin and friends/workmates than men did. Thus, to succeed in public health promotion and interventions the measures taken should be much more sensitive to the gender gap in health information behaviour.

Understanding how mothers of adolescent girls obtain information about the human papillomavirus vaccine: associations between mothers' health beliefs, information seeking, and vaccination intentions in an ethnically diverse sample

We examined factors associated with information seeking about the human papillomavirus vaccine among mothers of adolescent girls by testing whether information seeking and vaccination intentions for their daughters are associated with perceived vulnerability, severity, and vaccine benefits in an ethnically diverse sample. Mothers (N = 256) of unvaccinated girls living in Dallas, Texas, were surveyed (49% Black, 29% Hispanic, and 18% White). Perceived vulnerability to human papillomavirus was associated with talking with others (odds ratio = 1.71, 95% confidence interval = 1.09, 2.66) and talking with a doctor about the vaccine (odds ratio = 1.42, 95% confidence interval = 1.01, 1.99), and perceived vaccine benefits were associated with vaccination intentions (odds ratio = 2.96, 95% confidence interval = 1.98, 4.42), but the perceived severity was not associated with any dependent measure. Beliefs about human papillomavirus risk are associated with seeking information from a doctor and interpersonal sources, but ethnic minorities are less likely to talk with others about the vaccine.

Preferred sources of health information in persons with multiple sclerosis: degree of trust and information sought

Background

Effective health communication is important for informed decision-making, yet little is known about the range of information sources used by persons with multiple sclerosis (MS), the perceived trust in those information sources, or how this might vary according to patient characteristics.

Objective

We aimed to investigate the sources of health information used by persons with MS, their preferences for the source of health information, and levels of trust in those information sources. We also aimed to evaluate how these findings varied according to participant characteristics.

Methods

In 2011, participants in the North American Research Committee on Multiple Sclerosis (NARCOMS) Registry were asked about their sources of health information using selected questions adapted from the 2007 Health Information National Trends (HINTS) survey.

Results

Of 12,974 eligible participants, 66.18% (8586/12,974) completed the questionnaire. Mass media sources, rather than interpersonal information sources, were the first sources used by 83.22% (5953/7153) of participants for general health topics and by 68.31% (5026/7357) of participants for MS concerns. Specifically, the Internet was the first source of health information for general health issues (5332/7267, 73.40%) and MS (4369/7376, 59.23%). In a logistic regression model, younger age, less disability, and higher annual income were independently associated with increased odds of use of mass media rather than interpersonal sources of information first. The most trusted information source was a physician, with 97.94% (8318/8493) reporting that they trusted a physician some or a lot. Information sought included treatment for MS (4470/5663, 78.93%), general information about MS (3378/5405, 62.50%), paying for medical care (1096/4282, 25.59%), where to get medical care (787/4282, 18.38%), and supports for coping with MS (2775/5031, 55.16%). Nearly 40% (2998/7521) of participants had concerns about the quality of the information they gathered.

Conclusions

Although physicians remain the most trusted source of health information for people with MS, the Internet is the first source of health information for most of them. This has important implications for the dissemination of health information.

Benefits, barriers, sources of influence, and prostate cancer screening among rural men

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to explore 3 research questions: (1) What are the perceived benefits of screening for prostate cancer (PC)? (2) What are the perceived barriers to screening for PC? and (3) Is there an association with perceived benefits or perceived barriers and participants' reported source of influence related to prostate cancer screening (PCS) decisions?

DESIGN AND SAMPLE

A nonexperimental exploratory design was used for the study. Sample included 94 rural-dwelling male participants aged 40 and older.

MEASURES

The instruments used included an adapted version of Champion's (1999) revised Health Belief Model scale and a researcher-developed demographic and PCS patterns form.

RESULTS

Both benefits and barriers were significantly associated with PCS and sources of influence. Health care providers and family were highly reported, at 81.8% and 59.5%, respectively, as sources of influence regarding PCS decisions.

CONCLUSIONS

In this primarily African American sample, significant barriers to PCS among rural men were indentifed. PC health education may need to include family, whom study participants highly reported as a source of influence regarding their PCS decisions.

Sources of health information related to preventive health behaviors in a national study

BACKGROUND

Current literature suggests that certain sources of information are used in varying degrees among different socioeconomic and demographic groups; therefore, it is important to determine if specific classes of health information sources are more effective than others in promoting health behaviors.

PURPOSE

This study aims to determine if interpersonal versus mass media sources of health information are associated with meeting recommendations for health behaviors (nonsmoking, fruit/vegetable intake, and exercise) and cancer screening.

METHODS

Multivariable logistic regression models were used to examine the relationship of health information sources (mass media sources including print, TV, Internet; and interpersonal sources including friends and family, community organizations, and healthcare providers) with meeting recommendations for healthy behaviors and cancer screening in the 2005 and 2007 Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS). Analyses were conducted in 2009.

RESULTS

In the 2005 HINTS, participants reporting use of print media and community organizations as sources of health information over the past year were mostly likely to meet recommendations for health behaviors. In the 2007 HINTS, utilization of healthcare providers for health information was associated with meeting recommendations for health behaviors, particularly cancer screening.

CONCLUSIONS

Use of print media and interpersonal sources of health information are most consistently associated with self-reported health behaviors. Additional research should explore the relationship of health information sources to clinical outcomes. Social network interventions to promote adoption of health behaviors should be further developed.