Dataset Information

Examining Associations between Health Information Seeking Behavior and Adult Education Status in the U.S.: An Analysis of the 2012 PIAAC Data.

ABSTRACT: This paper presents data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies with a focus on the interrelationships among health information seeking behavior (HISB), and health status or use of preventive health measures for U.S. adults both with and without a high school diploma. Key results of ordinal and binary logistic regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for demographic factors, (1) adults with a high school diploma use more text-based health information sources while adults without a high school diploma use more oral sources, (2) using the Internet as a source of health information is more strongly related to reporting excellent/very good health status than having a high school diploma, (3) those without a high school diploma who use the Internet report the largest increase in health status over any other health information source, and (4) for those with learning disability or vision problem, a high facility in reading English is an important predictor of whether the Internet is used as a health information source. The Internet appears to play a key role in both enhancing health status and enabling use of preventive measures for those with and without a high school diploma; although, individuals without a high school diploma who use the Internet for health information derive substantial benefit in health status.

SUBMITTER: Feinberg I

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4755661 | biostudies-literature | 2016

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Examining Associations between Health Information Seeking Behavior and Adult Education Status in the U.S.: An Analysis of the 2012 PIAAC Data.

Feinberg Iris I Frijters Jan J Johnson-Lawrence Vicki V Greenberg Daphne D Nightingale Elena E Moodie Chelsea C

PloS one 20160216 2

This paper presents data from the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies with a focus on the interrelationships among health information seeking behavior (HISB), and health status or use of preventive health measures for U.S. adults both with and without a high school diploma. Key results of ordinal and binary logistic regression analyses indicated that, after controlling for demographic factors, (1) adults with a high school diploma use more text-based health information ...[more]

PMID: 26882339

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Current medical professions involve an extensive knowledge of the latest validated scientific data to implement disease diagnosis, therapeutic strategies, and patient care. Although clinicians can refer to a growing number and type of information sources to keep current with new scientific achievements, there are still various concerns about medical information validity, quality, and applicability into clinical practice. Novel strategies are required to identify physicians' real-life needs with the final aim to improve modern medical information delivery. OBJECTIVE:Our research used an innovative tool to collect real-time physician queries in order to investigate information needs and seeking behavior of Italian neurologists treating patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and migraine. METHODS:The study was designed as an exploratory mixed methods (ie, qualitative and quantitative) study involving 15 consecutive days of observation. A total of 50 neurologists (n=25 MS and n=25 migraine specialists) were recruited. Data were collected using an instant messaging mobile app designed for this research. At each information-seeking event, moderators triggered a computer-assisted personal interview including both semistructured interview and close-ended questions. Interactions and physician queries collected using the mobile app were coded into emerging themes by content analysis. RESULTS:Neurologist queries were relevant to the following major themes: therapy management (36/50, 71%) and drug-related information (34/50, 67%), followed by diagnostic strategies and procedures (21/50, 42%). Quantitative analysis indicated online resources were preferentially used by clinicians (48/50, 96%) compared with offline sources (24/50, 47%). A multichannel approach, in which both online and offline sources were consulted to meet the same need, was adopted in 33% (65/198) of information-seeking events. Neurologists more likely retrieved information from online relative to offline channels (F=1.7; P=.01). MS specialists were 53% more likely to engage in one information-seeking event compared with migraine neurologists (risk ratio 1.54; 95% CI 1.16-2.05). MS specialists tended to be more interested in patient-related content than migraine clinicians (28% [7/25] vs 10% [2/25], P=.06), who conversely more likely sought information concerning therapy management (85% [21/25] vs 60% [15/25], P=.05). Compared with MS clinicians, migraine specialists had a harder time finding the required information, either looking at online or offline channels (F=12.5; P=.01) and less frequently used offline channels (30% [8/25] vs 60% [15/25] of information-seeking events, P=.02). When multiple sources needed to be consulted to retrieve an information item, a reduced satisfaction rate was observed both among migraine and MS specialists (single source vs multiple sources P=.003). CONCLUSIONS:This study provides a detailed description of real-life seeking behavior, educational needs, and information sources adopted by Italian MS and migraine neurologists. Neurologist information needs and seeking behavior reflect the specific characteristics of the specialty area in which they operate. These findings suggest identification of time- and context-specific needs of clinicians is required to design an effective medical information strategy.

Project description:BackgroundDigital media are increasingly abundant and used to seek health information, however, to date very little is known on parents' seeking behavior in the context of child's health and development outside English-speaking and Scandinavian countries. By investigating the prevalence of, and reasons for use, we studied parents' perception of the Internet as a resource for improving their health-related knowledge.MethodsThe survey was conducted in a random sample of 2573 Swiss-German parents with at least one child aged less-than 2?years old. Parents received a mailed invitation to fill in an online questionnaire. Two reminders were sent, the later with a paper questionnaire attached. The questionnaire included questions on use of print, digital, and personal information sources, as well as different information situations: general health and development or illness. We ran descriptive analyses on information seeking behavior, type of digital media used, reasons of use. We also conducted regression analyses to explore factors associated with parental perceptions with regard to the Internet's utility as a source for health information.ResultsA total of 769 questionnaires were returned (response rate 30%). Nearly all parents (91%) used digital media for seeking information on their child's health and development, and the main reason for use was indicated as being the 24/7 availability of information. Search engines (55%) and webpages for parents (47%) were by far the most frequently used digital media. Generally, the internet is perceived as a good resource, especially by fathers (OR?=?1.80, 95% CI: 1.03-3.16). However, a large percentage of parents are skeptical about the correctness of online info (91%), are unsure about their interpretive understanding, and ask for guidance from their pediatrician (67%).ConclusionsThe Internet has become a highly frequented source of information for Swiss-German parents on children's health with largely valuable perceptions of its utility. Digital media are used in addition to and not in replacement of print media and personal contacts. Increasing parental guidance by health and public health professionals could improve parental digital health utilization and empower parents in the new role they adopt.

Project description:BackgroundPeople engage in health information-seeking behavior to support health outcomes, and being able to predict such behavior can inform the development of interventions to guide effective health information seeking. Obtaining a comprehensive list of the predictors of health information-seeking behavior through a systematic search of the literature and exploring the interrelationship of these predictors are critical first steps in this process.ObjectiveThis study aims to identify significant predictors of health information-seeking behavior in the primary literature, develop a common taxonomy for these predictors, and identify the evolution of the concerned research field.MethodsA systematic search of PsycINFO, Scopus, and PubMed was conducted for all years up to and including December 10, 2019. Quantitative studies identifying significant predictors of health information-seeking behavior were included. Information seeking was broadly defined and not restricted to any source of health information. Data extraction of significant predictors was performed by 2 authors, and network analysis was conducted to observe the relationships between predictors with time.ResultsA total of 9549 articles were retrieved, and after the screening, 344 studies were retained for analysis. A total of 1595 significant predictors were identified. These predictors were categorized into 67 predictor categories, with the most central predictors being age, education, gender, health condition, and financial income. With time, the interrelationship of predictors in the network became denser, with the growth of new predictor grouping reaching saturation (1 new predictor identified) in the past 7 years, despite increasing publication rates.ConclusionsA common taxonomy was developed to classify 67 significant predictors of health information-seeking behavior. A time-aggregated network method was developed to track the evolution of the research field, showing the maturation of new predictor terms and an increase in primary studies reporting multiple significant predictors of health information-seeking behavior. The literature has evolved with a decreased characterization of novel predictors of health information-seeking behavior. In contrast, we identified a parallel increase in the complexity of predicting health information-seeking behavior, with an increase in the literature describing multiple significant predictors.

Dataset Information

Examining Associations between Health Information Seeking Behavior and Adult Education Status in the U.S.: An Analysis of the 2012 PIAAC Data.

Publications

Examining Associations between Health Information Seeking Behavior and Adult Education Status in the U.S.: An Analysis of the 2012 PIAAC Data.

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