Consumers in mental health service leadership: A systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Brett; Gordon, Sarah; Happell, Brenda

2017-02-01

Contemporary mental health policies call for greater involvement of mental health service consumers in all aspects and at all levels of service planning, delivery, and evaluation. The extent to which consumers are part of the decision-making function of mental health organizations varies. This systematic review synthesizes empirical and review studies published in peer-reviewed academic journals relating to consumers in leadership roles within mental health organizations. The Cochrane Library, Medline, and PsycINFO were searched for articles specifically analysing and discussing consumers' mental health service leadership. Each article was critically appraised against the inclusion criteria, with 36 articles included in the final review. The findings of the review highlight current understandings of organizational resources and structures in consumer-led organizations, determinants of leadership involvement, and how consumer leadership interacts with traditional mental health service provision. It appears that organizations might still be negotiating the balance between consumer leadership and traditional structures and systems. The majority of included studies represent research about consumer-run organizations, with consumer leadership in mainstream mental health organizations being less represented in the literature. Advocates of consumer leadership should focus more on emphasizing how such leadership itself can be a valuable resource for organizations and how this can be better articulated. This review highlights the current gaps in understandings of consumer leadership in mental health, including a need for more research exploring the benefits of consumer leadership for other consumers of services. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Consumers' use of the internet for health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Yom, Young-Hee; Yee, Jung Ae

2006-01-01

Although health information is one of the most frequently sought subjects on the Internet, little research has been performed in this area. This study was designed to examine the use of the Internet for health information by the consumers. A questionnaire was administered to a sample of 212 consumers who were using health care. Only small percentages of the consumers accessed the Internet for health information. This result indicates that different marketing strategies based on geographic characteristics should be developed for consumers who wish to get health care information.

Health Branding in the Consumer Food Marketplace

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Torben; Uth Thomsen, Thyra; Beckmann, Suzanne C.

2014-01-01

An increasing complexity in the food marketplace makes healthy food choices more difficult for consumers. Several studies suggest that consumers therefore seem to rely on heuristics instead of computing all product attributes. Based on a survey (n=504) covering three different food products, four...... competency, and postpurchase stress are able to explain a substantial proportion of the variance in demand for food health branding....... consumer segments with different levels of demand for food health branding were identified. The results suggest that discriminating constructs such as product-specific food health information seeking, general food health involvement, product-specific food health involvement, product-specific food health...

Consumer Health Informatics: Promoting Patient Self-care Management of Illnesses and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Minsoo

Consumer health informatics (CHI) is propelling important changes for medical providers and the lives of patients through information and communications technology. Independently, medical consumers seek, collect, and use health information for decision making. However, when constructing a CHI-based medical platform, high technology must be applied in a fully understandable and usable format for both health care providers and consumers. This study examines the present status of CHI and its effect on medical consumers. For the development of CHI, we discuss the need for tailored health communications and capacity building with chronic patients at the medical center. First, empowerment is a key characteristic needed for medical consumer health care management. However, promoting patient self-care management of illnesses and health is necessary to create conjugation where cooperation with medical service providers is possible. Also, establishing a health care delivery system that will support cooperation is necessary. Second, tailored health communications can uniquely construct the health information of patients, which prevents unnecessary or excessive information from leading patients to confused and inappropriate decisions. Ultimately, through the present environment of health communication, the innovation of a consumer health care information system has become the tide of the times and the positive effect of improved health can be expected.

Health Consumers eHealth Literacy to Decrease Disparities in Accessing eHealth Information.

Science.gov (United States)

Park, Hyejin; Cormier, Eileen; Glenna, Gordon

2016-01-01

The purpose of this study was to assess the perceived eHealth literacy of a general health consumer population so that health care professionals can effectively address skills gaps in health consumers' ability to access and use high quality online health information. Participants were recruited from three public library branches in a Northeast Florida community. The eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS) was used. The majority of participants (n = 108) reported they knew how and where to find health information and how to use it to make health decisions; knowledge of what health resources were available and confidence in the ability to distinguish high from low quality information was considerably less. The findings suggest the need for eHealth education and support to health consumers from health care professionals, in particular, how to access and evaluate the quality of health information.

The Effect of Doctor-Consumer Interaction on Social Media on Consumers' Health Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Feng, Zhanchun; Gaskin, Darrell J; Zhang, Donglan; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-02-28

Both doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers' health behaviors. The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers' health behaviors. On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers' health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data. Instrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers' DK (t 294 =5.763, Pinteraction also impacted consumers' DK (t 294 =4.025, Pinteraction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors. Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers' health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction. ©Tailai Wu, Zhaohua Deng, Zhanchun Feng, Darrell J Gaskin, Donglan Zhang, Ruoxi Wang. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 28.02.2018.

Consumer Education: A Teaching-Learning Unit on Consumer Health Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Tennessee Univ., Knoxville.

This health education handbook covers the following topics: (1) the consumer and health care; (2) diet and nutrition; (3) additives, supplements, and health foods; (4) prescription drugs; (5) over-the-counter drugs; (6) doctors, hospitals, and surgery; and (7) providing and paying for health care. A teacher's supplement health care unit is…

Recognition rights, mental health consumers and reconstructive cultural semantics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Radden Jennifer H

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Introduction Those in mental health-related consumer movements have made clear their demands for humane treatment and basic civil rights, an end to stigma and discrimination, and a chance to participate in their own recovery. But theorizing about the politics of recognition, 'recognition rights' and epistemic justice, suggests that they also have a stake in the broad cultural meanings associated with conceptions of mental health and illness. Results First person accounts of psychiatric diagnosis and mental health care (shown here to represent 'counter stories' to the powerful 'master narrative' of biomedical psychiatry, offer indications about how experiences of mental disorder might be reframed and redefined as part of efforts to acknowledge and honor recognition rights and epistemic justice. However, the task of cultural semantics is one for the entire culture, not merely consumers. These new meanings must be negotiated. When they are not the result of negotiation, group-wrought definitions risk imposing a revision no less constraining than the mis-recognizing one it aims to replace. Contested realities make this a challenging task when it comes to cultural meanings about mental disorder. Examples from mental illness memoirs about two contested realities related to psychosis are examined here: the meaninglessness of symptoms, and the role of insight into illness. They show the magnitude of the challenge involved - for consumers, practitioners, and the general public - in the reconstruction of these new meanings and realities. Conclusion To honor recognition rights and epistemic justice acknowledgement must be made of the heterogeneity of the effects of, and of responses to, psychiatric diagnosis and care, and the extent of the challenge of the reconstructive cultural semantics involved.

Attitudes of nursing students on consumer participation: the effectiveness of the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire.

Science.gov (United States)

Byrne, Louise; Happell, Brenda; Platania-Phung, Chris

2015-01-01

The aims of this article were to evaluate the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire, and measure nursing students' attitudes to consumer participation. Undergraduate nursing students (n = 116) completed the Mental Health Consumer Participation Questionnaire at the start of a course on recovery for mental health nursing practice. The current findings confirm an endorsement of consumer participation in individual care processes, but less agreement with participation in organizational-level processes, such as management of mental health services and education of providers. This article also confirms that the questionnaire can effectively measure attitudes to consumer participation. The participation of consumers is critical for achieving person-centered services mental health services. It is important that nursing education influence positive attitudes. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Semantic annotation of consumer health questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kilicoglu, Halil; Ben Abacha, Asma; Mrabet, Yassine; Shooshan, Sonya E; Rodriguez, Laritza; Masterton, Kate; Demner-Fushman, Dina

2018-02-06

Consumers increasingly use online resources for their health information needs. While current search engines can address these needs to some extent, they generally do not take into account that most health information needs are complex and can only fully be expressed in natural language. Consumer health question answering (QA) systems aim to fill this gap. A major challenge in developing consumer health QA systems is extracting relevant semantic content from the natural language questions (question understanding). To develop effective question understanding tools, question corpora semantically annotated for relevant question elements are needed. In this paper, we present a two-part consumer health question corpus annotated with several semantic categories: named entities, question triggers/types, question frames, and question topic. The first part (CHQA-email) consists of relatively long email requests received by the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM) customer service, while the second part (CHQA-web) consists of shorter questions posed to MedlinePlus search engine as queries. Each question has been annotated by two annotators. The annotation methodology is largely the same between the two parts of the corpus; however, we also explain and justify the differences between them. Additionally, we provide information about corpus characteristics, inter-annotator agreement, and our attempts to measure annotation confidence in the absence of adjudication of annotations. The resulting corpus consists of 2614 questions (CHQA-email: 1740, CHQA-web: 874). Problems are the most frequent named entities, while treatment and general information questions are the most common question types. Inter-annotator agreement was generally modest: question types and topics yielded highest agreement, while the agreement for more complex frame annotations was lower. Agreement in CHQA-web was consistently higher than that in CHQA-email. Pairwise inter-annotator agreement proved most

Participative mental health consumer research for improving physical health care: An integrative review.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Ewart, Stephanie B; Platania-Phung, Chris; Stanton, Robert

2016-10-01

People with mental illness have a significantly lower life expectancy and higher rates of chronic physical illnesses than the general population. Health care system reform to improve access and quality is greatly needed to address this inequity. The inclusion of consumers of mental health services as co-investigators in research is likely to enhance service reform. In light of this, the current paper reviews mental health consumer focussed research conducted to date, addressing the neglect of physical health in mental health care and initiatives with the aim of improving physical health care. The international literature on physical healthcare in the context of mental health services was searched for articles, including mental health consumers in research roles, via Medline, CINAHL and Google Scholar, in October 2015. Four studies where mental health consumers participated as researchers were identified. Three studies involved qualitative research on barriers and facilitators to physical health care access, and a fourth study on developing technologies for more effective communication between GPs and patients. This review found that participatory mental health consumer research in physical health care reform has only become visible in the academic literature in 2015. Heightened consideration of mental health consumer participation in research is required by health care providers and researchers. Mental health nurses can provide leadership in increasing mental health consumer research on integrated care directed towards reducing the health gap between people with and without mental illness. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

"Chipping away": non-consumer researcher perspectives on barriers to collaborating with consumers in mental health research.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Gordon, Sarah; Bocking, Julia; Ellis, Pete; Roper, Cath; Liggins, Jackie; Scholz, Brett; Platania-Phung, Chris

2018-04-30

Collaboration between researchers who have lived experience of mental illness and services (consumer researchers) and mental health researchers without (other mental health researchers) is an emergent development in research. Inclusion of consumer perspectives is crucial to ensuring the ethics, relevancy and validity of mental health research; yet widespread and embedded consumer collaboration of this nature is known to be impeded by attitudinal and organisational factors. Limited research describes consumer researchers' experiences of barriers. Other mental health researchers are key players in the co-production process yet there is also a paucity of research reporting their views on barriers to collaborating with consumers. To explore other researchers' views and experiences on partnering with consumer mental health researchers in Australia and New Zealand. Exploratory qualitative design. Eleven semi-structured interviews were conducted with mental health researchers. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and thematically analysed. Four themes concerning barriers to collaborating with consumers (hierarchies, status quo, not understanding, paternalism), and one theme on addressing the barriers (constantly chipping away) were identified. It is suggested that multifaceted strategies for advancing collaboration with consumers are most effective. It is imperative to attend to several barriers simultaneously to redress the inherent power disparity.

Mental Health Consumer Experiences and Strategies When Seeking Physical Health Care

OpenAIRE

Stephanie B. Ewart; Julia Bocking; Brenda Happell; Chris Platania-Phung; Robert Stanton

2016-01-01

People with mental illness have higher rates of physical health problems and consequently live significantly shorter lives. This issue is not yet viewed as a national health priority and research about mental health consumer views on accessing physical health care is lacking. The aim of this study is to explore the experience of mental health consumers in utilizing health services for physical health needs. Qualitative exploratory design was utilized. Semistructured focus groups were held wit...

A health literacy and usability heuristic evaluation of a mobile consumer health application.

Science.gov (United States)

Monkman, Helen; Kushniruk, Andre

2013-01-01

Usability and health literacy are two critical factors in the design and evaluation of consumer health information systems. However, methods for evaluating these two factors in conjunction remain limited. This study adapted a set of existing guidelines for the design of consumer health Web sites into evidence-based evaluation heuristics tailored specifically for mobile consumer health applications. In order to test the approach, a mobile consumer health application (app) was then evaluated using these heuristics. In addition to revealing ways to improve the usability of the system, this analysis identified opportunities to augment the content to make it more understandable by users with limited health literacy. This study successfully demonstrated the utility of converting existing design guidelines into heuristics for the evaluation of usability and health literacy. The heuristics generated could be applied for assessing and revising other existing consumer health information systems.

Consumer health information seeking on the Internet: the state of the art.

Science.gov (United States)

Cline, R J; Haynes, K M

2001-12-01

Increasingly, consumers engage in health information seeking via the Internet. Taking a communication perspective, this review argues why public health professionals should be concerned about the topic, considers potential benefits, synthesizes quality concerns, identifies criteria for evaluating online health information and critiques the literature. More than 70 000 websites disseminate health information; in excess of 50 million people seek health information online, with likely consequences for the health care system. The Internet offers widespread access to health information, and the advantages of interactivity, information tailoring and anonymity. However, access is inequitable and use is hindered further by navigational challenges due to numerous design features (e.g. disorganization, technical language and lack of permanence). Increasingly, critics question the quality of online health information; limited research indicates that much is inaccurate. Meager information-evaluation skills add to consumers' vulnerability, and reinforce the need for quality standards and widespread criteria for evaluating health information. Extant literature can be characterized as speculative, comprised of basic 'how to' presentations, with little empirical research. Future research needs to address the Internet as part of the larger health communication system and take advantage of incorporating extant communication concepts. Not only should research focus on the 'net-gap' and information quality, it also should address the inherently communicative and transactional quality of Internet use. Both interpersonal and mass communication concepts open avenues for investigation and understanding the influence of the Internet on health beliefs and behaviors, health care, medical outcomes, and the health care system.

Development of a health information technology acceptance model using consumers' health behavior intention.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeongeun; Park, Hyeoun-Ae

2012-10-01

For effective health promotion using health information technology (HIT), it is mandatory that health consumers have the behavioral intention to measure, store, and manage their own health data. Understanding health consumers' intention and behavior is needed to develop and implement effective and efficient strategies. To develop and verify the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in health care by describing health consumers' behavioral intention of using HIT. This study used a cross-sectional descriptive correlational design. We extended TAM by adding more antecedents and mediating variables to enhance the model's explanatory power and to make it more applicable to health consumers' behavioral intention. Additional antecedents and mediating variables were added to the hypothetical model, based on their theoretical relevance, from the Health Belief Model and theory of planned behavior, along with the TAM. We undertook structural equation analysis to examine the specific nature of the relationship involved in understanding consumers' use of HIT. Study participants were 728 members recruited from three Internet health portals in Korea. Data were collected by a Web-based survey using a structured self-administered questionnaire. The overall fitness indices for the model developed in this study indicated an acceptable fit of the model. All path coefficients were statistically significant. This study showed that perceived threat, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use significantly affected health consumers' attitude and behavioral intention. Health consumers' health status, health belief and concerns, subjective norm, HIT characteristics, and HIT self-efficacy had a strong indirect impact on attitude and behavioral intention through the mediators of perceived threat, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use. An extended TAM in the HIT arena was found to be valid to describe health consumers' behavioral intention. We categorized the concepts in

Consumer Engagement in Health IT: Distinguishing Rhetoric from Reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Marsha; Hossain, Mynti; Mangum, Amy

2015-01-01

Policymakers want health information technology (health IT) to support consumer engagement to help achieve national health goals. In this paper, we review the evidence to compare the rhetoric with the reality of current practice. Our environmental scan shows that consumer demand exists for electronic access to personal health information, but that technical and system or political barriers still limit the value of the available information and its potential benefits. There is a gap between current reality and the goals for consumer engagement. Actions that may help bridge this gap include: (1) resolving technical barriers to health information exchange (HIE); (2) developing more consumer-centric design and functionality; (3) reinforcing incentives that attract provider support by showing that consumer engagement is in their interest; and (4) building a stronger empirical case to convince decision makers that consumer engagement will lead to better care, improved health outcomes, and lower costs.

Consumer experiences in a consumer-driven health plan.

Science.gov (United States)

Christianson, Jon B; Parente, Stephen T; Feldman, Roger

2004-08-01

To assess the experience of enrollees in a consumer-driven health plan (CDHP). Survey of University of Minnesota employees regarding their 2002 health benefits. Comparison of regression-adjusted mean values for CDHP and other plan enrollees: customer service, plan paperwork, overall satisfaction, and plan switching. For CDHP enrollees only, use of plan features, willingness to recommend the plan to others, and reports of particularly negative or positive experiences. There were significant differences in experiences of CDHP enrollees versus enrollees in other plans with customer service and paperwork, but similar levels of satisfaction (on a 10-point scale) with health plans. Eight percent of CDHP enrollees left their plan after one year, compared to 5 percent of enrollees leaving other plans. A minority of CDHP enrollees used online plan features, but enrollees generally were satisfied with the amount and quality of the information provided by the CDHP. Almost half reported a particularly positive experience, compared to a quarter reporting a particularly negative experience. Thirty percent said they would recommend the plan to others, while an additional 57 percent said they would recommend it depending on the situation. Much more work is needed to determine how consumer experience varies with the number and type of plan options available, the design of the CDHP, and the length of time in the CDHP. Research also is needed on the factors that affect consumer decisions to leave CDHPs.

Consumer health information seeking in social media: a literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Yuehua; Zhang, Jin

2017-12-01

The objective of this literature review was to summarise current research regarding how consumers seek health-related information from social media. Primarily, we hope to reveal characteristics of existing studies investigating the health topics that consumers have discussed in social media, ascertaining the roles social media have played in consumers' information-seeking processes and discussing the potential benefits and concerns of accessing consumer health information in social media. The Web of Science Core Collection database was searched for existing literature on consumer health information seeking in social media. The search returned 214 articles, of which 21 met the eligibility criteria following review of full-text documents. Between 2011 and 2016, twenty-one studies published explored various topics related to consumer information seeking in social media. These ranged from online discussions on specific diseases (e.g. diabetes) to public health concerns (e.g. pesticide residues). Consumers' information needs vary depending on the health issues of interest. Benefits of health seeking on social media, in addition to filling a need for health information, include the social and emotional support health consumers gain from peer-to-peer interactions. These benefits, however, are tempered by concerns of information quality and authority and lead to decreased consumer engagement. © 2017 Health Libraries Group.

Determinants of Consumer eHealth Information Seeking Behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandefer, Ryan H; Westra, Bonnie L; Khairat, Saif S; Pieczkiewicz, David S; Speedie, Stuart M

2015-01-01

Patients are increasingly using the Internet and other technologies to engage in their own healthcare, but little research has focused on the determinants of consumer eHealth behaviors related to Internet use. This study uses data from 115,089 respondents to four years of the National Health Interview Series to identify the associations between one consumer eHealth behavior (information seeking) and demographics, health measures, and Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) (messaging, scheduling, refills, and chat). Individuals who use PHIM are 7.5 times more likely to search the internet for health related information. Just as health has social determinants, the results of this study indicate there are potential social determinants of consumer eHealth behaviors including personal demographics, health status, and healthcare access.

Facilitating consumer access to health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Snowdon, Anne; Schnarr, Karin; Alessi, Charles

2014-01-01

The lead paper from Zelmer and Hagens details the substantive evolution occurring in health information technologies that has the potential to transform the relationship between consumers, health practitioners and health systems. In this commentary, the authors suggest that Canada is experiencing a shift in consumer behaviour toward a desire to actively manage one's health and wellness that is being facilitated through the advent of health applications on mobile and online technologies platforms. The result is that Canadians are now able to create personalized health solutions based on their individual health values and goals. However, before Canadians are able to derive a personal health benefit from these rapid changes in information technology, they require and are increasingly demanding greater real-time access to their own health information to better inform decision-making, as well as interoperability between their personal health tracking systems and those of their health practitioner team.

Choosing a health plan: are Dutch consumers loyal to their health insurer?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hendriks, M.; Groenewegen, P.P.; Delnoij, D.M.J.

2006-01-01

In 2006, a number of far-reaching reforms have been implemented in the Dutch health insurance system. Giving Dutch consumers the freedom to change health plans every year increases consumer mobility. The idea is that especially consumers who are dissatisfied with their insurer will decide to switch

Dr Google and the consumer: a qualitative study exploring the navigational needs and online health information-seeking behaviors of consumers with chronic health conditions.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kenneth; Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery David; Emmerton, Lynne

2014-12-02

The abundance of health information available online provides consumers with greater access to information pertinent to the management of health conditions. This is particularly important given an increasing drive for consumer-focused health care models globally, especially in the management of chronic health conditions, and in recognition of challenges faced by lay consumers with finding, understanding, and acting on health information sourced online. There is a paucity of literature exploring the navigational needs of consumers with regards to accessing online health information. Further, existing interventions appear to be didactic in nature, and it is unclear whether such interventions appeal to consumers' needs. Our goal was to explore the navigational needs of consumers with chronic health conditions in finding online health information within the broader context of consumers' online health information-seeking behaviors. Potential barriers to online navigation were also identified. Semistructured interviews were conducted with adult consumers who reported using the Internet for health information and had at least one chronic health condition. Participants were recruited from nine metropolitan community pharmacies within Western Australia, as well as through various media channels. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and then imported into QSR NVivo 10. Two established approaches to thematic analysis were adopted. First, a data-driven approach was used to minimize potential bias in analysis and improve construct and criterion validity. A theory-driven approach was subsequently used to confirm themes identified by the former approach and to ensure identified themes were relevant to the objectives. Two levels of analysis were conducted for both data-driven and theory-driven approaches: manifest-level analysis, whereby face-value themes were identified, and latent-level analysis, whereby underlying concepts were identified. We conducted 17

Consumer Engagement in Health IT: Distinguishing Rhetoric from Reality

Science.gov (United States)

Gold, Marsha; Hossain, Mynti; Mangum, Amy

2015-01-01

Rationale: Policymakers want health information technology (health IT) to support consumer engagement to help achieve national health goals. In this paper, we review the evidence to compare the rhetoric with the reality of current practice. Current Reality and Barriers: Our environmental scan shows that consumer demand exists for electronic access to personal health information, but that technical and system or political barriers still limit the value of the available information and its potential benefits. Conclusions and Policy Implications: There is a gap between current reality and the goals for consumer engagement. Actions that may help bridge this gap include: (1) resolving technical barriers to health information exchange (HIE); (2) developing more consumer-centric design and functionality; (3) reinforcing incentives that attract provider support by showing that consumer engagement is in their interest; and (4) building a stronger empirical case to convince decision makers that consumer engagement will lead to better care, improved health outcomes, and lower costs. PMID:26665120

The experience of stigma among Black mental health consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Alvidrez, Jennifer; Snowden, Lonnie R; Kaiser, Dawn M

2008-08-01

Little is known about how stigma affects Black people receiving mental health treatment. For a project to develop a consumer-based stigma intervention, qualitative interviews were conducted with public-sector Black mental health consumers (N=34). Primary themes from the interviews regarding stigma concerns, experiences, and coping strategies were examined. Concerns about stigma prompted most consumers initially to avoid or delay treatment; once in treatment, consumers commonly faced stigmatizing reactions from others. Consumers identified numerous strategies to deal with stigma, including seeking support from accepting members of their existing social networks, and viewing their own health as more important than the reaction of others. These consumer perspectives may be valuable to Black individuals who are contemplating seeking mental health treatment.

Consumer subjectivity and U.S. health care reform.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Emily

2014-01-01

Health care consumerism is an important frame in U.S. health care policy, especially in recent media and policy discourse about federal health care reform. This article reports on qualitative fieldwork with health care users to find out how people interpret and make sense of the identity of "health care consumer." It proposes that while the term consumer is normally understood as a descriptive label for users who purchase health care and insurance services, it should actually be understood as a metaphor, carrying with it a host of associations that shape U.S. health care policy debates in particular ways. Based on interviews with 36 people, patient was the dominant term people used to describe themselves, but consumer was the second most popular. Informants interpreted the health care consumer as being informed, proactive, and having choices, but there were also "semiotic traps," or difficult-to-resolve tensions for this identity. The discourse of consumerism functions in part as code for individual responsibility, and therefore as a classed moral discourse, with implications for U.S. health care policy.

How mHealth will spur consumer-led healthcare

Science.gov (United States)

2015-01-01

Consumer attitudes about their healthcare are beginning to shift. They are taking more responsibility for their health and seeking to collaborate with their doctors. In some cases consumers will engage in self-diagnosis. Mobile health apps and devices, in combination with cloud computing, will play a major role to empower consumers. Consumer expectations for healthcare are rising by the day. mHealth has provided empowerment to patients through the power of the PSC, which I describe as personal supercomputers. The number of devices and apps are exploding onto the healthcare scene. Although some providers are not comfortable with consumer technology for self-diagnosis, the new technologies will lead to a new model for collaboration between patient and physician. PMID:28293572

Consumer input into health care: Time for a new active and comprehensive model of consumer involvement.

Science.gov (United States)

Hall, Alix E; Bryant, Jamie; Sanson-Fisher, Rob W; Fradgley, Elizabeth A; Proietto, Anthony M; Roos, Ian

2018-03-07

To ensure the provision of patient-centred health care, it is essential that consumers are actively involved in the process of determining and implementing health-care quality improvements. However, common strategies used to involve consumers in quality improvements, such as consumer membership on committees and collection of patient feedback via surveys, are ineffective and have a number of limitations, including: limited representativeness; tokenism; a lack of reliable and valid patient feedback data; infrequent assessment of patient feedback; delays in acquiring feedback; and how collected feedback is used to drive health-care improvements. We propose a new active model of consumer engagement that aims to overcome these limitations. This model involves the following: (i) the development of a new measure of consumer perceptions; (ii) low cost and frequent electronic data collection of patient views of quality improvements; (iii) efficient feedback to the health-care decision makers; and (iv) active involvement of consumers that fosters power to influence health system changes. © 2018 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Health care consumer reports: an evaluation of employer perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Longo, Daniel R

2004-01-01

The proliferation of health care consumer reports (also known as "consumer guides," "report cards," and "performance reports") designed to assist consumers in making more informed health care decisions makes it vital to understand the perspective of employers who provide the vast majority of health insurance to the working population regarding the use of these reports. There is little empirical evidence on how consumer reports are used by employers to make health care purchasing decisions. This study fills that gap by surveying 154 businesses in Boone County, Missouri, regarding their evaluation of a consumer guide. The majority of employers surveyed indicate that the report will not have a direct effect on their health care purchasing decisions. However, they indicate that the reports are "positive and worthwhile" and their responses reflect a favorable view of the health care organization that developed and disseminated the report. Additionally, findings indicate that employers generally prefer consumer reports as a means to compare local health care institutions, rather than reviewing national averages to locate the same information. Report developers should take precautions to determine the intent of such reports, as they may not achieve the objective of changing employers' health care purchasing behavior.

Uncovering patterns of technology use in consumer health informatics

Science.gov (United States)

Hung, Man; Conrad, Jillian; Hon, Shirley D.; Cheng, Christine; Franklin, Jeremy D.; Tang, Philip

2014-01-01

Internet usage and accessibility has grown at a staggering rate, influencing technology use for healthcare purposes. The amount of health information technology (Health IT) available through the Internet is immeasurable and growing daily. Health IT is now seen as a fundamental aspect of patient care as it stimulates patient engagement and encourages personal health management. It is increasingly important to understand consumer health IT patterns including who is using specific technologies, how technologies are accessed, factors associated with use, and perceived benefits. To fully uncover consumer patterns it is imperative to recognize common barriers and which groups they disproportionately affect. Finally, exploring future demand and predictions will expose significant opportunities for health IT. The most frequently used health information technologies by consumers are gathering information online, mobile health (mHealth) technologies, and personal health records (PHRs). Gathering health information online is the favored pathway for healthcare consumers as it is used by more consumers and more frequently than any other technology. In regard to mHealth technologies, minority Americans, compared with White Americans utilize social media, mobile Internet, and mobile applications more frequently. Consumers believe PHRs are the most beneficial health IT. PHR usage is increasing rapidly due to PHR integration with provider health systems and health insurance plans. Key issues that have to be explicitly addressed in health IT are privacy and security concerns, health literacy, unawareness, and usability. Privacy and security concerns are rated the number one reason for the slow rate of health IT adoption. PMID:24904713

How do consumer leaders co-create value in mental health organisations?

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Brett; Bocking, Julia; Happell, Brenda

2017-10-01

Objectives Contemporary mental health policies call for consumers to be involved in decision-making processes within mental health organisations. Some organisations have embraced leadership roles for consumers, but research suggests consumers remain disempowered within mental health services. Drawing on a service-dominant logic, which emphasises the co-creation of value of services, the present study provides an overview of consumer leadership within mental health organisations in the Australian Capital Territory. Methods Mental health organisations subscribing to the local peak body mailing list were invited to complete a survey about consumer leadership. Survey data were summarised using descriptive statistics and interpreted through the lens of service-dominant logic. Results Ways in which organisations may create opportunities for consumers to co-create value within their mental health services included soliciting feedback, involving consumer leaders in service design, having consumer leaders involved in hiring decisions and employing consumer leaders as staff or on boards. Strategies that organisations used to develop consumer leaders included induction, workshops and training in a variety of organisational processes and skills. Conclusions The findings of the present study extend the application of a service-dominant logic framework to consumer leadership within mental health organisations through consideration of the diverse opportunities that organisations can provide for consumer co-creation of service offerings. What is known about the topic? Policy calls for consumer involvement in all levels of mental health service planning, implementation and delivery. The extent to which service organisations have included consumer leaders varies, but research suggests that this inclusion can be tokenistic or that organisations choose to work with consumers who are less likely to challenge the status quo. Service literature has explored the way consumers can co

Social media in health--what are the safety concerns for health consumers?

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, Annie Y S; Gabarron, Elia; Fernandez-Luque, Luis; Armayones, Manuel

Recent literature has discussed the unintended consequences of clinical information technologies (IT) on patient safety, yet there has been little discussion about the safety concerns in the area of consumer health IT. This paper presents a range of safety concerns for consumers in social media, with a case study on YouTube. We conducted a scan of abstracts on 'quality criteria' related to YouTube. Five areas regarding the safety of YouTube for consumers were identified: (a) harmful health material targeted at consumers (such as inappropriate marketing of tobacco or direct-to-consumer drug advertising); (b) public display of unhealthy behaviour (such as people displaying self-injury behaviours or hurting others); (c) tainted public health messages (i.e. the rise of negative voices against public health messages); (d) psychological impact from accessing inappropriate, offensive or biased social media content; and (e) using social media to distort policy and research funding agendas. The examples presented should contribute to a better understanding about how to promote a safe consumption and production of social media for consumers, and an evidence-based approach to designing social media interventions for health. The potential harm associated with the use of unsafe social media content on the Internet is a major concern. More empirical and theoretical studies are needed to examine how social media influences consumer health decisions, behaviours and outcomes, and devise ways to deter the dissemination of harmful influences in social media.

Consumer sexual relationships in a forensic mental health hospital: perceptions of nurses and consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Quinn, Chris; Happell, Brenda

2015-04-01

The management of consumer-related risk is paramount in a secure forensic mental health facility. However, the consequent risk aversion presents a major barrier to consumers forming sexual relationships in a manner that is open and accepted. Investigation of the views of nurses working in forensic mental health settings on this topic is limited, and even more so for consumers of services. This qualitative exploratory study was undertaken to elicit the views of consumers and nurses about forming sexual relationships within this long-term and secure setting. Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 nurses and 10 consumers. The benefits of, and barriers to, sexual relationships was identified as a major theme, and these findings are the focus of this paper. Nurse responses included the subthemes 'supportive factors' and 'potential dangers', reflecting their qualified support. Consumer responses included the subthemes 'therapeutic', 'feeling normal', 'restrictions and barriers', and 'lack of support and secrecy'. The importance of sexual relationships was clearly articulated, as was the difficulties in forming and maintaining them within the forensic setting. More open discussion about this commonly-avoided issue and the education of nurses and other health professionals is required. © 2014 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Consumer preferences in social health insurance.

Science.gov (United States)

Kerssens, Jan J; Groenewegen, Peter P

2005-03-01

Allowing consumers greater choice of health plans is believed to be the key to high quality and low costs in social health insurance. This study investigates consumer preferences (361 persons, response rate 43%) for hypothetical health plans which differed in 12 characteristics (premium, deductibles, no-claim discount, extension of insurance and financial services, red tape involved, medical help-desk, choice of family physicians and hospitals, dental benefits, physical therapy benefits, benefits for prescription drugs and homeopathy). In 90% the health plan with the most attractive characteristics was preferred, indicating a predominantly rational kind of choice. The most decisive characteristics for preference were: complete dental benefits, followed by zero deductibles, and free choice of hospitals.

Consumer-led health-related online sources and their impact on consumers: An integrative review of the literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Laukka, Elina; Rantakokko, Piia; Suhonen, Marjo

2017-04-01

The aim of the review was to describe consumer-led health-related online sources and their impact on consumers. The review was carried out as an integrative literature review. Quantisation and qualitative content analysis were used as the analysis method. The most common method used by the included studies was qualitative content analysis. This review identified the consumer-led health-related online sources used between 2009 and 2016 as health-related online communities, health-related social networking sites and health-related rating websites. These sources had an impact on peer support; empowerment; health literacy; physical, mental and emotional wellbeing; illness management; and relationships between healthcare organisations and consumers. The knowledge of the existence of the health-related online sources provides healthcare organisations with an opportunity to listen to their consumers' 'voice'. The sources make healthcare consumers more competent actors in relation to healthcare, and the knowledge of them is a valuable resource for healthcare organisations. Additionally, these health-related online sources might create an opportunity to reduce the need for drifting among the healthcare services. Healthcare policymakers and organisations could benefit from having a strategy of increasing their health-related online sources.

A questions-based investigation of consumer mental-health information

Science.gov (United States)

Kart, Joyce Brothers

2015-01-01

Despite the wealth of mental-health information available online to consumers, research has shown that the mental-health information needs of consumers are not being met. This study contributes to that research by soliciting consumer questions directly, categorizing them, analyzing their form, and assessing the extent to which they can be answered from a trusted and vetted source of online information, namely the website of the US National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). As an alternative to surveys and analyses of online activity, this study shows how consumer questions provide new insight into what consumers do not know and how they express their information needs. The study crowdsourced 100 consumer questions through Amazon Inc.’s Mechanical Turk. Categorization of the questions shows broad agreement with earlier studies in terms of the content of consumer questions. It also suggests that consumers’ grasp of mental health issues may be low compared to other health topics. The majority of the questions (74%) were simple in form, with the remainder being multi-part, multifaceted or narrative. Even simple-form questions could, however, have complex interpretations. Fifty four questions were submitted to the search box at the NIMH website. For 32 questions, no answer could be found in the top one to three documents returned. Inadequacies in the search and retrieval technology deployed at websites account for some of the failure to find answers. The nature of consumer questions in mental health also plays a role. A question that has a false presupposition is less likely to have an answer in trusted and vetted sources of information. Consumer questions are also expressed with a degree of specificity that makes the retrieval of relevant information difficult. The significance of this study is that it shows what an analysis of consumer mental-health questions can tell us about consumer information needs and it provides new insight into the difficulties facing

Dental Health: The Basic Facts

Science.gov (United States)

Dental Health THE BASIC FACTS MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS Kim, diagnosed in 1986 People with a chronic disease may neglect their general health and wellness, research shows. Dental care is no exception. A tendency to focus ...

Antecedents and Consequences of Consumer's Response to Health Information Complexity

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansen, Torben; Uth Thomsen, Thyra; Beckmann, Suzanne C.

2013-01-01

This study develops and empirically tests a model for understanding food consumers' health information seeking behaviour. Data were collected from 504 food consumers using a nationally representative consumer panel. The obtained Lisrel results suggest that consumers' product-specific health...... information seeking is positively affected by general food involvement and by usability of product-specific health information. Moreover, product-specific health information seeking and product-specific health information complexity are both positively related to post-purchase health-related dissonance....... This link between information complexity and post-purchase dissonance has implications for marketers of food products since our results suggest that consumers might avoid purchasing the same food item again if post-purchase dissonance is experienced....

Health insurance basic actuarial models

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Pitacco, Ermanno

2014-01-01

Health Insurance aims at filling a gap in actuarial literature, attempting to solve the frequent misunderstanding in regards to both the purpose and the contents of health insurance products (and ‘protection products’, more generally) on the one hand, and the relevant actuarial structures on the other. In order to cover the basic principles regarding health insurance techniques, the first few chapters in this book are mainly devoted to the need for health insurance and a description of insurance products in this area (sickness insurance, accident insurance, critical illness covers, income protection, long-term care insurance, health-related benefits as riders to life insurance policies). An introduction to general actuarial and risk-management issues follows. Basic actuarial models are presented for sickness insurance and income protection (i.e. disability annuities). Several numerical examples help the reader understand the main features of pricing and reserving in the health insurance area. A short int...

Breaking through the Glass Ceiling: Consumers in Mental Health Organisations' Hierarchies.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Brett; Bocking, Julia; Happell, Brenda

2017-05-01

Contemporary mental health policies call for consumers to be engaged in all levels of mental health service planning, implementation, and delivery. Critical approaches to traditional healthcare hierarchies can effectively challenge barriers to better engagement with consumers in mental health organisations. This qualitative exploratory study analyses how particular strategies for consumer leadership facilitate or hinder relationships between consumers and mental health services, and how these strategies influence hierarchical structures. Fourteen participants from a range of mental health organisations were interviewed. These interviews were analysed using thematic analytic and discursive psychological techniques. The findings highlight several benefits of having consumers within mental health organisational hierarchies, and elaborate on ways that employees within mental health services can support integration of consumers into existing hierarchies. Specific barriers to consumers in hierarchies are discussed, including a lack of clarity of structures and roles within hierarchies, and resistance to consumers reaching the highest levels of leadership within organisations. Alternative hierarchical models which privilege consumers' control over resources and power are also discussed. Mental health organisations are encouraged to integrate consumer leaders into their hierarchical structures to improve their organisational offerings, their reputation, and their service innovation.

Consumers, health insurance and dominated choices.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinaiko, Anna D; Hirth, Richard A

2011-03-01

We analyze employee health plan choices when the choice set offered by their employer includes a dominated plan. During our study period, one-third of workers were enrolled in the dominated plan. Some may have selected the plan before it was dominated and then failed to switch out of it. However, a substantial number actively chose the dominated plan when they had an unambiguously better choice. These results suggest limitations in the ability of health reform based solely on consumer choice to achieve efficient outcomes and that implementation of health reform should anticipate, monitor and account for this consumer behavior. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Health care report cards: what about consumers' perspectives?

Science.gov (United States)

McGee, J; Knutson, D

1994-10-01

Though the report card style is seen by many as a way to create better-informed consumers, very little is actually known about how consumers will respond to health care report cards. Report cards are only one of many factors that influence health care decision making. Much consumer-oriented effort and fine-tuning will be required to make report cards effective. Using the approach called "social marketing" as a framework, specific examples are used to outline some ideas for more intensive pursuit of consumers' perspectives in the design and distribution of report cards.

A healthy indulgence? Wine consumers and the health benefits of wine

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lindsey M. Higgins

2015-06-01

Full Text Available Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Moderate red wine consumption has been linked to a reduction in the risk of death by heart disease and heart attack by 30–50%. With about 600,000 people dying from heart disease in the US each year, red wine has become increasingly popular among health conscious consumers. Wine is often touted for its potential health benefits, but to what extent is “health” a factor when consumers make their consumption decisions for alcoholic beverages? This study aims to further understand how consumers make their beverage choices and to understand the role wine health benefit knowledge plays in the willingness of consumers to purchase wine. The results suggest that consumers value the relationship between food/beverage intake and their health status. Consumers with few health issues were the ones more likely to indicate that they consume wine for health reasons, suggesting a potential market among consumers with known health issues. In addition, consumers who attributed the most health benefits to wine were the ones most likely to drink more wine and pay more for wine if it were health enhanced.

A bunswik lens model of consumer health judgments of packaged foods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orquin, Jacob Lund

2014-01-01

Consumer health judgments of packaged food were compared with an objective healthfulness criterion using a Brunswik lens model. Consumer judgments were obtained from a representative consumer sample (N= 1329) who evaluated the healthfulness of 198 packaged food products. The objective healthfulne...... on the food category and to a lesser extent on the brand and consumer familiarity with the product. The results are in conflict with consumers’ self-reported use of nutrition information but are in accordance with findings from studies using implicit methods.......Consumer health judgments of packaged food were compared with an objective healthfulness criterion using a Brunswik lens model. Consumer judgments were obtained from a representative consumer sample (N= 1329) who evaluated the healthfulness of 198 packaged food products. The objective healthfulness...... representativeness. The study revealed that the objective healthfulness criterion is highly predictable on the basis of cues such as the food category, brand, carbohydrate content, and whether the food is a typical “light” product. However, consumer judgments of food healthfulness are based almost entirely...

Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of Dutch vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Hoek, Annet C; Luning, Pieternel A; Stafleu, Annette; de Graaf, Cees

2004-06-01

The aim was to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, and attitudes to food and health of vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers in The Netherlands. The sample used for this study (participants > or =18 years) was taken from the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey, 1997/1998. Vegetarians (n = 63) and consumers of meat substitutes (n = 39) had similar socio-demographic profiles: higher education levels, higher social economic status, smaller households, and more urbanised residential areas, compared to meat consumers (n = 4313). Attitudes to food were assessed by the food-related lifestyle instrument. We found that vegetarians (n = 32) had more positive attitudes towards importance of product information, speciality shops, health, novelty, ecological products, social event, and social relationships than meat consumers (n = 1638). The health consciousness scale, which was used to assess attitudes to health, supported earlier findings that vegetarians are more occupied by health. Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of meat substitute consumers (n = 17) were predominantly in-between those from vegetarians and meat consumers. The outcome of this study suggests that in strategies to promote meat substitutes for non-vegetarian consumers, the focus should not only be on health and ecological aspects of foods.

Consumer perception of safety in the agri-food chain

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verbeke, Wim; Scholderer, Joachim; Frewer, Lynn J.

2006-01-01

, former real or perceived food safety problems extended into food scares after extensive mass media coverage. A wide diversity of studies consistently report declining consumer confidence, deteriorating perception and decreasing consumption rates after exposure to adverse food-health communication. After......Introduction: The aim of this section is to describe the scope and objectives of this chapter on consumer perception of safety in the agri-food chain. Furthermore, the rationale for taking consumer behavioural issues into account in agri-food safety debates is provided. In order to shed some light...... on consumer behaviour with respect to food safety issues, this chapter both provides some basic principles of consumer behaviour and a selection of topical case studies. First, this chapter envisages introducing basic principles of consumer behaviour and consumer decision-making that are applicable in food...

Strategic questions for consumer-based health communications.

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Sutton, S M; Balch, G I; Lefebvre, R C

1995-01-01

Using the consumer-oriented approach of social and commercial marketers, this article presents a process for crafting messages designed to improve people's health behaviors. The process, termed consumer-based health communications (CHC), transforms scientific recommendations into message strategies that are relevant to the consumer. The core of CHC is consumer research conducted to understand the consumer's reality, and thereby allowing six strategic questions to be answered. The immediate result of the CHC process is a strategy statement--a few pages that lay out who the target consumer is, what action should be taken, what to promise and how to make the promise credible, how and when to reach him or her, and what image to convey. The strategy statement then guides the execution of all communication efforts, be they public relations, mass media, direct marketing, media advocacy, or interpersonal influence. It identifies the most important "levers" for contact with the consumer. Everyone from creative specialists through management and program personnel can use the strategy statement as a touchstone to guide and judge the effectiveness of their efforts. The article provides a step by step illustration of the CHC process using the 5 A Day campaign as an example.

76 FR 58006 - Consumer Health IT Pledge Program

Science.gov (United States)

2011-09-19

... Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) is leading a national campaign to educate and engage the... have the ability to educate consumers about the importance of getting access to and using their health information (e.g., employers, consumer and disease-based organizations, healthcare associations, product...

European consumers and health claims: attitudes, understanding and purchasing behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Wills, Josephine M; Storcksdieck genannt Bonsmann, Stefan; Kolka, Magdalena; Grunert, Klaus G

2012-05-01

Health claims on food products are often used as a means to highlight scientifically proven health benefits associated with consuming those foods. But do consumers understand and trust health claims? This paper provides an overview of recent research on consumers and health claims including attitudes, understanding and purchasing behaviour. A majority of studies investigated selective product-claim combinations, with ambiguous findings apart from consumers' self-reported generic interest in health claims. There are clear indications that consumer responses differ substantially according to the nature of carrier product, the type of health claim, functional ingredient used or a combination of these components. Health claims tend to be perceived more positively when linked to a product with an overall positive health image, whereas some studies demonstrate higher perceived credibility of products with general health claims (e.g. omega-3 and brain development) compared to disease risk reduction claims (e.g. bioactive peptides to reduce risk of heart disease), others report the opposite. Inconsistent evidence also exists on the correlation between having a positive attitude towards products with health claims and purchase intentions. Familiarity with the functional ingredient and/or its claimed health effect seems to result in a more favourable evaluation. Better nutritional knowledge, however, does not automatically lead to a positive attitude towards products carrying health messages. Legislation in the European Union requires that the claim is understood by the average consumer. As most studies on consumers' understanding of health claims are based on subjective understanding, this remains an area for more investigation.

Convergence of service, policy, and science toward consumer-driven mental health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Christopher D; Manderscheid, Ronald W; Daniels, Allen S; Compagni, Amelia

2006-12-01

A common theme is emerging in sentinel reports on the United States health care system. Consumer relevance and demands on service systems and practices are influencing how mental health care is delivered and how systems will be shaped in the future. The present report seeks to assemble a confluence of consumer-driven themes from noteworthy reports on the state of the mental health system in the U.S. It also explores innovative efforts, promising practices, collaborative efforts, as well as identification of barriers to consumer-directed care, with possible solutions. The report reviews the relevant public mental health policy and data used in published work. The findings indicate an increasing public and private interest in promoting consumer-driven care, even though historical systems of care predominate, and often create, barriers to wide-spread redesign of a consumer-centered mental health care system. Innovative consumer-driven practices are increasing as quality, choice, and self-determination become integral parts of a redesigned U.S. mental health care system. The use of consumer-driven approaches in mental health is limited at best. These programs challenge industry norms and traditional practices. Limitations include the need for additional and thorough evaluations of effectiveness (cost and clinical) and replicability of consumer-directed programs. Consumer-driven services indicate that mental health consumers are expecting to be more participative in their mental health care. This expectation will influence how traditional mental health services and providers become more consumer-centric and meet the demand. Public and private interest in consumer-driven health care range from creating cost-conscious consumers to individualized control of recovery. The health care sector should seek to invest more resources in the provision of consumer-driven health care programs. The results of this study have implications and are informative for other countries where

Consumer involvement in the health technology assessment program.

Science.gov (United States)

Royle, Jane; Oliver, Sandy

2004-01-01

This study aims to describe a cycle of development leading to sustainable methods for involving consumers in the management of a program commissioning health technology assessment. Staff time was dedicated to developing procedures for recruiting and briefing consumers to participate in prioritizing, commissioning, and reporting research. Resources and support were developed in light of early feedback from consumers and those working with them. These were piloted and amended before being used routinely. Over 4 years, procedures and resources have been developed to support six consumers attending seven to eight prioritization meetings a year; thirty to forty-five consumers each year commenting on research need for particular topics; thirty consumers a year commenting on research proposals, and twenty a year commenting on research reports. The procedures include clear job descriptions, induction and development days, clear briefing materials, payment for substantial tasks, and regularly seeking feedback to improve procedures. Explicit, inclusive, and reproducible methods for supporting consumer involvement that satisfy National Health Service policy recommendations for involving consumers in research require dedicated staff time to support a cycle of organizational development.

Consumers' health-related perceptions of bread - Implications for labeling and health communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Sandvik, Pernilla; Nydahl, Margaretha; Kihlberg, Iwona; Marklinder, Ingela

2018-02-01

There is a wide variety of commercial bread types and the present study identifies potential pitfalls in consumer evaluations of bread from a health perspective. The aim is to describe consumers' health-related perceptions of bread by exploring which health-related quality attributes consumers associate with bread and whether there are differences with regard to age, gender and education level. A postal and web-based sequential mixed-mode survey (n = 1134, 62% responded online and 38% by paper) with open-ended questions and an elicitation task with pictures of commercial breads were used. Responses were content analyzed and inductively categorized. Three fourths (n = 844) knew of breads they considered healthy; these were most commonly described using terms such as "coarse," "whole grain," "fiber rich," "sourdough," "crisp," "less sugar," "dark," "rye," "seeds," "a commercial brand," "homemade" and "kernels." The breads were perceived as healthy mainly because they "contain fiber," are "good for the stomach," have good "satiation" and beneficial "glycemic properties." The frequency of several elicited attributes and health effects differed as a function of age group (18-44 vs. 45-80 years), gender and education level group (up to secondary education vs. university). Difficulties identifying healthy bread were perceived as a barrier for consumption especially among consumers with a lower education level. Several of the health effects important to consumers cannot be communicated on food packages and consumers must therefore use their own cues to identify these properties. This may lead to consumers being misled especially if a bread is labeled e.g., as a sourdough bread or a rye bread, despite a low content. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Consumer attitudes about health care-acquired infections and hand hygiene.

Science.gov (United States)

McGuckin, Maryanne; Waterman, Richard; Shubin, Arlene

2006-01-01

Mandatory reporting and disclosure of health care-acquired infections have resulted in controversy over the perceived notion that consumers will not understand how to interpret data and that such information may negatively influence utilization of hospitals. The objective was to determine consumers' attitudes about health care-acquired infections, hand hygiene practices, and patient empowerment. A telephone survey based on a random digit dialing sample of all households in the United States was conducted. Consumers were asked about choosing a hospital, hand hygiene practices, and health care-acquired infections. Some 94% of respondents rated environmental cleanliness as very important. Hospital infection rates would influence decision making for 93% of consumers. Four in 5 consumers said they would ask their health care worker to wash and sanitize his or her hands. Our findings strongly suggest that (1) consumers will use infection data in selecting and/or leaving a hospital system and (2) consumers are ready to be empowered with information to ensure a positive outcome.

Readability assessment of internet-based consumer health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Tiffany M; Volsko, Teresa A

2008-10-01

A substantial amount of consumer health-related information is available on the Internet. Studies suggest that consumer comprehension may be compromised if content exceeds a 7th-grade reading level, which is the average American reading level identified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). To determine the readability of Internet-based consumer health information offered by organizations that represent the top 5 medical-related causes of death in America. We hypothesized that the average readability (reading grade level) of Internet-based consumer health information on heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes would exceed the USDHHS recommended reading level. From the Web sites of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Diabetes Association, and American Stroke Association we randomly gathered 100 consumer-health-information articles. We assessed each article with 3 readability-assessment tools: SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), Gunning FOG (Frequency of Gobbledygook), and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. We also categorized the articles per the USDHHS readability categories: easy to read (below 6th-grade level), average difficulty (7th to 9th grade level), and difficult (above 9th-grade level). Most of the articles exceeded the 7th-grade reading level and were in the USDHHS "difficult" category. The mean +/- SD readability score ranges were: SMOG 11.80 +/- 2.44 to 14.40 +/- 1.47, Flesch-Kincaid 9.85 +/- 2.25 to 11.55 +/- 0.76, and Gunning FOG 13.10 +/- 3.42 to 16.05 +/- 2.31. The articles from the American Lung Association had the lowest reading-level scores with each of the readability-assessment tools. Our findings support that Web-based medical information intended for consumer use is written above USDHHS recommended reading levels. Compliance with these recommendations may increase the likelihood of consumer comprehension.

Ethnocentrism, Religiosity, Environmental and Health Consciousness: Motivators for Anti-Consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ramazan KAYNAK

2011-11-01

Full Text Available This paper covers highlighting the importance of anti-consumer groups in today’s markets and several outstanding factors shaping their reaction against consumption, which are ethnocentrism, religiosity, environmental and health consciousness. A conceptual model is presented which examines the explaining power of ethnocentrism, religiosity, environmental and health consciousness upon voluntary simplifiers and global impact consumers. Data were collected through an e-questionnaire by sending posts to the anti-consumer websites. A total of 503 useable responses were retained for analysis. The analysis reveals that ethnocentrism, environmental and health consciousness have significant impacts upon anti-consumers. In addition, religiosity has a negative impact upon global impact consumers’ anti-consumption behavior. Raising sensitiveness to environmental and health consciousness and ethnocentrism with regards to dealing with anti-consumers enables companies to have sustainable competitive power. These consumers’ growing satisfaction contributes to consumer loyalty in addition to an increase in market share. Researches related to anti-consumers have traditionally emphasized their impacts upon companies’ profits and reputation. On the contrary, this study reveals the main motivations behind voluntary simplifiers and global impact consumers and puts forth a new perspective by presenting the findings related to anti-consumers in Turkey.

The role of affect in consumer evaluation of health care services.

Science.gov (United States)

Ng, Sandy; Russell-Bennett, Rebekah

2015-01-01

Health care services are typically consumed out of necessity, typically to recover from illness. While the consumption of health care services can be emotional given that consumers experience fear, hope, relief, and joy, surprisingly, there is little research on the role of consumer affect in health care consumption. We propose that consumer affect is a heuristic cue that drives evaluation of health care services. Drawing from cognitive appraisal theory and affect-as-information theory, this article tests a research model (N = 492) that investigates consumer affect resulting from service performance on subsequent service outcomes.

Understanding consumer preferences for communication channels to create consumer-directed health promotion efforts in psychiatric rehabilitation settings.

Science.gov (United States)

DiFranco, Evelina; Bressi, Sara K; Salzer, Mark S

2006-01-01

People with serious mental illnesses experience increased rates of physical illnesses. Drop-in centers and psychosocial rehabilitation programs can serve as important settings for health promotion efforts, but such efforts should utilize communication strategies that are used by consumers and are perceived to be reliable. Focus groups involving 23 consumers at drop-in centers in Philadelphia were conducted to assess the perceived usefulness of health information from a variety of sources. Consumers especially liked getting information from other people, including health care professionals, friends, and family, and found the information to be reliable and useful. Print literature, the Internet, and a library had various limitations. Respondents were generally unfamiliar with community health fairs and related events. Consumers considered trustworthiness, proximity and availability, and the specificity and depth of information provided by a communication source when getting health information. Implications for health promotion efforts are discussed.

Australian consumer awareness of health benefits associated with vegetable consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Rekhy, Reetica; Khan, Aila; Eason, Jocelyn; Mactavish-West, Hazel; Lister, Carolyn; Mcconchie, Robyn

2017-04-01

The present study investigated the perceived health benefits of specific vegetable consumption to guide the use of nutrition and health claims on vegetable marketing collateral. Free elicitation and consumer ranking data were collected through an online survey of 1000 adults from across Australia and analysed for the perceived importance of vegetables in the daily diet, number of serves consumed per day, knowledge about health-related benefits of specific vegetables and perceived health benefits of vegetable consumption. The importance of vegetables in the diet and daily vegetable consumption was higher in people from an English-speaking background, females, people aged 45 years and over and people living in non-metropolitan areas. Digestion was selected as the major health benefit from consumption of specific vegetables. However, understanding of the health benefits of specific vegetable consumption was relatively low among consumers. Half of the respondents were not sure of the health benefits associated with specific vegetables, except for carrots and spinach. Some respondents volunteered nutrient content or other information. There was no clear indication that consumers understand the specific health benefits conferred by consumption of vegetables. Nutrient and health benefit labelling therefore has the capacity to enhance knowledge of vegetable consumers. It is recommended that health benefit labelling be tailored to promote greater consumption of vegetables in those demographic groups where vegetable consumption was lower. The present study assists the Australian vegetable industry in helping consumers make more informed consumption choices. © 2016 Dietitians Association of Australia.

Resveratrol and health from a consumer perspective

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Grunert, Klaus G

2015-01-01

Resveratrol is an ingredient widely researched, with growing evidence of health-promoting effects. However, the reactions of supplement or food consumers to resveratrol has not been researched, and the ingredient is yet unknown to most consumers. We used respective literature and our own...... resveratrol consumer studies with Danish and U.S. consumers to look at current findings and future research directions for three questions. (1)Which factors determine consumer interest in a yet unknown functional ingredient such as resveratrol? (2)Howshould resveratrol bemarketed as a new functional...... ingredient to be understood and favorably perceived? (3) What could be the effects of adoption of an ingredient such as resveratrol on the healthy lifestyle of a consumer? Literature and first results indicate that personal relevance and familiarity are crucial factors; however, consumers show little...

Determinants of consumer understanding of health claims

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Grunert, Klaus G; Scholderer, Joachim; Rogeaux, Michel

2011-01-01

as safe, risky or other. In addition to the open questions on claim understanding, respondents rated a number of statements on claim interpretation for agreement and completed scales on interest in healthy eating, attitude to functional foods, and subjective knowledge on food and health. Results showed......The new EU regulation on nutrition and health claims states that claims can be permitted only if they can be expected to be understood by consumers. Investigating determinants of consumer understanding of health claims has therefore become an important topic. Understanding of a health claim...... on a yoghurt product was investigated with a sample of 720 category users in Germany. Health claim understanding was measured using open answers, which were subsequently content analysed and classified by comparison with the scientific dossier of the health claim. Based on this respondents were classified...

Benefits of online health education: perception from consumers and health professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Win, Khin Than; Hassan, Naffisah Mohd; Bonney, Andrew; Iverson, Don

2015-03-01

With the advancement in technology and availability of the Internet, online health education could become one of the media for health education. As health education is to persuade patients on health behavioural change, understanding perceived benefits of online health education is an important aspect to explore. The aim of this study is to explore consumers and health professionals opinion on online health education. Literature review was conducted and identified the benefits of online health education (OHE). Survey was conducted to health consumers and health professionals. Descriptive analyses were performed using SPSS Version 19.0. The analysis of the literature has identified a set of 12 potential benefits of OHE which had been used to understand the perceptions of the effectiveness of OPE sites and these have been validated in the study. This study has the practical implication as the study identified OHE effectiveness, which definitely can assist health practitioners on health education, which can lead to better health outcome.

Mining consumer health vocabulary from community-generated text.

Science.gov (United States)

Vydiswaran, V G Vinod; Mei, Qiaozhu; Hanauer, David A; Zheng, Kai

2014-01-01

Community-generated text corpora can be a valuable resource to extract consumer health vocabulary (CHV) and link them to professional terminologies and alternative variants. In this research, we propose a pattern-based text-mining approach to identify pairs of CHV and professional terms from Wikipedia, a large text corpus created and maintained by the community. A novel measure, leveraging the ratio of frequency of occurrence, was used to differentiate consumer terms from professional terms. We empirically evaluated the applicability of this approach using a large data sample consisting of MedLine abstracts and all posts from an online health forum, MedHelp. The results show that the proposed approach is able to identify synonymous pairs and label the terms as either consumer or professional term with high accuracy. We conclude that the proposed approach provides great potential to produce a high quality CHV to improve the performance of computational applications in processing consumer-generated health text.

Health care marketing: Basic features

OpenAIRE

Gajić-Stevanović Milena

2006-01-01

Paper discuss an introduction to importance's as well as challenges facing health care sector in many countries. Particular attention is devoted to the preconditions and/or basic requirements have to be developed in order to make health sector to functioned. Focusing to end users as well as employing marketing tools ought to be right orientation.

Physicians' and consumers' conflicting attitudes toward health care advertising.

Science.gov (United States)

Krohn, F B; Flynn, C

2001-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to explore the conflicting attitudes held by physicians and health care consumers toward health care advertising in an attempt to resolve the question. The paper introduces the differing positions held by the two groups. The rationale behind physicians' attitudes is then presented that advertising can be unethical, misleading, deceptive, and lead to unnecessary price increases. They believe that word-of-mouth does and should play the major role in attracting new patients. The opposite view of consumers is then presented which contends that health care advertising leads to higher consumer awareness of services, better services, promotes competitive pricing, and lowers rather than raises health care costs. The final section of the paper compares the arguments presented and concludes that health care advertising clearly has a place in the health care industry.

The role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hieke, Sophie; Cascanette, Tamara; Pravst, Igor

2016-01-01

Health claims and symbols are a convenient tool when it comes to the marketing of foods and they should, in theory, support consumers in making informed food choices, ideally in choosing healthier food products. However, not much is known about their actual impact on consumer behaviour. CLYMBOL...... (“The Role of health-related CLaims and sYMBOLs in consumer behaviour”) is an EU-funded project aiming to study how health claims and symbols influence consumer understanding, purchase and consumption behaviour. During a 4-year period, a wide range of research studies have been conducted across Europe......, in order to analyse European consumer behaviour in the context of health claims and symbols. Results of the studies will provide a basis for recommendations for stakeholders such as policy makers, the food industry and consumer and patient organisations....

Understanding determinants of consumer mobile health usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Rai, Arun; Chen, Liwei; Pye, Jessica; Baird, Aaron

2013-08-02

Consumer use of mobile devices as health service delivery aids (mHealth) is growing, especially as smartphones become ubiquitous. However, questions remain as to how consumer traits, health perceptions, situational characteristics, and demographics may affect consumer mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. We examine how consumers' personal innovativeness toward mobile services (PIMS), perceived health conditions, health care availability, health care utilization, demographics, and socioeconomic status affect their (1) mHealth usage intentions and extent of mHealth assimilation, and (2) preference for mHealth as a complement or substitute for in-person doctor visits. Leveraging constructs from research in technology acceptance, technology assimilation, consumer behavior, and health informatics, we developed a cross-sectional online survey to study determinants of consumers' mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences. Data were collected from 1132 nationally representative US consumers and analyzed by using moderated multivariate regressions and ANOVA. The results indicate that (1) 430 of 1132 consumers in our sample (37.99%) have started using mHealth, (2) a larger quantity of consumers are favorable to using mHealth as a complement to in-person doctor visits (758/1132, 66.96%) than as a substitute (532/1132, 47.00%), and (3) consumers' PIMS and perceived health conditions have significant positive direct influences on mHealth usage intentions, assimilation, and channel preferences, and significant positive interactive influences on assimilation and channel preferences. The independent variables within the moderated regressions collectively explained 59.70% variance in mHealth usage intentions, 60.41% in mHealth assimilation, 34.29% in preference for complementary use of mHealth, and 45.30% in preference for substitutive use of mHealth. In a follow-up ANOVA examination, we found that those who were more favorable

Barbecue Basics: Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... leader in FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Wash hands. It seems basic, but not ... Federal, State & Local Officials Consumers Health Professionals Science & Research Industry Scroll back to top Popular Content Home ...

Health as a basic human need: would this be enough?

Science.gov (United States)

de Campos, Thana Cristina

2012-01-01

Although the value of health is universally agreed upon, its definition is not. Both the WHO and the UN define health in terms of well-being. They advocate a globally shared responsibility that all of us - states, international organizations, pharmaceutical corporations, civil society, and individuals - bear for the health (that is, the well-being) of the world's population. In this paper I argue that this current well-being conception of health is troublesome. Its problem resides precisely in the fact that the well-being conception of health, as an all-encompassing label, does not properly distinguish between the different realities of health and the different demands of justice, which arise in each case. In addressing responsibilities related to the right to health, we need to work with a more differentiated vocabulary, which can account for these different realities. A crucial distinction to bear in mind, for the purposes of moral deliberation and the crafting of political and legal institutions, is the difference between basic and non-basic health needs. This distinction is crucial because we have presumably more stringent obligations and rights in relation to human needs that are basic, as they justify stronger moral claims, than those grounded on non-basic human needs. It is important to keep this moral distinction in mind because many of the world's problems regarding the right to health relate to basic health needs. By conflating these needs with less essential ones, we risk confusing different types of moral claims and weakening the overall case for establishing duties regarding the right to health. There is, therefore, a practical need to reevaluate the current normative conception of health so that it distinguishes, within the broad scope of well-being, between what is basic and what is not. My aim here is to shed light onto this distinction and to show the need for this differentiation. I do so, first, by providing, on the basis of David Miller

Transforming health care delivery through consumer engagement, health data transparency, and patient-generated health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Sands, D Z; Wald, J S

2014-08-15

Address current topics in consumer health informatics. Literature review. Current health care delivery systems need to be more effective in the management of chronic conditions as the population turns older and experiences escalating chronic illness that threatens to consume more health care resources than countries can afford. Most health care systems are positioned poorly to accommodate this. Meanwhile, the availability of ever more powerful and cheaper information and communication technology, both for professionals and consumers, has raised the capacity to gather and process information, communicate more effectively, and monitor the quality of care processes. Adapting health care systems to serve current and future needs requires new streams of data to enable better self-management, improve shared decision making, and provide more virtual care. Changes in reimbursement for health care services, increased adoption of relevant technologies, patient engagement, and calls for data transparency raise the importance of patient-generated health information, remote monitoring, non-visit based care, and other innovative care approaches that foster more frequent contact with patients and better management of chronic conditions.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hieke, S.; Kuljanic, N.; Wills, J.M.; Pravst, I.; Kaur, A.; Raats, M.M.; Trijp, van H.C.M.; Verbeke, W.; Grunert, K.G.

2015-01-01

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and

Integrating consumer engagement in health and medical research - an Australian framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Caroline L; Mott, Kathy; Cousins, Michael; Miller, Stephanie; Johnson, Anne; Lawson, Tony; Wesselingh, Steve

2017-02-10

Quality practice of consumer engagement is still in its infancy in many sectors of medical research. The South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute (SAHMRI) identified, early in its development, the opportunity to integrate evidence-driven consumer and community engagement into its operations. SAHMRI partnered with Health Consumers Alliance and consumers in evidence generation. A Partnership Steering Committee of researchers and consumers was formed for the project. An iterative mixed-method qualitative process was used to generate a framework for consumer engagement. This process included a literature review followed by semi-structured interviews with experts in consumer engagement and lead medical researchers, group discussions and a consensus workshop with the Partnership Steering Committee, facilitated by Health Consumer Alliance. The literature revealed a dearth of evidence about effective consumer engagement methodologies. Four organisational dimensions are reported to contribute to success, namely governance, infrastructure, capacity and advocacy. Key themes identified through the stakeholder interviews included sustained leadership, tangible benefits, engagement strategies should be varied, resourcing, a moral dimension, and challenges. The consensus workshop produced a framework and tangible strategies. Comprehensive examples of consumer participation in health and medical research are limited. There are few documented studies of what techniques are effective. This evidence-driven framework, developed in collaboration with consumers, is being integrated in a health and medical research institute with diverse programs of research. This framework is offered as a contribution to the evidence base around meaningful consumer engagement and as a template for other research institutions to utilise.

Interventions to assist health consumers to find reliable online health information: a comprehensive review.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth Lee

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Health information on the Internet is ubiquitous, and its use by health consumers prevalent. Finding and understanding relevant online health information, and determining content reliability, pose real challenges for many health consumers. PURPOSE: To identify the types of interventions that have been implemented to assist health consumers to find reliable online health information, and where possible, describe and compare the types of outcomes studied. DATA SOURCES: PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus and Cochrane Library databases; WorldCat and Scirus 'gray literature' search engines; and manual review of reference lists of selected publications. STUDY SELECTION: Publications were selected by firstly screening title, abstract, and then full text. DATA EXTRACTION: Seven publications met the inclusion criteria, and were summarized in a data extraction form. The form incorporated the PICOS (Population Intervention Comparators Outcomes and Study Design Model. Two eligible gray literature papers were also reported. DATA SYNTHESIS: Relevant data from included studies were tabulated to enable descriptive comparison. A brief critique of each study was included in the tables. This review was unable to follow systematic review methods due to the paucity of research and humanistic interventions reported. LIMITATIONS: While extensive, the gray literature search may have had limited reach in some countries. The paucity of research on this topic limits conclusions that may be drawn. CONCLUSIONS: The few eligible studies predominantly adopted a didactic approach to assisting health consumers, whereby consumers were either taught how to find credible websites, or how to use the Internet. Common types of outcomes studied include knowledge and skills pertaining to Internet use and searching for reliable health information. These outcomes were predominantly self-assessed by participants. There is potential for further research to explore other avenues for

Interventions to assist health consumers to find reliable online health information: a comprehensive review.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Kenneth; Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery D; Emmerton, Lynne M

2014-01-01

Health information on the Internet is ubiquitous, and its use by health consumers prevalent. Finding and understanding relevant online health information, and determining content reliability, pose real challenges for many health consumers. To identify the types of interventions that have been implemented to assist health consumers to find reliable online health information, and where possible, describe and compare the types of outcomes studied. PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL Plus and Cochrane Library databases; WorldCat and Scirus 'gray literature' search engines; and manual review of reference lists of selected publications. Publications were selected by firstly screening title, abstract, and then full text. Seven publications met the inclusion criteria, and were summarized in a data extraction form. The form incorporated the PICOS (Population Intervention Comparators Outcomes and Study Design) Model. Two eligible gray literature papers were also reported. Relevant data from included studies were tabulated to enable descriptive comparison. A brief critique of each study was included in the tables. This review was unable to follow systematic review methods due to the paucity of research and humanistic interventions reported. While extensive, the gray literature search may have had limited reach in some countries. The paucity of research on this topic limits conclusions that may be drawn. The few eligible studies predominantly adopted a didactic approach to assisting health consumers, whereby consumers were either taught how to find credible websites, or how to use the Internet. Common types of outcomes studied include knowledge and skills pertaining to Internet use and searching for reliable health information. These outcomes were predominantly self-assessed by participants. There is potential for further research to explore other avenues for assisting health consumers to find reliable online health information, and to assess outcomes via objective measures.

Characterization of Patient Interest in Provider-Based Consumer Health Information Technology: Survey Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Featherall, Joseph; Lapin, Brittany; Chaitoff, Alexander; Havele, Sonia A; Thompson, Nicolas; Katzan, Irene

2018-04-19

Consumer health information technology can improve patient engagement in their health care and assist in navigating the complexities of health care delivery. However, the consumer health information technology offerings of health systems are often driven by provider rather than patient perspectives and inadequately address patient needs, thus limiting their adoption by patients. Consideration given to patients as stakeholders in the development of such technologies may improve adoption, efficacy, and consumer health information technology resource allocation. The aims of this paper were to measure patient interest in different health system consumer health information technology apps and determine the influence of patient characteristics on consumer health information technology interest. Patients seen at the Cleveland Clinic Neurological Institute were electronically surveyed on their interest in using different consumer health information technology apps. A self-efficacy scale, Patient Health Questionnaire-9 depression screen, and EuroQol 5 dimensions health-related quality of life scale were also completed by patients. Logistic regression was used to determine the influence of patient characteristics on interest in consumer health information technology in the categories of self-management, education, and communication. The majority of 3852 patient respondents had an interest in all technology categories assessed in the survey. The highest interest was in apps that allow patients to ask questions of providers (3476/3852, 90.24%) and to schedule appointments (3211/3839, 83.64%). Patient interest in consumer health information technology was significantly associated with greater depression symptoms, worse quality of life, greater health self-efficacy, and smartphone ownership (Pinformation technology development and their perspectives should consistently guide development efforts. Health systems should consider focusing on consumer health information technologies

Financial coping strategies of mental health consumers: managing social benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Caplan, Mary Ager

2014-05-01

Mental health consumers depend on social benefits in the forms of supplemental security income and social security disability insurance for their livelihood. Although these programs pay meager benefits, little research has been undertaken into how this population makes ends meet. Using a qualitative approach, this study asks what are the financial coping strategies of mental health consumers? Seven approaches were identified: subsidies, cost-effective shopping, budgeting, prioritizing, technology, debt management, and saving money. Results illustrate the resourcefulness of mental health consumers in managing meager social benefits and highlight the need to strengthen community mental health efforts with financial capabilities education.

Direct-to-consumer advertising of predictive genetic tests: a health belief model based examination of consumer response.

Science.gov (United States)

Rollins, Brent L; Ramakrishnan, Shravanan; Perri, Matthew

2014-01-01

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising of predictive genetic tests (PGTs) has added a new dimension to health advertising. This study used an online survey based on the health belief model framework to examine and more fully understand consumers' responses and behavioral intentions in response to a PGT DTC advertisement. Overall, consumers reported moderate intentions to talk with their doctor and seek more information about PGTs after advertisement exposure, though consumers did not seem ready to take the advertised test or engage in active information search. Those who perceived greater threat from the disease, however, had significantly greater behavioral intentions and information search behavior.

Consumer-directed health plans: what happened?

Science.gov (United States)

Goldsmith, Jeff

2007-08-01

CDHPs can stabilize growth in health costs, but the health plan-subscriber relationship should be more transparent. CFOs should ensure that increased cost exposure in CDHPs is paired with broad, deep disease management and employee assistance support. Hospitals should plan for the likelihood that, one way or another, consumers will be paying more of their healthcare bill.

Improving exchange with consumers within mental health organizations: Recognizing mental ill health experience as a 'sneaky, special degree'.

Science.gov (United States)

Scholz, Brett; Bocking, Julia; Happell, Brenda

2018-02-01

Stigmatizing views towards consumers may be held even by those working within mental health organizations. Contemporary mental health policies require organizations to work collaboratively with consumers in producing and delivering services. Using social exchange theory, which emphasises mutual exchange to maximise benefits in partnership, the current study explores the perspectives of those working within organizations that have some level of consumer leadership. Interviews were conducted with 14 participants from a range of mental health organizations. Data were transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analytic and discursive psychological techniques. Findings suggest stigma is still prevalent even in organizations that have consumers in leadership positions, and consumers are often perceived as less able to work in mental health organizations than non-consumers. Several discourses challenged such a view - showing how consumers bring value to mental health organizations through their expertise in the mental health system, and their ability to provide safety and support to other consumers. Through a social exchange theory lens, the authors call for organizations to challenge stigma and promote the value that consumers can bring to maximize mutual benefits. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Mental health consumer participation in education: a structured literature review.

Science.gov (United States)

Arblaster, Karen; Mackenzie, Lynette; Willis, Karen

2015-10-01

Consumer participation in design, delivery and evaluation of occupational therapy educational programs is a recently introduced requirement for accreditation. It aligns with the principle of recovery, which underpins Australian mental health policy. Graduates' capabilities for recovery-oriented practice are thought to be enhanced through learning from consumers' lived experience. This structured literature review evaluates the current evidence for mental health consumer participation in health professional education to inform occupational therapy educators. Searches were completed in five online databases, one journal and published reading lists on the topic. Studies were included if they addressed mental health consumer participation in health professional education programs, were published in peer reviewed journals between 2000 and 2014 and were in English. Articles were critically reviewed, and analysed for key findings related to stages of the educational process and recovery-oriented practice capabilities. An emerging body of evidence for consumer participation in mental health education was identified. Studies are characterised by a lack of quality and a low to medium level of evidence. Findings relate to design, planning, delivery and evaluation of education as well as to most aspects of recovery-oriented practice. Emphases on exploratory research and proximal outcomes, and a reliance on published outcome measurement instruments designed for other purposes are key limitations in this body of evidence. This study identifies a weak evidence base for the requirement for consumer participation in occupational therapy programs, specifically related to mental health curricula. A research agenda is proposed in response. © 2015 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Consumer Health Information and the Demand for Physician Visits.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmid, Christian

2015-12-01

The present study empirically investigates the effect of consumer health information on the demand for physician visits. Using a direct information measure based on questions from the Swiss Health Survey, we estimate a Poisson hurdle model for office visits. We find that information has a negative effect on health care utilization, contradicting previous findings in the literature. We consider differences in the used information measures to be the most likely explanation for the different findings. However, our results suggest that increasing consumer health information has the potential to reduce health care expenditures. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Evidence-based patient choice and consumer health informatics in the Internet age.

Science.gov (United States)

Eysenbach, G; Jadad, A R

2001-01-01

In this paper we explore current access to and barriers to health information for consumers. We discuss how computers and other developments in information technology are ushering in the era of consumer health informatics, and the potential that lies ahead. It is clear that we witness a period in which the public will have unprecedented ability to access information and to participate actively in evidence-based health care. We propose that consumer health informatics be regarded as a whole new academic discipline, one that should be devoted to the exploration of the new possibilities that informatics is creating for consumers in relation to health and health care issues.

[Games as an alternative for teaching basic health concepts].

Science.gov (United States)

Castillo Lizardo, J M; Rodríguez-Morán, M; Guerrero-Romero, F

2001-05-01

To determine, for the teaching of basic health concepts to school-age children, the effectiveness of an educational strategy based on traditional children's games. Intervention study carried out in the city of Durango, Mexico, in June 2000 with 300 children from 9 to 11 years old. The children were randomly divided into two groups. The children in Group A used a modified version of a Mexican popular game called Serpientes y Escaleras (Snakes and Ladders) that included messages on basic health concepts; the children in Group B made up the control group and did not play the modified game. At baseline there were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of age, grade level, or their scores on a knowledge test of basic health concepts. After the educational intervention, the health concepts test scores, out of a maximum possible of 10, were 9.3 +/- 0.8 for Group A and 7.5 +/- 1.1 for Group B (P games that include health and hygiene messages can be an alternative for teaching basic health concepts.

Consumer health information seeking as hypothesis testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Keselman, Alla; Browne, Allen C; Kaufman, David R

2008-01-01

Despite the proliferation of consumer health sites, lay individuals often experience difficulty finding health information online. The present study attempts to understand users' information seeking difficulties by drawing on a hypothesis testing explanatory framework. It also addresses the role of user competencies and their interaction with internet resources. Twenty participants were interviewed about their understanding of a hypothetical scenario about a family member suffering from stable angina and then searched MedlinePlus consumer health information portal for information on the problem presented in the scenario. Participants' understanding of heart disease was analyzed via semantic analysis. Thematic coding was used to describe information seeking trajectories in terms of three key strategies: verification of the primary hypothesis, narrowing search within the general hypothesis area and bottom-up search. Compared to an expert model, participants' understanding of heart disease involved different key concepts, which were also differently grouped and defined. This understanding provided the framework for search-guiding hypotheses and results interpretation. Incorrect or imprecise domain knowledge led individuals to search for information on irrelevant sites, often seeking out data to confirm their incorrect initial hypotheses. Online search skills enhanced search efficiency, but did not eliminate these difficulties. Regardless of their web experience and general search skills, lay individuals may experience difficulty with health information searches. These difficulties may be related to formulating and evaluating hypotheses that are rooted in their domain knowledge. Informatics can provide support at the levels of health information portals, individual websites, and consumer education tools.

Social marketing: consumer focused health promotion.

Science.gov (United States)

Blair, J E

1995-10-01

1. Social marketing provides a theoretical basis to increase awareness of preventable health conditions and to increase participation in wellness programs. 2. The philosophy of social marketing underscores the necessity to be aware of and responsive to the consumer's perception of needs. 3. Social marketing is distinguished by its emphasis on "non-tangible" products such as ideas, attitudes, and lifestyle changes. 4. "Marketing mix" is a social marketing strategy that intertwines elements of product, price, place, and promotion to satisfy needs and wants of consumers.

Supporting Better Treatments for Meeting Health Consumers' Needs: Extracting Semantics in Social Data for Representing a Consumer Health Ontology

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Yunseon

2016-01-01

Introduction: The purpose of this paper is to provide a framework for building a consumer health ontology using social tags. This would assist health users when they are accessing health information and increase the number of documents relevant to their needs. Methods: In order to extract concepts from social tags, this study conducted an…

Under consumers' scrutiny - an investigation into consumers' attitudes and concerns about nudging in the realm of health behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Junghans, Astrid F; Cheung, Tracy T L; De Ridder, Denise D T

2015-04-09

Nudging strategies have recently attracted attention from scholars and policy makers for their potential in influencing people's behaviors on large scales. But is the fact that nudges do not forbid any choice-options or significantly alter people's economic incentives sufficient to conclude that nudges should be implemented? While this is discussed amongst scholars from various disciplines the voices of consumers, the target-group of nudges, remain unheard. Since understanding their knowledge about nudging and their opinions on being nudged are crucial for the evaluation of the moral appropriateness of nudging, the current study examines consumers' knowledge of and attitudes toward nudging in general and the realm of health behavior. In this qualitative investigation in-depth semi-structured interviews with UK consumers were conducted to examine consumers' attitudes to four domains of inquiry around which the scholarly discussions about nudging have revolved: consumers' approval of nudging, consumers' views on the origin of nudges, consumers' perceived effectiveness of nudging, and consumers' concerns about manipulative aspects of nudging. Interviews revealed that consumers are largely unfamiliar with the concept of nudging altogether. Once defined and explained to them most consumers approve of the concept, especially in the realm of health behavior, given particular conditions: 1. Nudges should be designed for benefiting individuals and society; 2. consumers comprehend the decision-making context and the reasoning behind the promotion of the targeted behavior. Interviews revealed very limited concerns with manipulative aspects of nudges. These findings call for better information-management to ensure consumers knowledge of nudges and awareness of their current implementation. Under that condition the findings encourage the implementation of nudges benefitting individuals and society in domains that consumers comprehend, such as health behaviors. Further research

Using contingent choice methods to assess consumer preferences about health plan design.

Science.gov (United States)

Marquis, M Susan; Buntin, Melinda Beeuwkes; Kapur, Kanika; Yegian, Jill M

2005-01-01

American insurers are designing products to contain health care costs by making consumers financially responsible for their choices. Little is known about how consumers will view these new designs. Our objective is to examine consumer preferences for selected benefit designs. We used the contingent choice method to assess willingness to pay for six health plan attributes. Our sample included subscribers to individual health insurance products in California, US. We used fitted logistic regression models to explore how preferences for the more generous attributes varied with the additional premium and with the characteristics of the subscriber. High quality was the most highly valued attribute based on the amounts consumers report they are willing to pay. They were also willing to pay substantial monthly premiums to reduce their overall financial risk. Individuals in lower health were willing to pay more to reduce their financial risk than individuals in better health. Consumers may prefer tiered-benefit designs to those that involve overall increases in cost sharing. More consumer information is needed to help consumers better evaluate the costs and benefits of their insurance choices.

Overcoming information asymmetry in consumer-directed health plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Retchin, Sheldon M

2007-04-01

Consumer-centric healthcare has been extolled as the centerpiece of a new model for managing both quality and price. However, information asymmetry in consumer-directed health plans (CDHPs) is a challenge that must be addressed. For CDHPs to work as intended and to gain acceptance, consumers need information regarding the quality and price of healthcare purchases. The federal government, particularly the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, could function as an official resource for information on performance and comparisons among facilities and providers. Because of workforce constraints among primary care physicians, a new group of healthcare professionals called "medical decision advisors" could be trained. Academic health centers would have to play a critical role in devising an appropriate curriculum, as well as designing a certification and credentialing process. However, with appropriate curricula and training, medical decision advisors could furnish information for consumers and aid in the complicated decisions they will face under CDHPs.

Consumer-sponsored prepaid group practice: restructuring the health care system.

Science.gov (United States)

Warden, G L

1984-01-01

The traditional separation of health care delivery and financing systems is breaking down as various new types of health care facilities are established and as payment continues to be a major concern. Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC) was organized as a prepaid group practice system responsive to consumers. Costs, methods of payment and delivery of care are interrelated and are all influenced by consumer ownership. GHC has been refining its benefit programs since 1945. Strategies for controlling use and costs focus on improved provider management and on flexibility. This article explains how the structure of GHC benefits the consumer.

Consumer Health-Related Activities on Social Media: Exploratory Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Benetoli, Arcelio; Chen, Timothy F; Aslani, Parisa

2017-10-13

Although a number of studies have investigated how consumers use social media for health-related purposes, there is a paucity of studies in the Australian context. This study aimed to explore how Australian consumers used social media for health-related purposes, specifically how they identified social media platforms, which were used, and which health-related activities commonly took place. A total of 5 focus groups (n=36 participants), each lasting 60 to 90 minutes, were conducted in the Sydney metropolitan area. The group discussions were audiorecorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were coded line-by-line and thematically analyzed. Participants used general search engines to locate health-related social media platforms. They accessed a wide range of social media on a daily basis, using several electronic devices (in particular, mobile phones). Although privacy was a concern, it did not prevent consumers from fully engaging in social media for health-related purposes. Blogs were used to learn from other people's experiences with the same condition. Facebook allowed consumers to follow health-related pages and to participate in disease-specific group discussions. Wikipedia was used for factual information about diseases and treatments. YouTube was accessed to learn about medical procedures such as surgery. No participant reported editing or contributing to Wikipedia or posting YouTube videos related to health topics. Twitter was rarely used for health-related purposes. Social media allowed consumers to obtain and provide disease and treatment-related information and social and emotional support for those living with the same condition. Most considered their participation as observational, but some also contributed (eg, responded to people's questions). Participants used a wide range of social media for health-related purposes. Medical information exchange (eg, disease and treatment) and social and emotional support were the cornerstones of their online

Consumer e-health solutions: the cure for Baumol's disease?

Science.gov (United States)

Brown, Adalsteinn D

2014-01-01

Baumol's disease is the fact that costs in persistently labour-intensive sectors such as healthcare do not drop, despite increased use of technology. The idea of consumer e-health solutions is seductive, because it provides one option for treating Baumol's disease. However, barriers to the implementation of these solutions exist, and the successful treatment of Baumol's disease with consumer e-health solutions rests on more than their removal. In this introduction, the editor-in-chief adds to the conversation four shifts that are critical to reaping the benefits of consumer e-health solutions: moving the focus from privacy to protection; from mere access to the use of information in decision-making; from the patient-provider dyad to one that includes a full formal and informal care team; and from structural solutions in healthcare to ones designed around the goals we have for our health system.

Consumers' intention to use health recommendation systems to receive personalized nutrition advice.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Sonja; Dellaert, Benedict G C; Ronteltap, Amber; van Trijp, Hans C M

2013-04-04

Sophisticated recommendation systems are used more and more in the health sector to assist consumers in healthy decision making. In this study we investigate consumers' evaluation of hypothetical health recommendation systems that provide personalized nutrition advice. We examine consumers' intention to use such a health recommendation system as a function of options related to the underlying system (e.g. the type of company that generates the advice) as well as intermediaries (e.g. general practitioner) that might assist in using the system. We further explore if the effect of both the system and intermediaries on intention to use a health recommendation system are mediated by consumers' perceived effort, privacy risk, usefulness and enjoyment. 204 respondents from a consumer panel in the Netherlands participated. The data were collected by means of a questionnaire. Each respondent evaluated three hypothetical health recommendation systems on validated multi-scale measures of effort, privacy risk, usefulness, enjoyment and intention to use the system. To test the hypothesized relationships we used regression analyses. We find evidence that the options related to the underlying system as well as the intermediaries involved influence consumers' intention to use such a health recommendation system and that these effects are mediated by perceptions of effort, privacy risk, usefulness and enjoyment. Also, we find that consumers value usefulness of a system more and enjoyment less when a general practitioner advices them to use a health recommendation system than if they use it out of their own curiosity. We developed and tested a model of consumers' intention to use a health recommendation system. We found that intermediaries play an important role in how consumers evaluate such a system over and above options of the underlying system that is used to generate the recommendation. Also, health-related information services seem to rely on endorsement by the medical sector

Basic biology in health physics

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wells, J.

1976-10-01

This report describes the consequences of the interaction of ionizing radiation with living cells and tissues. The basic processes of living cells, which are relevant to an understanding of health physics problems, are outlined with particular reference to cell-death, cancer induction and genetic effects. (author)

Consumers' knowledge, understanding, and attitudes toward health claims on food labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Fullmer, S; Geiger, C J; Parent, C R

1991-02-01

The purpose of this study was to assess consumers' knowledge of current fiber recommendations and their attitudes, understanding, and awareness of health claims on breakfast cereal labels. An incidental sample of 241 respondents was drawn from four grocery stores of a local chain in Utah. Data were collected using a computerized interviewing system. The results suggested that consumers with higher education levels had a better understanding of diet-disease-related messages and a more positive attitude toward health messages on food labels. Knowledge of fiber was significantly correlated with positive attitudes toward health messages and understanding of health messages. Overall, attitudes toward placing diet-disease-related messages on food labels were positive. On a scale of 1 through 250, the mean score was 182.5 +/- 37.5 standard deviation (73%). Consumer knowledge of fiber was low. Out of 15 possible points, the mean score for fiber knowledge questions was 8.8 +/- 2.1 (59%). Consumers were more familiar with the role fiber may play in the prevention or treatment of certain diseases or conditions than with sources, classifications, and recommended intakes of fiber. Understanding of health messages was relatively low (45%). Whereas consumer attitudes toward health messages on food labels were positive, consumers (especially less-educated consumers) did not appear to understand the messages well. These results reiterate the concern for public policymakers to exercise caution and ensure that health messages on food labels are responsible and accurate. The results should also remind dietetic practitioners, who are the nutrition experts, of their continual role in providing and ensuring accurate nutrition education to the public.

Correlates of consumer trust in online health information: findings from the health information national trends survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ye, Yinjiao

2011-01-01

The past few decades have witnessed a dramatic increase in consumers seeking health information online. However, the quality of such information remains questionable, and the trustworthiness of online health information has become a hot topic, whereas little attention has been paid to how consumers evaluate online health information credibility. This study builds on theoretical perspectives of trust such as personal-capital-based, social-capital-based, and transfer-based, and it examines various correlates of consumer trust in online health information. The author analyzed the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey data (N = 7,674). Results showed that consumer trust in online health information did not correlate with personal capital such as income, education, and health status. Social capital indicated by visiting social networking Web sites was not associated with trust in online health information either. Nevertheless, trust in online health information transferred from traditional mass media and government health agencies to the Internet, and it varied by such information features as easiness to locate and to understand. Age appeared to be a key factor in understanding the correlates of trust in online health information. Theoretical and empirical implications of the results are discussed.

A rapid review of consumer health information needs and preferences.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramsey, Imogen; Corsini, Nadia; Peters, Micah D J; Eckert, Marion

2017-09-01

This rapid review summarizes best available evidence on consumers' needs and preferences for information about healthcare, with a focus on the Australian context. Three questions are addressed: 1) Where do consumers find and what platform do they use to access information about healthcare? 2) How do consumers use the healthcare information that they find? 3) About which topics or subjects do consumers need healthcare information? A hierarchical approach was adopted with evidence first sought from reviews then high quality studies using Medline (via PubMed), CINAHL, Embase, the JBI Database of Systematic Reviews and Implementation Reports, the Campbell Collaboration Library of Systematic Reviews, EPPI-Centre, and Epistemonikos. Twenty-eight articles were included; four systematic reviews, three literature reviews, thirteen quantitative studies, six qualitative studies, and two mixed methods studies. Consumers seek health information at varying times along the healthcare journey and through various modes of delivery. Complacency with historical health information modes is no longer appropriate and flexibility is essential to suit growing consumer demands. Health information should be readily available in different formats and not exclusive to any single medium. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

The Plantation Adult Basic Education Program.

Science.gov (United States)

Southern Mutual Help Association, Abbeville, LA.

The Plantation Adult Basic Education Program started in 1970 as an alternative to poverty for sugar cane workers in Louisiana. The document discusses the various aspects of the poverty conditions that exist in the area, such as: housing, diet, health, education, and lack of consumer information, and how these existing conditions are to be changed…

Consumer attitudes toward personal health records in a beacon community.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, Vaishali N; Abramson, Erika; Edwards, Alison M; Cheung, Melissa A; Dhopeshwarkar, Rina V; Kaushal, Rainu

2011-04-01

To characterize consumers' attitudes about personal health records (PHRs), electronic tools that enable consumers to securely access, manage, and share their health information, in a community participating in health information technology initiatives. Cross-sectional study. A random-digit-dial telephone survey about PHRs was conducted among adult residents of New York State's greater Buffalo region. Multivariate regression analyses identified factors associated with potential PHR use. We obtained a 79% (n = 200) response rate. Many respondents (70%) would potentially use PHRs. Consumers wanted PHRs to incorporate an array of information, including immunization records (89%) and providers visited (88%). They expressed interest in several online activities, including accessing their family members' healthcare information (71%). Potential PHR use was associated with perceptions that PHRs would improve privacy and security of medical information (odds ratio [OR] 4.7; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1, 20.1), understanding regarding health (OR 3.7; 95% CI 1.3, 11.1), and overall quality of care (OR 3.6; 95% CI 1.2, 10.6). Potential PHR use was associated with annual household income of more than $30,000 (OR 3.9; 95% CI 1.3, 11.9) and experience looking up health information online (OR 3.0; 95% CI 1.1, 8.1). Consumers expressed great interest in using PHRs and wanted comprehensive PHRs. However, the "digital divide" between those with varying levels of Internet experience and concerns about PHRs’ effect on privacy and security of medical information may limit use. Designing PHRs that incorporate consumer preferences and developing policies that address these barriers may increase consumers' PHR use.

The mental health consumer movement and peer providers in Israel.

Science.gov (United States)

Moran, G S

2018-04-16

Self-help peer-support groups in Israel emerged in the 1980s and, over time, dynamically interacted and co-developed with the statutory mental health (MH) system. In this editorial, I outline historical milestones of how the evolution of the Israeli mental health system was influenced by the consumer movement. A brief depiction of the consumer movement history. At first, consumers operated outside of the mainstream MH system. Gradually, consumer groups and institutional personnel joined efforts towards community integration and enhancement of quality of life, pushing forward a person-centered recovery orientation. In turn, some administrators and key stakeholders in rehabilitation community services grew to value the impact of knowledge-by-experience in contemporary mental health care. In this context, over the past decade, peer roles were developed in the mental health system, including consumer-providers in community services and peer specialists in inpatient psychiatric hospitals. The insertion of peer roles into the mainstream MH system is far-reaching, including the placement of a peer-project coordinator within the ministry of health. I describe the unique contribution of peers, as experts-by-experience, to mainstream professional knowledge and practice. I also highlight the potential challenges involved when peer models of care are added to traditional medical models of care. The Israeli case demonstrates how the consumer movement can play an active role in MH systems and be acknowledged and recognised as a partner for changing policy, practice and reshaping formal institutions. In addition, they play a vital role in the development of peer-support services.

Consumer-Mediated Health Information Exchanges: The 2012 ACMI Debate

Science.gov (United States)

Cimino, James J.; Frisse, Mark; Halamka, John; Sweeney, Latanya; Yasnoff, William

2017-01-01

The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) sponsors periodic debates during the American Medical Informatics Fall Symposium to highlight important informatics issues of broad interest. In 2012, a panel debated the following topic: “Resolved: Health Information Exchange Organizations Should Shift Their Principal Focus to Consumer-Mediated Exchange in Order to Facilitate the Rapid Development of Effective, Scalable, and Sustainable Health Information Infrastructure.” Those supporting the proposition emphasized the need for consumer-controlled community repositories of electronic health records (health record banks) to address privacy, stakeholder cooperation, scalability, and sustainability. Those opposing the proposition emphasized that the current healthcare environment is so complex that development of consumer control will take time and that even then, consumers may not be able to mediate their information effectively. While privately, each discussant recognizes that there are many sides to this complex issue, each followed the debater’s tradition of taking an extreme position in order emphasize some of the polarizing aspects in the short time allotted them. In preparing this summary, we sought to convey the substance and spirit of the debate in printed form. Transcripts of the actual debate were edited for clarity, and appropriate supporting citations were added for the further edification of the reader. PMID:24561078

Consumer-mediated health information exchanges: the 2012 ACMI debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Cimino, James J; Frisse, Mark E; Halamka, John; Sweeney, Latanya; Yasnoff, William

2014-04-01

The American College of Medical Informatics (ACMI) sponsors periodic debates during the American Medical Informatics Fall Symposium to highlight important informatics issues of broad interest. In 2012, a panel debated the following topic: "Resolved: Health Information Exchange Organizations Should Shift Their Principal Focus to Consumer-Mediated Exchange in Order to Facilitate the Rapid Development of Effective, Scalable, and Sustainable Health Information Infrastructure." Those supporting the proposition emphasized the need for consumer-controlled community repositories of electronic health records (health record banks) to address privacy, stakeholder cooperation, scalability, and sustainability. Those opposing the proposition emphasized that the current healthcare environment is so complex that development of consumer control will take time and that even then, consumers may not be able to mediate their information effectively. While privately each discussant recognizes that there are many sides to this complex issue, each followed the debater's tradition of taking an extreme position in order emphasize some of the polarizing aspects in the short time allotted them. In preparing this summary, we sought to convey the substance and spirit of the debate in printed form. Transcripts of the actual debate were edited for clarity, and appropriate supporting citations were added for the further edification of the reader. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Balanced Diet: "Eater's Digest". Health and the Consumer.

Science.gov (United States)

Osceola County School District, Kissimmee, FL.

This consumer education learning activity package is one of a series of six Project SCAT (Skills for Consumer Applied Today) units. It teaches secondary level students about the importance of a balanced diet and what nutrients are most important to good health. The package includes instructions for the teacher, suggestions for activities, lists of…

Mechanisms of Communicating Health Information Through Facebook: Implications for Consumer Health Information Technology Design.

Science.gov (United States)

Menefee, Hannah K; Thompson, Morgan J; Guterbock, Thomas M; Williams, Ishan C; Valdez, Rupa S

2016-08-11

Consumer health information technology (IT) solutions are designed to support patient health management and have the ability to facilitate patients' health information communication with their social networks. However, there is a need for consumer health IT solutions to align with patients' health management preferences for increased adoption of the technology. It may be possible to gain an understanding of patients' needs for consumer health IT supporting their health information communication with social networks by explicating how they have adopted and adapted social networking sites, such as Facebook, for this purpose. Our aim was to characterize patients' use of all communication mechanisms within Facebook for health information communication to provide insight into how consumer health IT solutions may be better designed to meet patients' communication needs and preferences. This study analyzed data about Facebook communication mechanisms use from a larger, three-phase, sequential, mixed-methods study. We report here on the results of the study's first phase: qualitative interviews (N=25). Participants were over 18, used Facebook, were residents or citizens of the United States, spoke English, and had a diagnosis consistent with type 2 diabetes. Participants were recruited through Facebook groups and pages. Participant interviews were conducted via Skype or telephone between July and September 2014. Data analysis was grounded in qualitative content analysis and the initial coding framework was informed by the findings of a previous study. Participants' rationales for the use or disuse of a particular Facebook mechanism to communicate health information reflected six broad themes: (1) characteristics and circumstances of the person, (2) characteristics and circumstances of the relationship, (3) structure and composition of the social network, (4) content of the information, (5) communication purpose, and (6) attributes of the technology. The results of this

Triumph and adversity: Exploring the complexities of consumer storytelling in mental health nursing education.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Bennetts, Wanda

2016-12-01

Consumer participation in the education of health professionals is increasing, particularly in mental health nursing education and storytelling remains the most frequent approach to consumer involvement. The use of story has tended to be accepted as a legitimate educational tool with limited critique or consideration of its potential consequences presented within the academic literature. A qualitative exploratory research study was undertaken with mental health nurse academics (n = 34) and consumer educators and academics (n = 12), to investigate the perceptions and experiences of mental health nurses and consumers regarding the involvement of consumers in mental health nursing education. Data were analysed thematically. Story was a major theme to emerge from consumer participants and received some attention from nurse academics. Consumers and nurses both referred to the power of story to convey the human experience of mental illness diagnosis and service use; and the vulnerability that can result from storytelling. Consumers also described: story as expectation; preparation and support; and the politics of story. All participants supported the value of storytelling in mental health nursing education. Consumers had considered the complexities in far greater detail. The ongoing value of story as an educational technique requires further research. Equally important is considering a broader range of educational roles for mental health consumers. © 2016 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of health promotion: results from a discrete choice experiment.

Science.gov (United States)

Alayli-Goebbels, Adrienne F G; Dellaert, Benedict G C; Knox, Stephanie A; Ament, André J H A; Lakerveld, Jeroen; Bot, Sandra D M; Nijpels, G; Severens, J L

2013-01-01

Health promotion (HP) interventions have outcomes that go beyond health. Such broader nonhealth outcomes are usually neglected in economic evaluation studies. To allow for their consideration, insights are needed into the types of nonhealth outcomes that HP interventions produce and their relative importance compared with health outcomes. This study explored consumer preferences for health and nonhealth outcomes of HP in the context of lifestyle behavior change. A discrete choice experiment was conducted among participants in a lifestyle intervention (n = 132) and controls (n = 141). Respondents made 16 binary choices between situations that can be experienced after lifestyle behavior change. The situations were described by 10 attributes: future health state value, start point of future health state, life expectancy, clothing size above ideal, days with sufficient relaxation, endurance, experienced control over lifestyle choices, lifestyle improvement of partner and/or children, monetary cost per month, and time cost per week. With the exception of "time cost per week" and "start point of future health state," all attributes significantly determined consumer choices. Thus, both health and nonhealth outcomes affected consumer choice. Marginal rates of substitution between the price attribute and the other attributes revealed that the attributes "endurance," "days with sufficient relaxation," and "future health state value" had the greatest impact on consumer choices. The "life expectancy" attribute had a relatively low impact and for increases of less than 3 years, respondents were not willing to trade. Health outcomes and nonhealth outcomes of lifestyle behavior change were both important to consumers in this study. Decision makers should respond to consumer preferences and consider nonhealth outcomes when deciding about HP interventions. Copyright © 2013 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All

A Nursing Interaction Approach to Consumer Internet Training on Quality Health Care

Science.gov (United States)

Lesley, Marsha L.; Oermann, Marilyn H.; Vander Wal, Jillon S.

2004-01-01

This study examined the effectiveness of using the Internet to teach consumers about quality health care, compared consumer definitions of quality health care prior to and following completion of the Internet experience, and compared ratings of learning, satisfaction and value of the Internet instruction between consumers who completed the…

Consumer Health Informatics: The Application of ICT in Improving Patient-Provider Partnership for a Better Health Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Abaidoo, Benjamin; Larweh, Benjamin Teye

2014-01-01

There is a growing interest concerning the potential of ICT solutions that are customized to consumers. This emerging discipline referred to as consumer health informatics (CHI) plays a major role in providing information to patients and the public, and facilitates the promotion of self-management. The concept of CHI has emerged out of the desire of most patients to shoulder responsibilities regarding their health and a growing desire of health practitioners to fully appreciate the potential of the patient. To describe the role of ICT in improving the patient-provider partnership in consumer health informatics. Systematic reviewing of literature, identification of reference sources and formulation of search strategies and manual search regarding the significance of developed CHI applications in healthcare delivery. New consumer health IT applications have been developed to be used on a variety of different platforms, including the Web, messaging systems, PDAs, and cell phones. These applications assists patients with self-management through reminders and prompts, delivery of real-time data on a patient's health condition to patients and providers, web-based communication and personal electronic health information. New tools are being developed for the purposes of providing information to patients and the public which has enhanced decision making in health matters and an avenue for clinicians and consumers to exchange health information for personal and public use. This calls for corroboration among healthcare organizations, governments and the ICT industry to develop new research and IT innovations which are tailored to the health needs of the consumer.

MAPPING A BASIC HEALTH UNIT: AN EXPERIENCE REPORT

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bárbara Carvalho Malheiros

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Backgound and Objectives: This study is an experience report on the construction of a map of a Basic Health Unit (BHU. The objective was to understand the relevance and/or importance of mapping a BHU and acquire more knowledge on the health-disease status of the registered population and identify the importance of cartography as a working tool. Case description: After reading some texts, evaluating information systems and on-site visits, it was possible to identify the health status of the population of the neighborhoods. The proposed objectives were considered to be achieved, considering the mapping of the assessed population’s health-disease situation with a closer-to-reality viewpoint, identifying the number of individuals, the diseases, living situation and health care. Conclusion: The mapping approach is a powerful working tool for allowing the planning of strategic interventions that enables the development of assistance activities, aiming to promote health and disease prevention. KEYWORDS: Mapping; Basic Health Unit; Health Planning.

Consumer Opinions of Health Information Exchange, e-Prescribing, and Personal Health Records.

Science.gov (United States)

Cochran, Gary L; Lander, Lina; Morien, Marsha; Lomelin, Daniel E; Brittin, Jeri; Reker, Celeste; Klepser, Donald G

2015-01-01

Consumer satisfaction is a crucial component of health information technology (HIT) utilization, as high satisfaction is expected to increase HIT utilization among providers and to allow consumers to become full participants in their own healthcare management. The primary objective of this pilot study was to identify consumer perspectives on health information technologies including health information exchange (HIE), e-prescribing (e-Rx), and personal health records (PHRs). Eight focus groups were conducted in seven towns and cities across Nebraska in 2013. Each group consisted of 10-12 participants. Discussions were organized topically in the following categories: HIE, e-Rx, and PHR. The qualitative analysis consisted of immersion and crystallization to develop a coding scheme that included both preconceived and emergent themes. Common themes across focus groups were identified and compiled for each discussion category. The study had 67 participants, of which 18 (27 percent) were male. Focus group findings revealed both perceived barriers and benefits to the adoption of HIT. Common HIT concerns expressed across focus groups included privacy and security of medical information, decreases in quality of care, inconsistent provider participation, and the potential cost of implementation. Positive expectations regarding HIT included better accuracy and completeness of information, and improved communication and coordination between healthcare providers. Improvements in patient care were expected as a result of easy physician access to consolidated information across providers as well as the speed of sharing and availability of information in an emergency. In addition, participants were optimistic about patient empowerment and convenient access to and control of personal health data. Consumer concerns focused on privacy and security of the health information, as well as the cost of implementing the technologies and the possibility of an unintended negative impact on the

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yu-Hua; Kung, Chih-Ming; Fang, Shih-Chieh; Chen, Yi

2017-01-09

This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer's perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure. We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, n = 201; health service consumers, n = 384). Health service consumers do not have major concerns regarding mandatory information disclosure. However, they are concerned about complaint channels and settlement results, results of patient satisfaction surveys, and disclosure of hospital financial statements ( p transparency of information disclosure ( p information provided by hospitals. Thus, when a hospital discloses information, it is necessary for the government to consider the information's applicability. Toward improving medical expertise and information asymmetry, the government has to reduce the burden among health service consumers in dealing with this information, and it has to use the information effectively.

Spanish-Language Consumer Health Information Technology Interventions: A Systematic Review.

Science.gov (United States)

Chaet, Alexis V; Morshedi, Bijan; Wells, Kristen J; Barnes, Laura E; Valdez, Rupa

2016-08-10

As consumer health information technology (IT) becomes more thoroughly integrated into patient care, it is critical that these tools are appropriate for the diverse patient populations whom they are intended to serve. Cultural differences associated with ethnicity are one aspect of diversity that may play a role in user-technology interactions. Our aim was to evaluate the current scope of consumer health IT interventions targeted to the US Spanish-speaking Latino population and to characterize these interventions in terms of technological attributes, health domains, cultural tailoring, and evaluation metrics. A narrative synthesis was conducted of existing Spanish-language consumer health IT interventions indexed within health and computer science databases. Database searches were limited to English-language articles published between January 1990 and September 2015. Studies were included if they detailed an assessment of a patient-centered electronic technology intervention targeting health within the US Spanish-speaking Latino population. Included studies were required to have a majority Latino population sample. The following were extracted from articles: first author's last name, publication year, population characteristics, journal domain, health domain, technology platform and functionality, available languages of intervention, US region, cultural tailoring, intervention delivery location, study design, and evaluation metrics. We included 42 studies in the review. Most of the studies were published between 2009 and 2015 and had a majority percentage of female study participants. The mean age of participants ranged from 15 to 68. Interventions most commonly focused on urban population centers and within the western region of the United States. Of articles specifying a technology domain, computer was found to be most common; however, a fairly even distribution across all technologies was noted. Cancer, diabetes, and child, infant, or maternal health were the

Food Labeling and Consumer Associations with Health, Safety, and Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Sax, Joanna K; Doran, Neal

2016-12-01

The food supply is complicated and consumers are increasingly calling for labeling on food to be more informative. In particular, consumers are asking for the labeling of food derived from genetically modified organisms (GMO) based on health, safety, and environmental concerns. At issue is whether the labels that are sought would accurately provide the information desired. The present study examined consumer (n = 181) perceptions of health, safety and the environment for foods labeled organic, natural, fat free or low fat, GMO, or non-GMO. Findings indicated that respondents consistently believed that foods labeled GMO are less healthy, safe and environmentally-friendly compared to all other labels (ps labels mean something to consumers, but that a disconnect may exist between the meaning associated with the label and the scientific consensus for GMO food. These findings may provide insight for the development of labels that provide information that consumers seek.

Consumer attention to product health cues

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Orquin, Jacob Lund

Purpose As part of a larger project aiming at improving healthy food choice among consumers, four studies were carried out to identify packaging cues that communicate product healthfulness. Methods Study 1 was an eye tracking experiment using a 5x3 group mixed design where the stimuli (five...... different dairy products) were varied within subjects and the viewing task (free viewing, product healthfulness evaluation, purchase likelihood evaluation) was varied between subjects. As a follow-up, three more studies were carried out using verbal response measures to assess perceived product...... healthfulness and purchase likelihood. Study 2 used a 3x2x2 group mixed design manipulating product images (control images, health-related images, exercise-related images), brand (control brand, health association brand), and color scheme (control color scheme, green health-association color scheme). Study 3...

Consumer-providers of care for adult clients of statutory mental health services.

Science.gov (United States)

Pitt, Veronica; Lowe, Dianne; Hill, Sophie; Prictor, Megan; Hetrick, Sarah E; Ryan, Rebecca; Berends, Lynda

2013-03-28

In mental health services, the past several decades has seen a slow but steady trend towards employment of past or present consumers of the service to work alongside mental health professionals in providing services. However the effects of this employment on clients (service recipients) and services has remained unclear.We conducted a systematic review of randomised trials assessing the effects of employing consumers of mental health services as providers of statutory mental health services to clients. In this review this role is called 'consumer-provider' and the term 'statutory mental health services' refers to public services, those required by statute or law, or public services involving statutory duties. The consumer-provider's role can encompass peer support, coaching, advocacy, case management or outreach, crisis worker or assertive community treatment worker, or providing social support programmes. To assess the effects of employing current or past adult consumers of mental health services as providers of statutory mental health services. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, The Cochrane Library 2012, Issue 3), MEDLINE (OvidSP) (1950 to March 2012), EMBASE (OvidSP) (1988 to March 2012), PsycINFO (OvidSP) (1806 to March 2012), CINAHL (EBSCOhost) (1981 to March 2009), Current Contents (OvidSP) (1993 to March 2012), and reference lists of relevant articles. Randomised controlled trials of current or past consumers of mental health services employed as providers ('consumer-providers') in statutory mental health services, comparing either: 1) consumers versus professionals employed to do the same role within a mental health service, or 2) mental health services with and without consumer-providers as an adjunct to the service. Two review authors independently selected studies and extracted data. We contacted trialists for additional information. We conducted analyses using a random-effects model, pooling studies that measured

A review of features in Internet consumer health decision-support tools.

Science.gov (United States)

Schwitzer, Gary

2002-01-01

Over the past decade, health care consumers have begun to benefit from new Web-based communications tools to guide decision making on treatments and tests. Using today's online tools, consumers who have Internet connections can: watch and listen to videos of physicians; watch and hear the stories of other consumers who have faced the same decisions; join an online social support network; receive estimates of their own chances of experiencing various outcomes; and do it all at home. To review currently-available Internet consumer health decision-support tools. Five Web sites offering consumer health decision-support tools are analyzed for their use of 4 key Web-enabled features: the presentation of outcomes probability data tailored to the individual user; the use of videotaped patient interviews in the final product to convey the experiences of people who have faced similar diagnoses in the past; the ability to interact with others in a social support network; and the accessibility of the tool to any health care consumers with an Internet connection. None of the 5 Web sites delivers all 4 target features to all Web users. The reasons for these variations in the use of key Web functionality--features that make the Web distinctive--are not immediately clear. Consumers trying to make health care decisions may benefit from current Web-based decision-support tools. But, variations in Web developers' use of 4 key Web-enabled features leaves the online decision-support experience less than what it could be. Key research questions are identified that could help in the development of new hybrid patient decision-support tools.

Emergence of a new consumer health informatics framework: introducing the healthcare organization.

Science.gov (United States)

Reid, Paulette; Borycki, Elizabeth M

2011-01-01

Healthcare consumers are increasingly seeking reliable forms of health information on the Internet that can be used to support health related decision-making. Frameworks that have been developed and tested in the field of health informatics have attempted to describe the effects of the Internet upon the health care consumer and physician relationship. More recently, health care organizations are responding by providing information such as hospital wait lists or strategies for self-managing disease, and this information is being provided on organizational web-sites. The authors of this paper propose that current conceptualizations of the relationship between the Internet, physicians and patients are limited from a consumer informatics perspective and may need to be extended to include healthcare organizations.

Health-related attitudes as a basis for segmenting European fish consumers

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pieniak, Zuzanna; Verbeke, Wim; Olsen, Svein Ottar

2010-01-01

This paper identifies and profiles consumer segments based on health-related attitudes. Cross-sectional data were collected in 2008 through a pan-European consumer survey (n = 2400) with samples representative for age and region in France, Poland and Spain. Four distinct consumer segments based...

Mental health consumer participation in undergraduate occupational therapy student assessment: No negative impact.

Science.gov (United States)

Logan, Alexandra; Yule, Elisa; Taylor, Michael; Imms, Christine

2018-05-28

Australian accreditation standards for occupational therapy courses require consumer participation in the design, delivery and evaluation of programs. This study investigated whether a mental health consumer - as one of two assessors for an oral assessment in a mental health unit - impacted engagement, anxiety states and academic performance of undergraduate occupational therapy students. Students (n = 131 eligible) self-selected into two groups but were blinded to the group differences (assessor panel composition) until shortly prior to the oral assessment. Control group assessors were two occupational therapy educators, while consumer group assessors included an occupational therapy educator and a mental health consumer. Pre- and post-assessment data were successfully matched for 79 students (overall response rate = 73.1%). No evidence was found of significant differences between the two groups for engagement, anxiety or academic performance (all P values >0.05). Including mental health consumers as assessors did not negatively impact student engagement and academic performance, nor increase student anxiety beyond that typically observed in oral assessment tasks. The findings provide support for expanding the role of mental health consumers in the education and assessment of occupational therapy students. Development of methods to determine the efficacy of consumer involvement remains an area for future research. © 2018 Occupational Therapy Australia.

Consumers' intention to use health recommendation systems to receive personalized nutrition advice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

S. Wendel (Sonja); B.G.C. Dellaert (Benedict); A. Ronteltap (Amber); H.C.M. van Trijp (Hans)

2013-01-01

textabstractBackground: Sophisticated recommendation systems are used more and more in the health sector to assist consumers in healthy decision making. In this study we investigate consumers' evaluation of hypothetical health recommendation systems that provide personalized nutrition advice. We

Reducing Negative Outcomes of Online Consumer Health Information: Qualitative Interpretive Study with Clinicians, Librarians, and Consumers

Science.gov (United States)

Pluye, Pierre; Thoër, Christine; Rodriguez, Charo

2018-01-01

Background There has been an exponential increase in the general population’s usage of the internet and of information accessibility; the current demand for online consumer health information (OCHI) is unprecedented. There are multiple studies on internet access and usage, quality of information, and information needs. However, few studies explored negative outcomes of OCHI in detail or from different perspectives, and none examined how these negative outcomes could be reduced. Objective The aim of this study was to describe negative outcomes associated with OCHI use in primary care and identify potential preventive strategies from consumers’, health practitioners’, and health librarians’ perspectives. Methods This included a two-stage interpretive qualitative study. In the first stage, we recruited through a social media survey, a purposeful sample of 19 OCHI users who had experienced negative outcomes associated with OCHI. We conducted semistructured interviews and performed a deductive-inductive thematic analysis. The results also informed the creation of vignettes that were used in the next stage. In the second stage, we interviewed a convenient sample of 10 key informants: 7 health practitioners (3 family physicians, 2 nurses, and 2 pharmacists) and 3 health librarians. With the support of the vignettes, we asked participants to elaborate on (1) their experience with patients who have used OCHI and experienced negative outcomes and (2) what strategies they suggest to reduce these outcomes. We performed a deductive-inductive thematic analysis. Results We found that negative outcomes of OCHI may occur at three levels: internal (such as increased worrying), interpersonal (such as a tension in the patient-clinician relationship), and service-related (such as postponing a clinical encounter). Participants also proposed three types of strategies to reduce the occurrence of these negative outcomes, namely, providing consumers with reliable OCHI, educating

Are organic consumers preferring or avoiding foods with nutrition and health claims?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aschemann-Witzel, Jessica; Maroschek, Nicole; Hamm, Ulrich

2013-01-01

consumer purchase motives in common. Organic food and functional food are, however, often described as contradictory rather than complementary in amongst others the concept of health. Functional food tends to be perceived as ‘unnatural’ by consumers. So far, it has not been researched how consumers react...... to a combination of both product concepts. A realistically designed purchase simulation was conducted with 210 organic consumers in Germany. Five organic products in three different categories were offered, unobtrusively altered so that they showed a nutrition, health or risk reduction claim on two products...

Status, challenges and facilitators of consumer involvement in Australian health and medical research

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Girgis Afaf

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The emergent international practice of involving consumers in health research is driven, in part, by the growing share of health research that can only be applied in and emerge from knowledge that is shaped by human values and societal contexts. This is the first investigation of its kind to identify the current prevalence, challenges, enabling factors and range of approaches to consumer involvement in health and medical research in Australia. Methods A nation-wide survey of research funding organisations and organisations that conduct research was performed during 2008-2009. Results Marked variation in consumer involvement experience and perceptions exists between research funders and researchers. Research funders were over eight times more likely than organisations conducting research to involve consumers in identifying research needs and prioritising research topics. Across both groups, practical and time constraints were reported as key challenges to involving consumers, while guidelines on consumer involvement and evidence of effect were the most important potential enablers. More than a third of research organisations indicated that when consumer involvement was a condition of research funding, it was an important facilitator of involvement. Conclusion It is no longer simply enough to keep society informed of important scientific breakthroughs. If Australian health research is to take into account important social contexts and consequences, it must involve consumers. A set of minimum consumer involvement standards and associated guidelines, that are agreed and routinely adopted, could ensure that consumers and the Australian community they represent, are given an opportunity to shed light on experiences and local circumstance, and express views and concerns relevant to health research.

Knowledge/Power Transforming the Social Landscape: The Case of the Consumer Health Information Movement

Science.gov (United States)

Huber, Jeffrey T.; Gillaspy, Mary L.

2011-01-01

The consumer health information (CHI) movement is the result of various twentieth-century ideologies and is an outgrowth of the broader consumer movement. From a sociocultural and political perspective, the consumer, civil rights, and women's movements and related societal shifts helped pave the way for the consumer health movement, which laid the…

Baby Boomers’ Adoption of Consumer Health Technologies: Survey on Readiness and Barriers

OpenAIRE

LeRouge, Cynthia; Van Slyke, Craig; Seale, Deborah; Wright, Kevin

2014-01-01

Background As they age, baby boomers (born 1946-1964) will have increasing medical needs and are likely to place large demand on health care resources. Consumer health technologies may help stem rising health care needs and costs by improving provider-to-patient communication, health monitoring, and information access and enabling self-care. Research has not explored the degree to which baby boomers are ready for, or are currently embracing, specific consumer health technologies This study ex...

Consumers' perceptions of preconception health.

Science.gov (United States)

Squiers, Linda; Mitchell, Elizabeth W; Levis, Denise M; Lynch, Molly; Dolina, Suzanne; Margolis, Marjorie; Scales, Monica; Kish-Doto, Julia

2013-01-01

To inform the development of a preconception health (PCH) social marketing plan, we conducted qualitative research with prospective consumers. We present formative findings based on the four Ps of social marketing: product, price, promotion, and place. We conducted focus groups with 10 groups of women in Atlanta, Georgia, in fall 2010. We classified women aged 18 to 44 into five groups based on their pregnancy plans, and then further segmented the groups based on socioeconomic status for a total of 10 groups. The focus group guide was designed to elicit participants' responses about the product, price, promotion, and placement of PCH. We used NVivo 9 software to analyze focus group data. Women planning a pregnancy in the future had different perspectives on PCH as a product than women not planning a pregnancy. Barriers to PCH included lack of social support, addiction, and lack of awareness about PCH. Participants preferred to think of PCH behaviors as "promoting" a healthy baby rather than preventing an unhealthy birth outcome. Many women in the focus groups preferred to hear PCH messages from a health care provider, among other channels. The results from this research will inform the development of a social marketing plan for PCH and the development of concepts that will be tested with consumers to determine their viability for use in a national campaign.

Research priorities in health communication and participation: international survey of consumers and other stakeholders

Science.gov (United States)

Bragge, Peter; Lowe, Dianne; Nunn, Jack S; O’Sullivan, Molly; Horvat, Lidia; Tong, Allison; Kay, Debra; Ghersi, Davina; McDonald, Steve; Poole, Naomi; Bourke, Noni; Lannin, Natasha; Vadasz, Danny; Oliver, Sandy; Carey, Karen; Hill, Sophie J

2018-01-01

Objective To identify research priorities of consumers and other stakeholders to inform Cochrane Reviews in ‘health communication and participation’ (including such concepts as patient experience, shared decision-making and health literacy). Setting International. Participants We included anyone with an interest in health communication and participation. Up to 151 participants (18–80 years; 117 female) across 12 countries took part, including 48 consumers (patients, carers, consumer representatives) and 75 professionals (health professionals, policymakers, researchers) (plus 25 people who identified as both). Design Survey. Methods We invited people to submit their research ideas via an online survey open for 4 weeks. Using inductive thematic analysis, we generated priority research topics, then classified these into broader themes. Results Participants submitted 200 research ideas, which we grouped into 21 priority topics. Key research priorities included: insufficient consumer involvement in research (19 responses), ‘official’ health information is contradictory and hard to understand (18 responses), communication/coordination breakdowns in health services (15 responses), health information provision a low priority for health professionals (15 responses), insufficient eliciting of patient preferences (14 responses), health services poorly understand/implement patient-centred care (14 responses), lack of holistic care impacting healthcare quality and safety (13 responses) and inadequate consumer involvement in service design (11 responses). These priorities encompassed acute and community health settings, with implications for policy and research. Priority populations of interest included people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, carers, and people with low educational attainment, or mental illness. Most frequently suggested interventions focused on training and cultural change activities for health services and health professionals

A model of service quality perceptions and health care consumer behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Connor, S J; Shewchuk, R M; Bowers, M R

1991-01-01

Analysis of covariance structures (LISREL) was used to examine the influence of consumer held perceptions of service quality on consumer satisfaction and intentions to return. Results indicate that service quality is a significant predictor of consumer satisfaction which, in turn, predicts intention to return. Health care marketing implications are discussed.

Consumer price sensitivity in Dutch health insurance

NARCIS (Netherlands)

M. van Dijk (Machiel); M. Pomp (Marc); R.C.H.M. Douven (Rudy); T. Laske-Aldershof (Trea); F.T. Schut (Erik); W. de Boer (Willem); A. Boo (Anne)

2008-01-01

textabstractAim: To estimate the price sensitivity of consumer choice of health insurance firm. Method: Using paneldata of the flows of insured betweenpairs of Dutch sickness funds during the period 1993-2002, we estimate the sensitivity of these flows to differences in insurance premium. Results:

Enriching consumer health vocabulary through mining a social Q&A site: A similarity-based approach.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Zhe; Chen, Zhiwei; Oh, Sanghee; Hou, Jinghui; Bian, Jiang

2017-05-01

The widely known vocabulary gap between health consumers and healthcare professionals hinders information seeking and health dialogue of consumers on end-user health applications. The Open Access and Collaborative Consumer Health Vocabulary (OAC CHV), which contains health-related terms used by lay consumers, has been created to bridge such a gap. Specifically, the OAC CHV facilitates consumers' health information retrieval by enabling consumer-facing health applications to translate between professional language and consumer friendly language. To keep up with the constantly evolving medical knowledge and language use, new terms need to be identified and added to the OAC CHV. User-generated content on social media, including social question and answer (social Q&A) sites, afford us an enormous opportunity in mining consumer health terms. Existing methods of identifying new consumer terms from text typically use ad-hoc lexical syntactic patterns and human review. Our study extends an existing method by extracting n-grams from a social Q&A textual corpus and representing them with a rich set of contextual and syntactic features. Using K-means clustering, our method, simiTerm, was able to identify terms that are both contextually and syntactically similar to the existing OAC CHV terms. We tested our method on social Q&A corpora on two disease domains: diabetes and cancer. Our method outperformed three baseline ranking methods. A post-hoc qualitative evaluation by human experts further validated that our method can effectively identify meaningful new consumer terms on social Q&A. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Consumers' health-related motive orientations and ready meal consumption behaviour.

Science.gov (United States)

Geeroms, Nele; Verbeke, Wim; Van Kenhove, Patrick

2008-11-01

Based on a multidimensional perspective on the meaning of health, this study explores associations between consumers' health-related motive orientations (HRMO) and ready meal consumption behaviour. Cross-sectional data were collected from a sample of 1934 Flemish consumers through an on-line survey. The respondents rated 45 health statements referring to people's motives for pursuing health. The survey also assessed information on several aspects of ready meal consumption, i.e. consumption frequency, beliefs and attitudes toward ready meals and ready meal buying criteria. Based on a two-step cluster analysis, we identified five distinct subgroups in the sample, according to their HRMO: health is about energy (Energetic Experimenters), emotional well-being/enjoying life (Harmonious Enjoyers), social responsibility/physical well-being (Normative Carers), achievement/outward appearance (Conscious Experts) and autonomy (Rationalists). Ready meal consumption patterns differed between these segments, with Energetic Experimenters and Conscious Experts showing significantly more positive attitudes, stronger beliefs and both higher penetration and consumption frequency related to ready meals, compared to Harmonious Enjoyers, Normative Carers and Rationalists. These findings may relate to the individualistic versus altruistic health orientation perspective of the identified segments, and are valuable in the context of improving consumer-oriented product development, positioning and marketing of ready meals.

Health care consumers' experiences of information communication technology--a summary of literature.

Science.gov (United States)

Akesson, Kerstin M; Saveman, Britt-Inger; Nilsson, Gunilla

2007-09-01

There is an increasing interest in reaching consumers directly through the Internet and different telecommunication systems. The most important contacts in health care will always be the face-to-face meetings, but the tools of health informatics can be seen as a means to an end, which is to provide the best possible health care. A variety of applications have been described in different references. To our knowledge there has been no review of a research-based state of the art in the field of consumers' experiences in using different applications in health informatics. According to the benefits in using information communication technology (ICT) as being cost-effective and timesaving it is of great importance to focus on and examine consumers' experiences. It is important that it is user friendly and regarded as valuable and useful. The aim of this study was to describe consumers' subjective experiences of using electronic resources with reference to health and illness. DESIGN AND/OR METHOD: A systematic literature search was performed in databases CINAHL, Medline and Cochrane, as well as a manual search. Retrieved references (n=14) were appraised according to their scientific structure and quality. A broad search was performed in order to find as many different applications as possible. Our primary intention was to identify existing references describing consumers' experiences with ICT. In spite of this broad search few references were found. Twelve references remained and three themes were identified: support and help, education and information, and telecommunication instead of on-site visiting. Consumers felt more confident and empowered, their knowledge increased and their health status improved due to the ICT resources. Lack of face-to-face meetings or privacy did not appear to be a problem. ICT can improve the nurse-patient relationship and augment well-being for consumers. More research is needed to measure consumers' experiences and factors that influence it

Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

NARCIS (Netherlands)

W.H. van Boom (Willem)

2011-01-01

textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is

Using multilevel modeling to assess case-mix adjusters in consumer experience surveys in health care.

Science.gov (United States)

Damman, Olga C; Stubbe, Janine H; Hendriks, Michelle; Arah, Onyebuchi A; Spreeuwenberg, Peter; Delnoij, Diana M J; Groenewegen, Peter P

2009-04-01

Ratings on the quality of healthcare from the consumer's perspective need to be adjusted for consumer characteristics to ensure fair and accurate comparisons between healthcare providers or health plans. Although multilevel analysis is already considered an appropriate method for analyzing healthcare performance data, it has rarely been used to assess case-mix adjustment of such data. The purpose of this article is to investigate whether multilevel regression analysis is a useful tool to detect case-mix adjusters in consumer assessment of healthcare. We used data on 11,539 consumers from 27 Dutch health plans, which were collected using the Dutch Consumer Quality Index health plan instrument. We conducted multilevel regression analyses of consumers' responses nested within health plans to assess the effects of consumer characteristics on consumer experience. We compared our findings to the results of another methodology: the impact factor approach, which combines the predictive effect of each case-mix variable with its heterogeneity across health plans. Both multilevel regression and impact factor analyses showed that age and education were the most important case-mix adjusters for consumer experience and ratings of health plans. With the exception of age, case-mix adjustment had little impact on the ranking of health plans. On both theoretical and practical grounds, multilevel modeling is useful for adequate case-mix adjustment and analysis of performance ratings.

Persuasive Advertising : Consumers' views of and responses to the advertising of health-related products

OpenAIRE

Edin, Malin

2012-01-01

The problem that this thesis deals with is that the intense competition and increasing consumer power in the health industry calls for the operating companies to take consumers’ considerations into account when advertising their products. It is further suggested that consumers will be extra careful before buying health-related products due to their direct effect on their personal health. Thus, companies selling health-related products must gain an understanding of how consumers form their jud...

Educational content and health literacy issues in direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackert, Michael; Love, Brad

2011-01-01

Direct-to-consumer (DTC) pharmaceutical advertisements have been analyzed in many ways, but richer conceptualizations of health literacy have been largely absent from this research. With approximately half of U.S. adults struggling to understand health information, it is important to consider consumers' health literacy when analyzing DTC advertisements. This project, framed by the health belief model, analyzed 82 advertisements. Advertisements provided some kinds of educational content (e.g., drugs' medical benefits) but typically failed to offer other useful information (e.g., other strategies for dealing with conditions). Issues likely to be barriers to low health literate consumers, such as nonstandard text formatting, are common.

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers

Science.gov (United States)

Yan, Yu-Hua; Kung, Chih-Ming; Fang, Shih-Chieh; Chen, Yi

2017-01-01

Background: This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer’s perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure. Methods: We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, n = 201; health service consumers, n = 384). Results: Health service consumers do not have major concerns regarding mandatory information disclosure. However, they are concerned about complaint channels and settlement results, results of patient satisfaction surveys, and disclosure of hospital financial statements (p transparency of information disclosure (p < 0.001). Conclusions: It may not be possible for outsiders to properly interpret the information provided by hospitals. Thus, when a hospital discloses information, it is necessary for the government to consider the information’s applicability. Toward improving medical expertise and information asymmetry, the government has to reduce the burden among health service consumers in dealing with this information, and it has to use the information effectively. PMID:28075362

Stochastic modeling of consumer preferences for health care institutions.

Science.gov (United States)

Malhotra, N K

1983-01-01

This paper proposes a stochastic procedure for modeling consumer preferences via LOGIT analysis. First, a simple, non-technical exposition of the use of a stochastic approach in health care marketing is presented. Second, a study illustrating the application of the LOGIT model in assessing consumer preferences for hospitals is given. The paper concludes with several implications of the proposed approach.

Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of Dutch vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoek, A.C.; Luning, P.A.; Stafleu, A.; Graaf, C. de

2004-01-01

The aim was to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, and attitudes to food and health of vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers in the Netherlands. The sample used for this study (participants ≥18 years) was taken from the Dutch National Food

Food-related lifestyle and health attitudes of Dutch vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoek, A.C.; Luning, P.A.; Stafleu, A.; Graaf, de C.

2004-01-01

The aim was to investigate socio-demographic characteristics, and attitudes to food and health of vegetarians, non-vegetarian consumers of meat substitutes, and meat consumers in The Netherlands. The sample used for this study (participants > or =18 years) was taken from the Dutch National Food

Engaging Consumer Voices in Health Care Policy: Lessons for Social Work Practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Law, Kristi Lohmeier; Saunders, A

2016-02-01

Community health centers provide comprehensive public health care in some of the most disadvantaged communities in the United States. To ensure that health centers meet the needs of their consumers, they uniquely engage them in their organizational decision-making and policy-development processes by requiring that their boards of directors encompass a 51 percent consumer majority. To understand the quality of board members' experiences, a critical ethnography was conducted using Arnstein's ladder of citizen participation and the socioecological model as a framework. The analysis identified multiple influences on the quality of participation among consumer members. Findings also confirm other research that has found that knowledge of the economic, political, and cultural factors surrounding the context of the individual health center is important to understanding meaningful participation. The experience is important to understand given the shift driven by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 in health care, which emphasizes a patient-entered model of care. Social work practitioners and others in the public health arena interested in empowering consumers to have a role in the provision of services need to understand the impact of each of these areas'and the experience of this unique sample of health center board members.

Present and Future Trends in Consumer Health Informatics and Patient-Generated Health Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Lai, A M; Hsueh, P-Y S; Choi, Y K; Austin, R R

2017-08-01

Objectives: Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) and the use of Patient-Generated Health Data (PGHD) are rapidly growing focus areas in healthcare. The objective of this paper is to briefly review the literature that has been published over the past few years and to provide a sense of where the field is going. Methods: We searched PubMed and the ACM Digital Library for articles published between 2014 and 2016 on the topics of CHI and PGHD. The results of the search were screened for relevance and categorized into a set of common themes. We discuss the major topics covered in these articles. Results: We retrieved 65 articles from our PubMed query and 32 articles from our ACM Digital Library query. After a review of titles, we were left with 47 articles to conduct our full article survey of the activities in CHI and PGHD. We have summarized these articles and placed them into major categories of activity. Within the domain of consumer health informatics, articles focused on mobile health and patient-generated health data comprise the majority of the articles published in recent years. Conclusions: Current evidence indicates that technological advancements and the widespread availability of affordable consumer-grade devices are fueling research into using PGHD for better care. As we observe a growing number of (pilot) developments using various mobile health technologies to collect PGHD, major gaps still exist in how to use the data by both patients and providers. Further research is needed to understand the impact of PGHD on clinical outcomes. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart.

Transparency of Mandatory Information Disclosure and Concerns of Health Services Providers and Consumers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yu-Hua Yan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: This study analyzed differences between transparency of information disclosure and related demands from the health service consumer’s perspective. It also compared how health service providers and consumers are associated by different levels of mandatory information disclosure. Methods: We obtained our research data using a questionnaire survey (health services providers, n = 201; health service consumers, n = 384. Results: Health service consumers do not have major concerns regarding mandatory information disclosure. However, they are concerned about complaint channels and settlement results, results of patient satisfaction surveys, and disclosure of hospital financial statements (p < 0.001. We identified significant differences in health service providers’ and consumers’ awareness regarding the transparency of information disclosure (p < 0.001. Conclusions: It may not be possible for outsiders to properly interpret the information provided by hospitals. Thus, when a hospital discloses information, it is necessary for the government to consider the information’s applicability. Toward improving medical expertise and information asymmetry, the government has to reduce the burden among health service consumers in dealing with this information, and it has to use the information effectively.

Defining and incorporating basic nursing care actions into the electronic health record.

Science.gov (United States)

Englebright, Jane; Aldrich, Kelly; Taylor, Cathy R

2014-01-01

To develop a definition of basic nursing care for the hospitalized adult patient and drive uptake of that definition through the implementation of an electronic health record. A team of direct care nurses, assisted by subject matter experts, analyzed nursing theory and regulatory requirements related to basic nursing care. The resulting list of activities was coded using the Clinical Care Classification (CCC) system and incorporated into the electronic health record system of a 170-bed community hospital. Nine basic nursing care activities were identified as a result of analyzing nursing theory and regulatory requirements in the framework of a hypothetical "well" patient. One additional basic nursing care activity was identified following the pilot implementation in the electronic health record. The pilot hospital has successfully passed a post-implementation regulatory review with no recommendations related to the documentation of basic patient care. This project demonstrated that it is possible to define the concept of basic nursing care and to distinguish it from the interdisciplinary, problem-focused plan of care. The use of the electronic health record can help clarify, document, and communicate basic care elements and improve uptake among nurses. This project to define basic nursing care activities and incorporate into the electronic health record represents a first step in capturing meaningful data elements. When fully implemented, these data could be translated into knowledge for improving care outcomes and collaborative processes. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

Consumer health information partnerships: the health science library and multitype library system.

Science.gov (United States)

Hollander, S

1996-04-01

The University of Illinois Library of the Health Sciences at Rockford (LHS-Rockford) long has honored a commitment to serving the health information needs of the greater Rockford community. Utilization data collected over the past five years indicate that approximately 50% of reference transactions involve persons not affiliated with the university. In early 1994, LHS-Rockford submitted a proposal to the Northern Illinois Library System (NILS), a multitype system spanning twelve counties in northwestern Illinois, asking to serve as a resource library for improving medical and health information services provided by the 138 NILS member libraries. The NILS funded this pilot project as part of an effort to implement a new strategic plan, which encouraged member libraries to form networks to provide reference back-up service. LHS-Rockford acquired InfoTrac's Health Reference Center, a consumer health information database, and set up a dedicated workstation near the information and circulation desk. Referral guidelines were established and the project was promoted among NILS member libraries. Activities were documented in order to track project success in terms of referrals and outcomes. The demonstration project was very successful, and it proves public consumers seeking health information can benefit greatly from this type of cooperative arrangement.

THE IMPACT OF ONLINE ENVIRONMENT ON THE DECISION OF THE CONSUMER OF HEALTH SERVICES

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bodog Simona-Aurelia

2014-12-01

Full Text Available The online environment has opened new opportunities for consumers of health services, both in terms of the need for information on identified health problem and the possibilities of solving them and choosing the desired health service, resulting in a significant impact on decision of the consumer of health services. The consumers of health services use the internet to get information on identified health problems both before consulting a health service or its buying decision, because of their desire to be informed when acquiring health service, and its subsequent purchase to verify the correctness of service received. In this context, the health care provider cannot create and promote his own desires and beliefs if he wants to be the top choice of the consumers of health services. This paper aims to analyze the impact of the online environment on the decisions of the consumer of health services. The study was conducted on a sample of 223 patients admitted to two public hospitals in Oradea. The patients were given a questionnaire with 20 items, which mainly focused on: information sources, accessing sites with medical content, the moment of accessing the site, verification of information and information from the online influence on their behavior. From the analysis it appears that the information sought by patients online are general, fewer patients frequently access sites of medical institutions, health care facilities or health blogs and forums. The decisions of the Consumers of health care services are influenced to a lesser extent by the information from the online environment, the decisive role in terms of making a decision represent the information received from the doctor. Finally, for the consumer of health care services is difficult to choose because, to some extent even if the needs are becoming increasingly difficult to satisfy a substrate remains related to the personality and mentality of each, of the personal factors regarding

New food product consumer's behaviour: Health literacy and neophobia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luis Soares Luis

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background The development of a new food product aims to respond to consumer ́s concerns related to food and health promotion. Education plays a fundamental role in consumer’s behavior by providing tools that allows them to make informed decisions. Consumer’s empowerment is essential to the success of a health promotion strategy, also the knowledge of health literacy level is important to define a proper health policy. The aim of this study is to evaluate health literacy level and new foods consumption behavior (especially neophobic and neophilic behavior of the Lisbon area residents in Portugal. Methods A questionnaire, that includes the Portuguese version of the Newest Vital Sign, was applied to a stratified sample of 384 individuals (over 15 years old living in the Lisbon area in Portugal distributed accordingly to 2001 Census. Health literacy was evaluated by the Portuguese version of NVS, a tool by which a number of health-related information, in this case nutritional information written in a food label, is used to demonstrate one’s ability to use it to answer to questions. Data analysis was performed in SPSS®, version 19. Results Study results show that there is a close relationship between health literacy and general literacy. It is also clear that health literacy level is low for the majority of the participants and that this factor is relevant in new foods consumption, by positively affecting neophilia. Older individuals, with lower school years attendance and health literacy, are the main consumers with neophobic behavior. Higher health literacy is also directly associated with consumers concerns on how the product was manufactured and on environmental characteristics. There is no statistical association between gender and health literacy, but it is of relevance the fact that an association between health literacy and food neophilia is statistically significant. Conclusion Considering that new food products may improve health

Research priorities in health communication and participation: international survey of consumers and other stakeholders.

Science.gov (United States)

Synnot, Anneliese; Bragge, Peter; Lowe, Dianne; Nunn, Jack S; O'Sullivan, Molly; Horvat, Lidia; Tong, Allison; Kay, Debra; Ghersi, Davina; McDonald, Steve; Poole, Naomi; Bourke, Noni; Lannin, Natasha; Vadasz, Danny; Oliver, Sandy; Carey, Karen; Hill, Sophie J

2018-05-08

To identify research priorities of consumers and other stakeholders to inform Cochrane Reviews in 'health communication and participation' (including such concepts as patient experience, shared decision-making and health literacy). International. We included anyone with an interest in health communication and participation. Up to 151 participants (18-80 years; 117 female) across 12 countries took part, including 48 consumers (patients, carers, consumer representatives) and 75 professionals (health professionals, policymakers, researchers) (plus 25 people who identified as both). Survey. We invited people to submit their research ideas via an online survey open for 4 weeks. Using inductive thematic analysis, we generated priority research topics, then classified these into broader themes. Participants submitted 200 research ideas, which we grouped into 21 priority topics. Key research priorities included: insufficient consumer involvement in research (19 responses), 'official' health information is contradictory and hard to understand (18 responses), communication/coordination breakdowns in health services (15 responses), health information provision a low priority for health professionals (15 responses), insufficient eliciting of patient preferences (14 responses), health services poorly understand/implement patient-centred care (14 responses), lack of holistic care impacting healthcare quality and safety (13 responses) and inadequate consumer involvement in service design (11 responses). These priorities encompassed acute and community health settings, with implications for policy and research. Priority populations of interest included people from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds, carers, and people with low educational attainment, or mental illness. Most frequently suggested interventions focused on training and cultural change activities for health services and health professionals. Consumers and other stakeholders want research addressing

Consumer participation and organizational development in health care: a systematic review.

Science.gov (United States)

Tempfer, Clemens B; Nowak, Peter

2011-07-01

To provide an overview of published data on user participation in Health Care. Active and passive involvement of consumers into agendas associated with Health Care is still an exception. Data on the success of user participation projects in various areas of Health Care are lacking. Systematic literature review using public databases. We identified 467 studies including five systematic reviews describing various participation projects, among them workshops, citizens' panels, focus groups, citizens' juries, and consultation meetings. A general trend favoring a specific method was not observed. The categorization of evaluable studies according to Health Care area (n = 331) yielded the following results: general medicine/preventive medicine (n = 5), internal medicine/oncology (n = 132), obstetrics and gynecology (n = 2), surgery (n = 1), neurology/psychiatry (n = 2), social medicine (n = 16), health worker training (n = 38), and research agenda setting (n = 135). Predefined qualitative parameters were extracted from 69/467 (15%) studies. Sixty one of 69 studies (88%) were retrospective analyses without control groups and without outcome assessment. Six studies had outcome assessment, three judged the outcome as successful, two as negative, and one multi-project study reported 'very successful' project assessments in 24% of the projects. In 18 studies, the level of consumer participation was described as 'informed' in 2/18, 'advisory' in 14/18, and 'decision-making' in 2/18. The following factors associated with project success were identified: adequate financing, partnerships with well institutionalized consumer organizations, advanced project logistics, small-scale projects, and adequate internal and external communication. Most consumer participation projects were performed in research agenda setting, internal medicine/oncology, and health worker training. Various methods have been used in the projects, the level of consumer participation was low, and the success

Considerations for the design of safe and effective consumer health IT applications in the home.

Science.gov (United States)

Zayas-Cabán, Teresa; Dixon, Brian E

2010-10-01

Consumer health IT applications have the potential to improve quality, safety and efficiency of consumers' interactions with the healthcare system. Yet little attention has been paid to human factors and ergonomics in the design of consumer health IT, potentially limiting the ability of health IT to achieve these goals. This paper presents the results of an analysis of human factors and ergonomics issues encountered by five projects during the design and implementation of home-based consumer health IT applications. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality-funded consumer health IT research projects, where patients used the IT applications in their homes, were reviewed. Project documents and discussions with project teams were analysed to identify human factors and ergonomic issues considered or addressed by project teams. The analysis focused on system design and design processes used as well as training, implementation and use of the IT intervention. A broad range of consumer health IT applications and diverse set of human factors and ergonomics issues were identified. The design and implementation processes used resulted in poor fit with some patients' healthcare tasks and the home environment and, in some cases, resulted in lack of use. Clinician interaction with patients and the information provided through health IT applications appeared to positively influence adoption and use. Consumer health IT application design would benefit from the use of human factors and ergonomics design and evaluation methods. Considering the context in which home-based consumer health IT applications are used will likely affect the ability of these applications to positively impact the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care.

Current Challenge in Consumer Health Informatics: Bridging the Gap between Access to Information and Information Understanding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laurence Alpay

2009-01-01

Full Text Available The number of health-related websites has proliferated over the past few years. Health information consumers confront a myriad of health related resources on the internet that have varying levels of quality and are not always easy to comprehend. There is thus a need to help health information consumers to bridge the gap between access to information and information understanding—i.e. to help consumers understand health related web-based resources so that they can act upon it. At the same time health information consumers are becoming not only more involved in their own health care but also more information technology minded. One way to address this issue is to provide consumers with tailored information that is contextualized and personalized e.g. directly relevant and easily comprehensible to the person’s own health situation. This paper presents a current trend in Consumer Health Informatics which focuses on theory-based design and development of contextualized and personalized tools to allow the evolving consumer with varying backgrounds and interests to use online health information efficiently. The proposed approach uses a theoretical framework of communication in order to support the consumer’s capacity to understand health-related web-based resources.

Consumers' reports on the health effects of direct-to-consumer drug advertising.

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Weissman, Joel S; Blumenthal, David; Silk, Alvin J; Zapert, Kinga; Newman, Michael; Leitman, Robert

2003-01-01

We conducted a national telephone survey about health care experiences associated with direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs. Among the 35 percent of our sample who had a physician visit during which DTCA was discussed, 25 percent received a new diagnosis, of which 43 percent were considered high priority according to authoritative sources. More than half also reported actions taken by their physician other than prescribing the advertised drug. Despite concerns about DTCA's negative consequences, we found no differences in health effects between patients who took advertised drugs and those who took other prescription drugs.

Consumer Use of "Dr Google": A Survey on Health Information-Seeking Behaviors and Navigational Needs.

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Lee, Kenneth; Hoti, Kreshnik; Hughes, Jeffery David; Emmerton, Lynne M

2015-12-29

The Internet provides a platform to access health information and support self-management by consumers with chronic health conditions. Despite recognized barriers to accessing Web-based health information, there is a lack of research quantitatively exploring whether consumers report difficulty finding desired health information on the Internet and whether these consumers would like assistance (ie, navigational needs). Understanding navigational needs can provide a basis for interventions guiding consumers to quality Web-based health resources. We aimed to (1) estimate the proportion of consumers with navigational needs among seekers of Web-based health information with chronic health conditions, (2) describe Web-based health information-seeking behaviors, level of patient activation, and level of eHealth literacy among consumers with navigational needs, and (3) explore variables predicting navigational needs. A questionnaire was developed based on findings from a qualitative study on Web-based health information-seeking behaviors and navigational needs. This questionnaire also incorporated the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS; a measure of self-perceived eHealth literacy) and PAM-13 (a measure of patient activation). The target population was consumers of Web-based health information with chronic health conditions. We surveyed a sample of 400 Australian adults, with recruitment coordinated by Qualtrics. This sample size was required to estimate the proportion of consumers identified with navigational needs with a precision of 4.9% either side of the true population value, with 95% confidence. A subsample was invited to retake the survey after 2 weeks to assess the test-retest reliability of the eHEALS and PAM-13. Of 514 individuals who met our eligibility criteria, 400 (77.8%) completed the questionnaire and 43 participants completed the retest. Approximately half (51.3%; 95% CI 46.4-56.2) of the population was identified with navigational needs. Participants with

Australian mental health consumers contributions to the evaluation and improvement of recovery-oriented service provision.

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Marshal, Sarah L; Oades, Lindsay G; Growe, Trevor P

2010-01-01

One key component of recovery-oriented mental health services, typically overlooked, involves genuine collaboration between researchers and consumers to evaluate and improve services delivered within a recovery framework. Eighteen mental health consumers working with staff who had received training in the Collaborative Recovery Model (CRM) took part in in-depth focus group meetings, of approximately 2.5 hours each, to generate feedback to guide improvement of the CRM and its use in mental health services. Consumers identified clear avenues for improvement for the CRM both specific to the model and broadly applicable to recovery-oriented service provision. Findings suggest consumers want to be more engaged and empowered in the use of the CRM from the outset. Improved sampling procedures may have led to the identification of additional dissatisfied consumers. Collaboration with mental health consumers in the evaluation and improvement of recovery-oriented practice is crucial with an emphasis on rebuilding mental health services that are genuinely oriented to support recovery.

Price Intransparency, Consumer Decision Making and European Consumer Law

OpenAIRE

Boom, Willem

2011-01-01

textabstractPrice comparison is a basic element of competition. For comparison to work, at least prices need to be transparent. Moreover, price is usually a focal point in consumer thinking and deciding on transactions. Hence, obfuscating prices can be detrimental to consumers. Therefore, it is vital for policymakers to know how transparent pricing is in reality. Commercial practices involving price intransparency can be detrimental to consumer decision making and may be associated with marke...

Health Data Sharing Preferences of Consumers: Public Policy and Legal Implications of Consumer-Mediated Data Management

Science.gov (United States)

Moon, Lisa A.

2017-01-01

An individual's choice to share or have control of the sharing or withholding of their personal health information is one of the most significant public policy challenges associated with electronic information exchange. There were four aims of this study. First, to describe predictors of health data sharing preferences of consumers. Second, to…

Framing choice: The origins and impact of consumer rhetoric in US health care debates.

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Lee, Nancy S

2015-08-01

This paper examines the origins of consumerist discourse in health care from a communication perspective via a historical textual analysis of health writing in popular magazines from 1930 to 1949. The focus is on Consumers Union's Consumer Reports and the American Medical Association's lay health magazine, Hygeia. Findings from Consumer Reports show that the consumer movement of the 1930s-40s staunchly advocated for universal health insurance. Whereas consumer rights language nowadays tends towards individual choice and personal responsibility, consumerism in health care during that era articulated ideas about consumer citizenship, framing choice and responsibility in collectivist terms and health care as a social good. This paper also illuminates the limits and weaknesses of a central tenet in consumerism-freedom of choice-by analyzing stories in Hygeia about the doctor-patient relationship. A textual analysis finds that the AMA's justification in the 1930s-40s against socialized medicine, i.e., the freedom to choose a doctor, was in practice highly controlled by the medical profession. Findings show that long before the rhetoric of the "empowered consumer" became popular, some patients exercised some choice even in an era when physicians achieved total professional dominance. But these patients were few and tend to occupy the upper socioeconomic strata of US society. In reality choice was an illusion in a fee-for-service era when most American families could not afford the costs of medical care. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits?

OpenAIRE

Matthias, Marianne S.; Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P.

2017-01-01

Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated w...

Personal health and consumer informatics. The impact of health oriented social media applications on health outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Gibbons, M C

2013-01-01

The rapid evolution in the world-wide use of Social Media tools suggests the emergence of a global phenomenon that may have implications in the Personal Health and Consumer Health Informatics domains. However the impact of these tools on health outcomes is not known. The goal of this research was to review the randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence of the impact of health oriented Social Media informatics tools on health outcomes. Evaluations of Social Media consumer health tools were systematically reviewed. Research was limited to studies published in the English language, published in Medline, published in the calendar year 2012 and limited to studies that utilized a RCT methodological design. Two high quality Randomized Controlled Trials among over 600 articles published in Medline were identified. These studies indicate that Social Media interventions may be able to significantly improve pain control among patients with chronic pain and enhance weight loss maintenance among individuals attempting to lose weight. Significantly more research needs to be done to confirm these early findings, evaluate additional health outcomes and further evaluate emerging health oriented Social Media interventions. Chronic pain and weight control have both socially oriented determinants. These studies suggest that understanding the social component of a disease may ultimately provide novel therapeutic targets and socio-clinical interventional strategies.

Basic need status and health-promoting self-care behavior in adults.

Science.gov (United States)

Acton, G J; Malathum, P

2000-11-01

Health-promoting self-care behavior emphasizing positive lifestyle practices may improve the health and quality of life of adults. One variable that may influence health-related decisions is the status of basic needs as described by Maslow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among basic need satisfaction, health-promoting self-care behavior, and selected demographic variables in a sample of community-dwelling adults. A convenience sample of 84 community-dwelling adults was recruited to complete the Basic Need Satisfaction Inventory, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and demographic information. Results of the study indicated that self-actualization, physical, and love/belonging need satisfaction accounted for 64% of the variance in health-promoting self-care behavior. The findings of this study are consistent with Maslow's theory of human motivation and suggest that persons who are more fulfilled and content with themselves and their lives, have physical need satisfaction, and have positive connections with others may be able to make better decisions regarding positive health-promoting self-care behaviors.

A consumer health record for supporting the patient-centered management of chronic diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Clercq, Paul A.; Hasman, Arie; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H. R.

2003-01-01

OBJECTIVES: To design and implement a shareable consumer health record system to investigate whether the system can assist in the management of chronic diseases. METHODS: A toolkit was designed for constructing the consumer health record system in an evolutionary way. An ethnographic-like approach

A consumer health record for supporting the patient-centered management of chronic diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Clercq, de P.A.; Hasman, A.; Wolffenbuttel, B.H.R.

2003-01-01

Objectives : To design and implement a shareable consumer health record system to investigate whether the system can assist in the management of chronic diseases. Methods : A toolkit was designed for constructing the consumer health record system in an evolutionary way. An ethnographic-like approach

A consumer health record for supporting the patient-centered management of chronic diseases

NARCIS (Netherlands)

De Clercq, Paul A; Hasman, Arie; Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R

Objectives : To design and implement a shareable consumer health record system to investigate whether the system can assist in the management of chronic diseases. Methods : A toolkit was designed for constructing the consumer health record system in an evolutionary way. An ethnographic-like approach

Spillover effects of supplementary on basic health insurance: Evidence from the Netherlands

NARCIS (Netherlands)

A.-F. Roos (Anne-Fleur); F.T. Schut (Erik)

2012-01-01

textabstractLike many other countries, the Netherlands has a health insurance system that combines mandatory basic insurance with voluntary supplementary insurance. Both types of insurance are founded on different principles. Since basic and supplementary insurance are sold by the same health

Community and consumer participation in Australian health services--an overview of organisational commitment and participation processes.

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Johnson, A; Silburn, K

2000-01-01

This article briefly describes recent initiatives to improve consumer participation in health services that have led to the establishment of the National Resource Centre for Consumer Participation in Health. The results of a component of the needs assessment undertaken by the newly established Centre are presented. They provide a 'snapshot' of the types of feedback and participation processes mainly being utilised by Australian health services at the different levels of seeking information, information sharing and consultation, partnership, delegated power and consumer control. They also allow identification of the organisational commitment made by Australian health services to support a more coordinated approach to community and consumer feedback and participation at different levels of health services such as particular emphasis on determining the presence of community and consumer participation in key organisational statements, specific consumer policies and plans, identifiable leadership, inclusion into job descriptions, allocation of resources, and staff development and consumer training. Discussion centres around four key observations and some of the key perceived external barriers.

Evolution and early evidence of the impact of consumer-driven health plans: from e-commerce venture to health savings accounts.

Science.gov (United States)

Parente, Stephen T; Feldman, Roger

2008-08-01

Using results from peer-reviewed empirical analyses we describe the development and impact of the consumer-driven health plan market over the last 5 years. The results of these analyses show that consumers are responding to the financial incentives of these new health insurance benefits. Although the results may not always be what the consumer-driven health plan developers intended, there is clear evidence of 'consumerism', where individuals act in a way that generally increases their access to healthcare or investments, if the opportunity is present. Just as Medicare Part D enrollment demonstrated consumers could identify differences in prescription drug plans and make rational choices, so too are prospective patients able to function as consumers in the medical marketplace when give the opportunity.

From loquacious to reticent: understanding patient health information communication to guide consumer health IT design.

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Valdez, Rupa S; Guterbock, Thomas M; Fitzgibbon, Kara; Williams, Ishan C; Wellbeloved-Stone, Claire A; Bears, Jaime E; Menefee, Hannah K

2017-07-01

It is increasingly recognized that some patients self-manage in the context of social networks rather than alone. Consumer health information technology (IT) designed to support socially embedded self-management must be responsive to patients' everyday communication practices. There is an opportunity to improve consumer health IT design by explicating how patients currently leverage social media to support health information communication. The objective of this study was to determine types of health information communication patterns that typify Facebook users with chronic health conditions to guide consumer health IT design. Seven hundred participants with type 2 diabetes were recruited through a commercial survey access panel. Cluster analysis was used to identify distinct approaches to health information communication both on and off Facebook. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) methods were used to identify demographic and behavioral differences among profiles. Secondary analysis of qualitative interviews ( n  = 25) and analysis of open-ended survey questions were conducted to understand participant rationales for each profile. Our analysis yielded 7 distinct health information communication profiles. Five of 7 profiles had consistent patterns both on and off Facebook, while the remaining 2 demonstrated distinct practices, with no health information communication on Facebook but some off Facebook. One profile was distinct from all others in both health information communication practices and demographic composition. Rationales for following specific health information communication practices were categorized under 6 themes: altruism, instrumental support, social support, privacy and stigma, convenience, and Facebook knowledge. Facebook has been widely adopted for health information communication; This study demonstrates that Facebook has been widely adopted for health information communication. It also shows that the ways in which patients communicate health

Integrated Personal Health Records: Transformative Tools for Consumer-Centric Care

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Raymond Brian

2008-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Integrated personal health records (PHRs offer significant potential to stimulate transformational changes in health care delivery and self-care by patients. In 2006, an invitational roundtable sponsored by Kaiser Permanente Institute, the American Medical Informatics Association, and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality was held to identify the transformative potential of PHRs, as well as barriers to realizing this potential and a framework for action to move them closer to the health care mainstream. This paper highlights and builds on the insights shared during the roundtable. Discussion While there is a spectrum of dominant PHR models, (standalone, tethered, integrated, the authors state that only the integrated model has true transformative potential to strengthen consumers' ability to manage their own health care. Integrated PHRs improve the quality, completeness, depth, and accessibility of health information provided by patients; enable facile communication between patients and providers; provide access to health knowledge for patients; ensure portability of medical records and other personal health information; and incorporate auto-population of content. Numerous factors impede widespread adoption of integrated PHRs: obstacles in the health care system/culture; issues of consumer confidence and trust; lack of technical standards for interoperability; lack of HIT infrastructure; the digital divide; uncertain value realization/ROI; and uncertain market demand. Recent efforts have led to progress on standards for integrated PHRs, and government agencies and private companies are offering different models to consumers, but substantial obstacles remain to be addressed. Immediate steps to advance integrated PHRs should include sharing existing knowledge and expanding knowledge about them, building on existing efforts, and continuing dialogue among public and private sector stakeholders. Summary Integrated PHRs

Health Care and Family and Consumer Sciences Education: An Integrative Approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Montgomery, Ruth; Rider, Mary Ellen

2001-01-01

Uses ecological systems theory as a foundation for integrating health care and its public policy issues into family and consumer sciences classrooms. Offers teachers alternative perspectives on consumer behavior changes and needs in heath care systems and policies. Contains 24 references. (JOW)

Counterpublic health and the design of drug services for methamphetamine consumers in Melbourne.

Science.gov (United States)

Duff, Cameron; Moore, David

2015-01-01

This article is interested in how notions of the 'public' are conceived, marshalled and enacted in drug-treatment responses to methamphetamine use in Melbourne, Australia. After reviewing qualitative data collected among health-care providers and methamphetamine consumers, we draw on the work of Michael Warner to argue that services for methamphetamine consumers in Melbourne betray ongoing tensions between 'public' and 'counterpublic' constituencies. Our analysis indicates that these tensions manifest in two ways: in the management of 'street business' in the delivery of services and in negotiating the meaning of health and the terms of its restoration or promotion. Reflecting these tensions, while the design of services for methamphetamine consumers is largely modelled on public health principles, the everyday experience of these services may be more accurately characterised in terms of what Kane Race has called 'counterpublic health'. Extending Race's analysis, we conclude that more explicit focus on the idea of counterpublic health may help local services engage with methamphetamine consumers in new ways, providing grounds for novel outreach, harm-reduction and treatment strategies. © The Author(s) 2014.

Developing a Spanish-language consumer report for CAHPS health plan surveys.

Science.gov (United States)

Derose, Kathryn Pitkin; Kanouse, David E; Weidmer, Beverly; Weech-Maldonado, Robert; García, Rosa Elena; Hays, Ron D

2007-11-01

A Spanish-language consumer report on health plan quality was developed for the Consumer Assessments of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) project. Multiple translations, a committee review, and a readability assessment were performed to produce a draft Spanish report. The report was revised on the basis of a series of cognitive interviews with 24 Latinos. The median age of participants was 41 years, and the median number of years in the United States was 9; 67% were female, and 63% had less than a high school education. In general, participants understood the report and said they would use it to choose a health plan. Less-educated respondents had difficulty understanding the segmented bar graphs that showed the proportion of health plan members' responses. A summary chart comparing all health plans on all dimensions was easier to comprehend when differences were represented by word icons rather than by stars. Concepts and terms about health care quality translated well from English to Spanish. Simplifying graphical information involves losing some detail but makes information more usable. Summary charts facilitate comparisons across plans, but differences relative to a mean are difficult for both Spanish- and English-speaking consumers to understand.

Applying social marketing in health care: communicating evidence to change consumer behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Evans, W Douglas; McCormack, Lauren

2008-01-01

Social marketing uses commercial marketing strategies to change individual and organizational behavior and policies. It has been effective on a population level across a wide range of public health and health care domains. There is limited evidence of the effectiveness of social marketing in changing health care consumer behavior through its impact on patient-provider interaction or provider behavior. Social marketers need to identify translatable strategies (e.g., competition analysis, branding, and tailored messages) that can be applied to health care provider and consumer behavior. Three case studies from social marketing illustrate potential strategies to change provider and consumer behavior. Countermarketing is a rapidly growing social marketing strategy that has been effective in tobacco control and may be effective in countering pharmaceutical marketing using specific message strategies. Informed decision making is a useful strategy when there is medical uncertainty, such as in prostate cancer screening and treatment. Pharmaceutical industry marketing practices offer valuable lessons for developing competing messages to reach providers and consumers. Social marketing is an effective population-based behavior change strategy that can be applied in individual clinical settings and as a complement to reinforce messages communicated on a population level. There is a need for more research on message strategies that work in health care and population-level effectiveness studies.

Health literacy knowledge among direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising professionals.

Science.gov (United States)

Mackert, Michael

2011-09-01

While direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertising has been the subject of ongoing debate, to this point the perspective of the advertising professionals engaged in creating these ads has been absent from the discussion. This study, consisting of in-depth interviews with advertising professionals (N = 22), was an initial investigation focused on these individuals. The primary purpose of this study was to explore advertising professionals' understanding of health literacy-consumers' ability to obtain, process, and act on health information; with that context in place, participants' views on the role of DTC advertising, industry regulations, and the future of the industry were also investigated. While some participants knew nothing about health literacy or had a relatively simple conceptualization (e.g., grade level of written materials), others exhibited more nuanced understanding of health literacy (e.g., the need to pair relevant images with text to enhance understanding). Participants spoke of the potential public health benefit of DTC advertising in educating consumers about health issues, but were realistic that such efforts on the part of pharmaceutical companies were driven primarily by business concerns-educational messages need to be tied directly to an advertised medication and its benefits. These professionals spoke of industry regulations as presenting additional barriers to effective communication and suggested that industry trends toward more niche products will necessitate more patient education about less well-known health issues. Directions for future research are considered, as more investigation of this understudied group is necessary to enrich the DTC prescription drug advertising debate.

Consumer Health Informatics: Past, Present, and Future of a Rapidly Evolving Domain.

Science.gov (United States)

Demiris, G

2016-05-20

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) is a rapidly growing domain within the field of biomedical and health informatics. The objective of this paper is to reflect on the past twenty five years and showcase informatics concepts and applications that led to new models of care and patient empowerment, and to predict future trends and challenges for the next 25 years. We discuss concepts and systems based on a review and analysis of published literature in the consumer health informatics domain in the last 25 years. The field was introduced with the vision that one day patients will be in charge of their own health care using informatics tools and systems. Scientific literature in the field originally focused on ways to assess the quality and validity of available printed health information, only to grow significantly to cover diverse areas such as online communities, social media, and shared decision-making. Concepts such as home telehealth, mHealth, and the quantified-self movement, tools to address transparency of health care organizations, and personal health records and portals provided significant milestones in the field. Consumers are able to actively participate in the decision-making process and to engage in health care processes and decisions. However, challenges such as health literacy and the digital divide have hindered us from maximizing the potential of CHI tools with a significant portion of underserved populations unable to access and utilize them. At the same time, at a global scale consumer tools can increase access to care for underserved populations in developing countries. The field continues to grow and emerging movements such as precision medicine and the sharing economy will introduce new opportunities and challenges.

Relating Economic Ideology to Consumer Protection: A Suggested Unit in Consumer Education

Science.gov (United States)

Herrmann, Robert O.

1977-01-01

Describes a suggested unit in consumer education designed to give students insight into the controversy about consumer protection policy and proposals, and compares the basic views of three economic belief systems: neoclassical, managerial, and liberal-Galbraithian. (MF)

The Use of an Adapted Health IT Usability Evaluation Model (Health-ITUEM) for Evaluating Consumer Reported Ratings of Diabetes mHealth Applications: Implications for Diabetes Care and Management.

Science.gov (United States)

Househ, Mowafa S; Shubair, Mamdouh M; Yunus, Faisel; Jamal, Amr; Aldossari, Bakheet

2015-10-01

The aim of this paper is to present a usability analysis of the consumer ratings of key diabetes mHealth applications using an adapted Health IT Usability Evaluation Model (Health-ITUEM). A qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze publicly available consumer reported data posted on the Android Market and Google Play for four leading diabetes mHealth applications. Health-ITUEM concepts including information needs, flexibility/customizability, learnability, performance speed, and competency guided the categorization and analysis of the data. Health impact was an additional category that was included in the study. A total of 405 consumers' ratings collected from January 9, 2014 to February 17, 2014 were included in the study. Overall, the consumers' ratings of the leading diabetes mHealth applications for both usability and health impacts were positive. The performance speed of the mHealth application and the information needs of the consumers were the primary usability factors impacting the use of the diabetes mHealth applications. There was also evidence on the positive health impacts of such applications. Consumers are more likely to use diabetes related mHealth applications that perform well and meet their information needs. Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence that diabetes mHealth applications can have positive impact on the health of patients.

Considering consumer choice in the economic evaluation of mandatory health programmes: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Parkinson, Bonny; Goodall, Stephen

2011-08-01

Governments are increasing their focus on mandatory public health programmes following positive economic evaluations of their impact. This review aims to examine whether loss of consumer choice should be included in economic evaluations of mandatory health programmes (MHP). A systematic literature review was conducted to identify economic evaluations of MHP, whether they discuss the impact on consumer choice and any methodological limitations. Overall 39 economic evaluations were identified, of which 10 discussed the loss of consumer choice and 6 attempted to place a value on the loss of consumer choice. Methodological limitations included: measuring the marginal cost of compliance, unavailability of price elasticity estimates, the impact of income effects, double counting health impacts, biased willingness-to-pay responses, and "protest" responses. Overall it was found that the inclusion of the loss of consumer choice rarely impacted on the final outcome of the study. The impact of MHP on the loss of consumer choice has largely been ignored in economic evaluations. Its importance remains uncertain due to its infrequent inclusion and significant methodological limitations. Further research regarding which methodology is best for valuing the loss of consumer choice and whether it is important to the final implementation decision is warranted. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Enhancing health-care workers' understanding and thinking about people living with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues through consumer-led training.

Science.gov (United States)

Roussy, Véronique; Thomacos, Nikos; Rudd, Annette; Crockett, Belinda

2015-10-01

Stigma and judgemental assumptions by health workers have been identified as key barriers to accessing health care for people living with co-occurring mental health and substance use issues (dual diagnosis). To evaluate the effectiveness of consumer-led training by people with dual diagnosis in improving the knowledge, understanding and role adequacy of community health staff to work with this consumer group. A controlled before-and-after study design with four waves of quantitative data collection was used. Qualitative data were collected to explore participants' views about training. Participants were staff from two community health services from Victoria, Australia. Recruitment occurred across various work areas: reception, oral health, allied health, counselling and health promotion. At baseline, all participants attended a 4-h clinician-led training session. The intervention consisted of a 3-h consumer-led training session, developed and delivered by seven individuals living with dual diagnosis. Outcome measures included understanding of dual diagnosis, participants' feelings of role adequacy and role legitimacy, personal views, and training outcomes and relevance. Consumer-led training was associated with a significant increase in understanding. The combination of clinician-led and consumer-led training was associated with a positive change in role adequacy. Consumer-led training is a promising approach to enhance primary health-care workers' understanding of the issues faced by dual-diagnosis consumers, with such positive effects persisting over time. Used alongside other organizational capacity building strategies, consumer-led training has the potential to help address stigma and judgemental attitudes by health workers and improve access to services for this consumer group. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Appraisal Skills, Health Literacy and the Patient-Provider Relationship: Considerations as the Health Care Consumer Turns to the Internet to Inform their Care.

Science.gov (United States)

O'Dell, Rosann

2012-01-01

Health care consumers increasingly obtain health information from the Internet to inform their health care; the health care consumer, who also has the role of patient, maintains the right to access information from sources of their choosing for this purpose. However, noteworthy considerations exist including information appraisal skills, health literacy and the patient-provider relationship. Awareness and education are warranted to assist the health care consumer in achieving proficiency as they turn to the Internet for health information.

Basic Versus Supplementary Health Insurance : Moral Hazard and Adverse Selection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boone, J.

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a tractable model of health insurance with both moral hazard and adverse selection. We show that government sponsored universal basic insurance should cover treatments with the biggest adverse selection problems. Treatments not covered by basic insurance can be covered on the

Basic versus supplementary health insurance : Moral hazard and adverse selection

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Boone, J.

This paper introduces a tractable model of health insurance with both moral hazard and adverse selection. We show that government sponsored universal basic insurance should cover treatments with the biggest adverse selection problems. Treatments not covered by basic insurance can be covered on the

Development of the Health Insurance Literacy Measure (HILM): Conceptualizing and Measuring Consumer Ability to Choose and Use Private Health Insurance

OpenAIRE

Paez, Kathryn A.; Mallery, Coretta J.; Noel, HarmoniJoie; Pugliese, Christopher; McSorley, Veronica E.; Lucado, Jennifer L.; Ganachari, Deepa

2014-01-01

Understanding health insurance is central to affording and accessing health care in the United States. Efforts to support consumers in making wise purchasing decisions and using health insurance to their advantage would benefit from the development of a valid and reliable measure to assess health insurance literacy. This article reports on the development of the Health Insurance Literacy Measure (HILM), a self-assessment measure of consumers' ability to select and use private health insurance...

Investigation on the role of consumer health orientation in the use of food labels.

Science.gov (United States)

Cavaliere, A; De Marchi, E; Banterle, A

2017-06-01

This study explored the relationship between health orientation (i.e. individual motivation to engage in healthy attitudes, beliefs and behaviours) and consumers' use of nutritional information on food labels. Specifically, this study analysed the relationship between a number of direct investments in health (namely those behaviours that can contribute directly to maintain a good health status) and use of nutritional information on food labels. Data for the analysis were collected through face-to-face interviews with a sample of 540 Italian consumers in charge of their grocery shopping. Forty grocery stores, including supermarkets and hypermarkets, were selected using a systematic sampling technique. Data were analysed using three equations and accounting for endogeneity issues. This study found that those consumer groups with low health orientation (specifically smokers, those who do not exercise regularly, and those with an unhealthy body weight) show little interest in nutritional labels. Nutritional labels as a tool to promote healthier food choices have a limited effect on those consumers in greatest need of pursuing healthier lifestyle habits. Alternative policy intervention should be undertaken to reach these consumer groups. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

What criteria do consumer health librarians use to develop library collections? a phenomenological study.

Science.gov (United States)

Papadakos, Janet; Trang, Aileen; Wiljer, David; Cipolat Mis, Chiara; Cyr, Alaina; Friedman, Audrey Jusko; Mazzocut, Mauro; Snow, Michelle; Raivich, Valeria; Catton, Pamela

2014-04-01

The criteria for determining whether resources are included in consumer health library collections are summarized in institutional collection development policies (CDPs). Evidence suggests that CDPs do not adequately capture all of these criteria. The aim of this study was to describe the resource review experience of librarians and compare it to what is described in CDPs. A phenomenological approach was used to explore and describe the process. Four consumer health librarians independently evaluated cancer-related consumer health resources and described their review process during a semi-structured telephone interview. Afterward, these librarians completed online questionnaires about their approaches to collection development. CDPs from participating libraries, interview transcripts, and questionnaire data were analyzed. Researchers summarized the findings, and participating librarians reviewed results for validation. Librarians all utilized similar criteria, as documented in their CDPs; however, of thirteen criteria described in the study, only four were documented in CDPs. CDPs for consumer health libraries may be missing important criteria that are considered integral parts of the collection development process. A better understanding of the criteria and contextual factors involved in the collection development process can assist with establishing high-quality consumer health library collections.

What criteria do consumer health librarians use to develop library collections? a phenomenological study*

Science.gov (United States)

Papadakos, Janet; Trang, Aileen; Wiljer, David; Mis, Chiara Cipolat; Cyr, Alaina; Friedman, Audrey Jusko; Mazzocut, Mauro; Snow, Michelle; Raivich, Valeria; Catton, Pamela

2014-01-01

Objectives: The criteria for determining whether resources are included in consumer health library collections are summarized in institutional collection development policies (CDPs). Evidence suggests that CDPs do not adequately capture all of these criteria. The aim of this study was to describe the resource review experience of librarians and compare it to what is described in CDPs. Methods: A phenomenological approach was used to explore and describe the process. Four consumer health librarians independently evaluated cancer-related consumer health resources and described their review process during a semi-structured telephone interview. Afterward, these librarians completed online questionnaires about their approaches to collection development. CDPs from participating libraries, interview transcripts, and questionnaire data were analyzed. Researchers summarized the findings, and participating librarians reviewed results for validation. Results: Librarians all utilized similar criteria, as documented in their CDPs; however, of thirteen criteria described in the study, only four were documented in CDPs. Conclusions: CDPs for consumer health libraries may be missing important criteria that are considered integral parts of the collection development process. Implications: A better understanding of the criteria and contextual factors involved in the collection development process can assist with establishing high-quality consumer health library collections. PMID:24860261

Consumer appeal of nutrition and health claims in three existing product concepts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Verbeke, Wim; Scholderer, Joachim; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

2009-01-01

This paper reports on consumers' reactions towards calcium-enriched fruit juice, omega-3 enriched spread and fibre-enriched cereals, each with a nutrition claim, health claim and reduction of disease risk claim. Cross-sectional data were collected in April 2006 from a sample of 341 consumers...... in Belgium. Consumers' reactions to the carrier product, functional ingredient and claim combinations were assessed as perceived convincingness of the claim, credibility of the product, attractiveness of the product, and intention to buy the product, while accounting for differences in product familiarity......, attitudinal and demographic characteristics. Generally, health claims outperformed nutrition claims, and both of these claim types outperformed reduction of disease risk claims. Comparing consumer reactions across product concepts revealed clear preferences for fibre-enriched cereals as compared to the other...

What Factors are Associated with Consumer Initiation of Shared Decision Making in Mental Health Visits?

Science.gov (United States)

Matthias, Marianne S; Fukui, Sadaaki; Salyers, Michelle P

2017-01-01

Understanding consumer initiation of shared decision making (SDM) is critical to improving SDM in mental health consultations, particularly because providers do not always invite consumer participation in treatment decisions. This study examined the association between consumer initiation of nine elements of SDM as measured by the SDM scale, and measures of consumer illness self-management and the consumer-provider relationship. In 63 mental health visits, three SDM elements were associated with self-management or relationship factors: discussion of consumer goals, treatment alternatives, and pros and cons of a decision. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed.

The role of health-related claims and symbols in consumer behaviour

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hieke, Sophie; Cascanette, Tamara; Pravst, Igor; Kaur, Asha; Trijp, Van Hans; Verbeke, Wim; Grunert, Klaus G.

2016-01-01

Health claims and symbols are a convenient tool when it comes to the marketing of foods and they should, in theory, support consumers in making informed food choices, ideally in choosing healthier food products. However, not much is known about their actual impact on consumer behaviour. CLYMBOL

The Consumer Protection Act: No-fault liability of health care providers

OpenAIRE

Slabbert, M Nöthling; Pepper, Michael S

2011-01-01

The introduction of no-fault or strict liability by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) poses serious problems in the health care context. With a patient as a consumer' in terms of the CPA, health care practitioners may find themselves as suppliers' or retailers' as part of a supply chain, and potentially liable for harm and loss suffered by a patient in terms of the new no-fault liability provision. The claimant (patient) can sue anyone in the supply chain in terms of this provision...

A healthy indulgence? Wine consumers and the health benefits of wine

OpenAIRE

Lindsey M. Higgins; Erica Llanos

2015-01-01

Heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US. Moderate red wine consumption has been linked to a reduction in the risk of death by heart disease and heart attack by 30–50%. With about 600,000 people dying from heart disease in the US each year, red wine has become increasingly popular among health conscious consumers. Wine is often touted for its potential health benefits, but to what extent is “health” a factor when consumers make their consumption decisions for alcoholic beverages?...

Impact of consumers' health beliefs, involvement and risk perception of fish consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pieniak, Zuzanna; Verbeke, Wim; Scholderer, Joachim

2008-01-01

Purpose - To investigate the impact of consumers' health beliefs, involvement, and risk perception on fish consumption in five European countries. Design/methodology/approach - Cross-sectional data were collected through the SEAFOODplus pan-European consumer survey (n=4,786) with samples represen......Purpose - To investigate the impact of consumers' health beliefs, involvement, and risk perception on fish consumption in five European countries. Design/methodology/approach - Cross-sectional data were collected through the SEAFOODplus pan-European consumer survey (n=4,786) with samples...... representative for age and region in Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain and Poland. Structural equation modeling (LISREL) was used in order to simultaneously estimate the strength and direction of all relationships in our model.- Our model contributes to a better understanding of factors influencing fish...... consumption. Health involvement is found as an indirect whilst interest in healthy eating emerges as a direct driver of fish consumption behaviour. On the contrary, risk perception has a negative impact on fish consumption. Research limitations/implications - Further research using survey questionnaires could...

Consumer appeal of nutrition and health claims in three existing product concepts.

Science.gov (United States)

Verbeke, Wim; Scholderer, Joachim; Lähteenmäki, Liisa

2009-06-01

This paper reports on consumers' reactions towards calcium-enriched fruit juice, omega-3 enriched spread and fibre-enriched cereals, each with a nutrition claim, health claim and reduction of disease risk claim. Cross-sectional data were collected in April 2006 from a sample of 341 consumers in Belgium. Consumers' reactions to the carrier product, functional ingredient and claim combinations were assessed as perceived convincingness of the claim, credibility of the product, attractiveness of the product, and intention to buy the product, while accounting for differences in product familiarity, attitudinal and demographic characteristics. Generally, health claims outperformed nutrition claims, and both of these claim types outperformed reduction of disease risk claims. Comparing consumer reactions across product concepts revealed clear preferences for fibre-enriched cereals as compared to the other two concepts. The interaction effects between claim type and product concept indicated that reduction of disease risk claims are perceived very well in omega-3 enriched spreads, particularly in terms of perceived convincingness of the claim, while not appealing to consumers in the other product concepts. Positive attitudes towards functional foods and familiarity with the concrete functional product category boosted the claim type and product ratings, whereas perceived control over own health and perceiving functional foods as a marketing scam decreased all product concept's appeal.

Food, Health and the Consumer: A European Perspective

OpenAIRE

Gormley, T. R. (Thomas Ronan); Downey, Gerry; O'Beirne, D.

1986-01-01

This article summarises the findings of a major study carried out under the FAST (Forecasting and Assessment in Science and Technology) programme of the EEC on food, health and the consumer. Further articles on specific parts of the study will be published in future issues of Farm and Food Research. The findings are applicable to most developed countries including Ireland and if implemented could have a significant affect on human health and also on food production and processing methods.

Consumer health hazards in international food trade

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Achterbosch, T.J.

2007-01-01

Emerging risks have been defined as potential food-borne, feed-borne, or diet-related hazards that may become a risk for human health in the future. This study disentangles how emerging risks relate to international trade. It develops a basic framework for the economic analysis of emerging risks,

Consumer Health Informatics in the Context of Engaged Citizens and eHealth Services - A New CHI Meta Model.

Science.gov (United States)

Wiesner, Martin; Griebel, Lena; Becker, Kurt; Pobiruchin, Monika

2016-01-01

Consumer Health Informatics (CHI) is a relatively new and interdisciplinary field in Medical Informatics. It focuses on consumer- rather than professional-centered services. However, the definitions and understanding of a) what is a "consumer"? or b) what is health technology in the context of CHI? and c) what factors and actors influence the usage of eHealth services? vary widely. The CHI special interest group (SIG) - associated with the German Association for Medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology - conducted two workshops in 2015 to improve the common understanding on these topics. The workshop outcomes, the derived CHI-specific meta model and examples how to apply this model are presented in this paper. The model supports the definition of multi-actor contexts, as it not solely reflects the conventional patient-physician relationship but also allows for the description of second health market providers.

Wine and health perceptions: Exploring the impact of gender, age and ethnicity on consumer perceptions of wine and health

OpenAIRE

Chang, Kathryn J.; Liz Thach, MW; Olsen, Janeen

2016-01-01

This study explores U.S. wine consumers’ perception of wine and health by gender, age, and ethnic background. An extensive body of epidemiological studies suggests that there are health benefits from moderate wine drinking. In light of an increased consumer preference over healthier foods and beverages, it is important to understand the health orientation of wine consumers and the effect of gender, age, or ethnicity on their perceptions of wine and health. An online survey was used to collect...

Technical attributes, health attribute, consumer attributes and their roles in adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Min; Luo, Meifen; Nie, Rui; Zhang, Yan

2017-12-01

This paper aims to explore factors influencing the healthcare wearable technology adoption intention from perspectives of technical attributes (perceived convenience, perceived irreplaceability, perceived credibility and perceived usefulness), health attribute (health belief) and consumer attributes (consumer innovativeness, conspicuous consumption, informational reference group influence and gender difference). By integrating technology acceptance model, health belief model, snob effect and conformity and reference group theory, hypotheses and research model are proposed. The empirical investigation (N=436) collects research data through questionnaire. Results show that the adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology is influenced by technical attributes, health attribute and consumer attributes simultaneously. For technical attributes, perceived convenience and perceived credibility both positively affect perceived usefulness, and perceived usefulness influences adoption intention. The relation between perceived irreplaceability and perceived usefulness is only supported by males. For health attribute, health belief affects perceived usefulness for females. For consumer attributes, conspicuous consumption and informational reference group influence can significantly moderate the relation between perceived usefulness and adoption intention and the relation between consumer innovativeness and adoption intention respectively. What's more, consumer innovativeness significantly affects adoption intention for males. This paper aims to discuss technical attributes, health attribute and consumer attributes and their roles in the adoption intention of healthcare wearable technology. Findings may provide enlightenment to differentiate product developing and marketing strategies and provide some implications for clinical medicine. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A critical analysis of the literature on the Internet and consumer health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Powell, J A; Lowe, P; Griffiths, F E; Thorogood, M

2005-01-01

A critical review of the published literature investigating the Internet and consumer health information was undertaken in order to inform further research and policy. A qualitative, narrative method was used, consisting of a three-stage process of identification and collation, thematic coding, and critical analysis. This analysis identified five main themes in the research in this area: (1) the quality of online health information for consumers; (2) consumer use of the Internet for health information; (3) the effect of e-health on the practitioner-patient relationship; (4) virtual communities and online social support and (5) the electronic delivery of information-based interventions. Analysis of these themes revealed more about the concerns of health professionals than about the effect of the Internet on users. Much of the existing work has concentrated on quantifying characteristics of the Internet: for example, measuring the quality of online information, or describing the numbers of users in different health-care settings. There is a lack of qualitative research that explores how citizens are actually using the Internet for health care.

Consumer Attitudes and Perceptions on mHealth Privacy and Security: Findings From a Mixed-Methods Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Atienza, Audie A; Zarcadoolas, Christina; Vaughon, Wendy; Hughes, Penelope; Patel, Vaishali; Chou, Wen-Ying Sylvia; Pritts, Joy

2015-01-01

This study examined consumers' attitudes and perceptions regarding mobile health (mHealth) technology use in health care. Twenty-four focus groups with 256 participants were conducted in 5 geographically diverse locations. Participants were also diverse in age, education, race/ethnicity, gender, and rural versus urban settings. Several key themes emerged from the focus groups. Findings suggest that consumer attitudes regarding mHealth privacy/security are highly contextualized, with concerns depending on the type of information being communicated, where and when the information is being accessed, who is accessing or seeing the information, and for what reasons. Consumers frequently considered the tradeoffs between the privacy/security of using mHealth technologies and the potential benefits. Having control over mHealth privacy/security features and trust in providers were important issues for consumers. Overall, this study found significant diversity in attitudes regarding mHealth privacy/security both within and between traditional demographic groups. Thus, to address consumers' concerns regarding mHealth privacy and security, a one-size-fits-all approach may not be adequate. Health care providers and technology developers should consider tailoring mHealth technology according to how various types of information are communicated in the health care setting, as well as according to the comfort, skills, and concerns individuals may have with mHealth technology.

[Using consumer panels in public health observational studies].

Science.gov (United States)

Matilla-Santander, Nuria; Fu, Marcela; Ballbè, Montse; Lidón-Moyano, Cristina; Martín-Sánchez, Juan Carlos; Fernández, Esteve; Martínez-Sánchez, José M

Consumer panels are a market research method useful for gathering information about low-frequency or difficult-access customers. The objective of this field-note is to explain our experience using this method in a cross-sectional public health study on the use of electronic cigarettes. After taking into account other non-probabilistic sampling techniques to obtain a huge sample of electronic-cigarette users (n=600), in the end we decided to use consumer panels (recruiters) because of the relative short duration of the field work and the high representativeness of the sample. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Seeking and using intention of health information from doctors in social media: The effect of doctor-consumer interaction.

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Zhang, Donglan; Buchanan, Paula R; Zha, Dongqing; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-07-01

The aim of this study is to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media influences consumers' health information seeking and usage intention. Based on professional-client interaction theory and expectation confirmation theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interaction influence consumers' health information seeking and usage intention through consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method. The measurement instruments for all constructs were developed based on previous literatures, and 352 valid answers were collected by using these instruments. Our results reveal that consumers' intention to seek health information significantly predicts their intention to use health information from social media. Meanwhile, both consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors influences consumers' health information seeking and usage intention significantly. With regards to the impact of the interaction between doctors and consumers, the results show that both types of doctor-consumer interaction significantly affect consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. The mediation analysis confirms the mediation role of consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors. Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as an effective intervention with low cost to promote consumers' health information seeking and usage. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. At last, consumer satisfaction and trust towards doctors could be considered as the important working mechanisms for the effect of doctor-consumer interaction. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Consumer Behavior: Developing Skills for Assertiveness. Consumer Education Training Module.

Science.gov (United States)

Thayer, Lou

The goal of this inservice guide for teaching consumer education at the secondary and adult level is to help consumers become more assertive when buying goods and services. A major section in the guide defines assertiveness. The four basic components of assertive behavior are the ability to express emotions openly, the capacity to exercise one's…

Unravelling the concept of consumer preference: implications for health policy and optimal planning in primary care.

Science.gov (United States)

Foster, Michele M; Earl, Peter E; Haines, Terry P; Mitchell, Geoffrey K

2010-10-01

Accounting for consumer preference in health policy and delivery system design makes good economic sense since this is linked to outcomes, quality of care and cost control. Probability trade-off methods are commonly used in policy evaluation, marketing and economics. Increasingly applied to health matters, the trade-off preference model has indicated that consumers of health care discriminate between different attributes of care. However, the complexities of the health decision-making environment raise questions about the inherent assumptions concerning choice and decision-making behavior which frame this view of consumer preference. In this article, we use the example of primary care in Australia as a vehicle to examine the concept of 'consumer preference' from different perspectives within economics and discuss the significance of how we model preferences for health policy makers. In doing so, we question whether mainstream thinking, namely that consumers are capable of deliberating between rival strategies and are willing to make trade-offs, is a reliable way of thinking about preferences given the complexities of the health decision-making environment. Alternative perspectives on preference can assist health policy makers and health providers by generating more precise information about the important attributes of care that are likely to enhance consumer engagement and optimise acceptability of health care. Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Facilitating consumer participation: an approach to finding the 'right' consumer.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda

2010-01-01

Contemporary health care increasingly dictates that consumers of services should become active participants in the health care system. This has placed responsibility on administrators, managers and clinicians to include consumers in key strategic and decision making initiatives. However, this direction has not been accompanied by clear policies or guidelines. Consequently confusion about selecting consumers able to provide valuable input is identified as a barrier to active consumer involvement. The purpose of this paper is to address some concerns raised in the quest to find the "right" consumer, including: finding a consumer without an axe to grind; ensuring the consumer is representative of broader views; health professionals as consumer representatives. While these concerns are common they have not yet been extensively debated and discussed in the broader Literature. Strategies necessary to support consumers in participatory roles are also considered and the controversial subject of financial remuneration for consumers is also explored.

The Effect of Doctor-Consumer Interaction on Social Media on Consumers’ Health Behaviors: Cross-Sectional Study

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Tailai; Deng, Zhaohua; Gaskin, Darrell J; Zhang, Donglan; Wang, Ruoxi

2018-01-01

Background Both doctors and consumers have engaged in using social media for health purposes. Social media has changed traditional one-to-one communication between doctors and patients to many-to-many communication between doctors and consumers. However, little is known about the effect of doctor-consumer interaction on consumers’ health behaviors. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate how doctor-consumer interaction in social media affects consumers’ health behaviors. Methods On the basis of professional-client interaction theory and social cognitive theory, we propose that doctor-consumer interaction can be divided into instrumental interaction and affective interaction. These two types of interactions influence consumers’ health behaviors through declarative knowledge (DK), self-efficacy (SE), and outcome expectancy (OE). To validate our proposed research model, we employed the survey method and developed corresponding measurement instruments for constructs in our research model. A total of 352 valid answers were collected, and partial least square was performed to analyze the data. Results Instrumental doctor-consumer interaction was found to influence consumers’ DK (t294=5.763, Pinteraction also impacted consumers’ DK (t294=4.025, Peffect of instrumental interaction on health behaviors, whereas the three mediators fully mediated the effect of affective interaction on health behaviors. Conclusions Compared with many intentional intervention programs, doctor-consumer interaction can be treated as a natural cost-effective intervention to promote consumers’ health behaviors. Meanwhile, both instrumental and affective interaction should be highlighted for the best interaction results. DK, SE, and OE are working mechanisms of doctor-consumer interaction. PMID:29490892

Consumer Adoption of Personal Health Record Systems: A Self-Determination Theory Perspective.

Science.gov (United States)

Assadi, Vahid; Hassanein, Khaled

2017-07-27

Personal Health Records (PHR) systems provide individuals with access and control over their health information and consequently can support individuals in becoming active participants, rather than passive recipients, in their own care process. In spite of numerous benefits suggested for consumers' utilizing PHR systems, research has shown that such systems are not yet widely adopted or well known to consumers. Bearing in mind the potential benefits of PHRs to consumers and their potential interest in these systems-and that similar to any other type of information system, adoption is a prerequisite for realizing the potential benefits of PHR systems-research is needed to understand how to enhance the adoption rates for PHR systems. This research seeks to understand how individuals' intentions to adopt PHR systems are affected by their self-determination in managing their own health-the extent of their ability to take an active role in managing their own health. As such, this research aims to develop and empirically validate a theoretical model that explains PHR systems adoption by the general public through the integration of theories from the information systems and psychology literatures. This research employs a cross-sectional survey method targeted at the Canadian general public without any prior experience in using PHR systems. A partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling was used to validate the proposed research model of this study (N=159). Individuals with higher levels of ability to manage their own health (self-determination) are more likely to adopt PHR systems since they have more positive perceptions regarding the use of such systems. Further, such self-determination is fueled by autonomy support from consumers' physicians as well as the consumers' personality trait of autonomy orientation. This study advances our theoretical understanding of PHR systems adoption. It also contributes to practice by providing insightful implications

The impact of a person-centred community pharmacy mental health medication support service on consumer outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

McMillan, Sara S; Kelly, Fiona; Hattingh, H Laetitia; Fowler, Jane L; Mihala, Gabor; Wheeler, Amanda J

2018-04-01

Mental illness is a worldwide health priority. As medication is commonly used to treat mental illness, community pharmacy staff is well placed to assist consumers. To evaluate the effectiveness of a multifaceted, community pharmacy medication support service for mental health consumers. Pharmacists and pharmacy support staff in three Australian states were trained to deliver a flexible, goal-oriented medication support service for adults with mental illness over 3-6 months. Consumer-related outcome measures included perceptions of illness and health-related quality of life, medication beliefs, treatment satisfaction and medication adherence. Fifty-five of 100 trained pharmacies completed the intervention with 295 of the 418 recruited consumers (70.6% completion rate); 51.2% of consumers received two or more follow-ups. Significant improvements were reported by consumers for overall perceptions of illness (p Consumers also reported an increase in medication adherence (p = 0.005). A community pharmacy mental health medication support service that is goal-oriented, flexible and individualised, improved consumer outcomes across various measures. While further research into the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of such a service is warranted, this intervention could easily be adapted to other contexts.

Improving health care strategy planning through assessment of perceptions of consumers, providers and administrators.

Science.gov (United States)

Scammon, D; Kennard, L

1983-01-01

Perceptions of consumers, health care administrators, and physicians regarding health care providers are analyzed. Ratings on 26 dimensions of health care services were obtained from members of the three participant groups using measures of image and satisfaction of both physicians in general, and of specific physicians. Discriminant analysis reveals significantly different perceptions of the health care system among the three groups of respondents. These differences suggest some changes in health care administration which could lead to increased consumer satisfaction and competitive advantages for physicians and health care institutions.

Integrating mental health into the basic nursing curriculum: Benefits ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Integration of mental health into the basic nursing curricula provides an environment for and affords students an opportunity to learn how a client should be treated holistically. Nurses constitute the largest proportion of health workers in most countries of the world. They work in the remotest areas where there are hardly any ...

Creating more effective health plan quality reports for consumers: lessons from a synthesis of qualitative testing.

Science.gov (United States)

Harris-Kojetin, L D; McCormack, L A; Jaël, E F; Sangl, J A; Garfinkel, S A

2001-07-01

Social marketing techniques such as consumer testing have only recently been applied to develop effective consumer health insurance information. This article discusses lessons learned from consumer testing to create consumer plan choice materials. Data were collected from 268 publicly and privately insured consumers in three studies between 1994 and 1999. Iterative testing and revisions were conducted to design seven booklets to help Medicaid, Medicare, and employed consumers choose a health plan. Standardized protocols were used in 11 focus groups and 182 interviews to examine the content, comprehension, navigation, and utility of the booklets. A method is suggested to help consumers narrow their plan choices by breaking down the process into smaller decisions using a set of guided worksheets. Implementing these lessons is challenging and not often done well. This article gives examples of evidence-based approaches to address cognitive barriers that designers of consumer health insurance information can adapt to their needs.

Empowering the Citizen-Consumer: Re-Regulating Consumer Information to Support the Transition to Sustainable and Health Promoting Food Systems in Canada

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sandi Trillo

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Both health and sustainability are stated public policy objectives in Canada, but food information rules and practices may not be optimal to support their achievement. In the absence of a stated consensus on the purposes of public information about food, the information provided is frequently determined by the marketers of product. No institution or agency has responsibility for determining the overall coherence of consumer food messages relative to these broader social goals of health and sustainability. Individual firms provide information that shows their products to best advantage, which may contradict what is provided about the product by another firm or government agency. Individual consumers do not have the resources to determine easily the completeness of any firm's messages, particularly in light of the size of food industry advertising budgets. Government rules confound this problem because there is also little coherence between the parts of government that have responsibility for point of purchase, advertising rules, and labelling. The healthy eating messages of health departments are often competing with contradictory messages permitted by the regulatory framework of other arms of government. Investments in programs that successfully promote environmental stewardship in agriculture are undercut in the market because consumers cannot support those efforts with their dollars. This problem exists despite the emergence of “citizen-consumers” who have a broader approach to food purchasing than individual maximization. Only recently have some health professionals and sustainable agriculture proponents turned their attention to these factors and designed interventions that take them into account. In this paper, which builds upon earlier work by MacRae [1], we outline key short, medium and long term initiatives to facilitate the citizen-consumer phenomenon and better support consumers in their efforts to promote health and sustainability

Patients as consumers of health care in South Africa: the ethical and legal implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Rowe, Kirsten; Moodley, Keymanthri

2013-03-21

South Africa currently has a pluralistic health care system with separate public and private sectors. It is, however, moving towards a socialised model with the introduction of National Health Insurance. The South African legislative environment has changed recently with the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act and proposed amendments to the National Health Act. Patients can now be viewed as consumers from a legal perspective. This has various implications for health care systems, health care providers and the doctor-patient relationship. Calling a recipient of health care a 'consumer' as opposed to a 'patient' has distinct connotations and may result in differential behaviour. Labels reflect the ideals of the context in which they are used. Various models of the doctor-patient relationship exist and different metaphors have been used to describe it. Increasingly there are third parties involved within the doctor-patient relationship making it more difficult for the doctor to play the fiduciary role. In certain parts of the world, there has been a shift from a traditional paternalistic model to a consumerist model. The ethical implications of the commodification of health care are complex. As health care becomes a 'product' supplied by the health care 'provider', there is the risk that doctors will replace professional ethics with those of the marketplace. Health care is a universal human need and cannot be considered a mere commodity. In modern medical ethics, great emphasis is placed on the principle of respect for patient autonomy. Patients are now the ultimate decision-makers. The new Consumer Protection Act in South Africa applies to consumers and patients alike. It enforces strict liability for harm caused by goods and services. Everyone in the supply chain, including the doctor, can be held jointly and severally liable. This may lead to enormous challenges in health care delivery. Viewing patients as consumers may be detrimental to the doctor

Symposium on understanding and influencing consumer food behaviours for health: executive summary report.

Science.gov (United States)

Amarra, Ma Sofia V; Yee, Yeong Boon; Drewnowski, Adam

2008-01-01

Food consumption patterns in Asia are rapidly changing. Urbanization and changing lifestyles have diminished the consumption of traditional meals based on cereals, vegetables and root crops. These changes are accompa-nied by an increasing prevalence of chronic diseases among Asian populations. ILSI Southeast Asia and CSIRO, Australia jointly organized the Symposium on Understanding and Influencing Food Behaviours for Health, focusing on the use of consumer science to improve food behaviour. The goals of the Symposium were to present an understanding of Asian consumers and their food choices, examine the use of consumer research to modify food choices towards better health, illustrate how health programs and food regulations can be utilized effectively to promote healthier choices, and identify knowledge gaps regarding the promotion of healthy food behaviour in Asian populations. There is no difference in taste perception among Asians, and Asian preference for certain tastes is determined by exposure and familiarity largely dictated by culture and its underlying values and beliefs. Cross-cultural validity of consumer science theories and tools derived from western populations need to be tested in Asia. Information on consumption levels and substitution behaviours for foods and food products, obtained using consumer research methods, can guide the development of food regulations and programs that will enable individuals to make healthier choices. Existing knowledge gaps include consumer research techniques appropriate for use in Asian settings, diet-health relationships from consumption of traditional Asian diets, and methods to address the increasing prevalence of over- and undernutrition within the same households in Asia.

Consumer Mobile Health Apps: Current State, Barriers, and Future Directions.

Science.gov (United States)

Kao, Cheng-Kai; Liebovitz, David M

2017-05-01

This paper discusses the current state, barriers, and future directions of consumer-facing applications (apps). There are currently more than 165,000 mobile health apps publicly available in major app stores, the vast majority of which are designed for patients. The top 2 categories are wellness management and disease management apps, whereas other categories include self-diagnosis, medication reminder, and electronic patient portal apps. Apps specific to physical medicine and rehabilitation also are reviewed. These apps have the potential to provide low-cost, around-the-clock access to high-quality, evidence-based health information to end users on a global scale. However, they have not yet lived up to their potential due to multiple barriers, including lack of regulatory oversight, limited evidence-based literature, and concerns of privacy and security. The future directions may consist of improving data integration into the health care system, an interoperable app platform allowing access to electronic health record data, cloud-based personal health record across health care networks, and increasing app prescription by health care providers. For consumer mobile health apps to fully contribute value to health care delivery and chronic disease management, all stakeholders within the ecosystem must collaborate to overcome the significant barriers. Copyright © 2017 American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Family Caregivers and Consumer Health Information Technology.

Science.gov (United States)

Wolff, Jennifer L; Darer, Jonathan D; Larsen, Kevin L

2016-01-01

Health information technology has been embraced as a strategy to facilitate patients' access to their health information and engagement in care. However, not all patients are able to access, or are capable of using, a computer or mobile device. Although family caregivers assist individuals with some of the most challenging and costly health needs, their role in health information technology is largely undefined and poorly understood. This perspective discusses challenges and opportunities of engaging family caregivers through the use of consumer-oriented health information technology. We compile existing evidence to make the case that involving family caregivers in health information technology as desired by patients is technically feasible and consistent with the principles of patient-centered and family-centered care. We discuss how more explicit and purposeful engagement of family caregivers in health information technology could advance clinical quality and patient safety by increasing the transparency, accuracy, and comprehensiveness of patient health information across settings of care. Finally, we describe how clarifying and executing patients' desires to involve family members or friends through health information technology would provide family caregivers greater legitimacy, convenience, and timeliness in health system interactions, and facilitate stronger partnerships between patients, family caregivers, and health care professionals.

Basic analysis on the load management in consumer section

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tezuka, Tetsuo; Nishikawa, Eiichi

1988-05-01

The load management of the energy (electric power, gas and oil products) in consumer section means to move demand characteristics in desirable directions. The demand characteristics are represented by the energy consumption characteristics along time and their annual sum. The load management is analyzed here from a more practical point of view. As the total thermal demand has been fixed to some extent from the aspect of a total system, the trade-off occurs among objectives of industries. For the quantitative consistency, the model analysis is effective. Changes in the consumers' attitude have been observed as indicated by the cogeneration, heat storage technology and automatic energy management by consumers. Techniques for changing the demand characteristics include the charging system, financial aids for equipment installation, favorable provisions in taxation, law revision and marketing. Stable supply and improved consumption are the future tasks. (2 figs, 6 tabs, 28 refs)

Consumer empowerment in health care amid the internet and social media.

Science.gov (United States)

Lober, William B; Flowers, Janine L

2011-08-01

Consumer empowerment in health and rapid change in health information and communication technologies have their roots in broader social trends. This article reviews the activities at the intersection of consumer empowerment and technology. Technical reports, white papers, books, journal articles, and Web sites. Social trends are visible in the integration of information and communication technologies into health care, in both searching for and sharing information on the Internet, in the use of social media to create new types of interactions with family, providers, and peers, and in the e-patient, who integrates these new roles and new technologies. Changes in both patients and technology will impact oncology nursing practice as new, patient-centered, interactions emerge. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Are fish eaters healthier and do they consume less health-care resources?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hostenkamp, Gisela; Sørensen, Jan

2010-01-01

Objective: Regular dietary intake of fish is associated with reduced risk of developing cardiovascular and other chronic diseases, and may improve general well-being. If fish eaters are healthier, they may use fewer health-care resources. The present study aimed to describe the reported intake...... of fish and fish products in a Danish general population, and to investigate whether fish consumption is associated with generic measures of self-reported health and consumption of health-care resources. Design: Data on eating patterns and health status for 3422 Danish adults were obtained by telephone...... interview in the Funen County Health Survey. These data were merged with individual-level register data on health-care utilisation. Survey respondents were categorised into those consuming fish at least once weekly (fish eaters) and those consuming fish less frequently (non-fish eaters). Results: People who...

Predicting Consumer Effort in Finding and Paying for Health Care: Expert Interviews and Claims Data Analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Long, Sandra; Monsen, Karen A; Pieczkiewicz, David; Wolfson, Julian; Khairat, Saif

2017-10-12

For consumers to accept and use a health care information system, it must be easy to use, and the consumer must perceive it as being free from effort. Finding health care providers and paying for care are tasks that must be done to access treatment. These tasks require effort on the part of the consumer and can be frustrating when the goal of the consumer is primarily to receive treatments for better health. The aim of this study was to determine the factors that result in consumer effort when finding accessible health care. Having an understanding of these factors will help define requirements when designing health information systems. A panel of 12 subject matter experts was consulted and the data from 60 million medical claims were used to determine the factors contributing to effort. Approximately 60 million claims were processed by the health care insurance organization in a 12-month duration with the population defined. Over 292 million diagnoses from claims were used to validate the panel input. The results of the study showed that the number of people in the consumer's household, number of visits to providers outside the consumer's insurance network, number of adjusted and denied medical claims, and number of consumer inquiries are a proxy for the level of effort in finding and paying for care. The effort level, so measured and weighted per expert panel recommendations, differed by diagnosis. This study provides an understanding of how consumers must put forth effort when engaging with a health care system to access care. For higher satisfaction and acceptance results, health care payers ideally will design and develop systems that facilitate an understanding of how to avoid denied claims, educate on the payment of claims to avoid adjustments, and quickly find providers of affordable care. ©Sandra Long, Karen A. Monsen, David Pieczkiewicz, Julian Wolfson, Saif Khairat. Originally published in JMIR Medical Informatics (http://medinform.jmir.org), 12.10.2017.

Phthalate Metabolites, Consumer Habits and Health Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter Wallner

2016-07-01

Full Text Available Phthalates are multifunctional chemicals used in a wide variety of consumer products. The aim of this study was to investigate whether levels of urinary phthalate metabolites in urine samples of Austrian mothers and their children were associated with consumer habits and health indicators. Within an Austrian biomonitoring survey, urine samples from 50 mother-child pairs of five communities (two-stage random stratified sampling were analysed. The concentrations of 14 phthalate metabolites were determined, and a questionnaire was administered. Monoethyl phthalate (MEP, mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP, mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP, monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP, mono-(2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP, mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl phthalate (5OH-MEHP, mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl phthalate (5oxo-MEHP, mono-(5-carboxy-2-ethylpentyl phthalate (5cx-MEPP, and 3-carboxy-mono-propyl phthalate (3cx-MPP could be quantified in the majority of samples. Significant correlations were found between the use of hair mousse, hair dye, makeup, chewing gum, polyethylene terephthalate (PET bottles and the diethyl phthalate (DEP metabolite MEP. With regard to health effects, significant associations of MEP in urine with headache, repeated coughing, diarrhoea, and hormonal problems were observed. MBzP was associated with repeated coughing and MEHP was associated with itching.

Phthalate Metabolites, Consumer Habits and Health Effects.

Science.gov (United States)

Wallner, Peter; Kundi, Michael; Hohenblum, Philipp; Scharf, Sigrid; Hutter, Hans-Peter

2016-07-15

Phthalates are multifunctional chemicals used in a wide variety of consumer products. The aim of this study was to investigate whether levels of urinary phthalate metabolites in urine samples of Austrian mothers and their children were associated with consumer habits and health indicators. Within an Austrian biomonitoring survey, urine samples from 50 mother-child pairs of five communities (two-stage random stratified sampling) were analysed. The concentrations of 14 phthalate metabolites were determined, and a questionnaire was administered. Monoethyl phthalate (MEP), mono-n-butyl phthalate (MnBP), mono-isobutyl phthalate (MiBP), monobenzyl phthalate (MBzP), mono-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate (5OH-MEHP), mono-(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (5oxo-MEHP), mono-(5-carboxy-2-ethylpentyl) phthalate (5cx-MEPP), and 3-carboxy-mono-propyl phthalate (3cx-MPP) could be quantified in the majority of samples. Significant correlations were found between the use of hair mousse, hair dye, makeup, chewing gum, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles and the diethyl phthalate (DEP) metabolite MEP. With regard to health effects, significant associations of MEP in urine with headache, repeated coughing, diarrhoea, and hormonal problems were observed. MBzP was associated with repeated coughing and MEHP was associated with itching.

A Consumer Health Information System to Assist Patients Select Quality Home Health Services

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Dimitrios Zikos

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Patients evaluate the quality of home health agencies (HHAs using the Health Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (HCAHPS survey. This paper describes a prototype community health information system to help patients select appropriate and quality HHAs, according to the location, proprietary status, type of service, and year of HHA establishment. Five HCAHPS indicators were selected: “summary rating”, “quality of care”, “professional care”, “communication”, and “recommend agency”. Independent t-test analysis showed that agencies offering Speech Pathology, Medical-Social, or Home Health Aide services, receive significantly worse HCAHPS ratings, while mean ratings vary significantly across different US states. Multiple comparisons with post hoc ANOVA revealed differences between and within HHAs of different proprietary status (p < 0.001: governmental HHAs receiving higher ratings than private HHAs. Finally, there was observed a relationship between all five quality rating variables and the HHA year of establishment (Pearson, p < 0.001. The older the agency is, the better the HCAPS summary ratings. Findings provided the knowledge to design of a consumer health information system, to provide rankings filtered according to user criteria, comparing the quality rankings of eligible HHAs. Users can also see how a specific agency is ranked against eligible HHAs. Ultimately, the system aims to support the patient community with contextually realistic comparisons in an effort to choose optimal HH service.

A Model for Usability Evaluation for the Development and Implementation of Consumer eHealth Interventions.

Science.gov (United States)

Parry, David; Carter, Philip; Koziol-McLain, Jane; Feather, Jacqueline

2015-01-01

Consumer eHealth products are often used by people in their own homes or other settings without dedicated clinical supervision, and often with minimal training and limited support--much as eCommerce and eGovernment applications are currently deployed. Internet based self-care systems have been advocated for over a decade as a way to reduce costs and allow more convenient care, and--because of the expectation that they will be used to reduced health cost--, by increasing self-care and avoiding hospitalization. However, the history of consumer eHealth interventions is mixed, with many unsuccessful implementations. Many consumer eHealth products will form part of a broader complex intervention, with many possible benefits and effects on both individuals and society. This poster describes a model of consumer eHealth assessment based on multiple methods of usability evaluation at different stages in the design and fielding of eHealth systems. We argue that different methods of usability evaluation are able to give valuable insights into the likely effects of an intervention in a way that is congruent with software development processes.

Consumer access to health information on the internet: health policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, W Guy; Scott, Helen M; Auld, Terry S

2005-06-28

Providers of health care usually have much better information about health and health care interventions than do consumers. The internet is an important and rapidly evolving source of global health-related information and could provide a means of correcting for asymmetric information. However, little is known about who accesses this information and how it is used in New Zealand. The aims of this research were to: determine the nature of the health information sought, how respondents use the information, how helpful they perceive the information to be, and the self-assessed value of such information. The researchers conducted an anonymous five minute telephone and mall intercept survey of randomly selected Wellington residents who had searched for health-related information on the internet. Investigators entered the data into an Excel spreadsheet and transferred it to SPSS for data cleaning, data exploration and statistical analysis. Search time costs were based on the opportunity cost of income foregone and respondents were asked to provide a money value for the information found. Eighty-three percent of respondents accessed the internet from home, and 87% conducted the search for themselves. Forty-five percent of people were looking for general health and nutrition information, 42% for data about a specific illness and 40% for a medicine. After finding the information, 58% discussed it with a family member/friend/workmate, 36% consulted a general practitioner, 33% changed their eating or drinking habits, and 13% did nothing. Respondents found the information very quick to find and useful. It took them on average 0.47 hours and cost $12 (opportunity cost of time) to find the information. The average value of the data found was $60 and the net benefit to the consumer was $48 ($60 - $12). The results of this research could assist providers of health information via the internet to tailor their websites to better suit users' needs. Given the high perceived value of

Market implications of new regulations: impact of health and nutrition information on consumer choice

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Barreiro-Hurle, J.; Gracia, A.; Magistris, T. de

2009-07-01

Consumer concern for health impacts of diet has increased the use of nutritional information and claims by agro-food industry. Under the current European legislation on nutrition and health claims and on nutritional labelling, three type of nutritional information can be provided on food products: nutritional facts panel, nutritional claims and health claims. In this context, the aim of the paper is to assess how much consumers value the provision of three types of nutritional information in a meat product not precisely perceived as healthy, pork Frankfurt sausages, using a choice experiment. The data comes from a survey conducted in two Spanish medium size towns (Zaragoza and Cordoba) during 2007. A mixed logit model is used to estimate the effect of the nutrition information attributes on consumers utility and derive their willingness to pay. Results show that all three nutritional and health information items are valued by consumers, although preferences are heterogeneous. Health claims are significantly higher valued than nutritional attributes (facts panel or claim). Estimated market shares show that the use of any of the available labelling options will obtain significant market success even at prices including premiums above current price levels. (Author)

Wine and health perceptions: Exploring the impact of gender, age and ethnicity on consumer perceptions of wine and health

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kathryn J. Chang

2016-12-01

Full Text Available This study explores U.S. wine consumers’ perception of wine and health by gender, age, and ethnic background. An extensive body of epidemiological studies suggests that there are health benefits from moderate wine drinking. In light of an increased consumer preference over healthier foods and beverages, it is important to understand the health orientation of wine consumers and the effect of gender, age, or ethnicity on their perceptions of wine and health. An online survey was used to collect data from more than 1000 U.S. wine consumers. The results show that there is a statistically significant difference across demographic segments in terms of the level of health consciousness. Millennials and Asians are the most concerned, whereas Whites are the least, about health in their respective segments. Red wine is considered the healthiest wine type compared to other colors and styles. Moreover, more than 80% of the sample believes drinking red wine is healthier than drinking beer or spirits. However, nearly 50% of the sample thinks sulfites in wine can cause headaches. Managerial implications are discussed.

Towards a stakeholders' consensus on patient payment policy: the views of health-care consumers, providers, insurers and policy makers in six Central and Eastern European countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Tambor, Marzena; Pavlova, Milena; Golinowska, Stanisława; Sowada, Christoph; Groot, Wim

2015-08-01

Although patient charges for health-care services may contribute to a more sustainable health-care financing, they often raise public opposition, which impedes their introduction. Thus, a consensus among the main stakeholders on the presence and role of patient charges should be worked out to assure their successful implementation. To analyse the acceptability of formal patient charges for health-care services in a basic package among different health-care system stakeholders in six Central and Eastern European countries (Bulgaria, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania and Ukraine). Qualitative data were collected in 2009 via focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with health-care consumers, providers, policy makers and insurers. The same participants were asked to fill in a self-administrative questionnaire. Qualitative and quantitative data are analysed separately to outline similarities and differences in the opinions between the stakeholder groups and across countries. There is a rather weak consensus on patient charges in the countries. Health policy makers and insurers strongly advocate patient charges. Health-care providers overall support charges but their financial profits from the system strongly affects their approval. Consumers are against paying for services, mostly due to poor quality and access to health-care services and inability to pay. To build consensus on patient charges, the payment policy should be responsive to consumers' needs with regard to quality and equity. Transparency and accountability in the health-care system should be improved to enhance public trust and acceptance of patient payments. © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Basic health, women's health, and mental health among internally displaced persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Glen; Torbay, Rabih; Lawry, Lynn

2007-02-01

We assessed basic health, women's health, and mental health among Sudanese internally displaced persons in South Darfur. In January 2005, we surveyed 6 registered internally displaced persons camps in Nyala District. Using systematic random sampling, we surveyed 1293 households, interviewing 1 adult female per household (N=1274); respondents' households totaled 8643 members. We inquired about respondents' mental health, opinions on women's rights, and the health status of household members. A majority of respondents had access to rations, shelter, and water. Sixty-eight percent (861 of 1266) used no birth control, and 53% (614 of 1147) reported at least 1 unattended birth. Thirty percent (374 of 1238) shared spousal decisions on timing and spacing of children, and 49% (503 of 1027) reported the right to refuse sex. Eighty-four percent (1043 of 1240) were circumcised. The prevalence of major depression was 31% (390 of 1253). Women also expressed limited rights regarding marriage, movement, and access to health care. Eighty-eight percent (991 of 1121) supported equal educational opportunities for women. Humanitarian aid has relieved a significant burden of this displaced population's basic needs. However, mental and women's health needs remain largely unmet. The findings indicate a limitation of sexual and reproductive rights that may negatively affect health.

Segmenting Consumers According to Their Purchase of Products with Organic, Fair-Trade, and Health Labels

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Verhoef, Peter C.; van Doorn, Jenny

2016-01-01

Using actual purchase data of food products with different labels, we examine Dutch consumers' purchases of organic, fair-trade, and health labels. Empirically, consumers' purchase behavior of labeled products can be categorized into two dimensions: a health-related and a sustainable dimension

Consumer preferences and willingness to pay for the health aspects of food

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simona Miškolci

2011-01-01

Full Text Available Agri-food systems in the Czech Republic are currently undergoing a profound transformation toward high-value products. Appropriate policies are needed to guide this transformation, presupposing good understanding of consumer preferences. Having established a general framework for the analysis of food choice and quality perception, second part of the paper gives overview of results of stated preference evaluation studies conducted in the Czech Republic. The objective of secondary data analysis is to evaluate consumer preferences and willingness to pay for the food quality with the special attention to an evaluation of consumer preferences for health aspects of the food. The consumers’ relative preferences toward the different dimensions of a product’s quality are measured from the consumers’ perspective via their preference scores on various dimensions of quality derived from Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP. Price premium consumers are willing to pay for the high quality product is investigated using Contingent valuation method (CV. In general, the empirical evidence supports the hypothesis that health ensuring and enhancing characteristics together with sensorial characteristics significantly affect consumers’ preferences for food and most consumers are willing to pay a price premium in order to ensure required quality of food.

The need for consumer behavior analysis in health care coverage decisions.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, A M; Rao, C P

1990-01-01

Demographic analysis has been the primary form of analysis connected with health care coverage decisions. This paper reviews past demographic research and shows the need to use behavioral analyses for health care coverage policy decisions. A behavioral model based research study is presented and a case is made for integrated study into why consumers make health care coverage decisions.

[Consumer satisfaction study in philanthropic hospital health plans].

Science.gov (United States)

Gerschman, Silvia; Veiga, Luciana; Guimarães, César; Ugá, Maria Alicia Dominguez; Portela, Margareth Crisóstomo; Vasconcellos, Miguel Murat; Barbosa, Pedro Ribeiro; Lima, Sheyla Maria Lemos

2007-01-01

This paper presents the findings of research aimed at identifying and analyzing the argumentation and rationale that justify the satisfaction of consumers with their health plans. The qualitative method applied used the focus group technique, for which the following aspects were defined: the criteria for choosing the health plans which were considered, the composition of the group and its distribution, recruitment strategy, and infrastructure and dynamics of the meetings. The health plan beneficiaries were classified into groups according to their social class, the place where they lived, mainly, the relationship that they established with the health plan operators which enabled us to develop a typology for the plan beneficiaries. Initially, we indicated how the health plan beneficiaries assess and use the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS), and, then, considering the types of plans defined, we evaluated their degree of satisfaction with the different aspects of health care, and identified which aspects mostly contributed explain their satisfaction.

Doing what we can, but knowing our place: Being an ally to promote consumer leadership in mental health.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Scholz, Brett

2018-02-01

Consumer participation in all aspects of mental health services is clearly articulated as an expectation of contemporary mental health policy. Consumer leadership has been demonstrated to be beneficial to mental health services. Barriers to implementation have limited the realization of this goal. In this discursive paper, we argue that non-consumers who support consumer partnerships and leadership (known as 'allies') have an important role to play in facilitating and supporting consumers in leadership roles. Allies currently have more potential to influence resource allocation, and might be viewed more credibly by their peers than consumer leaders themselves. We call for allies to ensure their role is one of support and facilitation (doing what they can), rather than directing the content or speaking on behalf of the consumer movement (knowing their place). In the present study, we address the importance of allies for the consumer movement. It proposes some 'rules of engagement' to ensure that allies do not intentionally or otherwise encroach on consumer knowledge and expertise, so that they maintain the important position of supporting consumers and facilitating the valuing and use of consumer knowledge, expertise, and ultimately, leadership. © 2017 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Choices in the Marketplace: A Basic Unit on Consumer Economics.

Science.gov (United States)

Heyne, Paul; Stevahn, Laurie

Consumer decision-making and its consequences for individual consumers and societal groups are examined in this economic unit for secondary school students. Seven lessons focus on developing an understanding of the concepts of scarcity, supply and demand, resources, choice, price, and interdependence and on fostering an economic way of thinking.…

Making sense of "consumer engagement" initiatives to improve health and health care: a conceptual framework to guide policy and practice.

Science.gov (United States)

Mittler, Jessica N; Martsolf, Grant R; Telenko, Shannon J; Scanlon, Dennis P

2013-03-01

Policymakers and practitioners continue to pursue initiatives designed to engage individuals in their health and health care despite discordant views and mixed evidence regarding the ability to cultivate greater individual engagement that improves Americans' health and well-being and helps manage health care costs. There is limited and mixed evidence regarding the value of different interventions. Based on our involvement in evaluating various community-based consumer engagement initiatives and a targeted literature review of models of behavior change, we identified the need for a framework to classify the universe of consumer engagement initiatives toward advancing policymakers' and practitioners' knowledge of their value and fit in various contexts. We developed a framework that expanded our conceptualization of consumer engagement, building on elements of two common models, the individually focused transtheoretical model of behavior and the broader, multilevel social ecological model. Finally, we applied this framework to one community's existing consumer engagement program. Consumer engagement in health and health care refers to the performance of specific behaviors ("engaged behaviors") and/or an individual's capacity and motivation to perform these behaviors ("activation"). These two dimensions are related but distinct and thus should be differentiated. The framework creates four classification schemas, by (1) targeted behavior types (self-management, health care encounter, shopping, and health behaviors) and by (2) individual, (3) group, and (4) community dimensions. Our example illustrates that the framework can systematically classify a variety of consumer engagement programs, and that this exercise and resulting characterization can provide a structured way to consider the program and how its components fit program goals both individually and collectively. Applying the framework could help advance the field by making policymakers and practitioners aware

Evaluation of a novel Conjunctive Exploratory Navigation Interface for consumer health information: a crowdsourced comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Cui, Licong; Carter, Rebecca; Zhang, Guo-Qiang

2014-02-10

Numerous consumer health information websites have been developed to provide consumers access to health information. However, lookup search is insufficient for consumers to take full advantage of these rich public information resources. Exploratory search is considered a promising complementary mechanism, but its efficacy has never before been rigorously evaluated for consumer health information retrieval interfaces. This study aims to (1) introduce a novel Conjunctive Exploratory Navigation Interface (CENI) for supporting effective consumer health information retrieval and navigation, and (2) evaluate the effectiveness of CENI through a search-interface comparative evaluation using crowdsourcing with Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT). We collected over 60,000 consumer health questions from NetWellness, one of the first consumer health websites to provide high-quality health information. We designed and developed a novel conjunctive exploratory navigation interface to explore NetWellness health questions with health topics as dynamic and searchable menus. To investigate the effectiveness of CENI, we developed a second interface with keyword-based search only. A crowdsourcing comparative study was carefully designed to compare three search modes of interest: (A) the topic-navigation-based CENI, (B) the keyword-based lookup interface, and (C) either the most commonly available lookup search interface with Google, or the resident advanced search offered by NetWellness. To compare the effectiveness of the three search modes, 9 search tasks were designed with relevant health questions from NetWellness. Each task included a rating of difficulty level and questions for validating the quality of answers. Ninety anonymous and unique AMT workers were recruited as participants. Repeated-measures ANOVA analysis of the data showed the search modes A, B, and C had statistically significant differences among their levels of difficulty (Pconsumer health information retrieval and

[Implementation of the International Health Regulations in Cuba: evaluation of basic capacities of the health sector in selected provinces].

Science.gov (United States)

Gala, Ángela; Toledo, María Eugenia; Arias, Yanisnubia; Díaz González, Manuel; Alvarez Valdez, Angel Manuel; Estévez, Gonzalo; Abreu, Rolando Miyar; Flores, Gustavo Kourí

2012-09-01

Obtain baseline information on the status of the basic capacities of the health sector at the local, municipal, and provincial levels in order to facilitate identification of priorities and guide public policies that aim to comply with the requirements and capacities established in Annex 1A of the International Health Regulations 2005 (IHR-2005). A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted by application of an instrument of evaluation of basic capacities referring to legal and institutional autonomy, the surveillance and research process, and the response to health emergencies in 36 entities involved in international sanitary control at the local, municipal, and provincial levels in the provinces of Havana, Cienfuegos, and Santiago de Cuba. The polyclinics and provincial centers of health and epidemiology in the three provinces had more than 75% of the basic capacities required. Twelve out of 36 units had implemented 50% of the legal and institutional framework. There was variable availability of routine surveillance and research, whereas the entities in Havana had more than 40% of the basic capacities in the area of events response. The provinces evaluated have integrated the basic capacities that will allow implementation of IHR-2005 within the period established by the World Health Organization. It is necessary to develop and establish effective action plans to consolidate surveillance as an essential activity of national and international security in terms of public health.

Consumer contribution to food contamination in Brazil: modelling the food safety risk in the home

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sergio Paulo Olinto da Motta

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Foodborne diseases are among the most widespread public health issues, killing about 2.2 million people annually, and costing hundreds of billions of US dollars for governments, companies, families and consumers (WHO, 2007. In Brazil, foodborne diseases acquired in the home account for 55% of notified outbreaks (BRASIL, 2012. Several studies have investigated aspects of consumer behaviour concerning food poisoning, mapping practices in the home, but it remains a challenge to obtain a full picture of the consumer contribution to food contamination (REDMOND and GRIFFITH, 2003. This study aimed to assess the risks of food contamination in the home. A questionnaire containing 140 questions concerning food safety knowledge, handling practices, personal hygiene and basic health care, covering the stages when the food is under the control of the consumer, was developed and used to gather data for analysis. Appropriate scores were attributed to the questions (consequences to food safety and answers (likelihood of food contamination. A risk estimate algorithm and an appropriate risk ranking scale were used to assess the results. From August 2011 to March 2012, survey questionnaires were collected from 2,775 consumers in Brazil across 19 out of 27 state capitals. The study found risky practices with the potential to lead to food poisoning occurrences in the domestic environment in the following handling steps: food transportation, food preparation, cooking and the handling of leftovers. The personal hygiene, age, formal education, family income and basic health care habits represented the factors most related to the risky practices of consumers, which could orientate food safety educational campaigns for the Brazilian population.

Health communication and consumer behavior on meat in Belgium: from BSE until dioxin.

Science.gov (United States)

Verbeke, W; Viaene, J; Guiot, O

1999-01-01

This article focuses on the impact of mass media meat-health information on consumer perception, attitude, and behavior toward fresh meat in Belgium. In a situation similar to that which occurred in most other European countries, Belgian fresh meat consumption fell considerably during 1995-1999. A multitude of messages linking meat consumption to human health risks were reported by mass media. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) since 1996 and dioxin in 1999 constituted the major issues. Empirical research, conducted in April 1998, revealed the tremendous negative impact of mass media coverage of meat-health issues on consumer risk perception, health concern, and attitude and behavior toward fresh meat. Oppositely, personal communication through butchers had only a small effect on consumer decision-making in this era dominated by alarming meat-health press. Implications are threefold. First, mass media should be aware of its social responsibilities, which include spreading reliable and correct information to the society. This is especially the case as human health risks are involved. Second, the meat industry urgently needs to reorient itself toward quality, safety, and transparency. Finally, future communication dealing with similar crises situations requires cooperation across the meat chain, government, and those who are responsible for public health promotion and communication.

Consumption, health attitudes and perception toward fast food among Arab consumers in Kuwait: gender differences.

Science.gov (United States)

Musaiger, Abdulrahman O

2014-07-15

This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the fast food intake, health attitudes, and perceptions of fast food among adult Arab consumers aged 19 to 65 years in Kuwait. A total of 499 consumers (252 males, 247 females) were selected at convenience from three shopping malls in Kuwait City. The consumers were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire. The findings revealed that men were more frequently consumed fast food than women (p fast food harmful to health. However, the consumers were continued to intake fast food (92%), indicating that health information on fast food not necessarly affects their consumption. Local foods were more likely to be considered fast food if eaten as a sandwich or without a disposal container. It can be concluded that fast food perceptions are influenced by gender, media and socio-cultural factors. Nutrition education programmes should focus on nutritive values of the foods rather than on their "fast food" classification.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project and initial results.

Science.gov (United States)

Hieke, S; Kuljanic, N; Wills, J M; Pravst, I; Kaur, A; Raats, M M; van Trijp, H C M; Verbeke, W; Grunert, K G

2015-03-01

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. The objective of the European Union-funded project R ole of health-related   CLaims   and   sYMBOLs   in consumer behaviour (CLYMBOL) is to determine how health-related information provided through claims and symbols, in their context, can affect consumer understanding, purchase and consumption. To do this, a wide range of qualitative and quantitative consumer research methods are being used, including product sampling, sorting studies ( i.e. how consumers categorise claims and symbols according to concepts such as familiarity and relevance), cross-country surveys, eye-tracking ( i.e. what consumers look at and for how long), laboratory and in-store experiments, structured interviews, as well as analysis of population panel data. EU Member States differ with regard to their history of use and regulation of health claims and symbols prior to the harmonisation of 2006. Findings to date indicate the need for more structured and harmonised research on the effects of health claims and symbols on consumer behaviour, particularly taking into account country-wide differences and individual characteristics such as motivation and ability to process health-related information. Based on the studies within CLYMBOL, implications and recommendations for stakeholders such as policymakers will be provided.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project and initial results

Science.gov (United States)

Hieke, S; Kuljanic, N; Wills, J M; Pravst, I; Kaur, A; Raats, M M; van Trijp, H C M; Verbeke, W; Grunert, K G

2015-01-01

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. The objective of the European Union-funded project Role of health-related CLaims and sYMBOLs in consumer behaviour (CLYMBOL) is to determine how health-related information provided through claims and symbols, in their context, can affect consumer understanding, purchase and consumption. To do this, a wide range of qualitative and quantitative consumer research methods are being used, including product sampling, sorting studies (i.e. how consumers categorise claims and symbols according to concepts such as familiarity and relevance), cross-country surveys, eye-tracking (i.e. what consumers look at and for how long), laboratory and in-store experiments, structured interviews, as well as analysis of population panel data. EU Member States differ with regard to their history of use and regulation of health claims and symbols prior to the harmonisation of 2006. Findings to date indicate the need for more structured and harmonised research on the effects of health claims and symbols on consumer behaviour, particularly taking into account country-wide differences and individual characteristics such as motivation and ability to process health-related information. Based on the studies within CLYMBOL, implications and recommendations for stakeholders such as policymakers will be provided. PMID:25750587

Historic day for Malaysian consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kaur, S R

1993-04-01

The Malaysian Medical Association, the Malaysian Dental Association, the Malaysian Pharmaceutical Society, and the Federation of Malaysian Consumer Associations have introduced and endorsed the Charter for Patient Rights. The Charter recognized that health care is a basic human right, regardless of race, religion, social status, and ability to pay. Further, consumers have the right to seek medical care in both the public and private sectors. The Charter also includes the right to a second opinion, one's own medical records, and explanation before receiving any medical treatment and concerning the risks of treatment, compensation for negligence, and adequate information. Malaysia is the second Asian country to have such a charter, South Korea being the first. The UK also has a Patients Charter. The rest of Europe is also moving to adopt such a charter. The private sector, which serves only those who can afford them, provides most health care services in developing countries. Thus, a large private sector threatens the elderly, unemployed, rural poor, and the mentally ill in these countries. The supply of these services is a marketable commodity which physicians and health care professionals own and sell. The medical community has planned, formulated, implemented, and monitored health services in most of these countries. Therefore, the private sector is a major obstacle to health for all. The Charter helps to break down the barrier by informing both physicians and their patients of their rights and responsibilities.

Shopping on the Public and Private Health Insurance Marketplaces: Consumer Decision Aids and Plan Presentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Charlene A; Kulhari, Sajal; McGeoch, Ellen J; Jones, Arthur T; Weiner, Janet; Polsky, Daniel; Baker, Tom

2018-05-29

The design of the Affordable Care Act's (ACA) health insurance marketplaces influences complex health plan choices. To compare the choice environments of the public health insurance exchanges in the fourth (OEP4) versus third (OEP3) open enrollment period and to examine online marketplace run by private companies, including a total cost estimate comparison. In November-December 2016, we examined the public and private online health insurance exchanges. We navigated each site for "real-shopping" (personal information required) and "window-shopping" (no required personal information). Public (n = 13; 12 state-based marketplaces and HealthCare.gov ) and private (n = 23) online health insurance exchanges. Features included consumer decision aids (e.g., total cost estimators, provider lookups) and plan display (e.g., order of plans). We examined private health insurance exchanges for notable features (i.e., those not found on public exchanges) and compared the total cost estimates on public versus private exchanges for a standardized consumer. Nearly all studied consumer decision aids saw increased deployment in the public marketplaces in OEP4 compared to OEP3. Over half of the public exchanges (n = 7 of 13) had total cost estimators (versus 5 of 14 in OEP3) in window-shopping and integrated provider lookups (window-shopping: 7; real-shopping: 8). The most common default plan orders were by premium or total cost estimate. Notable features on private health insurance exchanges were unique data presentation (e.g., infographics) and further personalized shopping (e.g., recommended plan flags). Health plan total cost estimates varied substantially between the public and private exchanges (average difference $1526). The ACA's public health insurance exchanges offered more tools in OEP4 to help consumers select a plan. While private health insurance exchanges presented notable features, the total cost estimates for a standardized consumer varied widely on public

Consumer-directed health care and the courts: let the buyer (and seller) beware.

Science.gov (United States)

Jacobson, Peter D; Tunick, Michael R

2007-01-01

In consumer-directed health care, patients will be expected to exert greater control over their spending decisions than before. As consumer-directed care gains market acceptance, courts will inevitably be involved in resolving challenges to the new arrangements. We anticipate that courts will be generally favorable toward consumer-directed care, but the new legal doctrine will not uniformly favor medical professionals and insurers. The information demands inherent in consumer-directed care will present particular legal challenges to physicians and insurers. Even as courts provide flexibility to reflect the new market realities, they will closely monitor how consumer-directed care is implemented.

Generalist health professional's interactions with consumers who have a mental illness in nonmental health settings: A systematic review of the qualitative research.

Science.gov (United States)

Brunero, Scott; Ramjan, Lucie M; Salamonson, Yenna; Nicholls, Daniel

2018-05-10

Generalist health professionals (GHPs) or those healthcare professionals working in nonmental health facilities are increasingly being required to provide care to consumers with a mental illness. The review aimed to synthesize the qualitative research evidence on the meanings and interpretations made by GHPs (nonmental health professional) who interact with consumers with mental illness in nonmental health settings. A systematic review of the qualitative literature was undertaken for the years 1994-2016. The following electronic databases were searched: CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and Sociological Abstracts. Using narrative synthesis methods, the following themes were identified: mental health knowledge (the GHPs' knowledge level about mental illness and how this impacts their experiences and perceptions); GHPs perceive mental illness as a safety risk (GHPs concern over harm to the consumer and themselves); organizational support (the system response from the environmental design, and expert support and care); and emotional consequences of care (the feelings expressed by GHPs based on their experiences and perceptions of consumers). The results suggest that GHPs provide care in a setting which consists of multiple understandings of what care means. Efforts beyond educational initiatives such as organizational and system-level changes will need to be implemented if we are to progress care for this consumer group. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

Barbecue Basics: Tips to Prevent Foodborne Illness

Medline Plus

Full Text Available ... Español Search FDA Submit search Popular Content Home Food Drugs Medical Devices Radiation-Emitting Products Vaccines, ... Biologics Animal & Veterinary Cosmetics Tobacco Products For Consumers Home For Consumers Consumer Updates Barbecue Basics: Tips to ...

Public health promotion of "local food": Constituting the self-governing citizen-consumer.

Science.gov (United States)

Derkatch, Colleen; Spoel, Philippa

2017-03-01

This article explores how the recent and growing promotion of local foods by public health units in Ontario, Canada, rhetorically interpellates the "good" health citizen as someone who not only takes responsibility for personal health but, through the consumption and support of "local food," also accepts and fulfills her responsibilities to care for the local economy, the community's well-being, and the natural environment. Drawing on Charland's concept of constitutive rhetoric, we analyze a selection of public health unit documents about local food to develop a textured account of the complex, multifaceted forms of health citizenship they constitute. Our analysis reveals that, despite their appeals to environmental sustainability and community well-being, these materials primarily characterize the ideal health citizen as an informed consumer who supports the interests of the neoliberal state through individualized lifestyle behaviors, consuming goods produced and distributed through private enterprise. By exhorting individuals to "buy local," public health discourse therefore frames responsible health citizenship principally in consumerist terms that constrain the range of available options for citizens to engage in meaningful action vis-à-vis their food systems.

The Impact of Channel Context and Task on Consumers' Evaluations of Personalized Health Recommendation Systems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Wendel, S.; Ronteltap, A.; Dellaert, B.G.C.; Trijp, van J.C.M.

2008-01-01

We investigate consumer perspectives on complex, multistage systems designed to provide personalized health recommendations. We conceptualize the underlying benefit trade-offs that consumers make in evaluating such systems as the manifestation of a psychological contract in which consumers

Consumer Use of the Internet for Health Information: A Population Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Nammacher, Mark A; Schmitt, Kay

1998-01-01

Developers of health information see the Internet as an ideal repository of information for consumer access. A population's behavior in seeking this information is little known. This randomized study of a metropolitan population describes some of these consumer characteristics. Age, education, gender and children are determinants of Net Utilization. As the goal of Net usage becomes more specific, average hours per week spent on-line rises to a considerable time commitment.

The Association Between Household Consumer Durable Assets and Maternal Health-Seeking Behavior in Ghana.

Science.gov (United States)

Ansong, Eric

2015-01-01

This article examined the association between household consumer durable assets and maternal health-seeking behavior. Several studies have suggested a relationship between households' socioeconomic status (SES) and health outcomes. However, SES is a multidimensional concept that encompasses variables, such as wealth, education, and income. By grouping these variables together as one construct, prior studies have not provided enough insight into possible independent associations with health outcomes. This study used data from the 2008 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey of 2,065 women aged between 15 and 49 years to examine the association between household consumer durables (a component of SES) and maternal health-seeking behavior in Ghana. Results from a set of generalized linear models indicated that household consumer durable assets were positively associated with four measures of maternal health-seeking behaviors, namely, seeking prenatal care from skilled health personnel, delivery by skilled birth attendant, place of delivery, and the number of antenatal visits. Also, households with more assets whose residents lived in urban areas were more likely to use skilled health personnel before and during delivery, and at an approved health facility, compared those who lived in rural areas. Implications for health interventions and policies that focus on the most vulnerable households are discussed.

Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising Prohibition in Ethiopia: Health ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Abstract. Ethiopia prohibited direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) for any drug product since the early 1980s. This total drug advertising prohibition is rare, and possibly unique, in the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the knowledge and perceptions of health professionals on issues regarding DTCA.

A History of Drug Advertising: The Evolving Roles of Consumers and Consumer Protection

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Julie

2006-01-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system. PMID:17096638

A history of drug advertising: the evolving roles of consumers and consumer protection.

Science.gov (United States)

Donohue, Julie

2006-01-01

Direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription drugs in the United States is controversial. Underlying the debate are disagreements over the role of consumers in medical decision making, the appropriateness of consumers engaging in self-diagnosis, and the ethics of an industry promoting potentially dangerous drugs. Drug advertising and federal policy governing drug advertising have both responded to and reinforced changes in the consumer's role in health care and in the doctor-patient relationship over time. This article discusses the history of DTCA in the context of social movements to secure rights for health care patients and consumers, the modern trend toward consumer-oriented medicine, and the implications of DTCA and consumer-oriented medicine for contemporary health policy debates about improving the health care system.

An Evaluation of a Voluntary Academic Medical Center Website Designed to Improve Access to Health Education among Consumers: Implications for E-Health and M-Health

Science.gov (United States)

Harris-Hollingsworth, Nicole Rosella

2012-01-01

Academic Medical Centers across the United States provide health libraries on their web portals to disseminate health promotion and disease prevention information, in order to assist patients in the management of their own care. However, there is a need to obtain consumer input, consumer satisfaction, and to conduct formal evaluations. The purpose…

Consumer decision making in the individual health insurance market.

Science.gov (United States)

Marquis, M Susan; Buntin, Melinda Beeuwkes; Escarce, José J; Kapur, Kanika; Louis, Thomas A; Yegian, Jill M

2006-01-01

This paper summarizes the results from a study of consumer decision making in California's individual health insurance market. We conclude that price subsidies will have only modest effects on participation and that efforts to reduce nonprice barriers might be just as effective. We also find that there is substantial pooling in the individual market and that it increases over time because people who become sick can continue coverage without new underwriting. Finally, we show that people prefer more-generous benefits and that it is difficult to induce people in poor health to enroll in high-deductible health plans.

I don't think we've quite got there yet: The experience of allyship for mental health consumer researchers.

Science.gov (United States)

Happell, Brenda; Scholz, Brett; Gordon, Sarah; Bocking, Julia; Ellis, Pete; Roper, Cath; Liggins, Jackie; Platania-Phung, Chris

2018-06-12

Australia and New Zealand mental health policy requires consumer participation in all aspects of mental health services. Systemic participation informs and improves the quality of mental health services. Collaboration with consumer researchers should be similarly required. Enhanced understandings of collaborations are needed. To enhance understanding of the perspectives and experiences of nonconsumer researchers in working collaboratively with consumers as researchers. This qualitative exploratory study involved interviews with non-consumer mental health researchers who have worked collaboratively with consumers in research. Interviews were conducted with participants from Australia and New Zealand. 'Allyship' emerged as a major theme. This describes non-consumer researchers playing an actively supportive role to facilitate opportunities for the development and growth of consumer research roles and activities. Seven sub-themes were identified: establishing and supporting roles, corralling resources, guiding navigation of university systems, advocacy at multiple levels, aspiring to coproduction and consumer-led research, extending connections and partnerships, and desire to do better. Allyship may have an important role to play in the broader consumer research agenda and requires further consideration. Embedding meaningful consumer participation within mental health services requires active consumer involvement in research. Allies can play an important facilitative role. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Consumer-Involved Participatory Research to Address General Medical Health and Wellness in a Community Mental Health Setting.

Science.gov (United States)

Iyer, Sharat P; Pancake, Laura S; Dandino, Elizabeth S; Wells, Kenneth B

2015-12-01

Barriers to sustainably implementing general medical interventions in community mental health (CMH) settings include role uncertainty, consumer engagement, workforce limitations, and sustainable reimbursement. To address these barriers, this project used a community-partnered participatory research framework to create a stakeholder-based general medical and wellness intervention in a large CMH organization, with consumers involved in all decision-making processes. Consumers faced practical barriers to participating in organizational decision making, but their narratives were critical in establishing priorities and ensuring sustainability. Addressing baseline knowledge and readiness of stakeholders and functional challenges to consumer involvement can aid stakeholder-based approaches to implementing general medical interventions in CMH settings.

Consumer perception versus scientific evidence about health benefits and safety risks from fish consumption.

Science.gov (United States)

Verbeke, Wim; Sioen, Isabelle; Pieniak, Zuzanna; Van Camp, John; De Henauw, Stefaan

2005-06-01

To investigate the gap between consumer perception and scientific evidence related to health benefits and safety risks from fish consumption. Consumer perceptions from a cross-sectional survey in March 2003 in Belgium were compared with scientific evidence based on a literature review. A quota sampling procedure was used with age as quota control variable. Subjects completed a self-administered questionnaire including health benefit beliefs from fish, fish content and effect beliefs for nutrients and harmful substances. Adults (n=429), who were the main person responsible for food purchasing in the household (284 women; 145 men), aged 18-83 years, from different regional, education, family size and income groups. Fish is predominantly perceived as a healthy food that reduces risk for coronary heart disease, which corroborates scientific evidence. This perception is stronger among women than among men. In contrast with scientific evidence, 46% of the consumers believe that fish contains dietary fibre, whereas less than one-third is aware that fish contains omega-3 fatty acids and that this nutrient has a positive impact on human health. The gap between perception and evidence is larger among consumers with lower education. In general, consumers are better aware of the content and effect of harmful substances than of nutrients in fish. Despite conclusive evidence about the content and positive effect of omega-3 fatty acids in fish, related consumer awareness and beliefs are poor and often wrong. This study exemplifies the need for nutrition education and more effective communication about the health benefits of fish consumption.

The role of health-related claims and health-related symbols in consumer behaviour: Design and conceptual framework of the CLYMBOL project and initial results

OpenAIRE

Hieke, S; Kuljanic, N; Wills, J M; Pravst, I; Kaur, A; Raats, M M; van Trijp, H C M; Verbeke, W; Grunert, K G

2015-01-01

Health claims and symbols are potential aids to help consumers identify foods that are healthier options. However, little is known as to how health claims and symbols are used by consumers in real-world shopping situations, thus making the science-based formulation of new labelling policies and the evaluation of existing ones difficult. The objective of the European Union-funded project R ole of health-related?CLaims?and?sYMBOLs?in consumer behaviour (CLYMBOL) is to determine how health-relat...

Factors affecting willingness to share electronic health data among California consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Katherine K; Sankar, Pamela; Wilson, Machelle D; Haynes, Sarah C

2017-04-04

Robust technology infrastructure is needed to enable learning health care systems to improve quality, access, and cost. Such infrastructure relies on the trust and confidence of individuals to share their health data for healthcare and research. Few studies have addressed consumers' views on electronic data sharing and fewer still have explored the dual purposes of healthcare and research together. The objective of the study is to explore factors that affect consumers' willingness to share electronic health information for healthcare and research. This study involved a random-digit dial telephone survey of 800 adult Californians conducted in English and Spanish. Logistic regression was performed using backward selection to test for significant (p-value ≤ 0.05) associations of each explanatory variable with the outcome variable. The odds of consent for electronic data sharing for healthcare decreased as Likert scale ratings for EHR impact on privacy worsened, odds ratio (OR) = 0.74, 95% CI [0.60, 0.90]; security, OR = 0.80, 95% CI [0.66, 0.98]; and quality, OR = 0.59, 95% CI [0.46-0.75]. The odds of consent for sharing for research was greater for those who think EHR will improve research quality, OR = 11.26, 95% CI [4.13, 30.73]; those who value research benefit over privacy OR = 2.72, 95% CI [1.55, 4.78]; and those who value control over research benefit OR = 0.49, 95% CI [0.26, 0.94]. Consumers' choices about electronically sharing health information are affected by their attitudes toward EHRs as well as beliefs about research benefit and individual control. Design of person-centered interventions utilizing electronically collected health information, and policies regarding data sharing should address these values of importance to people. Understanding of these perspectives is critical for leveraging health data to support learning health care systems.

eHealth literacy demands and cognitive processes underlying barriers in consumer health information seeking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Connie V. Chan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available Background: Consumer eHealth tools play an increasingly important role in engaging patients as participants in managing their health and seeking health information. However, there is a documented gap between the skill and knowledge demands of eHealth systems and user competencies to benefit from these tools. Objective: This research aims to reveal the knowledge- and skill-related barriers to effective use of eHealth tools. Methods: We used a micro-analytic framework for characterizing the different cognitive dimensions of eHealth literacy to classify task demands and barriers that 20 participants experienced while performing online information-seeking and decision-making tasks. Results: Participants ranged widely in their task performance across all 6 tasks as measured by task scores and types of barriers encountered. The highest performing participant experienced only 14 barriers whereas the lowest scoring one experienced 153. A more detailed analysis of two tasks revealed that the highest number of incorrect answers and experienced barriers were caused by tasks requiring: (a Media literacy and Science literacy at high cognitive complexity levels and (b a combination of Numeracy and Information literacy at different cognitive complexity levels. Conclusions: Applying this type of analysis enabled us to characterize task demands by literacy type and by cognitive complexity. Mapping barriers to literacy types provided insight into the interaction between users and eHealth tasks. Although the gap between eHealth tools, users’ skills, and knowledge can be difficult to bridge, an understanding of the cognitive complexity and literacy demands can serve to reduce the gap between designer and consumer.

Helping consumers make more healthful food choices: consumer views on modifying food labels and providing point-of-purchase nutrition information at quick-service restaurants.

Science.gov (United States)

Lando, Amy M; Labiner-Wolfe, Judith

2007-01-01

To understand consumer (1) interest in nutrition information on food labels and quick-service restaurant menu boards and (2) reactions to modifying this information to help highlight calories and more healthful choices. Eight consumer focus groups, using a guide and stimuli. Focus group discussions in 4 US cities. A total of 68 consumers, with 7 to 10 per focus group. Authors prepared detailed summaries of discussions based on observation. Video recordings and transcripts were used to cross-check summaries. Data were systematically reviewed, synthesized, and analyzed. Consumer views on alternative presentations of nutrition information on packaged food items and quick-service restaurant menu boards. Participants (1) were interested in having nutrition information available, but would not use it at every eating occasion; (2) thought that food products typically consumed at 1 eating occasion should be labeled as a single serving; and (3) indicated that an icon on labels and menu boards that signaled more healthful options could be helpful. Findings provide a basis for the development of more systematic studies to better understand whether alternative presentations of nutrition information would help consumers.

Why bother about health? A study on the factors that influence health information seeking behaviour among Malaysian healthcare consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Jaafar, Noor Ismawati; Ainin, Sulaiman; Yeong, Mun Wai

2017-08-01

The general improvement of socio-economic conditions has resulted in people becoming more educated to make better-informed decisions in health related matters. Individual's perspective on health increases with better understanding of ways to improve lifestyle for better health and living. With the increase in lifestyle related diseases that lead to health problems, there is an increase in the availability of healthcare information. Thus, it is important to identify the factors that influence information seeking behaviour in the area of healthcare and lifestyle. This exploratory study examines the relationship between the factors that affect online health information-seeking behaviour among healthcare product in the capital city of Malaysia. Survey questionnaire was used to collect empirical data. A survey was conducted among 300 healthcare consumers in three main cities in Malaysia where questionnaires were personally distributed through snowball sampling. A total of 271 questionnaire forms were used in the analysis. Health Behaviour of the consumers influences Health Information Seeking Behaviour. And this relationship is strongly affected by Gender whereby the affect is strongly among females compared to males. The findings indicate that Health Behaviour influences Health Information Seeking Behaviour. Marketers can find out which target segment of population to target when devising information channels for consumers, especially through the Internet. However, message that promotes positive health behaviour to a target audience who already has positive Health Behaviour increase the motivation to Health Information Seeking Behaviour. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Patients as consumers of health care in South Africa: the ethical and legal implications

Science.gov (United States)

2013-01-01

Background South Africa currently has a pluralistic health care system with separate public and private sectors. It is, however, moving towards a socialised model with the introduction of National Health Insurance. The South African legislative environment has changed recently with the promulgation of the Consumer Protection Act and proposed amendments to the National Health Act. Patients can now be viewed as consumers from a legal perspective. This has various implications for health care systems, health care providers and the doctor-patient relationship. Discussion Calling a recipient of health care a ‘consumer’ as opposed to a ‘patient’ has distinct connotations and may result in differential behaviour. Labels reflect the ideals of the context in which they are used. Various models of the doctor-patient relationship exist and different metaphors have been used to describe it. Increasingly there are third parties involved within the doctor-patient relationship making it more difficult for the doctor to play the fiduciary role. In certain parts of the world, there has been a shift from a traditional paternalistic model to a consumerist model. The ethical implications of the commodification of health care are complex. As health care becomes a ‘product’ supplied by the health care ‘provider’, there is the risk that doctors will replace professional ethics with those of the marketplace. Health care is a universal human need and cannot be considered a mere commodity. In modern medical ethics, great emphasis is placed on the principle of respect for patient autonomy. Patients are now the ultimate decision-makers. The new Consumer Protection Act in South Africa applies to consumers and patients alike. It enforces strict liability for harm caused by goods and services. Everyone in the supply chain, including the doctor, can be held jointly and severally liable. This may lead to enormous challenges in health care delivery. Summary Viewing patients as

Awareness of Consumer Protection Act among dental health professionals in dental schools of Ghaziabad, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Prasad, Sumanth; Menon, Ipseeta; Dhingra, Chandan; Anand, Richa

2013-12-01

The study aimed to assess the awareness of the Consumer Protection Act among dental health professionals in dental schools of Ghaziabad, India. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey was carried out on dental health professionals in dental schools of Ghaziabad, India. A total of 348 dental health professionals (170 males and 178 females) were surveyed, out of which 116 were MDS faculty, 45 were BDS faculty and 187 were pursuing post graduation. The questionnaire comprised of 24 questions about the awareness of consumer protection act. Statistical analysis was done using Chi-square test, student's t test and ANOVA. A total of 84.8% (n=295) reported to be aware of consumer protection act. Amongst them, MDS faculty showed more awareness as compared to BDS faculty and those pursuing post-graduation. Considering the present scenario, MDS faculty dental professionals have more awareness of consumer protection act compared to other dental professionals. So, we must upgrade our knowledge on consumer protection act at all levels of our profession and change our attitude by inculcating a practice to spread the message of consumer protection act for delivering quality dental care.

Consumer health consciousness and the organic foods boom: Fact or fiction?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brunsø, Karen; Scholderer, Joachim

2001-01-01

scales (three items each) assessed the importance of organic foods, healthiness, freshness, novelty, and the price/quality relation to consumers' food choices. Trends in the importance of these aspects were modeled using multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. Results indicate...... that, contrary to widespread expectations, the importance of healthy/unprocessed foods, organic foods, and fresh foods has been declining in all three countries since the early 1990s. The pattern suggests that the actual consumer trend to organic foods already peaked several years ago......Sales of organic foods have tremendously increased over the last years. The conclusion seems obvious: European consumers have become more health-conscious. Or have they? In fact, it is not quite clear from previous research whether rising market shares reflect changes in consumer attitudes, changes...

Consumer health consciousness and the organic foods boom: Fact or fiction?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brunsø, Karen; Scholderer, Joachim

scales (three items each) assessed the importance of organic foods, healthiness, freshness, novelty, and the price/quality relation to consumers' food choices. Trends in the importance of these aspects were modeled using multi-sample confirmatory factor analysis with structured means. Results indicate...... that, contrary to widespread expectations, the importance of healthy/unprocessed foods, organic foods, and fresh foods has been declining in all three countries since the early 1990s. The pattern suggests that the actual consumer trend to organic foods already peaked several years ago......Sales of organic foods have tremendously increased over the last years. The conclusion seems obvious: European consumers have become more health-conscious. Or have they? In fact, it is not quite clear from previous research whether rising market shares reflect changes in consumer attitudes, changes...

Industry and Consumers Awareness for Effective Management of Functional Animal-based Foods in South Korea

OpenAIRE

Wi, Seo-Hyun; Park, Jung-Min; Wee, Sung-Hwan; Park, Jae-Woo; Kim, Jin-Man

2013-01-01

In recent years, manufacturers of animal-based foods with health claims have encountered difficulties in the labeling of their products because of a lack of regulation on defining the functionality of animal-based foods. Therefore, this study was conducted to establish the basic requirements for the development of a definition for functional animal-based foods by investigating consumer and industry awareness. Survey data were collected from 114 industry representatives and 1,100 consumers. Th...

Contribution of mobile health applications to self-management by consumers: review of published evidence.

Science.gov (United States)

Anderson, Kevin; Emmerton, Lynne M

2016-11-01

Objective The aim of the present study was to review the contribution of mobile health applications ('apps') to consumers' self-management of chronic health conditions, and the potential for this practice to inform health policy, procedures and guidelines. Methods A search was performed on the MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, ProQuest and Global Health (Ovid) databases using the search terms 'mobile app*', 'self-care', 'self-monitoring', 'trial', 'intervention*' and various medical conditions. The search was supplemented with manual location of emerging literature and government reports. Mapping review methods identified relevant titles and abstracts, followed by review of content to determine extant research, reports addressing the key questions, and gaps suggesting areas for future research. Available studies were organised by disease state, and presented in a narrative analysis. Results Four studies describing the results of clinical trials were identified from Canada, England, Taiwan and Australia; all but the Australian study used custom-made apps. The available studies examined the effect of apps in health monitoring, reporting positive but not robust findings. Australian public policy and government reports acknowledge and support self-management, but do not address the potential contribution of mobile interventions. Conclusions There are limited controlled trials testing the contribution of health apps to consumers' self-management. Further evidence in this field is required to inform health policy and practice relating to self-management. What is known about the topic? Australian health policy encourages self-care by health consumers to reduce expenditure in health services. A fundamental component of self-care in chronic health conditions is self-monitoring, which can be used to assess progress towards treatment goals, as well as signs and symptoms of disease exacerbation. An abundance of mobile health apps is available for self-monitoring. What does this study

The role of social media for patients and consumer health. Contribution of the IMIA Consumer Health Informatics Working Group.

Science.gov (United States)

Lau, A Y S; Siek, K A; Fernandez-Luque, L; Tange, H; Chhanabhai, P; Li, S Y W; Elkin, P L; Arjabi, A; Walczowski, L; Ang, C S; Eysenbach, G

2011-01-01

: To provide an overview on social media for consumers and patients in areas of health behaviours and outcomes. A directed review of recent literature. : We discuss the limitations and challenges of social media, ranging from social network sites (SNSs), computer games, mobile applications, to online videos. An overview of current users of social media (Generation Y), and potential users (such as low socioeconomic status and the chronically ill populations) is also presented. Future directions in social media research are also discussed. : We encourage the health informatics community to consider the socioeconomic class, age, culture, and literacy level of their populations, and select an appropriate medium and platform when designing social networked interventions for health. Little is known about the impact of second-hand experiences faciliated by social media, nor the quality and safety of social networks on health. Methodologies and theories from human computer interaction, human factors engineering and psychology may help guide the challenges in designing and evaluating social networked interventions for health. Further, by analysing how people search and navigate social media for health purposes, infodemiology and infoveillance are promising areas of research that should provide valuable insights on present and emergening health behaviours on a population scale.

Are consumer surveys valuable as a service improvement tool in health services? A critical appraisal.

Science.gov (United States)

Patwardhan, Anjali; Patwardhan, Prakash

2009-01-01

In the recent climate of consumerism and consumer focused care, health and social care needs to be more responsive than ever before. Consumer needs and preferences can be elicited with accepted validity and reliability only by strict methodological control, customerisation of the questionnaire and skilled interpretation. To construct, conduct, interpret and implement improved service provision, requires a trained work force and infrastructure. This article aims to appraise various aspects of consumer surveys and to assess their value as effective service improvement tools. The customer is the sole reason organisations exist. Consumer surveys are used worldwide as service and quality of care improvement tools by all types of service providers including health service providers. The article critically appraises the value of consumer surveys as service improvement tools in health services tool and its future applications. No one type of survey is the best or ideal. The key is the selection of the correct survey methodology, unique and customised for the particular type/aspect of care being evaluated. The method used should reflect the importance of the information required. Methodological rigor is essential for the effectiveness of consumer surveys as service improvement tools. Unfortunately so far there is no universal consensus on superiority of one particular methodology over another or any benefit of one specific methodology in a given situation. More training and some dedicated resource allocation is required to develop consumer surveys. More research is needed to develop specific survey methodology and evaluation techniques for improved validity and reliability of the surveys as service improvement tools. Measurement of consumer preferences/priorities, evaluation of services and key performance scores, is not easy. Consumer surveys seem impressive tools as they provide the customer a voice for change or modification. However, from a scientific point

Making Sense of “Consumer Engagement” Initiatives to Improve Health and Health Care: A Conceptual Framework to Guide Policy and Practice

Science.gov (United States)

Mittler, Jessica N; Martsolf, Grant R; Telenko, Shannon J; Scanlon, Dennis P

2013-01-01

Context Policymakers and practitioners continue to pursue initiatives designed to engage individuals in their health and health care despite discordant views and mixed evidence regarding the ability to cultivate greater individual engagement that improves Americans’ health and well-being and helps manage health care costs. There is limited and mixed evidence regarding the value of different interventions. Methods Based on our involvement in evaluating various community-based consumer engagement initiatives and a targeted literature review of models of behavior change, we identified the need for a framework to classify the universe of consumer engagement initiatives toward advancing policymakers' and practitioners' knowledge of their value and fit in various contexts. We developed a framework that expanded our conceptualization of consumer engagement, building on elements of two common models, the individually focused transtheoretical model of behavior and the broader, multilevel social ecological model. Finally, we applied this framework to one community's existing consumer engagement program. Findings Consumer engagement in health and health care refers to the performance of specific behaviors (“engaged behaviors”) and/or an individual's capacity and motivation to perform these behaviors (“activation”). These two dimensions are related but distinct and thus should be differentiated. The framework creates four classification schemas, by (1) targeted behavior types (self-management, health care encounter, shopping, and health behaviors) and by (2) individual, (3) group, and (4) community dimensions. Our example illustrates that the framework can systematically classify a variety of consumer engagement programs, and that this exercise and resulting characterization can provide a structured way to consider the program and how its components fit program goals both individually and collectively. Conclusions Applying the framework could help advance the field

Personal Health, Person-centred Health and Personalised Medicine - Concepts, Consumers, Confusion and Challenges in the Informatics World.

Science.gov (United States)

Rigby, M

2012-01-01

To define and assess 'Consumer Health Informatics' and related emergent issues in an era of new media and of personalisation of care, and from this to define what actions need to be taken to optimise benefits and address risks. Definition of key concepts; review of health personalisation, emergent health information and communication technologies and knowledge sources available to citizens and social media; and identification of unresolved issues threatening optimal use of each. A structured review supported by citations and examples. Several new aspects of consumer health informatics are emerging, including new knowledge sources, feedback on treatments and care providers, on-line videos, and a new generation of patient experience sites including those which are for profit and seek to influence treatment paradigms. Not just the information usage, but also the potential social challenges and malicious abuses, are global issues, and also transcend the traditional health community and thus should be addressed in partnership with other global agencies.

Public health in community pharmacy: A systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Methods Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. Results From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health Conclusions There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years

Public health in community pharmacy: a systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views.

Science.gov (United States)

Eades, Claire E; Ferguson, Jill S; O'Carroll, Ronan E

2011-07-21

The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews conducted nearly 10 years previously. In order to improve the public

Public health in community pharmacy: A systematic review of pharmacist and consumer views

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ferguson Jill S

2011-07-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The increasing involvement of pharmacists in public health will require changes in the behaviour of both pharmacists and the general public. A great deal of research has shown that attitudes and beliefs are important determinants of behaviour. This review aims to examine the beliefs and attitudes of pharmacists and consumers towards pharmaceutical public health in order to inform how best to support and improve this service. Methods Five electronic databases were searched for articles published in English between 2001 and 2010. Titles and abstracts were screened by one researcher according to the inclusion criteria. Papers were included if they assessed pharmacy staff or consumer attitudes towards pharmaceutical public health. Full papers identified for inclusion were assessed by a second researcher and data were extracted by one researcher. Results From the 5628 papers identified, 63 studies in 67 papers were included. Pharmacy staff: Most pharmacists viewed public health services as important and part of their role but secondary to medicine related roles. Pharmacists' confidence in providing public health services was on the whole average to low. Time was consistently identified as a barrier to providing public health services. Lack of an adequate counselling space, lack of demand and expectation of a negative reaction from customers were also reported by some pharmacists as barriers. A need for further training was identified in relation to a number of public health services. Consumers: Most pharmacy users had never been offered public health services by their pharmacist and did not expect to be offered. Consumers viewed pharmacists as appropriate providers of public health advice but had mixed views on the pharmacists' ability to do this. Satisfaction was found to be high in those that had experienced pharmaceutical public health Conclusions There has been little change in customer and pharmacist attitudes since reviews

Measures of Consumer Satisfaction in Social Welfare and Behavioral Health: A Systematic Review

Science.gov (United States)

Fraser, Mark W.; Wu, Shiyou

2016-01-01

This article reviews the origins, conceptual bases, psychometric properties, and limitations of consumer satisfaction measures in social welfare and behavioral health. Based on a systematic review of research reports published between 2003 and 2013, we identify 58 consumer satisfaction measures. On average, these measures have acceptable…

PHL13/484: A Systematic Review on the Use of Interactive Communication for Consumer Health Education and the Impact of the Internet on Public Health

Science.gov (United States)

Eysenbach, G; Sa, ER; O'Connor, D; Jadad, A

1999-01-01

Introduction In an ongoing systematic review of the Cochrane Consumers & Communication Group we are compiling evidence on the impact of the Internet on public health. We include any "interactive health communication", i.e. any electronic interaction of an individual--consumer, patient, caregiver, or professional-with an electronic device or communication technology to access or transmit health information or to receive guidance on a health-related issue. Methods We will systematically search for and compile in an overview evidence for the effectiveness and impact of interactive communication for consumer health education. Evidence here means studies such as randomised controlled trials (RCTs), controlled clinical trials (CCTs), controlled before and after (CBA) studies, interrupted time series (ITS) studies. Interventions to be compared against each other include a) consumers having been exposed to Internet-based health information against consumers having been exposed to traditional ways of health information, such as face-to-face interpersonal interactions, courses, printed material, self-help groups etc., and b) consumers having been exposed to Internet-based education against consumers having been exposed to Internet-based education using a different approach/method. As outcome measures we are especially looking for studies determining, a change of health related knowledge, attitude and behavior of participants, a change of health status of participants, the satisfaction of participants and health professionals and the change of relationship between patients and health professionals. Results Up to now, only one RCT has been found, highlighting the urgent need for more sound studies to determine the impact of the Internet on Public Health. Discussion The systematic review is still in progress and we invite authors of published and unpublished research addressing these questions to submit their work to us for inclusion into the analysis.

The Use of an Adapted Health IT Usability Evaluation Model (Health-ITUEM) for Evaluating Consumer Reported Ratings of Diabetes mHealth Applications: Implications for Diabetes Care and Management

Science.gov (United States)

Househ, Mowafa S.; Shubair, Mamdouh M.; Yunus, Faisel; Jamal, Amr; Aldossari, Bakheet

2015-01-01

Background: The aim of this paper is to present a usability analysis of the consumer ratings of key diabetes mHealth applications using an adapted Health IT Usability Evaluation Model (Health-ITUEM). Methods: A qualitative content analysis method was used to analyze publicly available consumer reported data posted on the Android Market and Google Play for four leading diabetes mHealth applications. Health-ITUEM concepts including information needs, flexibility/customizability, learnability, performance speed, and competency guided the categorization and analysis of the data. Health impact was an additional category that was included in the study. A total of 405 consumers’ ratings collected from January 9, 2014 to February 17, 2014 were included in the study. Results: Overall, the consumers’ ratings of the leading diabetes mHealth applications for both usability and health impacts were positive. The performance speed of the mHealth application and the information needs of the consumers were the primary usability factors impacting the use of the diabetes mHealth applications. There was also evidence on the positive health impacts of such applications. Conclusions: Consumers are more likely to use diabetes related mHealth applications that perform well and meet their information needs. Furthermore, there is preliminary evidence that diabetes mHealth applications can have positive impact on the health of patients. PMID:26635437

One service, many voices: enhancing consumer participation in a primary health service for multicultural women.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Susan K; Thompson, Sandra C; Amorin-Woods, Deisy

2009-01-01

Consumer participation in primary health care is important in providing quality consumer-focused care, but challenging when working with disadvantaged groups of diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Women's Health Services (WHS) works with women from over 60 different nationalities, including many newly arrived migrants and refugees. New arrivals access a wide range of WHS programmes including medical services, counselling, information, community talks and workshops, referral, and outreach, but few ethnic women attended the alcohol and other drug (AOD) services offered by the organisation. To establish an active consumer reference group to assist understanding and reducing the barriers to AOD services for a heterogeneous disadvantaged group that includes individuals from different cultural, language and educational backgrounds. Leaning heavily on experiences from the mental health field, WHS overcame many practical and philosophical considerations which included: agreeing upon the purpose of the group and how it would operate within the structure of the organisation; the level of English language required by participants for the group to function; issues of resourcing the group; and ensuring an appropriate, workable demographic mix in terms of age, language, and migration experiences. The process and the outcome of establishing a consumer reference group (CRG) in a primary healthcare setting has been valuable for consumers' and health service providers within the organisation.

Objective community integration of mental health consumers living in supported housing and of others in the community.

Science.gov (United States)

Yanos, Philip T; Stefancic, Ana; Tsemberis, Sam

2012-01-01

Housing programs for people with severe mental illnesses aim to maximize community integration. However, little is known about how the community integration of mental health consumers living in supported housing compares with that of other community residents in the socially disadvantaged communities where supported housing is often located. The purpose of this study was to examine predictors of objective community integration of mental health consumers living in supported housing and of other persons living in the same communities. Participants were 124 adults (60 mental health consumers and 64 other community residents) residing in designated zip codes in the Bronx, New York. Participants were administered measures of psychiatric symptoms, substance use, physical community integration (participation in local activities), social integration (interactions with community members), and citizenship (political activism or volunteering). Mental health consumers living in supported independent housing had significantly lower scores on indicators of objective community integration than other community members. However, differences were relatively small. Among mental health consumers, African-American race, education, and length of time in current residence were associated with better community integration. Findings suggest that mental health consumers living in supported housing may not achieve levels of objective community integration that are comparable with other community members; however, psychiatric factors did not account for this difference. Length of time in neighborhoods appears to be an important factor in facilitating social integration.

The Consumer Protection Act: no-fault liability of health care providers.

Science.gov (United States)

Slabbert, M Nöthling; Pepper, Michael S

2011-11-01

The introduction of no-fault or strict liability by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) poses serious problems in the health care context. With a patient as a 'consumer' in terms of the CPA, health care practitioners may find themselves as 'suppliers' or 'retailers' as part of a supply chain, and potentially liable for harm and loss suffered by a patient in terms of the new no-fault liability provision. The claimant (patient) can sue anyone in the supply chain in terms of this provision, which places the health care practitioner who delivered the care in a very difficult position, as he or she is the most easily and often only identifiable person in the supply chain. Although the causal link between the harm suffered by the complainant will still need to be established on a balance of probabilities, the traditional common law obstacle requiring proof of negligence no longer applies. The article argues that this situation is unsatisfactory, as it places an increasingly onerous burden on certain health care practitioners.

Supplementary insurance as a switching cost for basic health insurance: Empirical results from the Netherlands.

Science.gov (United States)

Willemse-Duijmelinck, Daniëlle M I D; van de Ven, Wynand P M M; Mosca, Ilaria

2017-10-01

Nearly everyone with a supplementary insurance (SI) in the Netherlands takes out the voluntary SI and the mandatory basic insurance (BI) from the same health insurer. Previous studies show that many high-risks perceive SI as a switching cost for BI. Because consumers' current insurer provides them with a guaranteed renewability, SI is a switching cost if insurers apply selective underwriting to new applicants. Several changes in the Dutch health insurance market increased insurers' incentives to counteract adverse selection for SI. Tools to do so are not only selective underwriting, but also risk rating and product differentiation. If all insurers use the latter tools without selective underwriting, SI is not a switching cost for BI. We investigated to what extent insurers used these tools in the periods 2006-2009 and 2014-2015. Only a few insurers applied selective underwriting: in 2015, 86% of insurers used open enrolment for all their SI products, and the other 14% did use open enrolment for their most common SI products. As measured by our indicators, the proportion of insurers applying risk rating or product differentiation did not increase in the periods considered. Due to the fear of reputation loss insurers may have used 'less visible' tools to counteract adverse selection that are indirect forms of risk rating and product differentiation and do not result in switching costs. So, although many high-risks perceive SI as a switching cost, most insurers apply open enrolment for SI. By providing information to high-risks about their switching opportunities, the government could increase consumer choice and thereby insurers' incentives to invest in high-quality care for high-risks. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Food irradiation and consumer education - the role of food and health professionals

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Weaver, V.M.; Marcotte, M.L.

1988-01-01

The role of food and health professionals (food scientists, dietitians, home economists, nurses and nutritionists) could be a crucial component to the acceptance of irradiated food products. While the benefits, uses and safety of food irradiation have been scientifically documented, public awareness of such information has been limited. As decision makers and public educators, food and health professionals provide a liaison between the consumer and industry. Considerations for allaying consumer concern should include; the nutritional adequacy, safety, economics and palatability of properly irradiated products. These professionals can also be instrumental in correctly outlining both the advantages and limitations of food irradiation. The demonstrated advantages are a reduction in the utilization of chemical fumigants, improved organoleptic qualities, increased product shelf-life, and increased food safety. Possible concerns may be the reduction of nutrients and alterations in food palatability. The well informed professional must provide an assessment of all such factors when making recommendations and addressing public issues of concern. Thus, consistent with their professional roles, food and health professionals have an obligation to critically evaluate technological advances, make decisions and convey information to the consumer in a comprehensive, consistent manner. (author)

Food irradiation and consumer education - the role of food and health professionals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Weaver, V M; Marcotte, M L

1988-01-01

The role of food and health professionals (food scientists, dietitians, home economists, nurses and nutritionists) could be a crucial component to the acceptance of irradiated food products. While the benefits, uses and safety of food irradiation have been scientifically documented, public awareness of such information has been limited. As decision makers and public educators, food and health professionals provide a liaison between the consumer and industry. Considerations for allaying consumer concern should include;the nutritional adequacy, safety, economics and palatability of properly irradiated products. These professionals can also be instrumental in correctly outlining both the advantages and limitations of food irradiation. The demonstrated advantages are a reduction in the utilization of chemical fumigants, improved organoleptic qualities, increased product shelf-life, and increased food safety. Possible concerns may be the reduction of nutrients and alterations in food palatability. The well informed professional must provide an assessment of all such factors when making recommendations and addressing public issues of concern. Thus, consistent with their professional roles, food and health professionals have an obligation to critically evaluate technological advances, make decisions and convey information to the consumer in a comprehensive, consistent manner.

Consumer evaluation of complaint handling in the Dutch health insurance market.

Science.gov (United States)

Wendel, Sonja; de Jong, Judith D; Curfs, Emile C

2011-11-15

How companies deal with complaints is a particularly challenging aspect in managing the quality of their service. In this study we test the direct and relative effects of service quality dimensions on consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in a company in the Dutch health insurance market. A cross-sectional survey design was used. Survey data of 150 members of a Dutch insurance panel who lodged a complaint at their healthcare insurer within the past 12 months were surveyed. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing validated multi-item measures. These measures assess the service quality dimensions consisting of functional quality and technical quality and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations consisting of complaint satisfaction and overall satisfaction with the company after complaint handling. Respondents' trust in a company after complaint handling was also measured. Using factor analysis, reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between these variables. Overall, results confirm the hypothesized direct and relative effects between the service quality dimensions and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company. No support was found for the effect of technical quality on overall satisfaction with the company. This outcome might be driven by the context of our study; namely, consumers get in touch with a company to resolve a specific problem and therefore might focus more on complaint satisfaction and less on overall satisfaction with the company. Overall, the model we present is valid in the context of the Dutch health insurance market. Management is able to increase consumers' complaint satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the company, and trust in the company by improving elements of functional and technical quality. Furthermore, we show that functional and technical quality do not influence consumer satisfaction evaluations and

Consumer evaluation of complaint handling in the Dutch health insurance market

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wendel Sonja

2011-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background How companies deal with complaints is a particularly challenging aspect in managing the quality of their service. In this study we test the direct and relative effects of service quality dimensions on consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in a company in the Dutch health insurance market. Methods A cross-sectional survey design was used. Survey data of 150 members of a Dutch insurance panel who lodged a complaint at their healthcare insurer within the past 12 months were surveyed. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing validated multi-item measures. These measures assess the service quality dimensions consisting of functional quality and technical quality and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations consisting of complaint satisfaction and overall satisfaction with the company after complaint handling. Respondents' trust in a company after complaint handling was also measured. Using factor analysis, reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between these variables. Results Overall, results confirm the hypothesized direct and relative effects between the service quality dimensions and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company. No support was found for the effect of technical quality on overall satisfaction with the company. This outcome might be driven by the context of our study; namely, consumers get in touch with a company to resolve a specific problem and therefore might focus more on complaint satisfaction and less on overall satisfaction with the company. Conclusions Overall, the model we present is valid in the context of the Dutch health insurance market. Management is able to increase consumers' complaint satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the company, and trust in the company by improving elements of functional and technical quality. Furthermore, we show that functional and

Consumer evaluation of complaint handling in the Dutch health insurance market

Science.gov (United States)

2011-01-01

Background How companies deal with complaints is a particularly challenging aspect in managing the quality of their service. In this study we test the direct and relative effects of service quality dimensions on consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in a company in the Dutch health insurance market. Methods A cross-sectional survey design was used. Survey data of 150 members of a Dutch insurance panel who lodged a complaint at their healthcare insurer within the past 12 months were surveyed. The data were collected using a questionnaire containing validated multi-item measures. These measures assess the service quality dimensions consisting of functional quality and technical quality and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations consisting of complaint satisfaction and overall satisfaction with the company after complaint handling. Respondents' trust in a company after complaint handling was also measured. Using factor analysis, reliability and validity of the measures were assessed. Regression analysis was used to examine the relationships between these variables. Results Overall, results confirm the hypothesized direct and relative effects between the service quality dimensions and consumer complaint satisfaction evaluations and trust in the company. No support was found for the effect of technical quality on overall satisfaction with the company. This outcome might be driven by the context of our study; namely, consumers get in touch with a company to resolve a specific problem and therefore might focus more on complaint satisfaction and less on overall satisfaction with the company. Conclusions Overall, the model we present is valid in the context of the Dutch health insurance market. Management is able to increase consumers' complaint satisfaction, overall satisfaction with the company, and trust in the company by improving elements of functional and technical quality. Furthermore, we show that functional and technical quality do not

Eliciting consumer preferences for health plans.

Science.gov (United States)

Booske, B C; Sainfort, F; Hundt, A S

1999-10-01

To examine (1) what people say is important to them in choosing a health plan; (2) the effect, if any, that giving health plan information has on what people say is important to them; and (3) the effect of preference elicitation methods on what people say is important. A random sample of 201 Wisconsin state employees who participated in a health plan choice experiment during the 1995 open enrollment period. We designed a computer system to guide subjects through the review of information about health plan options. The system began by eliciting the stated preferences of the subjects before they viewed the information, at time 0. Subjects were given an opportunity to revise their preference structures first after viewing summary information about four health plans (time 1) and then after viewing more extensive, detailed information about the same options (time 2). At time 2, these individuals were also asked to rate the relative importance of a predefined list of health plan features presented to them. Data were collected on the number of attributes listed at each point in time and the importance weightings assigned to each attribute. In addition, each item on the attribute list was content analyzed. The provision of information changes the preference structures of individuals. Costs (price) and coverage dominated the attributes cited both before and after looking at health plan information. When presented with information on costs, quality, and how plans work, many of these relatively well educated consumers revised their preference structures; yet coverage and costs remained the primary cited attributes. Although efforts to provide health plan information should continue, decisions on the information to provide and on making it available are not enough. Individuals need help in understanding, processing, and using the information to construct their preferences and make better decisions.

Public reporting in health care: how do consumers use quality-of-care information? A systematic review.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Faber, M.J.; Bosch, M.C.; Wollersheim, H.C.H.; Leatherman, S.; Grol, R.P.T.M.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: One of the underlying goals of public reporting is to encourage the consumer to select health care providers or health plans that offer comparatively better quality-of-care. OBJECTIVE: To review the weight consumers give to quality-of-care information in the process of choice, to

Issue Papers To Consumer Protection in Postsecondary Education.

Science.gov (United States)

1974

This document is intended to present background information on the basic consumer protection issues in postsecondary education. Topics discussed are: (1) recruitment practices of postsecondary schools; (2) the role of a state agency in consumer protection; (3) consumer rights, responsibilities and redress of consumer protection; (4) advertising…

Consumer and relationship factors associated with shared decision making in mental health consultations.

Science.gov (United States)

Matthias, Marianne S; Fukui, Sadaaki; Kukla, Marina; Eliacin, Johanne; Bonfils, Kelsey A; Firmin, Ruth L; Oles, Sylwia K; Adams, Erin L; Collins, Linda A; Salyers, Michelle P

2014-12-01

This study explored the association between shared decision making and consumers' illness management skills and consumer-provider relationships. Medication management appointments for 79 consumers were audio recorded. Independent coders rated overall shared decision making, minimum level of shared decision making, and consumer-provider agreement for 63 clients whose visit included a treatment decision. Mental health diagnoses, medication adherence, patient activation, illness management, working alliance, and length of consumer-provider relationships were also assessed. Correlation analyses were used to determine relationships among measures. Overall shared decision making was not associated with any variables. Minimum levels of shared decision making were associated with higher scores on the bond subscale of the Working Alliance Inventory, indicating a higher degree of liking and trust, and with better medication adherence. Agreement was associated with shorter consumer-provider relationships. Consumer-provider relationships and shared decision making might have a more nuanced association than originally thought.

Basic Health, Women’s Health, and Mental Health Among Internally Displaced Persons in Nyala Province, South Darfur, Sudan

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Glen; Torbay, Rabih; Lawry, Lynn

2007-01-01

Objectives. We assessed basic health, women’s health, and mental health among Sudanese internally displaced persons in South Darfur. Methods. In January 2005, we surveyed 6 registered internally displaced persons camps in Nyala District. Using systematic random sampling, we surveyed 1293 households, interviewing 1 adult female per household (N=1274); respondents’ households totaled 8643 members. We inquired about respondents’ mental health, opinions on women’s rights, and the health status of household members. Results. A majority of respondents had access to rations, shelter, and water. Sixty-eight percent (861 of 1266) used no birth control, and 53% (614 of 1147) reported at least 1 unattended birth. Thirty percent (374 of 1238) shared spousal decisions on timing and spacing of children, and 49% (503 of 1027) reported the right to refuse sex. Eighty-four percent (1043 of 1240) were circumcised. The prevalence of major depression was 31% (390 of 1253). Women also expressed limited rights regarding marriage, movement, and access to health care. Eighty-eight percent (991 of 1121) supported equal educational opportunities for women. Conclusions. Humanitarian aid has relieved a significant burden of this displaced population’s basic needs. However, mental and women’s health needs remain largely unmet. The findings indicate a limitation of sexual and reproductive rights that may negatively affect health. PMID:17138925

The Evolution of Research in Family and Consumer Sciences: Food, Nutrition, and Health.

Science.gov (United States)

Schlenker, Eleanor D.

2001-01-01

Analysis of research on food, nutrition, and health in the Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences and Family and Consumer Sciences Research Journal 1985-2000 (n=172) identified four categories: (1) changes in dietary standards and nutrient requirements; (2) public policy and guidance on nutrition; (3) food behavior and nutrition intervention; and…

Heavy metals in marine fish meat and consumer health: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Bosch, Adina C; O'Neill, Bernadette; Sigge, Gunnar O; Kerwath, Sven E; Hoffman, Louwrens C

2016-01-15

The numerous health benefits provided by fish consumption may be compromised by the presence of toxic metals and metalloids such as lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury, which can have harmful effects on the human body if consumed in toxic quantities. The monitoring of metal concentrations in fish meat is therefore important to ensure compliance with food safety regulations and consequent consumer protection. The toxicity of these metals may be dependent on their chemical forms, which requires metal speciation processes for direct measurement of toxic metal species or the identification of prediction models in order to determine toxic metal forms from measured total metal concentrations. This review addresses various shortcomings in current knowledge and research on the accumulation of metal contaminants in commercially consumed marine fish globally and particularly in South Africa, affecting both the fishing industry as well as fish consumers. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Basic principles and methodological considerations of health economic evaluations].

Science.gov (United States)

Loza, Cesar; Castillo-Portilla, Manuel; Rojas, José Luis; Huayanay, Leandro

2011-01-01

Health Economics is an essential instrument for health management, and economic evaluations can be considered as tools assisting the decision-making process for the allocation of resources in health. Currently, economic evaluations are increasingly being used worldwide, thus encouraging evidence-based decision-making and seeking efficient and rational alternatives within the framework of health services activities. In this review, we present an overview and define the basic types of economic evaluations, with emphasis on complete Economic Evaluations (EE). In addition, we review key concepts regarding the perspectives from which EE can be conducted, the types of costs that can be considered, the time horizon, discounting, assessment of uncertainty and decision rules. Finally, we describe concepts about the extrapolation and spread of economic evaluations in health.

Deriving consumer-facing disease concepts for family health histories using multi-source sampling.

Science.gov (United States)

Hulse, Nathan C; Wood, Grant M; Haug, Peter J; Williams, Marc S

2010-10-01

The family health history has long been recognized as an effective way of understanding individuals' susceptibility to familial disease; yet electronic tools to support the capture and use of these data have been characterized as inadequate. As part of an ongoing effort to build patient-facing tools for entering detailed family health histories, we have compiled a set of concepts specific to familial disease using multi-source sampling. These concepts were abstracted by analyzing family health history data patterns in our enterprise data warehouse, collection patterns of consumer personal health records, analyses from the local state health department, a healthcare data dictionary, and concepts derived from genetic-oriented consumer education materials. Collectively, these sources yielded a set of more than 500 unique disease concepts, represented by more than 2500 synonyms for supporting patients in entering coded family health histories. We expect that these concepts will be useful in providing meaningful data and education resources for patients and providers alike.

Consumer attitudes towards the use of routine outcome measures in a public mental health service: a consumer-driven study.

Science.gov (United States)

Guthrie, David; McIntosh, Mishka; Callaly, Tom; Trauer, Tom; Coombs, Tim

2008-04-01

In this study conducted by consumer consultants, 50 consumers who have a Barwon Health case manager (the majority of whom were nurses) were interviewed using a structured questionnaire to ascertain their attitudes towards the routine use of outcome measures. Forty participants (80% of those interviewed) reported they had been offered the Behaviour and Symptom Identification Scale (BASIS-32) to complete in routine care by their case managers and of those, 95% (n = 38) completed it. On those who completed the BASIS-32, 42% said their case manager had explained what the BASIS-32 would be used for, 45% said that the case manager had discussed their responses with them, 76% stated that completing the BASIS-32 had helped the case manager to understand them better and 66% believed that completing the BASIS-32 had led to them receiving better care. Only 30% of the group interviewed were aware that their case manager regularly completed a Health of the Nation Outcome Scales and Life Skills Profile. Feedback about the process of completing the BASIS-32 was obtained as well as suggestions on how the process may be improved. The results indicate that consumers see the benefit of routine outcome measurement and believe it leads to improved care. More information about outcome measures, including the clinician-rated outcome measures, needs to be provided to consumers if they are to be engaged constructively in this exercise.

Consumer rights and protections

Science.gov (United States)

... care consumer rights; Rights of the health care consumer ... RIGHTS AND PROTECTIONS Here are ways that the health care law protects consumers. You must be covered, even if you have a pre-existing condition. No insurance plan can reject you, ...

NOAH--New York Online Access to Health: library collaboration for bilingual consumer health information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Voge, S

1998-07-01

New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) is a Web site that provides accurate, timely, relevant, and unbiased full-text health information in both English and Spanish. A joint project of The City University of New York Office of Library Services, The New York Academy of Medicine Library, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, and The New York Public Library, NOAH brings consumer health information to the public in New York City and around the world via the Internet. NOAH is an example of a successful collaboration among different types of libraries (academic, public, medical society) and voluntary health agencies to use new technologies to reach a very broad public. This paper discusses the involvement of the library partners in terms of the management and funding of the site. Web site construction is described including how the information is gathered and organized. Future plans and funding issues for NOAH are considered in terms of the expected increase in the need for consumer health information. NOAH can be reached at: www.noah.cuny.edu.

Consumer choice among Mutual Healthcare Purchasers: a feasible option for China?

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Weiwei; van de Ven, Wynand P M M

2013-11-01

In its 2009 blue print of healthcare reform, the Chinese government aimed to create a competitive health insurance market in order to increase efficiency in the health insurance sector. A major advantage of a competitive health insurance market is that insurers are stimulated to act as well-motivated prudent purchasers of healthcare on behalf of their enrolees, and that consumers can choose among these purchasers. To emphasize the insurers' role of purchasers of care we denote them, as well as other entities that can fulfil this role (e.g. fundholding community health centres), as 'Mutual Healthcare Purchasers' (MHPs). As feasible proposals for creating competition in China's health insurance sector have yet to be made, we suggest two potential approaches to create competition among MHPs: (1) separating finance and operation of social health insurance and allowing consumer choice among operators of social health insurance schemes; (2) allowing consumer choice among fund-holding community health centres. Although the benefits of competition are widely accepted in China, the problematic consequences of a free competitive health insurance market - especially in relation to affordability and accessibility - are generally neglected. To solve the problems of lack of affordability and inaccessibility that would occur in the case of unregulated competition among MHPs, at least the following regulations are proposed to the Chinese policy makers: a 'standard benefit package' for basic health insurance, a 'risk-equalization scheme', and 'open enrolment'. Potential obstacles for implementing a risk equalization scheme are examined based on theoretical arguments and international experiences. We conclude that allowing consumer choice among MHPs and implementing a risk equalization scheme in China is politically and technically complex. Therefore, the Chinese government should prepare carefully for a market-oriented reform in its healthcare sector and adopt a strategic approach

Health-related beliefs and consumer knowledge as determinants of fish consumption

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pieniak, Zuzanna; Verbeke, Wim; Scholderer, Joachim

2010-01-01

samples from Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Poland and Spain. The sample consisted of 4786 respondents, aged 18-84 years, who were responsible for food purchasing and cooking in the household. Results: European consumers had a very strong belief that eating fish is healthy. Consumers' belief......' knowledge. Conclusions: The findings of the present study suggest that communication should focus on health-related benefits other than fish consumption alone. Communicating that eating fish is healthy and stressing the health benefits of fish alone, as is still commonly performed (e.g. in generic promotion...... that eating fish is healthy, their interest in healthy eating and objective fish-related nutrition knowledge, positively, but only weakly, influenced fish consumption frequency. Subjective knowledge was found to be a stronger predictor of fish consumption than the previously noted factors. Age and education...

eHealth Literacy: Essential Skills for Consumer Health in a Networked World.

Science.gov (United States)

Norman, Cameron D; Skinner, Harvey A

2006-06-16

Electronic health tools provide little value if the intended users lack the skills to effectively engage them. With nearly half the adult population in the United States and Canada having literacy levels below what is needed to fully engage in an information-rich society, the implications for using information technology to promote health and aid in health care, or for eHealth, are considerable. Engaging with eHealth requires a skill set, or literacy, of its own. The concept of eHealth literacy is introduced and defined as the ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise health information from electronic sources and apply the knowledge gained to addressing or solving a health problem. In this paper, a model of eHealth literacy is introduced, comprised of multiple literacy types, including an outline of a set of fundamental skills consumers require to derive direct benefits from eHealth. A profile of each literacy type with examples of the problems patient-clients might present is provided along with a resource list to aid health practitioners in supporting literacy improvement with their patient-clients across each domain. Facets of the model are illustrated through a set of clinical cases to demonstrate how health practitioners can address eHealth literacy issues in clinical or public health practice. Potential future applications of the model are discussed.

Consumer and carer perspectives in the development of a mental health research, treatment and teaching facility: A thematic analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Katsikitis, M; Lane, B R; Ozols, I; Statham, D

2017-09-01

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Around the world, recovery has become a focus in mental health policy. The participation of people accessing mental health services (consumers) and carers of such individuals in decision-making related to services forms part of this recovery orientation and studies suggest positive outcomes following such participation. However, little is known about consumer and carer desires at the earliest stages of development of new services. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Consumers and carers desire changes to how mental health services are provided. Many factors affect consumer and carer experiences, including language use, physical design of spaces, accessibility, consideration of individual needs, practical help and how well care is continued from hospital to community settings. Carers may feel sidelined in treatment and be distressed as a result. They wish to be respected and involved in recovery. Consumers and carers wish for focus on broader health, with care taken to address physical health, psychological needs, social needs and treatment of the whole person rather than just an illness. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Consumers and carers desire partnership with professionals in recovery. Tokenistic participation should be avoided. Flexibility in how services are provided and less formality may help engage consumers and carers. Specifically, professionals may help by linking consumers and carers to services that address practical needs. Professionals should communicate with carers to draw on their expertise about the individual accessing the mental health service and help carers understand how they can assist the individual's recovery. Introduction Recovery-oriented mental health policies recognize consumer and carer participation in service decision-making as essential, but little is known about the views of these individuals in the earliest stages of service development. Aim This study sought consumer and carer

Nutrition Advertisements in Consumer Magazines: Health Implications for African Americans.

Science.gov (United States)

Pratt, Charlotte A.; Pratt, Cornelius B.

1996-01-01

Examines the "Ladies' Home Journal" and two popular consumer magazines that target blacks to determine the proportions of food and beverage advertisements, nutrition advertisements and their promotional messages, and the health implications they reveal. Findings reveal these magazines had a significantly higher number of alcohol ads,…

Rx for Consumer Health Information: The Magic is in the Right Source

OpenAIRE

Blue, Ana Rosa; Curry, Jane

2010-01-01

Health information is one of the most popular topics requested, in libraries, by the public. These handouts supported the session titled: "Rx for Consumer Health Information: The Magic is in the Right Source" presented at the 2010 BC Library Conference (theme: Seriously Entertaining: Learning through Fun and Games).

Enhancing the Effectiveness of Consumer-Focused Health Information Technology Systems Through eHealth Literacy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kayser, Lars; Kushniruk, Andre; Osborne, Richard H

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: eHealth systems and applications are increasingly focused on supporting consumers to directly engage with and use health care services. Involving end users in the design of these systems is critical to ensure a generation of usable and effective eHealth products and systems. Often...... the end users engaged for these participatory design processes are not actual representatives of the general population, and developers may have limited understanding about how well they might represent the full range of intended users of the eHealth products. As a consequence, resulting information...... model with the domains of a new concept of eHealth literacy. METHODS: This approach expands an existing method for supporting health IT system development, which advocates use of a three-dimensional user-task-context matrix to comprehensively identify the users of health IT systems, and what their needs...

Relationship between basic protective health behaviours and health related quality of life in Greek urban hospital employees.

Science.gov (United States)

Tountas, Yannis; Manios, Yannis; Dimitrakaki, Christine; Tzavara, Chara

2007-01-01

The study aimed to explore the association between the presence of several protective health behaviors and physical and mental wellbeing/functioning among healthy hospital employees in Greece. A randomly selected representative sample of 395 employees working in seven hospitals, both public and private, within the wider region of Athens participated in the study. Participants were assigned to the following professional categories: administrative, auxiliary and technical personnel, medical doctors and nurses. Four basic protective health behaviors were examined: following the Mediterranean diet, exercising, no smoking and moderate alcohol drinking. Employees' health related quality of life was assessed with the self-administered SF-36 generic health status measure. Technical and administrative hospital personnel reported more healthy behaviors than medical and auxiliary personnel. There was an increased likelihood of scoring higher in almost all SF-36 Physical health subscales in the accumulation of the above four protective heath behaviors. In terms of mental health, even the presence of two or more protective health behaviors significantly increase the score on most SF-36 Mental health subscales. Results indicate that the protective role of basic health behaviors extends beyond physical health to mental wellbeing.

Development of a culturally relevant consumer health information website for Harlem, New York.

Science.gov (United States)

Smith, Michelle; Morita, Haruka; Mateo, Katrina F; Nye, Andrea; Hutchinson, Carly; Cohall, Alwyn T

2014-09-01

The process of creating a geographically tailored health information website with ongoing feedback from community members is one of inquiry and discovery, frustration and triumph, and development and reevaluation. This article reviews the development and implementation of GetHealthyHarlem.org, a health literacy level-appropriate consumer health information website tailored to consumers in Harlem, New York City. From 2004 to 2009, the Harlem Health Promotion Center, one of 37 Prevention Research Centers in the United States, sought to determine the use and seeking of online health information in Harlem, New York City in order to further explore the possibility of providing online health information to this community. Specifically, this article details how we sought to identify gaps, concerns, and uses of online health information and health care seeking in this local, predominantly racial and ethnic minority population. We review how we identified and addressed the multitude of variables that play a role in determining the degree of success in finding and using online health information, and include discussions about the genesis of the website and our successes and challenges in the development and implementation stages. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

Analysis of health consumers' behavior using self-tracker for activity, sleep, and diet.

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Jeongeun

2014-06-01

With the ever-increasing availability of health information technology (HIT) enabling health consumers to measure, store, and manage their health data (e.g., self-tracking devices), more people are logging and managing their own health data for the purpose of promoting general well-being. To develop and implement effective and efficient strategies for improving personal monitoring devices, a rigorous theoretical framework to explain the health consumer's attitude, intention, and behavior needs to be established. The aim of this study is to verify the HIT acceptance model (HITAM) in the context of the health consumer's attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior of utilizing self-trackers. Furthermore, the study aims to gain better understanding of self-tracking behavior in the context of logging daily activity level, sleep patterns, and dietary habits. Forty-four female college students were selected as voluntary study participants. They used self-trackers for activity, sleep, and diet monitoring for 90 or more consecutive days. The logged data were analyzed and fitted to the HITAM to verify whether the model was suitable for capturing the various behavioral and intention-related characteristics observed. The overall fitness indices for the HITAM using the field data yielded an acceptable fitness to the model, with all path coefficients being statistically significant. The model accounts for 66.8% of the variance in perceived usefulness, 43.9% of the variance in perceived ease of use, 83.1% of the variance in attitude, and 48.4% of the variance in behavioral intention. The compliance ranking of self-tracking behavior, in order of decreasing compliance, was activity, sleep, and diet. This ranking was consistent with that of ease of use of the personal monitoring device used in the study. The HITAM was verified for its ability to describe the health consumer's attitude, behavioral intention, and behavior. The analysis indicated that the ease of use of a particular

Consumer-Driven Health Care: Answer to Global Competition or Threat to Social Justice?

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, Carol L.

2009-01-01

Health planning in the United States is rapidly approaching a fork in the policy road, with one direction leading the nation toward a universal plan with strong government involvement and the other direction strengthening existing market-based reforms and preserving a commercial health insurance industry. "Consumer-driven health care," a slogan…

Effective US health system websites: establishing benchmarks and standards for effective consumer engagement.

Science.gov (United States)

Ford, Eric W; Huerta, Timothy R; Schilhavy, Richard A M; Menachemi, Nir

2012-01-01

Hospitals and health systems are playing increasingly important roles as care coordination hubs and consumer information sources. In particular, the accountable care organization (ACO) and medical home models promoted in the Affordable Care Act place hospitals at the center of many activities related to health information exchange. Therefore, it is important for these organizations to have effective websites, and the need for a social media presence to connect with consumers is growing quickly. The purpose of this study is to assess the websites of hospitals and health systems on four dimensions: accessibility, content, marketing, and technology. In addition, an overall score is calculated to identify the top 25 hospital and health system websites. Specific website elements that healthcare managers can inspect visually are described for each dimension in the discussion section. Generally, hospital and health system websites can be more effective from an end user's perspective. In particular, hospitals and health systems lagged on the accessibility scale that measures the education level required to understand the language used on a site. The scale also assesses the extent to which web pages are designed for ease of movement from page to page using embedded links. Given that healthcare consumers come from every demographic and stratum of society, it is important that user-friendliness be optimized for a broadly defined audience. Hospital and health system websites can also be improved on the technology scale, as many sites do not return clear descriptions of links to search engines such as Google and Bing that use webcrawlers to collect information.

Consumer health information on the Internet about carpal tunnel syndrome: indicators of accuracy.

Science.gov (United States)

Frické, Martin; Fallis, Don; Jones, Marci; Luszko, Gianna M

2005-02-01

To identify indicators of accuracy for consumer health information on the Internet. Several popular search engines were used to find websites on carpal tunnel syndrome. The accuracy and completeness of these sites were determined by orthopedic surgeons. It also was noted whether proposed indicators of accuracy were present. The correlation between proposed indicators of accuracy and the actual accuracy of the sites was calculated. A total of 116 websites and 29 candidate indicators were examined. A high Google toolbar rating of the main page of a site, many inlinks to the main page of a site, and an unbiased presentation of information on carpal tunnel syndrome were considered genuine indicators of accuracy. Many proposed indicators taken from published guidelines did not indicate accuracy (e.g., the author or sponsor having medical credentials). There are genuine indicators of the accuracy of health information on the Internet. Determining these indicators, and informing providers and consumers of health information about them, would be useful for public health care. Published guidelines have proposed many indicators that are obvious to unaided observation by the consumer. However, indicators that make use of the invisible link structure of the Internet are more reliable guides to accurate information on carpal tunnel syndrome.

Factors influencing consumer dietary health preventative behaviours.

Science.gov (United States)

Petrovici, Dan A; Ritson, Christopher

2006-09-01

The deterioration of the health status of the Romanian population during the economic transition from a centrally planned to a free market economy has been linked to lifestyles factors (e.g. diet) regarded as a main determinants of the disparity in life expectancy between Eastern and Western Europe. Reforms in the health care system in this transition economy aim to focus on preventive action. The purpose of this study was to identify the factors that impact on the individual decision to engage in Dietary Health Preventive Behaviour (DHPB) and investigate their influence in the context of an adapted health cognition model. A population-based study recruited 485 adult respondents using random route sampling and face-to-face administered questionnaires. Respondents' health motivation, beliefs that diet can prevent disease, knowledge about nutrition, level of education attainment and age have a positive influence on DHPB. Perceived barriers to healthy eating have a negative impact on alcohol moderation. The information acquisition behaviour (frequency of reading food labels) is negatively predicted by age and positively predicted by health motivation, education, self-reported knowledge about nutrition and household financial status. A significant segment of respondents believe they are not susceptible to the elicited diseases. Health promotion strategies should aim to change the judgments of health risk. The adaptation of the Health Belief Model and the Theory of Health Preventive Behaviour represents a valid framework of predicting DHPB. The negative sign of perceived threat of disease on DHPB may suggest that, under an income constraint, consumers tend to trade off long-term health benefits for short-term benefits. This cautions against the use of negative messages in public health campaigns. Raising the awareness of diet-disease relationships, knowledge about nutrition (particularly sources and risks associated with dietary fat and cholesterol) may induce people to

[A basic health care center. Care oriented at the community].

Science.gov (United States)

Marquilles Bonet, C; Quesada Santaulaira, L; Florensa Roca, C; Piñol Jové, M A; Cruz Esteve, I; Rodríguez Rosich, A

1997-01-01

Principle problems of a basic health care area (Lérida) are identified. This area, which has a patient case load of 22,244 people, was studied during the winter of 1993-94 by using information from various sources. Results indicate that the population of this community are basically young, urban, have a high cultural and social level, and are mostly employed. The principle causes of mortality are the same as in the rest of Cataluña. Diseases that cause the most working days lost to illness are: respiratory, mental and bone-joint problems. The most frequent diseases seen in the clinic are: hypertension, respiratory infections, endocrine and mental. An overall look at the state of health of these patients show that the principle problems are: tobacco use, high blood pressure, arthritis, lumbago, depression, stroke, diabetes and breast cancer.

EPHECT III: Health risk assessment of exposure to household consumer products.

Science.gov (United States)

Trantallidi, M; Dimitroulopoulou, C; Wolkoff, P; Kephalopoulos, S; Carrer, P

2015-12-01

In the framework of the EU EPHECT project (Emissions, Exposure Patterns and Health Effects of Consumer Products in the EU), irritative and respiratory effects were assessed in relation to acute (30-min) and long-term (24-h) inhalation exposure to key and emerging indoor air pollutants emitted during household use of selected consumer products. A detailed Health Risk Assessment (HRA) was performed for five selected pollutants of respiratory health relevance, namely acrolein, formaldehyde, naphthalene, d-limonene and α-pinene. For each pollutant, the Critical Exposure Limit (CEL) was compared to indoor air concentrations and exposure estimates for the use of 15 selected consumer products by two population groups (housekeepers and retired people) in the four geographical regions of Europe (North, West, South, East), which were derived previously based on microenvironmental modelling. For the present HRA, health-based CELs were derived for certain compounds in case indoor air quality guidelines were not available by the World Health Organization for end-points relevant to the current study. For each pollutant, the highest indoor air concentrations in each microenvironment and exposure estimates across home microenvironments during the day were lower than the corresponding acute and long-term CELs. However, considerable contributions, especially to acute exposures, were obtained in some cases, such as formaldehyde emissions resulting from single product use of a floor cleaning agent (82% CEL), a candle (10% CEL) and an electric air freshener (17% CEL). Regarding multiple product use, the case of 30-min formaldehyde exposure reaching 34% CEL when eight product classes were used across home microenvironments, i.e. all-purpose/kitchen/floor cleaning agents, furniture/floor polish, combustible/electric air fresheners, and perfume, needs to be highlighted. Such estimated values should be evaluated with caution, as these may be attributed to the exposure scenarios

Organizational culture, climate and person-environment fit: Relationships with employment outcomes for mental health consumers.

Science.gov (United States)

Kirsh, Bonnie

2000-01-01

Although the effects of organizational culture, climate and person-environment fit have been widely studied in the general population, little research exists in this area regarding consumers of mental health services. This research focuses on organizational culture, climate and person-environment fit and their relationship to employment outcomes for mental health consumers. It also examines specific components of organizational culture which are both desired and perceived by mental health consumers. Thirty-six (N=36) consumers were recruited into one of two groups: individuals who were employed at the time of the study and those who had recently left their jobs. Instruments used were the Workplace Climate Questionnaire (WCQ) and the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP). Significant differences were found between groups along the dimensions of organizational culture/climate and person-environment fit. Although few differences were found between groups with regards to desired workplace characteristics, many differences in perceived characteristics were found. The findings point to the importance of assessing the organizational culture/climate and its congruence with individuals' value systems as part of the work integration process.

Impact of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) on patient health-related behaviors and issues.

Science.gov (United States)

Polen, Hyla H; Khanfar, Nile M; Clauson, Kevin A

2009-01-01

The pharmaceutical industry spends billions of dollars annually on direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA). Patient perspectives on the impact of televised DTCA on health-related behaviors and issues were assessed by means of a 68-question survey. 58.6% of respondents believed that DTCA allowed consumers to have a more active role in managing their health. However, 27.6% felt DTCA caused confusion, and an alarming 17.8% of respondents stopped taking their medication because of concerns about serious side effects mentioned in DTCA. Overall, participants believed DTCA plays a useful role in health self-management; however, a considerable percentage thought that the cost outweighs the benefits.

Collaborating with consumer and community representatives in health and medical research in Australia: results from an evaluation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartu Anne E

2011-05-01

consumer representatives and researchers. The National Health and Medical Research Council in Australia expects researchers to work in partnership and involve consumer and community representatives in health and medical research, and to evaluate community and consumer participation. It is important to demonstrate whether consumer and community participation makes a difference to health and medical research.

Collaborating with consumer and community representatives in health and medical research in Australia: results from an evaluation.

Science.gov (United States)

Payne, Janet M; D'Antoine, Heather A; France, Kathryn E; McKenzie, Anne E; Henley, Nadine; Bartu, Anne E; Elliott, Elizabeth J; Bower, Carol

2011-05-14

To collaborate with consumer and community representatives in the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project from 2006-2008 http://www.ichr.uwa.edu.au/alcoholandpregnancy and evaluate researchers' and consumer and community representatives' perceptions of the process, context and impact of consumer and community participation in the project. We formed two reference groups and sought consumer and community representatives' perspectives on all aspects of the project over a three year period. We developed an evaluation framework and asked consumer and community representatives and researchers to complete a self-administered questionnaire at the end of the project. Fifteen researchers (93.8%) and seven (53.8%) consumer and community representatives completed a questionnaire. Most consumer and community representatives agreed that the process and context measures of their participation had been achieved. Both researchers and consumer and community representatives identified areas for improvement and offered suggestions how these could be improved for future research. Researchers thought consumer and community participation contributed to project outputs and outcomes by enhancing scientific and ethical standards, providing legitimacy and authority, and increasing the project's credibility and participation. They saw it was fundamental to the research process and acknowledged consumer and community representatives for their excellent contribution. Consumer and community representatives were able to directly influence decisions about the research. They thought that consumer and community participation had significant influence on the success of project outputs and outcomes. Consumer and community participation is an essential component of good research practice and contributed to the Alcohol and Pregnancy Project by enhancing research processes, outputs and outcomes, and this participation was valued by community and consumer representatives and researchers. The National Health and

42 CFR 417.104 - Payment for basic health services.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

...) Nominal differentials in rates may be established to reflect differences in marketing costs and the... of the total cost of providing any single service to its enrollees, nor in the aggregate more than 20 percent of the total cost of providing all basic health services. (ii) To insure that copayments are not a...

Consumption, Health Attitudes and Perception Toward Fast Food Among Arab Consumers in Kuwait: Gender Differences

OpenAIRE

Musaiger, Abdulrahman O.

2014-01-01

This study aimed to investigate gender differences in the fast food intake, health attitudes, and perceptions of fast food among adult Arab consumers aged 19 to 65 years in Kuwait. A total of 499 consumers (252 males, 247 females) were selected at convenience from three shopping malls in Kuwait City. The consumers were interviewed using a specially designed questionnaire. The findings revealed that men were more frequently consumed fast food than women (p < 0.001). Men were significantly more...

Mental health consumer parents' recommendations for designing psychoeducation interventions for their minor children.