WorldWideScience

Sample records for patients information-seeking roles

  1. Factors affecting patients' online health information-seeking behaviours: The role of the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graffigna, Guendalina; Barello, Serena; Bonanomi, Andrea; Riva, Giuseppe

    2017-10-01

    To identify the variables affecting patients' online health information-seeking behaviours by examining the relationships between patient participation in their healthcare and online health information-seeking behaviours. A cross-sectional survey of Italian chronic patients (N=352) was conducted on patient's online health information-seeking behaviours and patient participation-related variables. Structural equation modeling analysis was conducted to test the hypothesis. This study showed how the healthcare professionals' ability to support chronic patients' autonomy affect patients' participation in their healthcare and patient's online health information-seeking behaviours. However, results do not confirm that the frequency of patients' online health-information seeking behavior has an impact on their adherence to medical prescriptions. Assuming a psychosocial perspective, we have discussed how patients' engagement - conceived as the level of their emotional elaboration of the health condition - affects the patients' ability to search for and manage online health information. To improve the effectiveness of patients' online health information-seeking behaviours and to enhance the effectiveness of technological interventions in this field, healthcare providers should target assessing and improving patient engagement and patient empowerment in their healthcare. It is important that health professionals acknowledge patients' online health information-seeking behaviours that they discuss the information offered by patients and guide them to reliable and accurate web sources. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  2. Information-seeking experiences and decision-making roles of Japanese women with breast cancer.

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    Nakashima, Mitsuyo; Kuroki, Syoji; Shinkoda, Harumi; Suetsugu, Yoshiko; Shimada, Kazuo; Kaku, Tsunehisa

    2012-06-01

    To investigate the information-seeking experiences and decision-making roles of Japanese women with breast cancer, to examine the relationship between information-seeking experiences and decision-making roles, and to explore the factors that influenced taking a more active role than the preferred role during the treatment decision-making process. In a cross-sectional study, women with breast cancer were retrospectively administered the Control Preferences Scale and the Information-Seeking Experience Scale. The Chi-Square test was used to compare differences among individual variables in decision-making roles and information-seeking experiences. Logistic regression analysis was used to explore the factors that influenced taking a more active role than the preferred role. One hundred and four patients with breast cancer participated in the investigation. Eighty-five patients (78%) perceived themselves as having knowledge of breast cancer and most patients (92%) sought information on breast cancer. The preferred roles in decision-making that they reported having before treatment were 18% active, 69% collaborative and 13% passive. The actual roles they perceived having experienced were 27% active, 43% collaborative and 30% passive. Although there was concordance of preferred and actual role for only 59% of the women, most patients reported that they were satisfied with their decision-making. Many women with breast cancer reported negative experiences with information seeking, including wanting more information (49%), expending a lot of effort to obtain the information needed (53%), not having enough time to obtain needed information (55%), frustration during the search for information (44%), concerns about the quality of the information (45%) and difficulty understanding the information received (49%). This study revealed that having a more active actual role than the initial preferred role was associated with emotional expression to the physician, having undergone

  3. Newcomer information seeking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moring, Camilla Elisabeth

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: Research on socialization and learning processes among organizational newcomers is offering valuable insight into the role of information seeking in the workplace, and to why, and how newcomers seek information when entering a new organization. Analysis: The aim of the paper is to o...... and corporeal information sources newcomers learn about the organizational practice, and the knowledge needed in order to develop as a competent practitioner and become a full member of the organization.......Introduction: Research on socialization and learning processes among organizational newcomers is offering valuable insight into the role of information seeking in the workplace, and to why, and how newcomers seek information when entering a new organization. Analysis: The aim of the paper...... is to outline and discuss the significance of information seeking in newcomer socialization and learning, and analyse how different approaches influence our understanding of the role of information seeking in the workplace. Results: It is argued, that a development in research on newcomer information seeking...

  4. The Role of Personality in Musicians' Information Seeking for Creativity

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    Kostagiolas, Petros; Lavranos, Charilaos; Martzoukou, Konstantina; Papadatos, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: This paper explores the relationship between musicians' information seeking behaviour and their personality traits within the context of musical creativity. Although previous research has addressed different socio-technological and behavioral aspects of music information seeking, the role of personality characteristics around…

  5. Hospitals need to customise care according to patients' differing information-seeking behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riiskjær, Erik; Ammentorp, Jette; Nielsen, Jørn Flohr

    2014-01-01

    INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to describe how often patients seek information about their disease in connection with contact to a hospital and to elucidate how information-seeking behaviour is related to the patients' perception of this contact. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was based...... on patient surveys from the Danish county of Aarhus from 1999 to 2006 including eight public hospitals. The patients' information-seeking behaviour was related to patient characteristics, organisational context and patient perceptions. RESULTS: Among the 75,769 patients who responded, 33.4% had actively...

  6. Patients' information-seeking activity is associated with treatment compliance in inflammatory bowel disease patients.

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    Pittet, Valérie; Rogler, Gerhard; Mottet, Christian; Froehlich, Florian; Michetti, Pierre; de Saussure, Philippe; Burnand, Bernard; Vader, John-Paul

    2014-06-01

    Despite the chronic and relapsing nature of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), at least 30% to 45% of the patients are noncompliant to treatment. IBD patients often seek information about their disease. To examine the association between information-seeking activity and treatment compliance among IBD patients. To compare information sources and concerns between compliant and noncompliant patients. We used data from the Swiss IBD cohort study, and from a qualitative survey conducted to assess information sources and concerns. Crude and adjusted odds ratios (OR) for noncompliance were calculated. Differences in the proportions of information sources and concerns were compared between compliant and noncompliant patients. A total of 512 patients were included. About 18% (n = 99) of patients were reported to be noncompliant to drug treatment and two-thirds (n = 353) were information seekers. The OR for noncompliance among information seekers was 2.44 (95%CI: 1.34-4.41) after adjustment for confounders and major risk factors. General practitioners were 15.2% more often consulted (p = 0.019) among compliant patients, as were books and television (+13.1%; p = 0.048), whereas no difference in proportions was observed for sources such as internet or gastroenterologists. Information on tips for disease management were 14.2% more often sought among noncompliant patients (p = 0.028). No difference was observed for concerns on research and development on IBD or therapies. In Switzerland, IBD patients noncompliant to treatment were more often seeking disease-related information than compliant patients. Daily management of symptoms and disease seemed to be an important concern of those patients.

  7. Health-Related Information-Seeking Behaviors and Preferences Among Mexican Patients with Cancer.

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    Soto-Perez-de-Celis, Enrique; Perez-Montessoro, Viridiana; Rojo-Castillo, Patricia; Chavarri-Guerra, Yanin

    2018-06-01

    Understanding the preferred sources of health-related information among patients with cancer is essential for designing successful cancer education and prevention strategies. However, little is known about health-related information-seeking practices among patients living in low- and middle-income countries. We studied the preferred sources of health-related information among Mexican patients with cancer and explored which factors influence these choices. The health-related information-seeking practices among patients with cancer treated at a public hospital in Mexico City were evaluated using questions from the Spanish Version of the Health Information National Trends Survey. The characteristics of patients who sought health-related information, and of those who chose the internet as their preferred source of information, were analyzed. Fisher's exact test and logistic regression were used for statistical analyses. One hundred forty-eight patients answered the survey (median age 60 years, 70% female), of which 88 (59%) had sought for health-related information. On multivariate analysis, the only characteristic associated with lower odds of seeking health-related information was increasing age (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.90-0.97). Sixty-one respondents (69%) listed the internet as their preferred source of health-related information. On multivariate analysis, only being of the female gender (OR 4.9, 95% CI 1.3-18.3) was related with higher odds of preferring other sources of information over the internet. Among Mexican patients with cancer, the Internet is the most widely used information source. Older age was the characteristic most strongly associated with not seeking health-related information, while being female was strongly associated with preferring other sources of information over the Internet.

  8. Internet Health Information Seeking and the Patient-Physician Relationship: A Systematic Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-01-01

    Background With online health information becoming increasingly popular among patients, concerns have been raised about the impact of patients’ Internet health information-seeking behavior on their relationship with physicians. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the influence of online health information on the patient-physician relationship. Objective Our objective was to systematically review existing research on patients’ Internet health information seeking and its influence on the patient-physician relationship. Methods We systematically searched PubMed and key medical informatics, information systems, and communication science journals covering the period of 2000 to 2015. Empirical articles that were in English were included. We analyzed the content covering themes in 2 broad categories: factors affecting patients’ discussion of online findings during consultations and implications for the patient-physician relationship. Results We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria and the quality requirement for the review. The articles revealed barriers, facilitators, and demographic factors that influence patients’ disclosure of online health information during consultations and the different mechanisms patients use to reveal these findings. Our review also showed the mechanisms in which online information could influence patients’ relationship with their physicians. Conclusions Results of this review contribute to the understanding of the patient-physician relationship of Internet-informed patients. Our main findings show that Internet health information seeking can improve the patient-physician relationship depending on whether the patient discusses the information with the physician and on their prior relationship. As patients have better access to health information through the Internet and expect to be more engaged in health decision making, traditional models of the patient-provider relationship and communication strategies must be

  9. Understanding the medicines information-seeking behaviour and information needs of South African long-term patients with limited literacy skills.

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    Patel, Sonal; Dowse, Ros

    2015-10-01

    Although much health information-seeking behaviour (HISB) research has been reported in patients with good literacy skills, little is known about HISB in patients with limited literacy skills served by under-resourced health-care systems. To investigate medicine information-seeking behaviour and information needs in patients with limited literacy. Using a question guide, four focus group discussions (FGDs) were conducted to explore themes related to information needs, information-seeking practices and awareness of and ability to utilize information sources. Twenty-two isiXhosa-speaking long-term patients with limited formal education were recruited from a primary health-care clinic in South Africa. Discussions were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. NVivo(®) was used for initial coding of transcripts. Codes were analysed, and potential themes and subthemes in the entire data set were identified and refined. The results of this study reflect a passive, disempowered patient. Poor awareness of information sources, lack of health-related knowledge and stigma contributed to a lack of information-seeking practice, thus potentially adversely influencing patient-provider interactions. Patients neither asked questions nor were encouraged to ask questions. All expressed an unmet need for information and a desire for receiving the illustrated written medicines-related information displayed in the FGDs. The main sources of information were health-care professionals, followed by family and friends. The significant level of patient disempowerment and passivity reported amongst patients underpinned their inability to actively seek information. Neither sources of information nor types of appropriate medicines information could be identified. Unmet information needs and a desire for information were reported. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  10. "Whoever increases his knowledge merely increases his heartache." Moral tensions in heart surgery patients' and their spouses' talk about information seeking. Discourse analysis, Social constructionism, Heart surgery, Information seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tuominen Kimmo

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper analyses accounts of information behaviour that are produced by 20 heart surgery patients and their spouses. It is shown that patients and their significant others have to act in a context in which health ideologies stressing self sufficiency and patient compliance play a strong role. Thus, the analysed accounts and narratives of information seeking reflect moral demands that ill persons and their significant others are facing in contemporary society. The author uses social constructionist discourse analysis to examine how the interviewees have to relate their descriptions of information practices to existing moral presuppositions on how rational individuals should behave.

  11. Online information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder: results from an international multisite survey.

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    Conell, Jörn; Bauer, Rita; Glenn, Tasha; Alda, Martin; Ardau, Raffaella; Baune, Bernhard T; Berk, Michael; Bersudsky, Yuly; Bilderbeck, Amy; Bocchetta, Alberto; Bossini, Letizia; Paredes Castro, Angela Marianne; Cheung, Eric Yat Wo; Chillotti, Caterina; Choppin, Sabine; Del Zompo, Maria; Dias, Rodrigo; Dodd, Seetal; Duffy, Anne; Etain, Bruno; Fagiolini, Andrea; Garnham, Julie; Geddes, John; Gildebro, Jonas; Gonzalez-Pinto, Ana; Goodwin, Guy M; Grof, Paul; Harima, Hirohiko; Hassel, Stefanie; Henry, Chantal; Hidalgo-Mazzei, Diego; Kapur, Vaisnvy; Kunigiri, Girish; Lafer, Beny; Lam, Chun; Larsen, Erik Roj; Lewitzka, Ute; Licht, Rasmus; Lund, Anne Hvenegaard; Misiak, Blazej; Piotrowski, Patryk; Monteith, Scott; Munoz, Rodrigo; Nakanotani, Takako; Nielsen, René E; O'Donovan, Claire; Okamura, Yasushi; Osher, Yamima; Reif, Andreas; Ritter, Philipp; Rybakowski, Janusz K; Sagduyu, Kemal; Sawchuk, Brett; Schwartz, Elon; Scippa, Ângela Miranda; Slaney, Claire; Sulaiman, Ahmad Hatim; Suominen, Kirsi; Suwalska, Aleksandra; Tam, Peter; Tatebayashi, Yoshitaka; Tondo, Leonardo; Vieta, Eduard; Vinberg, Maj; Viswanath, Biju; Volkert, Julia; Zetin, Mark; Zorrilla, Iñaki; Whybrow, Peter C; Bauer, Michael

    2016-12-01

    Information seeking is an important coping mechanism for dealing with chronic illness. Despite a growing number of mental health websites, there is little understanding of how patients with bipolar disorder use the Internet to seek information. A 39 question, paper-based, anonymous survey, translated into 12 languages, was completed by 1222 patients in 17 countries as a convenience sample between March 2014 and January 2016. All patients had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder from a psychiatrist. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations to account for correlated data. 976 (81 % of 1212 valid responses) of the patients used the Internet, and of these 750 (77 %) looked for information on bipolar disorder. When looking online for information, 89 % used a computer rather than a smartphone, and 79 % started with a general search engine. The primary reasons for searching were drug side effects (51 %), to learn anonymously (43 %), and for help coping (39 %). About 1/3 rated their search skills as expert, and 2/3 as basic or intermediate. 59 % preferred a website on mental illness and 33 % preferred Wikipedia. Only 20 % read or participated in online support groups. Most patients (62 %) searched a couple times a year. Online information seeking helped about 2/3 to cope (41 % of the entire sample). About 2/3 did not discuss Internet findings with their doctor. Online information seeking helps many patients to cope although alternative information sources remain important. Most patients do not discuss Internet findings with their doctor, and concern remains about the quality of online information especially related to prescription drugs. Patients may not rate search skills accurately, and may not understand limitations of online privacy. More patient education about online information searching is needed and physicians should recommend a few high quality websites.

  12. Roles for Information professionals in patient education: Librarians' perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Susan L. MacDonald

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Through an examination of librarians’ contributions to the PEPTalk research project, this article highlights roles for information professionals at various stages in the design and clinical implementation of an information system that delivers patient education. The Personal Education Plan (PEPTalk was a collaborative, multi-disciplinary research project (2005-2006 based at the University Health Network’s Princess Margaret Hospital that designed an information system to provide web-based health information resources to both patients and clinicians under a shared umbrella of patient education. This article provides an overview of the PEPTalk project methods and outcomes, and documents the contributions of librarians throughout the design and clinical implementation stages of the project. Librarians brought expertise about information seeking behaviours of both patients and clinicians to the project; liaised across institutional and professional boundaries; developed a classification system for online learning objects, and educated project team about information and health literacies. The contributions of librarians on the PEPTalk project illustrate the need for boundary spanners, information brokers, knowledge translators, and change champions in the design and implementation of patient education delivery systems. There are new roles emergent at the intersections of clinical practice and health information provision. There is a need for the traditional skills and expertise of librarians and other information professionals in tailoring health information. Yet the design and implementation of patient education systems also require the development of new skills and the application of advanced information literacy as it pertains to both clinicians and patients.

  13. Collaborative information seeking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum, Morten

    2008-01-01

    Since common ground is pivotal to collaboration, this paper proposes to define collaborative information seeking as the combined activity of information seeking and collaborative grounding. While information-seeking activities are necessary for collaborating actors to acquire new information......, the activities involved in information seeking are often performed by varying subgroups of actors. Consequently, collaborative grounding is necessary to share information among collaborating actors and, thereby, establish and maintain the common ground necessary for their collaborative work. By focusing...... on the collaborative level, collaborative information seeking aims to avoid both individual reductionism and group reductionism, while at the same time recognizing that only some information and understanding need be shared....

  14. Antecedent characteristics of online cancer information seeking among rural breast cancer patients: an application of the Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) model.

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    Shaw, Bret R; Dubenske, Lori L; Han, Jeong Yeob; Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila; Bush, Nigel; Gustafson, David H; McTavish, Fiona

    2008-06-01

    Little research has examined the antecedent characteristics of patients most likely to seek online cancer information. This study employs the Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) model as a framework to understand what psychosocial characteristics precede online cancer-related information seeking among rural breast cancer patients who often have fewer health care providers and limited local support services. Examining 144 patients who were provided free computer hardware, Internet access, and training for how to use an interactive cancer communication system, pretest survey scores indicating patients' psychosocial status were correlated with specific online cancer information seeking behaviors. Each of the factors specified by the C-SHIP model had significant relationships with online cancer information seeking behaviors, with the strongest findings emerging for cancer-relevant encodings and self-construals, cancer-relevant beliefs and expectancies, and cancer-relevant self-regulatory competencies and skills. Specifically, patients with more negative appraisals in these domains were more likely to seek out online cancer information. Additionally, antecedent variables associated with the C-SHIP model had more frequent relationships with experiential information as compared with to didactic information. This study supports the applicability of the model to discern why people afflicted with cancer may seek online information to cope with their disease.

  15. Antecedent Characteristics of Online Cancer Information Seeking Among Rural Breast Cancer Patients: An Application of the Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaw, Bret R.; DuBenske, Lori L.; Han, Jeong Yeob; Cofta-Woerpel, Ludmila; Bush, Nigel; Gustafson, David H.; McTavish, Fiona

    2013-01-01

    Little research has examined the antecedent characteristics of patients most likely to seek online cancer information. This study employs the Cognitive-Social Health Information Processing (C-SHIP) model as a framework to understand what psychosocial characteristics precede online cancer-related information seeking among rural breast cancer patients who often have fewer healthcare providers and limited local support services. Examining 144 patients who were provided free computer hardware, Internet access and training for how to use an Interactive Cancer Communication System, pre-test survey scores indicating patients’ psychosocial status were correlated with specific online cancer information seeking behaviors. Each of the factors specified by the C-SHIP model had significant relationships with online cancer information seeking behaviors with the strongest findings emerging for cancer-relevant encodings and self-construals, cancer-relevant beliefs and expectancies and cancer-relevant self-regulatory competencies and skills. Specifically, patients with more negative appraisals in these domains were more likely to seek out online cancer information. Additionally, antecedent variables associated with the C-SHIP model had more frequent relationships with experiential information as compared to didactic information. This study supports the applicability of the model to discern why people afflicted with cancer may seek online information to cope with their disease. PMID:18569368

  16. Colon cancer patient information seeking and the adoption of targeted therapy for on-label and off-label indications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gray, Stacy W; Armstrong, Katrina; Demichele, Angela; Schwartz, J Sanford; Hornik, Robert C

    2009-04-01

    Despite the rise in publicly available cancer information, little is known about the association between patient information seeking and the adoption of cancer technologies. The authors of this report investigated the relation between patient information seeking and awareness about and receipt of novel targeted therapy (TT) for colon cancer among patients for whom therapy is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and among patients for whom therapy is not FDA approved. A retrospective, population-based survey of 633 colon cancer patients were identified through the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry. Outcome measures were self-reported awareness about and receipt of TT (bevacizumab and cetuximab). After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, high levels of treatment information seeking were associated strongly with hearing about TT (odds ratio [OR], 2.83; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.49-5.38) and receiving TT (OR, 3.22; 95% CI, 1.36-7.62). These associations were present for patients with metastatic disease, for whom the use of TT is FDA approved, and for patients with localized disease, for whom the use of TT is not FDA approved (P for interactions = .29). Internet use (OR, 2.88; 95% CI, 1.40-5.94) and newspaper/magazine use (OR, 3.44; 95% CI, 1.34-8.84) were associated with hearing about TT. Seeking information from nontreating physicians was associated with hearing about TT (OR, 1.95; 95% CI, 1.03-3.68) and receiving TT (OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 1.16-5.97). Patient information seeking was related to the adoption of TT for colon cancer in both appropriate and inappropriate clinical settings. These findings emphasize the importance of exploring patient influence on physician prescribing patterns and understanding the impact of information seeking on cancer outcomes. (c) 2009 American Cancer Society

  17. Diabetes-related information-seeking behaviour: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuske, Silke; Schiereck, Tim; Grobosch, Sandra; Paduch, Andrea; Droste, Sigrid; Halbach, Sarah; Icks, Andrea

    2017-10-24

    pharmacological interactions' were the most frequently identified content of information. Seven main categories including associated variables were identified, e.g. 'socioeconomic', 'duration of DM', and 'lifestyle'. The systematic review provides a valuable overview of available knowledge on the information-seeking behaviour of people with diabetes mellitus, although there are only a few studies. There was a high heterogeneity regarding the research question, design, methods and participants. Although the Internet is often used to seek information, health professionals still play an important role in supporting their patients' information-seeking behaviour. Specific needs of people with diabetes must be taken into consideration. PROSPERO CRD42016037312.

  18. 250 Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviour and Use ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    User

    constitute a user group of library services distinct from the faculty model. .... Also, very vital to note is the quality of information sources that are available to the ... libraries online resources play substantial role in students information seeking.

  19. Predictors of Online Cancer Prevention Information Seeking Among Patients and Caregivers Across the Digital Divide: A Cross-Sectional, Correlational Study.

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    Ginossar, Tamar

    2016-03-09

    The digital divide is a recognized public health problem caused by social determinants that exacerbate health disparities. Despite the "tectonic shift" in how most of the public obtains cancer information, underserved communities are at increased risk of being digitally marginalized. However, research that examines factors underlying eHealth information seeking in diverse health contexts is lacking. The aim of this paper is to explore preferences and use of eHealth cancer prevention information (CPI) among patients and caregivers attending a minority-serving oncology clinic using the comprehensive model of information seeking as a theoretical framework. Specifically, the study examined the role of social determinants and prevention orientation in differences in preference and use of the Internet for CPI seeking among this diverse sample. Survey methodology was used to identify social determinants and behavioral factors, including prevention orientation as correlates and predictors of respondents' (n=252) preferences and use of eHealth for CPI seeking. Less than half (112/252, 44.4%) of respondents said that if faced with the need to seek CPI, they would seek this information online. In the final logistic regression model, education, ethnicity, age, and prevention orientation made significant contributions to the model (Pdigitally underserved racial/ethnic group. Finally, additional factors underlying these differences should be explored to better tailor CPI eHealth information to diverse communities' information needs. ©Tamar Ginossar. Originally published in JMIR Cancer (http://cancer.jmir.org), 09.03.2016.

  20. Teaching information seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Louise Limberg

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The article argues for a closer association between information seeking research and the practices of teaching information seeking. Findings are presented from a research project on information seeking, didactics and learning (IDOL investigating librarians' and teachers' experiences of teaching information seeking. Method. Thirteen teachers and five librarians, teaching 12-19 year-old students in three schools, participated. Forty-five interviews were conducted over a period of three years. Analysis. The IDOL project adopted a phenomenographic approach with the purpose of describing patterns of variation in experiences. The findings were also analysed by way of relating them to four competing approaches to the mediation of information literacy. Results. A gap was identified between experiences of teaching content that focused on sources and order, and experiences of assessment criteria applied to students' work that focused on the importance of correct facts and the analysis of information. These findings indicate a highly restricted range of teaching contents when compared with the four theoretical approaches to the mediation of information literacy. Conclusion. Teaching information seeking might be enhanced by a wider repertoire of contents reflecting more varied theoretical understanding developed in information seeking research, particularly as regards the importance of content and context related to user perspectives.

  1. Association of Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior and Self-Care Activities Among Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jamal, Amr; Khan, Samina A; AlHumud, Ahmed; Al-Duhyyim, Abdulaziz; Alrashed, Mohammed; Bin Shabr, Faisal; Alteraif, Alwalid; Almuziri, Abdullah; Househ, Mowafa; Qureshi, Riaz

    2015-08-12

    Health information obtained from the Internet has an impact on patient health care outcomes. There is a growing concern over the quality of online health information sources used by diabetic patients because little is known about their health information-seeking behavior and the impact this behavior has on their diabetes-related self-care, in particular in the Middle East setting. The aim of this study was to determine the online health-related information-seeking behavior among adult type 2 diabetic patients in the Middle East and the impact of their online health-related information-seeking behavior on their self-care activities. A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 344 patients with type 2 diabetes attending inpatient and outpatient primary health care clinics at 2 teaching hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The main outcome measures included the ability of patients to access the Internet, their ability to use the Internet to search for health-related information, and their responses to Internet searches in relation to their self-care activities. Further analysis of differences based on age, gender, sociodemographic, and diabetes-related self-care activities among online health-related information seekers and nononline health-related information seekers was conducted. Among the 344 patients, 74.1% (255/344) were male with a mean age of 53.5 (SD 13.8) years. Only 39.0% (134/344) were Internet users; 71.6% (96/134) of them used the Internet for seeking health-related information. Most participants reported that their primary source of health-related information was their physician (216/344, 62.8%) followed by television (155/344, 45.1%), family (113/344, 32.8%), newspapers (100/344, 29.1%), and the Internet (96/344, 27.9%). Primary topics participants searched for were therapeutic diet for diabetes (55/96, 57%) and symptoms of diabetes (52/96, 54%) followed by diabetes treatment (50/96, 52%). Long history of diabetes, familial history of the disease

  2. The Role of Personality Features on in Information- seeking Bahavior of Graduate Students at University of Tehran (2006-2007

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    Mahmood Khowsrojerdi

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available The present study attempts to investigate the nature of information seeking behavior in the sample population of 158 graduate students and examine the role of personality factors in their information seeking behavior. Two questionnaires were used. Pearson correlation analysis and multi-valued regression analysis were employed in analyzing the data. Findings indicate that there is a positive significance between students’ extroversion and relevance judgment, positing of new ideas, time as a motivating factor, and effort to seek out information. A similar indication was observed between interpolation of experience and time slated for searching for information. Generally it could be deduced that there is a significant relationship between personality features and information seeking behavior of graduate students.

  3. Information-seeking Behavior and Information Needs in Patients With Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: Analyzing an Online Patient Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Juyeon; Kim, Jung A

    2017-07-01

    A few studies have examined the specific informational needs of the population with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The aims of this study were to describe the information-seeking behavior and information needs of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their families in Korea by analyzing messages from an online patient community. A total of 1047 messages from the question and answer forum of the "Lou Gehrig's Disease Network" (http://cafe.daum.net/alsfree) from January 2010 to September 2015 were collected. The word frequency, main questions, and asker of the messages were analyzed and coded. Terms such as "hospital," "mother," "father," "gastrostomy," and "ALS" were most frequently identified. The most commonly mentioned main topic was about disease-specific information, while the most frequent subcategory was symptoms or management of symptoms. Other prominent categories concerned information about treatment, rehabilitation, and the medical system. The people who wrote the questions were mostly the son/daughter of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their family members commonly obtained information by posting their inquiries online and have a variety of questions regarding amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in this study. The findings of this study can be used as a base of information for developing educational programs and resources for patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and their families.

  4. Digital Natives Versus Digital Immigrants: Influence of Online Health Information Seeking on the Doctor-Patient Relationship.

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    Haluza, Daniela; Naszay, Marlene; Stockinger, Andreas; Jungwirth, David

    2017-11-01

    Ubiquitous Internet access currently revolutionizes the way people acquire information by creating a complex, worldwide information network. The impact of Internet use on the doctor-patient relationship is a moving target that varies across sociodemographic strata and nations. To increase scientific knowledge on the patient-Web-physician triangle in Austria, this study reports findings regarding prevailing online health information-seeking behavior and the respective impact on doctor-patient interactions among a nonprobability convenience sample of Internet users. To investigate digital age group-specific influences, we analyzed whether digital natives and digital immigrants differed in their perspectives. The questionnaire-based online survey collected sociodemographic data and online health information-seeking behavior from a sample of 562 respondents (59% females, mean age 37 ± 15 years, 54% digital natives). Most respondents (79%) referred to the Internet to seek health information, making it the most commonly used source for health information, even more prevalent then the doctor. We found similar predictors for using the Internet as a source for health-related information across digital age groups. Thus, the overall generational gap seems to be small among regular Internet users in Austria. However, study participants expressed a rather skeptical attitude toward electronic exchange of health data between health care professionals and patients, as well as toward reliability of online health information. To improve adoption of electronic doctor-patient communication and patient empowerment, public education and awareness programs are required to promote consumer-centered health care provision and patient empowerment.

  5. Professional Help-Seeking for Adolescent Dating Violence in the Rural South: The Role of Social Support and Informal Help-Seeking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedge, Jasmine M.; Sianko, Natallia; McDonell, James R.

    2016-01-01

    Structural equation modeling with three waves of data was used to assess a mediation model investigating the relationship between perceived social support, informal help-seeking intentions, and professional help-seeking intentions in the context of adolescent dating violence. The sample included 589 adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence victimization and perpetration. Results suggest that informal help-seeking intentions are an important link between perceived social support and professional help-seeking intentions. Findings highlight the importance of informal help-seeking and informal help-giving in fostering professional help-seeking for adolescent victims and perpetrators of dating violence. PMID:27580981

  6. Information Seeking When Problem Solving: Perspectives of Public Health Professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Newman, Kristine; Dobbins, Maureen; Yost, Jennifer; Ciliska, Donna

    2017-04-01

    Given the many different types of professionals working in public health and their diverse roles, it is likely that their information needs, information-seeking behaviors, and problem-solving abilities differ. Although public health professionals often work in interdisciplinary teams, few studies have explored their information needs and behaviors within the context of teamwork. This study explored the relationship between Canadian public health professionals' perceptions of their problem-solving abilities and their information-seeking behaviors with a specific focus on the use of evidence in practice settings. It also explored their perceptions of collaborative information seeking and the work contexts in which they sought information. Key Canadian contacts at public health organizations helped recruit study participants through their list-servs. An electronic survey was used to gather data about (a) individual information-seeking behaviors, (b) collaborative information-seeking behaviors, (c) use of evidence in practice environments, (d) perceived problem-solving abilities, and (e) demographic characteristics. Fifty-eight public health professionals were recruited, with different roles and representing most Canadian provinces and one territory. A significant relationship was found between perceived problem-solving abilities and collaborative information-seeking behavior (r = -.44, p public health professionals take a shared, active approach to problem solving, maintain personal control, and have confidence, they are more likely collaborate with others in seeking information to complete a work task. Administrators of public health organizations should promote collaboration by implementing effective communication and information-seeking strategies, and by providing information resources and retrieval tools. Public health professionals' perceived problem-solving abilities can influence how they collaborate in seeking information. Educators in public health

  7. Digital divide 2.0: the role of social networking sites in seeking health information online from a longitudinal perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yang; Xie, Wenjing

    2015-01-01

    Adopting a longitudinal angle, this study analyzed data from the Pew Internet's Health Tracking Survey in 2006, 2008, and 2010 to identify potential communication inequalities in social networking site use. Results showed that with the growing role of social networking site use in predicting people's likelihood of seeking health information online, the socioeconomic and demographic factors that contributed to the disparities in social networking site use could also lead to disparities in seeking health information online. Also, results indicated that people are more likely to seek heath-related information online if they or their close family or friends have a chronic disease situation.

  8. [Medical Service Information Seeking Behaviors in Rural and Urban Patients in Sichuan Province].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Wen-Jie; Xue, Li; Chen, Rao; Duan, Zhan-Qi; Liu, Dan-Ping

    2018-03-01

    To understand how rural and urban patients seek medical service information in Sichuan province. A self-designed questionnaire was distributed randomly to patients who visited primary,secondary and tertiary health facilities in Chengdu,Yibin and Suining,collecting data in relation to their sources of medical service information,as well as the contents and credibility of the information. The major sources of medical service information came from friends,past experiences and television programs,which were consistent with the most desirable access channels. The urban patients were more likely to trust (5.3%) and use (10.6%) the Internet to obtain medical service information compared with their rural counterparts (3.4% and 5.5%,respectively, P marketing strategies for urban and rural patients should be developed to channel patients to appropriate health facilities. Copyright© by Editorial Board of Journal of Sichuan University (Medical Science Edition).

  9. Word-of-mouth dynamics with information seeking: Information is not (only) epidemics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thiriot, Samuel

    2018-02-01

    Word-of-mouth is known to determine the success or failure of innovations (Rogers, 2003) and facilitate the diffusion of products (Katz and Lazarsfeld, 1955). Word-of-mouth is made of both individuals seeking out information and/or pro-actively spreading information (Gilly et al., 1998; Rogers, 2003). Information seeking is considered as a step mandatory for individuals to retrieve the expert knowledge necessary for them to understand the benefits of an innovation or decide to buy a product (Arndt, 1967; Rogers, 2003). Yet the role of information seeking in the word-of-mouth dynamics was not investigated in computational models. Here we study in which conditions word-of-mouth enables the population to retrieve the initial expertise scattered in the population. We design a computational model in which awareness and expert knowledge are both represented, and study the joint dynamics of information seeking and proactive transmission of information. Simulation experiments highlight the apparition of cascades of awareness, cascades of expertise and chains of information retrieval. We find that different strategies should be used depending on the initial proportion of expertise (disruptive innovations, incremental innovations or products belonging to well-known categories). Surprisingly, when there is too much expertise in the population prior the advertisement campaign, word-of-mouth is less efficient in the retrieval of this expertise than when less expertise is initially present. Our results suggest that information seeking plays a key role in the dynamics of word-of-mouth, which can therefore not be reduced solely to the epidemic aspect.

  10. Information Need and Information Seeking Behaviour

    OpenAIRE

    Nazan Özenç Uçak

    1997-01-01

    Information need is one of the cognitive needs of humankind. Information need causes information seeking behaviour and these concepts complement each other. Information need and information seeking behaviour are effected by many factors. It is necessary to know these factors in establishing the effective information centers and services.

  11. Information Need and Information Seeking Behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazan Özenç Uçak

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available Information need is one of the cognitive needs of humankind. Information need causes information seeking behaviour and these concepts complement each other. Information need and information seeking behaviour are effected by many factors. It is necessary to know these factors in establishing the effective information centers and services.

  12. Health Information-Seeking Behavior Among Hypothyroid Patients at Saveetha Medical College and Hospital

    OpenAIRE

    Perumal, SS; Prasad, S; Surapaneni, KM; Joshi, A

    2015-01-01

    Background Hypothyroidism causes considerable morbidity. Low knowledge coupled with inadequate health literacy may lead to poor prevention and management. This study aimed to assess health information-seeking behavior and hypothyroid knowledge among South Indian hypothyroid patients. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in October 2013 in Saveetha Medical College, Chennai, India. Hundred clinically diagnosed hypothyroid patients ?18 years were interviewed in a hospital using a 57-...

  13. Seeking Medical Information Using Mobile Apps and the Internet: Are Family Caregivers Different from the General Public?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Hyunmin; Paige Powell, M; Bhuyan, Soumitra S; Bhuyan, Soumitra Sudip

    2017-03-01

    Family caregivers play an important role to care cancer patients since they exchange medical information with health care providers. However, relatively little is known about how family caregivers seek medical information using mobile apps and the Internet. We examined factors associated with medical information seeking by using mobile apps and the Internet among family caregivers and the general public using data from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 1. The study sample consisted of 2425 family caregivers and 1252 non-family caregivers (the general public). Guided by Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS), we examined related factors' impact on two outcome variables for medical information seeking: mobile apps use and Internet use with multivariate logistic regression analyses. We found that online medical information seeking is different between family caregivers and the general public. Overall, the use of the Internet for medical information seeking is more common among family caregivers, while the use of mobile apps is less common among family caregivers compared with the general public. Married family caregivers were less likely to use mobile apps, while family caregivers who would trust cancer information were more likely to use the Internet for medical information seeking as compared to the general public. Medical information seeking behavior among family caregivers can be an important predictor of both their health and the health of their cancer patients. Future research should explore the low usage of mobile health applications among family caregiver population.

  14. Online Cancer Information Seeking: Applying and Extending the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Stee, Stephanie K; Yang, Qinghua

    2017-10-30

    This study applied the comprehensive model of information seeking (CMIS) to online cancer information and extended the model by incorporating an exogenous variable: interest in online health information exchange with health providers. A nationally representative sample from the Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 4 was analyzed to examine the extended CMIS in predicting online cancer information seeking. Findings from a structural equation model supported most of the hypotheses derived from the CMIS, as well as the extension of the model related to interest in online health information exchange. In particular, socioeconomic status, beliefs, and interest in online health information exchange predicted utility. Utility, in turn, predicted online cancer information seeking, as did information-carrier characteristics. An unexpected but important finding from the study was the significant, direct relationship between cancer worry and online cancer information seeking. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

  15. A study of interpersonal information seeking: the role of topic and comment in the articulation of certainty and uncertainty of information need

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kyunghye Yoon

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This paper presents the findings and discussions of the qualitative analysis of users' information seeking articulation in interpersonal interactions. The discussion is focused on the role of the topic and comment in communicating the user's cognitive uncertainty and certainty in the quest for salient information seeking interaction effectiveness. Method. The qualitative analysis was done on the basis of the sequence of the uncertainty and certainty and the topic and comment in the user's utterances during the interaction in order to explore the use of these elements. Results. The findings suggested some patterns in the employment of uncertainty and certainty and topic and comment. Users initiated the need description with uncertainty and then provided certainty to describe the need in detail. Both topic and comment were used in every stage of information seeking interaction, on the basis of which the source person provided information. Conclusion. The study confirmed that the user's certainty and uncertainty are important for describing the user's information need and that both topic and comment are essential to communicate the need.

  16. Help-seeking behaviour in newly diagnosed lung cancer patients: assessing the role of perceived stigma.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, Shiho; Boyes, Allison; Kelly, Brian; Cox, Martine; Palazzi, Kerrin; Paul, Christine

    2018-05-26

    This study explored help-seeking behaviours, group identification and perceived legitimacy of discrimination, and its potential relationship with perceived lung cancer stigma. Consecutive consenting adults (n=274) with a primary diagnosis of lung cancer within the previous four months were recruited at 31 outpatient clinics in Australia. A self-report survey assessed help-seeking, group identification, perceived legitimacy of discrimination and perceived lung cancer stigma. Services providing assistance from health professionals (69.5%) and informational support (68.5%) was more frequently used than emotional-based support. Only a small proportion (2.6%) of participants were unlikely to seek help from anyone, with the most popular sources of help being the general practitioner (91.0%), and oncologist/treating clinician (81.3%). One-fifth (21.1%) indicated they identified with being a lung cancer patient, and most did not perceive discrimination against lung cancer patients. Higher perceived lung cancer stigma was significantly associated with greater perceived legitimacy of discrimination (phelp-seeking behaviours or group identification. The relationship between lung cancer stigma and perceived legitimacy of discrimination may guide initiatives to reduce stigma for patients. It is encouraging that perceived stigma did not appear to inhibit help-seeking behaviours. However further research in this emerging field is needed to investigate patterns of perceived stigma and help-seeking over time to identify how and when to offer support services most appropriate to the needs of lung cancer patients. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

  17. Breakdowns in collaborative information seeking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum, Morten

    2010-01-01

    Collaborative information seeking is integral to many professional activities. In hospital work, the medication process encompasses continual seeking for information and collaborative grounding of information. This study investigates breakdowns in collaborative information seeking through analyses...... of the use of the electronic medication record adopted in a Danish healthcare region and of the reports of five years of medication incidents at Danish hospitals. The results show that breakdowns in collaborative information seeking is a major source of medication incidents, that most of these breakdowns...... are breakdowns in collaborative grounding rather than information seeking, that the medication incidents mainly concern breakdowns in the use of records as opposed to oral communication, that the breakdowns span multiple degrees of separation between clinicians, and that the electronic medication record has...

  18. Internet information-seeking in mental health: population survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, John; Clarke, Aileen

    2006-09-01

    A major use of the of the internet is for health information-seeking. There has been little research into its use in relation to mental health. To investigate the prevalence of internet use for mental health information-seeking and its relative importance as a mental health information source. General population survey. Questions covered internet use, past psychiatric history and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. Eighteen per cent of all internet users had used the internet for information related to mental health. The prevalence was higher among those with a past history of mental health problems and those with current psychological distress. Only 12% of respondents selected the internet as one of the three most accurate sources of information, compared with 24% who responded that it was one of the three sources they would use. The internet has a significant role in mental health information-seeking. The internet is used more than it is trusted.

  19. Internet use, online information seeking and knowledge among third molar patients attending public dental services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanna, K; Sambrook, P; Armfield, J M; Brennan, D S

    2017-09-01

    While Australians are searching the internet for third molar (TM) information, the usefulness of online sources may be questioned due to quality variation. This study explored: (i) internet use, online information-seeking behaviour among TM patients attending public dental services; and (ii) whether patients' TM knowledge scores are associated with the level of internet use and eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) scores. Baseline survey data from the 'Engaging Patients in Decision-Making' study were used. Variables included: sociodemographics, internet access status, online information-seeking behaviour, eHEALS, the Control Preferences Scale (CPS) and TM knowledge. Participants (N = 165) were mainly female (73.8%), aged 19-25 years (42.4%) and had 'secondary school or less' education (58.4%). A majority (N = 79, 52.7%) had sought online dental information which was associated with active decisional control preference (odds ratio = 3.1, P = 0.034) and higher educational attainment (odds ratio = 2.7, P = 0.040). TM knowledge scores were not associated with either the level of internet use (F (2,152) = 2.1, P = 0.094, χ 2 = 0.0310) or the eHEALS scores (r = 0.147, P = 0.335). 'The internet-prepared patient' phenomena exists among public TM patients and was explained by preference for involvement in decision-making. However, internet use was not associated with better TM knowledge. Providing TM patients with internet guidance may be an opportunity to improve TM knowledge. © 2017 Australian Dental Association.

  20. Procedures and Collaborative Information Seeking: A Study of Emergency Departments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum, Morten; Reddy, Madhu

    2015-01-01

    Information seeking is a central and inherently collaborative activity in the emergency department (ED) which is the common entry point to hospitals for nearly all acute patients. In this paper, we investigate how ED clinicians’ collabo-rative information seeking (CIS) is shaped by the procedures...

  1. Potential spillover educational effects of cancer-related direct-to-consumer advertising on cancer patients' increased information seeking behaviors: results from a cohort study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Andy S L

    2014-06-01

    Spillover effects of exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of cancer treatments on patients' general inquiry about their treatments and managing their illness are not well understood. This study examines the effects of cancer patients' exposure to cancer-related DTCA on subsequent health information seeking behaviors from clinician and non-clinician sources (lay media and interpersonal contacts). Using a longitudinal survey design over 3 years, data was collected from cancer survivors diagnosed with colorectal, breast, or prostate cancer who were randomly sampled from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry. Study outcome measures include patients' information engagement with their clinicians and information seeking from non-medical sources about cancer treatment and quality of life issues, measured in the second survey. The predictor variable is the frequency of exposure to cancer-related DTCA since diagnosis, measured at the round 1 survey. The analyses utilized lagged-weighted multivariate regressions and adjusted for round 1 levels of patient-clinician engagement, information seeking from nonmedical sources, and confounders. Exposure to cancer-related DTCA is associated with increased levels of subsequent patient-clinician information engagement (B = .023, 95% CI = .005-.040, p = .012), controlling for confounders. In comparison, exposure to DTCA is marginally significant in predicting health information seeking from non-clinician sources (B = .009, 95% CI = -.001-.018, p = .067). Cancer-related DTCA has potentially beneficial spillover effects on health information seeking behaviors among cancer patients. Exposure to DTCA predicts (a little) more patient engagement with their physicians.

  2. 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.

  3. Social Influences of Help-Seeking Behaviour Among Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Low, Lee Lan; Tong, Seng Fah; Low, Wah Yun

    2016-01-01

    This qualitative study aimed to explore the influence of social networks such as family members, friends, peers, and health care providers toward the help-seeking behaviour (HSB) of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus in the public and private primary care settings. In-depth interviews of 12 patients, 9 family members, and 5 health care providers, as well as 3 focus groups among 13 health care providers were conducted. All interviews were audio-taped and transcribed verbatim for qualitative analysis. Social influences play a significant role in the help-seeking process; once diagnosed, patients source information from people around them to make decisions. This significant influence depends on the relationship between patients and social networks or the level of trust, support, and comforting feeling. Thus, the impacts on patients' help-seeking behavior are varied. However, the help-seeking process is not solely an individual's concern but a dynamic process interacting with the social networks within the health care system. © 2015 APJPH.

  4. 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.

  5. Smart Tools for Academic Information Seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eeva Koponen

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available Systematic information seeking is an essential part of academic work. Research and information seeking go hand in hand, and both need planning. In the academic world you can hardly avoid the research plan, but you probably won’t hear that much about the information seeking plan. The information seeking plan guides you through the research process from the first sparks of an idea to the last dot in the bibliography from the point of view of the often invisible process of systematic information seeking. Systematic Information Seeking Framework designed in the Jyväskylä University Library has its roots in Carol Kuhlthau's Guided Inquiry Design Process. Our model, designed for more contextual adjustability, is presented in our Library Tutorial (https://koppa.jyu.fi/avoimet/kirjasto/en/library-tutorial, an open self-study material. The process starts with “Defining the topic and finding search terms”. This stage requires extensive reading about the subject matter, understanding the basic differences between everyday knowledge and scientific knowledge and distinguishing information resources for different kinds of needs. Analysis of concepts and understanding of their contextuality are at the core of scientific knowledge. With the information seeking plan and a mind map one can work on the search terms, discover connections and construct search statements for different resources and the search strategies they require. The second section is about “Finding sources”, which students often understand as the starting point for systematic information seeking. Knowledge of the publication cultures in different disciplines guide the information seeker to the different types of sources needed. Finally, “Citing and managing references”. One of the most essential skills in all academic work is the appropriate use of scientific sources, citing and managing references correctly. As academic dishonesty hurts the whole community, academic fraud, e

  6. Collaborative Information Seeking and Expertise Seeking: Different Discourses about Similar Issues

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hertzum, Morten

    2017-01-01

    Purpose – This study compares and contrasts research on collaborative information seeking (CIS) and expertise seeking (EXS) to identify focal themes, blind spots, and possibilities for cross-fertilization. Design/methodology/approach – Existing research was reviewed. The review consisted of a con......Purpose – This study compares and contrasts research on collaborative information seeking (CIS) and expertise seeking (EXS) to identify focal themes, blind spots, and possibilities for cross-fertilization. Design/methodology/approach – Existing research was reviewed. The review consisted...... the information need is held by an individual but resolved by consulting other people. While the typical scope of EXS studies is source selection, CIS studies mostly concern the consultation of the sources and the use of the obtained information. CIS and EXS studies also attend differentially to the information...... and prevent duplication of effort. Topics for future research are identified. It should be noted that the findings are limited to the 142 studies reviewed. Originality/value – By analyzing CIS in the context of EXS, and vice versa, this study provides a fresh look at the information-seeking research...

  7. Information Seeking in a Natural Stress Situation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vernon, David T. A.

    1971-01-01

    Compares hospitalized tuberculosis patients with informative and uninformative physicians as to their use of library books. Finds that the two groups did not differ in general reading, but that those with uninformative physicians tended to seek out books about tuberculosis and its treatment more often. (MB)

  8. An examination of the health information seeking experiences of women in rural Ontario, Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    C.N. Wathen

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Women are active information seekers, particularly in the context of managing health for themselves and their families. Rural living may present particular challenges and opportunities for women in their health information seeking. Method. Forty women living in a rural part of Ontario, Canada were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. They were asked about their health information seeking for both chronic and acute concerns. Analysis. Interview transcripts were organized using NVivo software (version 6 and analysed using a coding scheme iteratively developed by both authors. Results. Emerging themes included: the context of rural living, information and health literacy, the role of unanticipated information intermediaries in the search process, and the mis-match between assumptions made by 'the system' about sources of information, and women's lived realities. Conclusion. . There are unique challenges and enablers to health information seeking for women living in rural areas, including the role of formal, informal and ICT-based information intermediaries, the availability to women of required literacies for health information seeking and uptake. Research findings such as those presented in this paper can assist in better understanding both the contexts of information seeking, as well as the preferences and behaviour of those with information needs.

  9. Physicians' pharmacogenomics information needs and seeking behavior: a study with case vignettes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heale, Bret S E; Khalifa, Aly; Stone, Bryan L; Nelson, Scott; Del Fiol, Guilherme

    2017-08-01

    Genetic testing, especially in pharmacogenomics, can have a major impact on patient care. However, most physicians do not feel that they have sufficient knowledge to apply pharmacogenomics to patient care. Online information resources can help address this gap. We investigated physicians' pharmacogenomics information needs and information-seeking behavior, in order to guide the design of pharmacogenomics information resources that effectively meet clinical information needs. We performed a formative, mixed-method assessment of physicians' information-seeking process in three pharmacogenomics case vignettes. Interactions of 6 physicians' with online pharmacogenomics resources were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed for prominent themes. Quantitative data included information-seeking duration, page navigations, and number of searches entered. We found that participants searched an average of 8 min per case vignette, spent less than 30 s reviewing specific content, and rarely refined search terms. Participants' information needs included a need for clinically meaningful descriptions of test interpretations, a molecular basis for the clinical effect of drug variation, information on the logistics of carrying out a genetic test (including questions related to cost, availability, test turn-around time, insurance coverage, and accessibility of expert support).Also, participants sought alternative therapies that would not require genetic testing. This study of pharmacogenomics information-seeking behavior indicates that content to support their information needs is dispersed and hard to find. Our results reveal a set of themes that information resources can use to help physicians find and apply pharmacogenomics information to the care of their patients.

  10. The Role of Web-Based Health Information in Help-Seeking Behavior Prior to a Diagnosis of Lung Cancer: A Mixed-Methods Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mueller, Julia; Jay, Caroline; Harper, Simon; Todd, Chris

    2017-06-08

    Delays to diagnosis in lung cancer can lead to reduced chance of survival, and patients often wait for several months before presenting symptoms. The time between first symptom recognition until diagnosis has been theorized into three intervals: symptom appraisal, help-seeking, and diagnostic interval (here: "pathway to diagnosis"). Interventions are needed to reduce delays to diagnosis in lung cancer. The Web has become an important lay health information source and could potentially play a role in this pathway to diagnosis. Our overall aim was to gain a preliminary insight into whether Web-based information plays a role in the pathway to diagnosis in lung cancer in order to assess whether it may be possible to leverage this information source to reduce delays to diagnosis. Patients diagnosed with lung cancer in the 6 months before study entry completed a survey about whether (and how, if yes) they had used the Web to appraise their condition prior to diagnosis. Based on survey responses, we purposively sampled patients and their next-of-kin for semistructured interviews (24 interviews; 33 participants). Interview data were analyzed qualitatively using Framework Analysis in the context of the pathway to diagnosis model. A total of 113 patients completed the survey (age: mean 67.0, SD 8.8 years). In all, 20.4% (23/113) reported they or next-of-kin had researched their condition online before the diagnosis. The majority of searches (20/23, 87.0%) were conducted by or with the help of next-of-kin. Interview results suggest that patients and next-of-kin perceived an impact of the information found online on all three intervals in the time to diagnosis. In the appraisal interval, participants used online information to evaluate symptoms and possible causes. In the help-seeking interval, the Web was used to inform the decision of whether to present to health services. In the diagnostic interval, it was used to evaluate health care professionals' advice, to support

  11. Barriers to information seeking in school libraries: conflicts in perceptions and practice

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric M. Meyers

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This paper investigates barriers to adolescent information seeking in high school libraries within the framework of Kuhlthau's model of intermediation. Method. In-depth interviews and corroborating observations were conducted at six high schools in the Pacific Northwest over a sixteen-month period. Analysis. The data suggest inconsistencies between teacher-librarians' self-perceptions of their role and their daily interactions with students. Harris and Dewdney's principles of information seeking are employed as an analytic framework to provide a structure for categorizing and examining these inconsistencies. Results. The identified barriers to student information seeking include a lack of collaboration, students' lack of autonomy, limited access to resources, devaluation of interpersonal sharing for academic purposes, lack of affective support, and failure to validate students' previous experience in seeking information. Conclusion. : These findings suggest future direction for pre- and in-service education of teacher-librarians to prepare them to recognize how the unique barriers within school contexts can constrain both their mediational behaviour and students' information seeking opportunities.

  12. Spatial factors as contextual qualifiers of information seeking

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Savolainen

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This paper investigates the ways in which spatial factors have been approached in information seeking studies. The main attention was focused on studies discussing information seeking on the level of source selection and use. Method. Conceptual analysis of about 100 articles and books thematizing spatial issues of information seeking. Due to research economy, the main attention was paid to studies on everyday life information seeking. Results. Three major viewpoints were identified with regard to the degree of objectivity of spatial factors. The objectifying approach conceives of spatial factors as external and entity-like qualifiers that primarly constrain information seeking. The realistic-pragmatic approach emphasizes the ways in which the availabilty of information sources in different places such as daily work environments orient information seeking. The perspectivist approach focuses on how people subjectively assess the significance of various sources by means of spatial constructs such as information horizons. Conclusion. Spatial factors are centrally important contextual qualifiers of information seeking. There is a need to further explore the potential of the above viewpoints by relating the spatial and temporal factors of information seeking.

  13. Sexual information seeking on web search engines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spink, Amanda; Koricich, Andrew; Jansen, B J; Cole, Charles

    2004-02-01

    Sexual information seeking is an important element within human information behavior. Seeking sexually related information on the Internet takes many forms and channels, including chat rooms discussions, accessing Websites or searching Web search engines for sexual materials. The study of sexual Web queries provides insight into sexually-related information-seeking behavior, of value to Web users and providers alike. We qualitatively analyzed queries from logs of 1,025,910 Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com Web user queries from 2001. We compared the differences in sexually-related Web searching between Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users. Differences were found in session duration, query outcomes, and search term choices. Implications of the findings for sexual information seeking are discussed.

  14. Intention to seek information on cancer genetics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.E. Andrews

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective. The public has a high interest in seeking personal genetic information, which holds implications for health information seeking research and health care policy. Rapid advances in cancer genetics research promise early detection, prevention and treatment, yet consumers may have greater difficulty finding and using the information they may need to make informed decisions regarding their personal health and the future of their families. Design. A statewide telephone survey was conducted of non-institutionalized Kentucky residents 18 years of age or older to investigate factors associated with the intention to seek cancer genetics information, including the need for such information seeking help. Results. The results show that intention to seek cancer genetics information, if testing were readily available, is moderately high (62.5% of those responding; n=835, and that status as a racial minority, the perception that cancer runs in one's family, and frequent worrying about cancer risk are statistically significant predictors of intent to seek genetics information. Conclusion. . We argue that an already complex health information environment will be even more difficult for individuals to navigate as genetic research becomes more ubiquitous in health care. An increase in demand for genetics information in various forms, as suggested by these results and those of other studies, implies that enduring intervention strategies are needed to help individuals acquire necessary health information literacy skills, with special attention given to racial minorities.

  15. Impact of Neighborhood Environments on Health Consciousness, Information Seeking, and Attitudes among US-Born and Non-US-Born Free Clinic Patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamimura, Akiko; Ashby, Jeanie; Jess, Allison; Trinh, Ha Ngoc; Nourian, Maziar M; Finlayson, Sarah Yukie; Prudencio, Liana; Reel, Justine J

    2015-12-01

    This study examined the impact of neighborhood environments on health consciousness, information seeking, and attitudes among uninsured free clinic patients to better understand the specific needs of the population for health promotion and prevention efforts. US-born English-speaking, non-US-born English-speaking, and Spanish-speaking free clinic patients completed a self-administered survey using reliable measures in autumn 2014 (N = 769). The results of this study suggest that social cohesion is positively associated with health consciousness, information seeking, and attitudes. Lower levels of available healthy food in the community were associated with higher levels of health consciousness. Although Spanish speakers reported lower levels of the availability of healthy food, social cohesion, and access to the Internet or text messaging compared with US-born or non-US-born English speakers, they were more likely to be health conscious and have higher levels of health information seeking. Spanish speakers as well as non-US-born English speakers, were more likely to attend health education classes compared with US-born English speakers. Health education programs for free clinic patients should include strategies to increase social cohesion. Health education programs should consider the diverse needs of these individual populations to maximize the effectiveness of the programs for free clinic patients.

  16. Interfaces for End-User Information Seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchionini, Gary

    1992-01-01

    Discusses essential features of interfaces to support end-user information seeking. Highlights include cognitive engineering; task models and task analysis; the problem-solving nature of information seeking; examples of systems for end-users, including online public access catalogs (OPACs), hypertext, and help systems; and suggested research…

  17. Young learners' use of social media for information seeking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hyldegård, Jette Seiden

    2015-01-01

    information seeking activities, strategies and preferences can be identified when young learners use social media for information seeking in relation to course work and other study-related work tasks? 2) What motivations can be identified among young learners for using social media for information seeking....... The reported factors motivating information seeking were convenience and easy access to information, in addition to the content associated with specific social media types. Students’ use of social media for information seeking was associated primarily with their private information landscape. Contributions......Background. Increased use of social media for information seeking and learning calls for more research and knowledge of how these emerging technologies can support students’ learning. Objectives. The focus is on recent studies of young learners’ use of social media for information seeking...

  18. Women's intentions of informal and formal help-seeking for mental health problems during the perinatal period: The role of perceived encouragement from the partner.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fonseca, Ana; Canavarro, Maria Cristina

    2017-07-01

    this study aimed to examine the relationship between women's intentions to seek informal help and to seek professional help and to explore the indirect effects of women's perceived encouragement to seek professional help from their male partner. Moreover, this study aimed to examine if these relationships vary as function of the presence of higher levels of perinatal distress. cross-sectional internet survey. participants were recruited through advertisements published in pamphlets and posted on social media websites (e.g., Facebook) and websites and forums that focused on pregnancy and childbirth. 231 women (pregnant/ had a baby during the last 12 months) completed the survey. participants were questioned about sociodemographic and clinical data and were assessed concerning perinatal distress (Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), intentions to seek informal and formal help (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire) and perceived encouragement from the partner to seek professional help. the women reported a significantly higher intention to seek help from their partner than to seek professional help (p help from the male partner (p = .001) and perceived less encouragement from the male partner to seek professional help (p help occurred through the women's perceived encouragement from the male partner to seek professional help. the results of this study highlight the important role of the male partner's encouragement in women's professional help-seeking for mental health problems. awareness campaigns about perinatal distress and about professional treatment benefits may be directed universally to all women in the perinatal period and should include women's significant others, such as their partners. Health professionals should recognize and support the prominent role of the women's partners in the help-seeking process. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Seeking science information online: Data mining Google to better understand the roles of the media and the education system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segev, Elad; Baram-Tsabari, Ayelet

    2012-10-01

    Which extrinsic cues motivate people to search for science-related information? For many science-related search queries, media attention and time during the academic year are highly correlated with changes in information seeking behavior (expressed by changes in the proportion of Google science-related searches). The data mining analysis presented here shows that changes in the volume of searches for general and well-established science terms are strongly linked to the education system. By contrast, ad-hoc events and current concerns were better aligned with media coverage. The interest and ability to independently seek science knowledge in response to current events or concerns is one of the fundamental goals of the science literacy movement. This method provides a mirror of extrapolated behavior and as such can assist researchers in assessing the role of the media in shaping science interests, and inform the ways in which lifelong interests in science are manifested in real world situations.

  20. Young children seek out biased information about social groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Over, Harriet; Eggleston, Adam; Bell, Jenny; Dunham, Yarrow

    2018-05-01

    Understanding the origins of prejudice necessitates exploring the ways in which children participate in the construction of biased representations of social groups. We investigate whether young children actively seek out information that supports and extends their initial intergroup biases. In Studies 1 and 2, we show that children choose to hear a story that contains positive information about their own group and negative information about another group rather than a story that contains negative information about their own group and positive information about the other group. In a third study, we show that children choose to present biased information to others, thus demonstrating that the effects of information selection can start to propagate through social networks. In Studies 4 and 5, we further investigate the nature of children's selective information seeking and show that children prefer ingroup-favouring information to other types of biased information and even to balanced, unbiased information. Together, this work shows that children are not merely passively recipients of social information; they play an active role in the creation and transmission of intergroup attitudes. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  1. Effects of written information material on help-seeking behavior in patients with erectile dysfunction: a longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berner, Michael M; Leiber, Christian; Kriston, Levente; Stodden, Vera; Günzler, Cindy

    2008-02-01

    Neither men with erectile dysfunction (ED) nor their physicians are willing to discuss sexual problem sufficiently. Written information material could facilitate a dialogue and encourage men to seek treatment. The central task of this article was to determine the effectiveness and acceptance of patient information material for sexual dysfunction. Through an information campaign, men received informational material. Eight thousand men also received a first survey, which asked about the intention to seek treatment and to discuss the sexual problem with a physician or partner. A second follow-up questionnaire, 3-6 months after the first one, asked for the implementation of these intentions. Descriptive and regression-based analyses were applied. Help-seeking behavior, subjective assessment of change in disease severity and partnership quality, satisfaction. Four hundred forty-three men participated in both surveys. Nearly 90% of them became active after reading the information material. More than half talked with their partner (57.8%) and a physician (65%), and one-third sought treatment (31.8%). Especially discussing the problem with the partner and receiving treatment improved erectile functioning and led to an increase in the quality of partnership (P information material is a useful resource for men with ED, because it evokes a high help-seeking behavior. It was perceived both to improve the sexual problem as well as to increase the quality of partnership. Providing such material in the medical practice may be an appropriate way to overcome inhibitions and to initiate dialogue with affected men. However, the results must be interpreted with caution because of possible motivationally driven self

  2. Information seeking behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjørland, Birger

    2000-01-01

    A general theory of information seeking behaviour must include an outline of an evolutionary theory of how organisms have adapted their cognitive apparatus to the demands raised in order to cope with their environments. It should describe important qualitative stages in this development and explain...

  3. Modeling Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior in China: The Roles of Source Characteristics, Reward Assessment, and Internet Self-Efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Weidan; Zhang, Xinyao; Xu, Kaibin; Wang, Yuanxin

    2016-09-01

    The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in 2003 marked the explosion of health information seeking online in China and the increasing emergence of Chinese health websites. There are both benefits and potential hazards of people's online health information seeking. This article intended to test part of Wilson's second model of information behavior, including source characteristics and activating mechanisms, and to identify the relationships among perceived access, perceived expertise credibility, reward assessment, Internet self-efficacy, and online health information-seeking behavior. Data were drawn from face-to-face surveys and an online survey of health information seekers (N = 393) in China. The results showed that source characteristics predicted activating mechanisms, which in turn predicted online health information-seeking behavior. Activating mechanisms, that is, reward assessment and Internet self-efficacy, mediated the relationship between source characteristics (i.e., access and credibility) and online health information-seeking behavior. Strategies for improving information access, expertise credibility, and Internet self-efficacy are discussed in order to maximize the benefits of online health information seeking and to minimize the potential harm.

  4. Online information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Conell, Jörn; Bauer, Rita; Glenn, Tasha

    2016-01-01

    alternative information sources remain important. Most patients do not discuss Internet findings with their doctor, and concern remains about the quality of online information especially related to prescription drugs. Patients may not rate search skills accurately, and may not understand limitations of online...... privacy. More patient education about online information searching is needed and physicians should recommend a few high quality websites....

  5. Variation in general practitioners' information-seeking behaviour

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Videbæk Le, Jette; Pedersen, Line Bjørnskov; Riisgaard, Helle

    2016-01-01

    characteristics. Further insights could provide opportunities for targeting information dissemination strategies. Single-handed GPs seek information from colleagues less frequently than GPs in partnerships and do not use other sources more frequently. GPs aged above 44 years do not seek information as frequently...

  6. The information-seeking behaviour of paediatricians accessing web-based resources.

    LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

    Prendiville, T W

    2012-02-01

    OBJECTIVES: To establish the information-seeking behaviours of paediatricians in answering every-day clinical queries. DESIGN: A questionnaire was distributed to every hospital-based paediatrician (paediatric registrar and consultant) working in Ireland. RESULTS: The study received 156 completed questionnaires, a 66.1% response. 67% of paediatricians utilised the internet as their first "port of call" when looking to answer a medical question. 85% believe that web-based resources have improved medical practice, with 88% reporting web-based resources are essential for medical practice today. 93.5% of paediatricians believe attempting to answer clinical questions as they arise is an important component in practising evidence-based medicine. 54% of all paediatricians have recommended websites to parents or patients. 75.5% of paediatricians report finding it difficult to keep up-to-date with new information relevant to their practice. CONCLUSIONS: Web-based paediatric resources are of increasing significance in day-to-day clinical practice. Many paediatricians now believe that the quality of patient care depends on it. Information technology resources play a key role in helping physicians to deliver, in a time-efficient manner, solutions to clinical queries at the point of care.

  7. Iranian Women’s Motivations for Seeking Health Information: A Qualitative Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikbakht Nasrabadi

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available Background Today empowerment of women by health literacy has become a necessity. Researchers have shown that women are active seekers of health information and seeking behaviors are driven by various motivational factors. Paying attention to women’s motivations for seeking health information could facilitate evidence-based policy making in promotion of public health literacy. As health information seeking develops within personal-social interactions and also the health system context, it seems that a qualitative paradigm is appropriate for studies in this field. Objectives The aim of this study was to explore Iranian women’s motivations for seeking heath information. Patients and Methods In this qualitative content analysis study, data collection was conducted considering the inclusion criteria, through purposive sampling and by semi-structured interviews with 17 women, using documentation and field notes, until data saturation. Qualitative data analysis was done constantly and simultaneous with data collection. Results Five central themes emerged to explain the women’s motivation for health information seeking including: a dealing with fear and uncertainly b understanding the nature of disease and diagnostic/therapeutic procedures c performing parental duties d promoting a healthy life style e receiving safer health care. Conclusions It seemed that respecting client’s concerns, providing comprehensive health information, as well as risk management and promoting safer health care is necessary.

  8. Information seeking behavior of Greek astronomers

    OpenAIRE

    Brindesi, Hara; Kapidakis, Sarantos

    2011-01-01

    This study examines three aspects of information seeking behaviour of astronomers in Greece including a) the importance they place in keeping up- to-date with current developments b) the methods they depend on for keeping up-to-date and c) the information sources they mostly use. We adopted an intradisciplinary approach in order to investigate similarities and differences in information seeking behaviour among astronomers when examining them as groups bearing different characteristics, includ...

  9. The Usage of Social Media as an Information Seeking Tool of Halal Food Products

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Siti Zanariah Yusoff

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to examine the role of social media as an information seeking tool of halal food products among Muslim. This is a conceptual paper which employed a comprehensive review to investigate strategy used by Muslim family in information seeking of halal food products using social media.  This study had revealed that respondents are likely to use social media in search for information regarding halal foods. As expected by the researchers, children tend to be the majority users of social networking sites compared to their parents. It is crucial for each Muslim to seek information about halal foods as there are too much dumping information that lead to confusion among consumers. Other than that, this study proved the usage of social media not only limited to entertainment yet it plays a vital part as an information seeking tools as well.

  10. Educated but anxious: How emotional states and education levels combine to influence online health information seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Myrick, Jessica Gall; Willoughby, Jessica Fitts

    2017-07-01

    This study combined conceptual frameworks from health information seeking, appraisal theory of emotions, and social determinants of health literatures to examine how emotional states and education predict online health information seeking. Nationally representative data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS 4, Cycle 3) were used to test the roles of education, anxiety, anger, sadness, hope, happiness, and an education by anxiety interaction in predicting online health information seeking. Results suggest that women, tablet owners, smartphone owners, the college educated, those who are sad some or all of the time, and those who are anxious most of the time were significantly more likely to seek online health information. Conversely, being angry all of the time decreased the likelihood of seeking. Furthermore, two significant interactions emerged between anxiety and education levels. Discrete psychological states and demographic factors (gender and education) individually and jointly impact information seeking tendencies.

  11. A study of the information seeking behaviour of hospital pharmacists: empirical evidence from Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostagiolas, Petros A; Aggelopoulou, Vasiliki A; Niakas, Dimitris

    2011-12-01

    Hospital pharmacists need access to high-quality information in order to constantly update their knowledge and improve their skills. In their modern role, they are expected to address three types of challenges: scientific, organizational and administrative, thus having an increased need for adequate information and library services. This study investigates the information-seeking behaviour of public hospital pharmacists providing evidence from Greece that could be used to encourage the development of effective information hospital services and study the links between the information seeking behaviour of hospital pharmacists and their modern scientific and professional role. An empirical research was conducted between January and February 2010 with the development and distribution of a structured questionnaire. The questionnaire was filled in and returned by 88 public hospital pharmacists from a total of 286 working in all Greek public hospitals, providing a response rate of 31%. The hospital pharmacists in Greece are in search of scientific information and, more particularly, pharmaceutical information (e.g., drug indications, storage, dosage and prices). The Internet and the National Organization of Medicines are their main information sources, while the lack of time and organized information are the main obstacles they have to face when seeking information. The modern professional role of hospital pharmacists as invaluable contributors to efficient and safer healthcare services may be further supported through the development of specialized libraries and information services within Greek public hospitals. © 2011 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2011 Health Libraries Group.

  12. Insight into the Earthquake Risk Information Seeking Behavior of the Victims: Evidence from Songyuan, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shasha Li

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Efficient risk communication is a vital way to reduce the vulnerability of individuals when facing emergency risks, especially regarding earthquakes. Efficient risk communication aims at improving the supply of risk information and fulfilling the need for risk information by individuals. Therefore, an investigation into individual-level information seeking behavior within earthquake risk contexts is very important for improved earthquake risk communication. However, at present there are very few studies that have explored the behavior of individuals seeking earthquake risk information. Under the guidance of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model as well as relevant practical findings using the structural equation model, this study attempts to explore the main determinants of an individual’s earthquake risk information seeking behavior, and to validate the mediator effect of information need during the seeking process. A questionnaire-based survey of 918 valid respondents in Songyuan, China, who had been hit by a small earthquake swarm, was used to provide practical evidence for this study. Results indicated that information need played a noteworthy role in the earthquake risk information seeking process, and was detected both as an immediate predictor and as a mediator. Informational subjective norms drive the seeking behavior on earthquake risk information through both direct and indirect approaches. Perceived information gathering capacity, negative affective responses and risk perception have an indirect effect on earthquake risk information seeking behavior via information need. The implications for theory and practice regarding risk communication are discussed and concluded.

  13. How health information is received by diabetic patients?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Firoozeh Zare-Farashbandi

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Knowledge of correct information-seeking behavior by the patients can provide health specialists and health information specialists with valuable information in improving health care. This study aimed to investigate the passive receipt and active seeking of health information by diabetic patients. Materials and Methods: A survey method was used in this research on 6426 diabetic patients of whom 362 patients were selected by a no percentage stratified random sampling. The Longo information-seeking behavior questionnaire was used to collect data and they were analyzed by SPSS 20 software. Results: The most common information source by diabetic patients was practitioners (3.12. The minimum usage among the information sources were from charity organizations and emergency phone lines with a usage of close to zero. The amount of health information gained passively from each source has the lowest average of 4.18 and usage of this information in making health decision has the highest average score of 5.83. Analysis of the data related to active seeking of information showed that knowledge of available medical information from each source has the lowest average score of 3.95 and ability in using the acquired information for making medical decisions has the highest average score of 5.28. The paired t-test showed that differences between passive information receipt (41.68 and active information seeking (39.20 considered as statistically significant (P < 0.001. Conclusion: Because diabetic patients are more passive information receivers than active information seekers, the health information must be distributed by passive means to these patients. In addition, information-seeking behavior during different time periods should be investigated; to identify more effective distribution of health information.

  14. Physician's emerging roles relating to trends in health information technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    David Johnson, J

    2014-08-12

    Objective: To determine the new roles that physicians will adopt in the near future to adjust to accelerating trends from managed care to outcome-based practice to health care reform to health information technology to the evolving role of health consumers. Methods: Trends and related developments concerning the changing roles of physicians based on prior literature reviews. Results: Six possible roles, traditional, gatekeeper, coach, navigator, informatician and one voice among many, are discussed in terms of physician's centrality, patient autonomy, decision-making and uncertainty, information seeking, satisfaction and outcomes, particularly those related to compliance. Conclusion: A greater understanding of these emerging roles could lead to more efficacious outcomes in our ever changing, increasingly complex medical system. Patients often have little understanding of emerging trends that lead to the development of specialized roles such as hospitalist and navigators and, relatedly, the evolving roles of physicians.

  15. Information Needs, Sources, and Information Seeking Behaviour of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This work which focused on the policy-makers/administrators as information users was carried out using hundred (100) questionnaire in order to ascertain the information needs, sources and information seeking behaviour of the administrators. The barrier to information flow to them was also identified. The study adopted a ...

  16. Information Seeking Behavior in Digital Image Collections: A Cognitive Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matusiak, Krystyna K.

    2006-01-01

    Presents the results of a qualitative study that focuses on search patterns of college students and community users interacting with a digital image collection. The study finds a distinct difference between the two groups of users and examines the role of mental models in information seeking behavior in digital libraries.

  17. Decisions to use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) by male cancer patients: information-seeking roles and types of evidence used

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Maggie; Shaw, Alison; Thompson, Elizabeth A; Falk, Stephen; Turton, Pat; Thompson, Trevor; Sharp, Deborah

    2007-01-01

    therapies to use and sceptical about others, basing their choices on forms of 'evidence' that were personally meaningful: personal stories of individuals who had been helped by CAM; the long history and enduring popularity of some therapies; the plausibility of the mechanism of action; a belief or trust in individual therapies or their providers; scientific evidence. Scientific evidence ranked low in the men's personal decision-making about CAM, while it was recognised as important for NHS support for CAM. Conclusion These male cancer patients valued the support and guidance of 'trusted individuals' in making choices about CAM. Trusted health professionals could also play a significant role in helping patients to make informed choices. Any such dialogue must, however, acknowledge the different standards of evidence used by patients and clinicians to evaluate the benefits or otherwise of CAM therapies. Such open communication could help to foster an environment of mutual trust where patients are encouraged to discuss their interest in CAM, rather than perpetuate covert, undisclosed use of CAM with its attendant potential hazards. PMID:17683580

  18. Exploring Older Adults' Health Information Seeking Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manafo, Elizabeth; Wong, Sharon

    2012-01-01

    Objective: To explore older adults' (55-70 years) health information-seeking behaviors. Methods: Using a qualitative methodology, based on grounded theory, data were collected using in-depth interviews. Participants were community-living, older adults in Toronto, Canada who independently seek nutrition and health information. Interview transcripts…

  19. Information seeking and communication behaviour of Kenya ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper discusses the findings of a study which sought insight into engineer's information seeking and communication behaviour at Kenya Railways Corporation. The study employed a user centered approach to information seeking and use unlike many past studies which were system centered. It focused broadly and ...

  20. Patterns of information-seeking for cancer on the internet: an analysis of real world data.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yishai Ofran

    Full Text Available Although traditionally the primary information sources for cancer patients have been the treating medical team, patients and their relatives increasingly turn to the Internet, though this source may be misleading and confusing. We assess Internet searching patterns to understand the information needs of cancer patients and their acquaintances, as well as to discern their underlying psychological states. We screened 232,681 anonymous users who initiated cancer-specific queries on the Yahoo Web search engine over three months, and selected for study users with high levels of interest in this topic. Searches were partitioned by expected survival for the disease being searched. We compared the search patterns of anonymous users and their contacts. Users seeking information on aggressive malignancies exhibited shorter search periods, focusing on disease- and treatment-related information. Users seeking knowledge regarding more indolent tumors searched for longer periods, alternated between different subjects, and demonstrated a high interest in topics such as support groups. Acquaintances searched for longer periods than the proband user when seeking information on aggressive (compared to indolent cancers. Information needs can be modeled as transitioning between five discrete states, each with a unique signature representing the type of information of interest to the user. Thus, early phases of information-seeking for cancer follow a specific dynamic pattern. Areas of interest are disease dependent and vary between probands and their contacts. These patterns can be used by physicians and medical Web site authors to tailor information to the needs of patients and family members.

  1. Patterns of information-seeking for cancer on the internet: an analysis of real world data.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ofran, Yishai; Paltiel, Ora; Pelleg, Dan; Rowe, Jacob M; Yom-Tov, Elad

    2012-01-01

    Although traditionally the primary information sources for cancer patients have been the treating medical team, patients and their relatives increasingly turn to the Internet, though this source may be misleading and confusing. We assess Internet searching patterns to understand the information needs of cancer patients and their acquaintances, as well as to discern their underlying psychological states. We screened 232,681 anonymous users who initiated cancer-specific queries on the Yahoo Web search engine over three months, and selected for study users with high levels of interest in this topic. Searches were partitioned by expected survival for the disease being searched. We compared the search patterns of anonymous users and their contacts. Users seeking information on aggressive malignancies exhibited shorter search periods, focusing on disease- and treatment-related information. Users seeking knowledge regarding more indolent tumors searched for longer periods, alternated between different subjects, and demonstrated a high interest in topics such as support groups. Acquaintances searched for longer periods than the proband user when seeking information on aggressive (compared to indolent) cancers. Information needs can be modeled as transitioning between five discrete states, each with a unique signature representing the type of information of interest to the user. Thus, early phases of information-seeking for cancer follow a specific dynamic pattern. Areas of interest are disease dependent and vary between probands and their contacts. These patterns can be used by physicians and medical Web site authors to tailor information to the needs of patients and family members.

  2. Elaborating the Conceptual Space of Information-Seeking Phenomena

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savolainen, Reijo

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: The article contributes to conceptual studies of information behaviour research by examining the conceptualisations of information seeking and related terms such as information search and browsing. Method: The study builds on Bates' integrated model of information seeking and searching, originally presented in 2002. The model was…

  3. International students’ information seeking behavior

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hyldegård, Jette Seiden

    2016-01-01

    This report presents the first results and reflections from an exploratory case study carried out at The Royal School of Library and Information Science in 2015 on international students’ information seeking behavior. A convenient sample of five international master students participated...

  4. Information seeking habits of information and knowledge management students: A University of Johannesburg case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cornelius J.P. Niemand

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available According to Uçak (2007:697, ‘it is important to explore the information behaviours of the students who are being educated in the field of information management since the role they are going to play in establishing connections between information sources and users is crucial’. This study focuses on the identification of the information seeking behaviour of students in the department of Information and Knowledge Management at the University of Johannesburg, South Africa. The research is based on research conducted at the Hacettep University in Ankara, Turkey.

  5. Factors associated with mobile health information seeking among Singaporean women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Leanne; Chiuan Yen, Ching; Xue, Lishan; Choo Tai, Bee; Chuan Chan, Hock; Been-Lirn Duh, Henry; Choolani, Mahesh

    2017-01-01

    This study examined effects of age and social psychological factors on women's willingness to be mobile health information seekers. A national survey of 1,878 Singaporean women was conducted to obtain information on women's mobile phone usage, experiences of health information seeking, and appraisals of using mobile phones to seek health information. Results showed that young, middle-aged, and older women exhibited distinct mobile phone usage behaviors, health information-seeking patterns, and assessments of mobile health information seeking. Factors that accounted for their mobile information-seeking intention also varied. Data reported in this study provide insights into mobile health interventions in the future.

  6. Deconstructing Cancer Patient Information Seeking in a Consumer Health Library Toward Developing a Virtual Information Consult for Cancer Patients and Their Caregivers: A Qualitative, Instrumental Case Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Papadakos, Janet; Trang, Aileen; Cyr, Alaina B; Abdelmutti, Nazek; Giuliani, Meredith E; Snow, Michelle; McCurdie, Tara; Pulandiran, Menaka; Urowitz, Sara; Wiljer, David

    2017-05-24

    Cancer patients and their caregivers want information about their disease and are interested in finding health information online. Despite the abundance of cancer information online, it is often fragmented, its quality is highly variable, and it can be difficult to navigate without expert-level knowledge of the cancer system. The Patient & Family Library at the Princess Margaret Cancer Centre offers a broad collection of high-quality cancer health information and staff are available to help patrons refine their questions and explore information needs that they may not have considered. The purpose of this research study was to deconstruct patrons' information-seeking behaviors in the library to assess the feasibility of replicating the services provided in the library through a Web app, extending the service beyond the walls of the cancer centre. The specific aims of this research were to understand (1) how patrons approach information seeking in the library (interface design), (2) how patrons communicate their informational needs (information categorization and metadata requirements), and (3) what resources are provided to address the patrons' information needs (collection development). We employed a qualitative, instrumental case study to deconstruct patrons' health information-seeking behavior. The study population included patients, the librarian, and library volunteers. Ethnographic observation was conducted at the library over 3 days and key informant interviews with library staff were conducted to address the first aim. A closed card-sorting activity was conducted to address the second aim and the library shift logs and Search Request Forms (SRFs) were reviewed to address the third aim. A total of 55 interactions were recorded during the ethnographic observation and nine semistructured interviews were conducted during the key informant interviews. Seven library patron personas were identified: (1) Newbie, (2) Seasoned, (3) Direct, (4) Window Shopper, (5

  7. Everyday Information Needs and Information Seeking Habits in the Countryside: a Study of a Local Community

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gorazd Vodeb

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available ABSTRACTPurpose: The research attempts to provide an insight into the information world of the Slovenian countryside. It presents the first results of an exploratory study of information needs, information seeking habits and types of information sources.Methodology/approach: Brenda Dervin's Sense-Making Methodology was used as the theoretical basis for this research. 25 open structured interviews with inhabitants of a local community were conducted based on purposive sampling. Interview recordings were transcribed, summarised and analysed using the qualitative content analysis approach.Results: The analysis results in recognizing the types of gaps in the context of an individual, economic activities and in the context of a local community. Gap categories are described with regard to questions or problems and the ways of solving them. There are 20 categories describing gaps in the context of an individual, 17 categories which present economic activities – and 6 categories which pertain to a local community. Findings about information needs and the ways of seeking information stress the key role of information sources in farming and prevalence of interpersonal exchange of information and experts' opinion in the context of individual problem solving.Research limitation: The generalisation of results is not possible due to the sample size.Originality/practical implications: The findings contribute to understanding of information needs and ways of information seeking in the Slovenian countryside.

  8. The influence of substance abuse on the decision making and information seeking preference of patients with minor injuries in the emergency department

    OpenAIRE

    Eisenmann, Dorothea

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: Given the fact that a preference matched involvement in medical decision making improves the compliance and treatment success of patients (2-4), it is particularly important to learn more about their decision-making preferences and information needs. So far, we know that not all patients want to equally participate in the medical decision-making process (5-7). The decision-making and information-seeking preferences of patients can be measured by using the Autonomy Preference Ind...

  9. Interactive information seeking, behaviour and retrieval

    CERN Document Server

    Ruthven, Ian

    2011-01-01

    Information retrieval (IR) is a complex human activity supported by sophisticated systems. This book covers the whole spectrum of information retrieval, including: history and background information; behaviour and seeking task-based information; searching and retrieval approaches to investigating information; and, evaluation interfaces for IR.

  10. Promoting Informal and Professional Help-Seeking for Adolescent Dating Violence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedge, Jasmine M; Hudson-Flege, Matthew D; McDonell, James R

    2017-05-01

    The present study examined factors that differentiate adolescents with varied intentions of informal and professional help-seeking for dating violence. Help-seeking intentions among 518 ethnically diverse adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence were categorized into three groups: adolescents unlikely to seek any help, adolescents likely to seek only informal help, and adolescents likely to seek informal and professional help. Multinomial logistic regression found that gender, family functioning, problem-solving competency, dating status, having an adult to talk to about a dating relationship, and acceptability of family violence significantly predicted membership in the help-seeking groups. Implications for promoting informal and professional help-seeking and recommendations for future research are discussed.

  11. Promoting Informal and Professional Help-Seeking for Adolescent Dating Violence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedge, Jasmine M.; Hudson-Flege, Matthew D.; McDonell, James R.

    2016-01-01

    The present study examined factors that differentiate adolescents with varied intentions of informal and professional help-seeking for dating violence. Help-seeking intentions among 518 ethnically diverse adolescents from a rural, southern county who participated in a longitudinal study of teen dating violence were categorized into three groups: adolescents unlikely to seek any help, adolescents likely to seek only informal help, and adolescents likely to seek informal and professional help. Multinomial logistic regression found that gender, family functioning, problem-solving competency, dating status, having an adult to talk to about a dating relationship, and acceptability of family violence significantly predicted membership in the help-seeking groups. Implications for promoting informal and professional help-seeking and recommendations for future research are discussed. PMID:28584387

  12. Risk Information Seeking among U.S. and Dutch Residents. An Application of the model of Risk Information Seeking and Processing

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ter Huurne, E.F.J.; Griffin, Robert J.; Gutteling, Jan M.

    2009-01-01

    The model of risk information seeking and processing (RISP) proposes characteristics of individuals that might predispose them to seek risk information. The intent of this study is to test the model’s robustness across two independent samples in different nations. Based on data from the United

  13. Exploring information-seeking processes by business: analyzing source and channel choices in business-to-government service interactions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Boer, Yvon; Pieterson, Willem Jan; van Dijk, Johannes A.G.M.; Arendsen, R.

    2016-01-01

    With the rise of electronic channels it has become easier for businesses to consult various types of information sources in information-seeking processes. Governments are urged to rethink their role as reliable information source and the roles of their (electronic) service channels to provide

  14. Information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and technology

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kalervo Järvelin

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper discusses the research into information seeking and its directions at a general level. We approach this topic by analysis and argumentation based on past research in the domain. We begin by presenting a general model of information seeking and retrieval (IS&R which is used to derive nine broad dimensions that are needed to analyze IS&R. Past research is then contrasted with the dimensions and shown not to cover the dimensions sufficiently. Based on an analysis of the goals of information seeking research, and a view on human task performance augmentation, it is then shown that information seeking is intimately associated with, and dependent on, other aspects of work; tasks and technology included. This leads to a discussion on design and evaluation frameworks for IS&R, based on which two action lines are proposed: information retrieval research needs extension towards more context and information seeking research needs extension towards tasks and technology.

  15. Factors Associated with Health Information Seeking, Processing, and Use Among HIV Positive Adults in the Dominican Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stonbraker, Samantha; Befus, Montina; Lerebours Nadal, Leonel; Halpern, Mina; Larson, Elaine

    2017-06-01

    Effective treatment and management of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) depend on patients' ability to locate, comprehend, and apply health information. This study's purpose was to identify characteristics associated with these skills among HIV positive adults in the Dominican Republic. An information behavior survey was administered to 107 participants then three logistic regressions were conducted to identify characteristics associated with information seeking, processing, and use. Never having cared for someone who was sick was significantly associated with less information seeking, processing, and use. Males were more likely to be active information seekers and those who had attended the clinic for six or fewer years were less likely to actively seek information. Younger individuals had increased odds of higher information processing and those without comorbidities had increased odds of more information use. Results may inform researchers, organizations, and providers about how patients interact with health information in limited resource settings.

  16. Sexual Health Information Seeking Online Among Runaway and Homeless Youth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barman-Adhikari, Anamika; Rice, Eric

    2011-06-01

    Research shows runaway and homeless youth are reluctant to seek help from traditional health providers. The Internet can be useful in engaging this population and meeting their needs for sexual health information, including information about HIV and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Using a sample of homeless youth living in Los Angeles, California in June 2009, this study assesses the frequency with which runaway and homeless youth seek sexual health information via the Internet, and assesses which youth are more likely to engage in seeking health information from online sources. Drawing from Andersen's (1968) health behavior model and Pescosolido's (1992) network episode model, we develop and refine a model for seeking online sexual health information among homeless youth. Rather than testing the predicative strength of a given model, our aim is to identify and explore conceptually driven correlates that may shed light on the characteristics associated with these help seeking behaviors among homeless youth. Analyses using multivariate logistic regression models reveal that among the sample of youth, females and gay males most frequently seek sexual health information online. We demonstrate the structure of social network ties (e.g., connection with parents) and the content of interactions (e.g., e-mail forwards of health information) across ties are critical correlates of online sexual health information seeking. Results show a continued connection with parents via the Internet is significantly associated with youth seeking HIV or STI information. Similarly for content of interactions, more youth who were sent health information online also reported seeking HIV information and HIV-testing information. We discuss implications for intervention and practice, focusing on how the Internet may be used for dissemination of sexual health information and as a resource for social workers to link transient, runaway, and homeless youth to care.

  17. Insomnia patients' help-seeking experiences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheung, Janet M Y; Bartlett, Delwyn J; Armour, Carol L; Glozier, Nicholas; Saini, Bandana

    2014-03-04

    Timely access to appropriate treatment is important for optimizing insomnia management. To date, little is known about insomnia patients' treatment experiences or how they access and engage with the available health care resources. This study sought to capture the help-seeking experiences and behavioral patterns of patients with insomnia who are seeking or receiving specialist care. A purposive sample of 26 insomnia patients from specialist sleep and mental health clinics located in metropolitan New South Wales, Australia was recruited. Participants completed a brief questionnaire, followed by an in-depth, semi-structured interview. Interviews were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using framework analysis. Three key themes emerged from the data: patients' sleep beliefs, treatment beliefs, and accessing specialized care. The findings show that daytime symptoms arising from insomnia serve as important illness cues for patients to seek medical help. In addition, participants' treatment pathways highlight factors that prevent the widespread use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), including limited awareness about CBT-I, tentative referral mechanisms, limited service providers, and the high cost of CBT-I.

  18. Medication non-adherence and uncertainty: Information-seeking and processing in the Danish LIFESTAT survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kriegbaum, Margit; Lau, Sofie Rosenlund

    2017-09-23

    Statins are widely prescribed to lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, statin non-adherence is very high. The aim of this paper was to investigate reasons for stopping statin treatment in the general population and to study how aspects of information-seeking and processing is associated with statin non-adherence. This study used a population survey on 3050 Danish residents aged 45-65 years. Reasons for statin discontinuation was studied among those who were previous statin users. The association between information seeking and processing and statin discontinuation were analysed using multivariate logistical regression models. Experience of side effects and fear of side effects played an important role in the discontinuation of statin treatment. Feelings of uncertainty and confusion regarding information on statins predicted statin discontinuation. This applied to information from both mass media and from general practitioners. There was no clear pattern of information seeking and statin non-adherence. The article point to the impact of information-seeking on the decision to take cholesterol-lowering medication. This included contributions from information disseminated by media outlets. Side effects and fear of side effects should be addressed in clinical practice. Health care professionals should pay attention to emotional aspects of how information is disseminated and perceived by statin users. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  19. A non-linear model of information seeking behaviour

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allen E. Foster

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The results of a qualitative, naturalistic, study of information seeking behaviour are reported in this paper. The study applied the methods recommended by Lincoln and Guba for maximising credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability in data collection and analysis. Sampling combined purposive and snowball methods, and led to a final sample of 45 inter-disciplinary researchers from the University of Sheffield. In-depth semi-structured interviews were used to elicit detailed examples of information seeking. Coding of interview transcripts took place in multiple iterations over time and used Atlas-ti software to support the process. The results of the study are represented in a non-linear Model of Information Seeking Behaviour. The model describes three core processes (Opening, Orientation, and Consolidation and three levels of contextual interaction (Internal Context, External Context, and Cognitive Approach, each composed of several individual activities and attributes. The interactivity and shifts described by the model show information seeking to be non-linear, dynamic, holistic, and flowing. The paper concludes by describing the whole model of behaviours as analogous to an artist's palette, in which activities remain available throughout information seeking. A summary of key implications of the model and directions for further research are included.

  20. Employer's information and promotion-seeking activities

    OpenAIRE

    Epstein, Gil S.

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents a model in which promotion of employees within the internal firm hierarchy is determined by the individuals' allocation of time between promotion/rent-seeking and productive activity. We consider the effect of an increase in the employer's knowledge (information) regarding the employees' productivity levels on the total time spent by the workers in non-productive promotion-seeking activities.

  1. Need for Cognition and Electronic Health Literacy and Subsequent Information Seeking Behaviors Among University Undergraduate Students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rebecca K. Britt

    2013-10-01

    Full Text Available eHealth literacy (eHEALS has yet to be examined with regard to need for cognition (NFC, as well as whether NFC moderates the relationship between eHealth literacy and seeking out online health information. Past research that has examined NFC as an interaction between whether interactivity on health web sites affected comprehension and attitudes, but no research to date has examined whether cognitive need interacts with eHEALS and subsequent information seeking behaviors. The present study tests eHEALS and its connection to need for cognition (NFC in the role of online health information seeking behaviors. Results showed that high eHEALS individuals were more likely to seek out online health information and were more likely to have higher NFC scores. NFC did not emerge as a moderator on the relationship between eHealth literacy and online health information seeking behaviors. Future directions are discussed, in particular, examining eHEALS as a construct of efficacy and further need to examine eHEALS with need for cognition in health communication research.

  2. Information-Seeking Behaviors of Dental Practitioners in Three Practice-Based Research Networks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Botello-Harbaum, Maria T.; Demko, Catherine A.; Curro, Frederick A.; Rindal, D. Brad; Collie, Damon; Gilbert, Gregg H.; Hilton, Thomas J.; Craig, Ronald G.; Wu, Juliann; Funkhouser, Ellen; Lehman, Maryann; McBride, Ruth; Thompson, Van; Lindblad, Anne

    2013-01-01

    Research on the information-seeking behaviors of dental practitioners is scarce. Knowledge of dentists’ information-seeking behaviors should advance the translational gap between clinical dental research and dental practice. A cross-sectional survey was conducted to examine the self-reported information-seeking behaviors of dentists in three dental practice-based research networks (PBRNs). A total of 950 dentists (65 percent response rate) completed the survey. Dental journals and continuing dental education (CDE) sources used and their influence on practice guidance were assessed. PBRN participation level and years since dental degree were measured. Full-participant dentists reported reading the Journal of the American Dental Association and General Dentistry more frequently than did their reference counterparts. Printed journals were preferred by most dentists. A lower proportion of full participants obtained their CDE credits at dental meetings compared to partial participants. Experienced dentists read other dental information sources more frequently than did less experienced dentists. Practitioners involved in a PBRN differed in their approaches to accessing information sources. Peer-reviewed sources were more frequently used by full participants and dentists with fifteen years of experience or more. Dental PBRNs potentially play a significant role in the dissemination of evidence-based information. This study found that specific educational sources might increase and disseminate knowledge among dentists. PMID:23382524

  3. The web-surfing bariatic patient: the role of the internet in the decision-making process.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paolino, Luca; Genser, Laurent; Fritsch, Sylvie; De' Angelis, Nicola; Azoulay, Daniel; Lazzati, Andrea

    2015-04-01

    Health-related information on the Internet is constantly increasing, but its quality and accountability are difficult to assess. Patients browse the Net to get more information, but the impact of the Internet on their decisions about surgical techniques, referral centers, or surgeon choice are still not clear. This study aimed to describe the role of the Internet in the decision-making process of obese patients seeking bariatric surgery. Two hundred and twelve candidates for bariatric surgery were asked to answer a questionnaire evaluating their access to the Internet, the usefulness and trustworthiness of Internet-retrieved information, the verification of the information, and the role of the information in the decision-making process. Two hundred and twelve patients answered the questionnaire. Of these, 95.1% had access to the Internet and 77.8% reported having researched about bariatric surgery. Their main interests were the surgical techniques (81.4%) and other patients' experiences (72.3%). The favorite Web sites were those affiliated to public hospitals or edited by other patients. The accountability of the e-information was mainly evaluated by discussion with the general practitioner (GP) (83.0%) or family members and friends (46.8%). One patient in four decided to undergo bariatric surgery mainly based on e-information, while discussion about treatment options with the GP and the hospital reputation were taken into account in 77.8 and 51.7% of cases, respectively. Most patients seeking bariatric surgery search for health information online. E-information seems to have an important role in the decision-making process of patients who are candidates for bariatric surgery.

  4. 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.

  5. Coping with adverse drug events in patients with heart failure : Exploring the role of medication beliefs and perceptions

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    De Smedt, R. H.; Jaarsma, T.; Ranchor, A. V.; van der Meer, K.; Groenier, K. H.; Haaijer-Ruskamp, F. M.; Denig, P.

    2012-01-01

    This study describes coping strategies that patients with heart failure (HF) use to manage adverse drug events (ADEs). The included coping strategies were social support seeking, information seeking, non-adherence and taking alleviating medication. The role of beliefs about medication and ADE

  6. The Information Seeking and Use Behaviors of Retired Investors

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Connor, Lisa G.

    2013-01-01

    This exploratory study examines the information seeking and use behaviors of a group of US retired or near-retirement investors from everyday life information seeking and serious leisure perspectives. Although primarily qualitative, it also collects and analyzes quantitative data to describe retired investors' information preferences and use.…

  7. The Actions of Teacher-Librarians Minimize or Reinforce Barriers to Adolescent Information Seeking. A Review of: Meyers, Eric M., Lisa P. Nathan, and Matthew L. Saxton. “Barriers to Information Seeking in School Libraries: Conflicts in Perceptions and Practice.” Information Research 12:2 (2007: paper 295.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Julie McKenna

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To study high school teacher-librarians and whether their actions and reactions are aligned with their perception of the role they play in creating an information seeking and learning environment.Design – Triangulation qualitative research undertaken over a 16 month period (Fall 2005 – 2007.Setting – Six high school libraries in the Puget Sound region of the state of Washington, United States.Subjects – Six teacher-librarians, each with a minimum of ten years experience and classroom teachers and students. This sample represented the range of school sizes, the rural, urban, and suburban mix, and the range of significant socioeconomic conditions (qualification for subsidized lunch and English as an additional language in the region.Methods – Four interviews of one to two hours were held with each teacher-librarian during school hours. Initial interviews were recorded by hand and a set question protocol was used (and included in the appendix. Questions were asked about their professional background and training; their job duties, day to day activities and priorities; their perceptions as to how others (e.g., peers and administrators support the library; the goals of their library’s services; how students use the library; and their critical assessment of their role. Subsequent interviews were undertaken within two days of a classroom visit to the library and also followed a set protocol of questions (Appendix D. The second set of interviews was audio recorded and transcribed. Two classroom teachers from each school were interviewed for 30 minutes and audio recorded using a set interview protocol (Appendix C within two days of class participation in library instruction. Library observations ranging from two to three hours each occurred during a minimum of seven randomized times at each library. These observation sessions typically included class instructional sessions of thirty to ninety minutes. The observation protocols

  8. Information Seeking about Global Climate Change among Adolescents: The Role of Risk Perceptions, Efficacy Beliefs and Parental Influences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mead, Erin; Roser-Renouf, Connie; Rimal, Rajiv N.; Flora, June A.; Maibach, Edward W.; Leiserowitz, Anthony

    2012-01-01

    Global climate change is likely to have significant impacts on public health. Effective communication is critical to informing public decision making and behavior to mitigate climate change. An effective method of audience segmentation, the risk perception attitude (RPA) framework has been previously tested with other health behaviors and classifies people into 4 groups on the basis of their perceptions of risk and beliefs about personal efficacy. The 4 groups – indifference (low risk, weak efficacy), proactive (low risk, strong efficacy), avoidance (high risk, weak efficacy), and responsive (high risk, strong efficacy) – are hypothesized to differ in their self-protective behaviors and in their motivations to seek information. In this paper, we extend the RPA framework in two ways. First, we use it at the household level to determine whether parental classifications into the 4 groups are associated with their teenage children’s classification into the same 4 groups. Second, we predict adolescent information-seeking behaviors on the basis of their and their parents’ membership in the 4 RPA groups. Results (N = 523 parent-adolescent pairs) indicated that parental membership in the 4 RPA groups was significantly associated with children’s membership in the same 4 groups. Furthermore, the RPA framework was a significant predictor of adolescent information-seeking: those in the responsive and avoidance groups sought more information on climate change than the indifference group. Family communication on global warming was positively associated with adolescents’ information-seeking. Implications for interventions are discussed. PMID:22866024

  9. Help-Seeking Stigma in Asian American College Women: The Role of Disordered Eating Cognitions and Psychological Inflexibility

    Science.gov (United States)

    Masuda, Akihiko; Goodnight, Bradly L.; Ng, Stacey Y.; Ward Schaefer, L.; Tully, Erin C.; Chan, Wing Yi; Drake, Chad E.

    2017-01-01

    Help-seeking stigma is considered a major obstacle to seeking professional psychological services in Asian American college women. Informed in part by objectification theory and the psychological flexibility model of behavior change, the present cross-sectional study examines the role of disordered eating cognition and psychological inflexibility…

  10. The Information-Seeking Behavior of Police Officers in Turkish National Police

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guclu, Idris

    2011-01-01

    A current trend that has emerged as a result of the information age is information-seeking behavior. From individuals to large social institutions, information-seeking behavior is utilized to attain a wide variety of goals. This body of work investigates the information-seeking behaviors of police officers who work in police stations in the…

  11. Does self-stigma reduce the probability of seeking mental health information?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lannin, Daniel G; Vogel, David L; Brenner, Rachel E; Abraham, W Todd; Heath, Patrick J

    2016-04-01

    An important first step in seeking counseling may involve obtaining information about mental health concerns and treatment options. Researchers have suggested that some people may avoid such information because it is too threatening due to self-stigma and negative attitudes, but the link to actual help-seeking decisions has not been tested. Therefore, the purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-stigma and attitudes negatively impact decisions to seek information about mental health concerns and counseling. Probit regression models with 370 undergraduates showed that self-stigma negatively predicted decisions to seek both mental health and counseling information, with attitudes toward counseling mediating self-stigma's influence on these decisions. Among individuals experiencing higher levels of distress, the predicted probabilities of seeking mental health information (8.5%) and counseling information (8.4%) for those with high self-stigma were nearly half of those with low self-stigma (17.1% and 15.0%, respectively). This suggests that self-stigma may hinder initial decisions to seek mental health and counseling information, and implies the need for the development of early interventions designed to reduce help-seeking barriers. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

  12. Decisional role preferences, risk knowledge and information interests in patients with multiple sclerosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heesen, Christoph; Kasper, Jürgen; Segal, Julia; Köpke, Sascha; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

    2004-12-01

    Shared decision making is increasingly recognized as the ideal model of patient-physician communication especially in chronic diseases with partially effective treatments as multiple sclerosis (MS). To evaluate prerequisite factors for this kind of decision making we studied patients' decisional role preferences in medical decision making, knowledge on risks, information interests and the relations between these factors in MS. After conducting focus groups to generate hypotheses, 219 randomly selected patients from the MS Outpatient Clinic register (n = 1374) of the University Hospital Hamburg received mailed questionnaires on their knowledge of risks in MS, their perception of their own level of knowledge, information interests and role preferences. Most patients (79%) indicated that they preferred an active role in treatment decisions giving the shared decision and the informed choice model the highest priority. MS risk knowledge was low but questionnaire results depended on disease course, disease duration and ongoing immune therapy. Measured knowledge as well as perceived knowledge was only weakly correlated with preferences of active roles. Major information interests were related to symptom alleviation, diagnostic procedures and prognosis. Patients with MS claimed autonomous roles in their health care decisions. The weak correlation between knowledge and preferences for active roles implicates that other factors largely influence role preferences.

  13. Investigating Chinese Migrants’ Information-Seeking Patterns in Canada: Media Selection and Language Preference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuping Mao

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Taking a quantitative approach, this research surveyed Chinese migrants in Canada regarding channels they rely on to seek various information. This research also investigates how Chinese migrants’ preferences of channels correlate with their intercultural sensitivity level. Chinese migrants prefer Chinese newspapers and websites for government/policy information and life information rather than English newspapers and websites. However, they use English newspapers and websites more frequently for job and career development information. Overall, English television and radio are more frequently used by Chinese migrants than Chinese television and radio broadcasts. The intercultural sensitivity levels of Chinese migrants have a positive correlation with their frequencies of using English information resources, including government websites, English newspapers, English non-government websites, government officers, personal non-Chinese social networks, and English television and radio. Findings of this research suggest that Chinese ethnic media play an important role in Chinese migrants’ information-seeking behaviours and patterns in Canada. On one hand, government and other organizations can reach the Chinese migrant community through information diffusion in Chinese ethnic media. On the other hand, Chinese migrants should make an active effort to improve their English proficiency and intercultural communication sensitivity to better integrate themselves into the Canadian society. A more balanced approach of seeking information from English and Chinese media sources could be more beneficial for Chinese migrants.

  14. Cell Phone Information Seeking Explains Blood Pressure in African American Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, Lenette M; Veinot, Tiffany C; Pressler, Susan J

    2018-05-01

    Although cell phone use and Internet access via cell phone is not marked by racial disparities, little is known about how cell phone use relates to blood pressure and health information seeking behaviors. The purposes of this study were to (a) describe Internet activities, cell phone use, and information seeking; (b) determine differences in blood pressure and information seeking between cell phone information seekers and nonseekers; and (c) examine cell phone information seeking as a predictor of blood pressure in African American women. Participants ( N = 147) completed a survey and had their blood pressure measured. Independent-sample t tests showed a significant difference in systolic blood pressure in cell phone information seekers and nonseekers. Linear regression revealed cell phone information seeking as an independent predictor of systolic blood pressure, despite confounders. It is possible that cell phone information seekers were using health information to make decisions about self-management of blood pressure.

  15. Iranian Women's Breast Health-Seeking Behaviors: Husband's Role.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mazloomy-Mahmoodabad, Seyed Saeed; Khodayarian, Mahsa; Morowatisharifabad, Mohammad Ali; Lamyian, Minoor; Tavangar, Hossein

    2017-12-14

    Breast cancer has become the most common cancer among Yazdi women in Iran. Thus, it is necessary to encourage these women to participate in breast health-seeking behaviors. In this regard, husbands can play an effective role. The aim of this study was to explore women's perceptions about the effect of their husband's role on breast health-seeking protection motivation. This study used a directed qualitative content analysis approach based on the Protection Motivation Theory. Participants were selected using purposive sampling; in-depth semistructured interviews with 14 Yazdi women were completed. One major category named "motivator role of husband" emerged from the analysis. The following subcategories underlying this category were "indifference and a lack of support as long as the women can continue with expected duties," "what women want for support," "facilitating and restrictive factors of husband's supportive role," "public health education needed," and "husband's agreement with preventive actions." Voluntary participation in breast health-seeking behaviors is a culturally sensitive topic. The qualitative methodology allowed this sensitive topic and its different aspects to be explored. The findings indicated that the major source of support for women was their husband's behavior toward breast health-seeking actions. Family cohesion and love among couples were identified as strong determinant factors pertaining to husband's supportive behaviors. The study findings provided deeper understanding about the effective factors related to a husband's role in motivating a wife to practice breast cancer prevention. These new findings are relevant for health educators and practitioners to develop culturally based interventions.

  16. Information-seeking behavior of social sciences scholars: A Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This article examines the information-seeking behavior of scholars in the social sciences, based on the premise that information-seeking behavior follows universally applicable stages and patterns worldwide. The study was conducted at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER). Fifty eight active ...

  17. Health care information seeking and seniors: determinants of Internet use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Xiaojing; Simpson, Penny M

    2015-01-01

    While seniors are the most likely population segment to have chronic diseases, they are the least likely to seek information about health and diseases on the Internet. An understanding of factors that impact seniors' usage of the Internet for health care information may provide them with tools needed to improve health. This research examined some of these factors as identified in the comprehensive model of information seeking to find that demographics, trust in health information websites, perceived usefulness of the Internet, and internal locus of control each significantly impact seniors' use of the Internet to seek health information.

  18. Relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior in Chinese nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Zhuqing; Hu, Dehua; Zheng, Feng; Ding, Siqing; Luo, Aijing

    2018-04-01

    In the information-based economy, information literacy has become the foundation of scientific literacy, and provides the basis for innovative growth. Exploring the relationship between information-seeking behaviors and innovative behaviors of nursing students could help guide the development of information literacy education and training for nursing students. The relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior in nursing students has received little attention, however. This study aims to explore the relationship between information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior of nursing students. Nursing students in Xiangya Medical School, Central South University and Medical School of Hunan Normal University in the Chinese Province of Hunan were surveyed with an information-seeking behavior scale and an innovative behavior scale. A total of 1247 nursing students were included in the final analysis. The results showed that both information-seeking behavior and innovative behavior were significantly better in undergraduates than in junior college nursing students (P information-seeking behavior was positively related to innovative behavior (r = 0.63, P information-seeking behavior were also correlated with innovative behavior in varying degrees. Furthermore, information utilization was proved to be the strongest predictor of innovative behavior. Information-seeking behavior is positively associated with innovative behavior among nursing students. There is a need to integrate information literacy education with information retrieval courses, especially in the aspects of information utilization, retrieval, and assessment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Aligning Learner Preferences for Information Seeking, Information Sharing and Mobile Technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Leila A.; Knezek, Gerald; Khaddage, Ferial

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on the development of a new information communications technology (ICT) learning preference survey, its cross-validation with attitudes towards mobile learning, and new perspectives on information seeking, information sharing, and mobile access derived from the relationships uncovered. The Information and Communications…

  20. Understanding family health information seeking: a test of the theory of motivated information management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hovick, Shelly R

    2014-01-01

    Although a family health history can be used to assess disease risk and increase health prevention behaviors, research suggests that few people have collected family health information. Guided by the Theory of Motivated Information Management, this study seeks to understand the barriers to and facilitators of interpersonal information seeking about family health history. Individuals who were engaged to be married (N = 306) were surveyed online and in person to understand how factors such as uncertainty, expectations for an information search, efficacy, and anxiety influence decisions and strategies for obtaining family health histories. The results supported the Theory of Motivated Information Management by demonstrating that individuals who experienced uncertainty discrepancies regarding family heath history had greater intention to seek information from family members when anxiety was low, outcome expectancy was high, and communication efficacy was positive. Although raising uncertainty about family health history may be an effective tool for health communicators to increase communication among family members, low-anxiety situations may be optimal for information seeking. Health communication messages must also build confidence in people's ability to communicate with family to obtain the needed health information.

  1. What defines 'enough' information? How policy workers make judgements and decisions during information seeking: preliminary results from an exploratory study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J.M. Berryman

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. Reports findings from research in progress investigating judgment and decision making during information seeking in the workplace, in particular, the assessment of enough information. Characteristics of this judgment and the role of context in shaping it are framed against theories of human judgment and decision making. Method. Thirty-three semi-structured interviews were conducted with public sector policy workers in Australia. Two interviews were carried out, the first with individual participants and the second, a joint interview with two participants. Interviews were taped and transcribed and inductive data analysis carried out. Findings. Findings discussed in this paper focus on contextual factors that frame policy workers' judgment and decision making while information seeking, factors including ill-structured problems, shifting goals, time stress and action-feedback loops. Also revealed was the importance of developing a framework, against which the judgment of enough information can be made, and the fluid and iterative nature of these judgments. Conclusion. The contextual factors reported show similarities with those identified by naturalistic decision making researchers, suggesting this new field of decision theory has much to offer researchers into information seeking in context.

  2. A hierarchical modeling of information seeking behavior of school ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The aim of this study was to investigate the information seeking behavior of school teachers in the public primary schools of rural areas of Nigeria and to draw up a model of their information-seeking behavior. A Cross-sectional survey design research was employed to carry out the research. Findings showed that the ...

  3. 'Information Seeking in Context' and the development of information systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irina Gaslikova

    1999-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports on some findings of the explorations represented at the conference "Information Seeking in Context" (ISIC’98. These findings are investigated with the aim to evaluate their practical usefulness for the design of information computer systems. The paper discusses some common problems connected with the conceptual approaches to the information system development.

  4. The role of medial prefrontal cortex in extinction and reinstatement of alcohol-seeking in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willcocks, Andrea L; McNally, Gavan P

    2013-01-01

    The prelimbic (PL) and infralimbic (IL) medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are thought to play opposing roles in drug-seeking behaviour. Specifically, the PL promotes drug-seeking whereas the IL is necessary for the inhibition of drug-seeking during extinction. We studied the roles of the PL, IL and dorsal peduncular PFC (DP) in the expression of context-induced reinstatement, reacquisition and extinction of alcoholic beer-seeking. In context-induced reinstatement (renewal), animals were trained to nosepoke for alcoholic beer (context A), extinguished (context B) and then tested in context A and B. In reacquisition, animals received the same instrumental training and extinction without any contextual manipulation. On test, alcoholic beer was again available and responding was compared with naive controls. Just prior to the test, rats received bilateral infusion of baclofen/muscimol into the PL, IL or DP. Reversible inactivation of the PL attenuated ABA renewal but augmented reacquisition. Reversible inactivation of IL had no effect on the reinstatement or reacquisition of alcoholic beer-seeking and had no effect on extinction expression (ABB and AAA). IL inactivation did, however, increase the latencies with which animals responded on test but only when animals were tested in the extinction context. DP inactivation had no effect on reinstatement or reacquisition. These studies are inconsistent with the view that PL and IL exert opposing effects on drug-seeking. Rather, they support the view that PL is important for retrieval of drug-seeking contingency information and that the use of contextual information is enhanced with IL manipulation. © 2012 Federation of European Neuroscience Societies and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  5. Information-Seeking Behaviour of Extension Workers and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper examined the information-seeking behaviour of extension workers and specialist in the context of their use and non-use of job-related information in Nigeria, and also in relation to their job satisfaction. The objectives of the study are to identify the types of information sources, resources and communication ...

  6. Why do patients seek primary medical care in emergency departments? An ethnographic exploration of access to general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacKichan, Fiona; Brangan, Emer; Wye, Lesley; Checkland, Kath; Lasserson, Daniel; Huntley, Alyson; Morris, Richard; Tammes, Peter; Salisbury, Chris; Purdy, Sarah

    2017-05-04

    To describe how processes of primary care access influence decisions to seek help at the emergency department (ED). Ethnographic case study combining non-participant observation, informal and formal interviewing. Six general practitioner (GP) practices located in three commissioning organisations in England. Reception areas at each practice were observed over the course of a working week (73 hours in total). Practice documents were collected and clinical and non-clinical staff were interviewed (n=19). Patients with recent ED use, or a carer if aged 16 and under, were interviewed (n=29). Past experience of accessing GP care recursively informed patient decisions about where to seek urgent care, and difficulties with access were implicit in patient accounts of ED use. GP practices had complicated, changeable systems for appointments. This made navigating appointment booking difficult for patients and reception staff, and engendered a mistrust of the system. Increasingly, the telephone was the instrument of demand management, but there were unintended consequences for access. Some patient groups, such as those with English as an additional language, were particularly disadvantaged, and the varying patient and staff semantic of words like 'urgent' and 'emergency' was exacerbated during telephone interactions. Poor integration between in-hours and out-of-hours care and patient perceptions of the quality of care accessible at their GP practice also informed ED use. This study provides important insight into the implicit role of primary care access on the use of ED. Discourses around 'inappropriate' patient demand neglect to recognise that decisions about where to seek urgent care are based on experiential knowledge. Simply speeding up access to primary care or increasing its volume is unlikely to alleviate rising ED use. Systems for accessing care need to be transparent, perceptibly fair and appropriate to the needs of diverse patient groups. © Article author(s) (or

  7. Information needs and risk perception as predictors of risk information seeking

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    ter Huurne, E.F.J.; Gutteling, Jan M.

    2008-01-01

    This paper introduces a theoretical framework that describes the importance of public's information sufficiency, risk perception, and self-efficacy as predictors of intended risk information seeking behaviour. Based on theoretical assumptions, measurement instruments for relevant concepts were

  8. Health information-seeking among Latino newcomers - an exploratory study

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    Christina Courtright

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available ntroduction. This exploratory study examines health information-seeking practices among Latin American newcomers to a small city in the United States. The framework locates these practices within social networks, the local institutional context and the use and non-use of information technologies. Method. Semistructured interviews were conducted in Spanish with seven immigrant workers. Interviews elicited incidents of both purposive seeking and accidental encountering of health information. Analysis. Data were coded for reference to social networks, strengths of social networks, and perceptions and uses of institutions, organizations, and technologies, treating the information incident as unit of analysis. Results. Information seeking is often assisted by both social networks and key institutions, yet the quality of the information transmitted through social networks is apt to be uneven, and newcomers are unable to obtain an adequate overview of local health care for improved decision-making. Of particular interest is the finding that the local information environment has evolved significantly in response to growing demand for Spanish-language and low-income services. Conclusion. It is particularly important for information behaviour researchers to examine the dynamic interactions among study populations and their information environments over time.

  9. An anlaysis of engineers information seeking activity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cash, Philip; Stanković, Tino; Štorga, Mario

    2013-01-01

    Information seeking is an important part of the engineering design process. In this context the Internet has become a significant source of information, shaping the way engineers work and interact. Current work has focused on characterizing this activity in terms of total time allocated to differ...

  10. Determinants of patient delay in seeking treatment among ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Patients delay in seeking care increases the transmission of pulmonary tuberculosis and hence the burden of the disease. This study investigates the pattern and determinants of patients delay in seeking treatment among pulmonary tuberculosis cases attending a Government Chest Clinic in Ibadan, Nigeria. A descriptive ...

  11. Meta-synthesis exploring barriers to health seeking behaviour among Malaysian breast cancer patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Foo Qing; Murugiah, Muthu Kumar; Khan, Amer Hayat; Mehmood, Tahir

    2015-01-01

    Barriers to health seeking constitute a challenging issue in the treatment of breast cancer. The current meta- synthesis aimed to explore common barriers to health seeking among Malaysian breast cancer patients. From the systematic search, nine studies were found meeting the inclusion criteria. Data extraction revealed that health behavior towards breast cancer among Malaysia women was influenced by knowledge, psychological, sociocultural and medical system factors. In terms of knowledge, most of the Malaysian patients were observed to have cursory information and the reliance on the information provided by media was limiting. Among psychological factors, stress and sense of denial were some of the common factors leading to delay in treatment seeking. Family member's advice, cultural beliefs towards traditional care were some of the common sociocultural factors hindering immediate access to advanced medical diagnosis and care. Lastly, the delay in referral was one of the most common health system-related problems highlighted in most of the studies. In conclusion, there is an immediate need to improve the knowledge and understanding of Malaysian women towards breast cancer. Mass media should liaise with the cancer specialists to disseminate accurate and up-to-date information for the readers and audience, helping in modification of cultural beliefs that hinder timing health seeking. However, such intervention will not improve or rectify the health system related barriers to treatment seeking. Therefore, there is an immediate need for resource adjustment and training programs among health professional to improve their competency and professionalism required to develop an efficient health system.

  12. Low literacy and written drug information: information-seeking, leaflet evaluation and preferences, and roles for images.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Beusekom, Mara M; Grootens-Wiegers, Petronella; Bos, Mark J W; Guchelaar, Henk-Jan; van den Broek, Jos M

    2016-12-01

    Background Low-literate patients are at risk to misinterpret written drug information. For the (co-) design of targeted patient information, it is key to involve this group in determining their communication barriers and information needs. Objective To gain insight into how people with low literacy use and evaluate written drug information, and to identify ways in which they feel the patient leaflet can be improved, and in particular how images could be used. Setting Food banks and an education institution for Dutch language training in the Netherlands. Method Semi-structured focus groups and individual interviews were held with low-literate participants (n = 45). The thematic framework approach was used for analysis to identify themes in the data. Main outcome measure Low-literate people's experience with patient information leaflets, ideas for improvements, and perceptions on possible uses for visuals. Results Patient information leaflets were considered discouraging to use, and information difficult to find and understand. Many rely on alternative information sources. The leaflet should be shorter, and improved in terms of organisation, legibility and readability. Participants thought images could increase the leaflet's appeal, help ask questions, provide an overview, help understand textual information, aid recall, reassure, and even lead to increased confidence, empowerment and feeling of safety. Conclusion Already at the stages of paying attention to the leaflet and maintaining interest in the message, low-literate patients experience barriers in the communication process through written drug information. Short, structured, visual/textual explanations can lower the motivational threshold to use the leaflet, improve understanding, and empower the low-literate target group.

  13. The Information-Seeking Habits of Architecture Faculty

    Science.gov (United States)

    Campbell, Lucy

    2017-01-01

    This study examines results from a survey of architecture faculty across the United States investigating information-seeking behavior and perceptions of library services. Faculty were asked to rank information sources they used for research, teaching, and creativity within their discipline. Sources were ranked similarly across these activities,…

  14. Facilitators and barriers in treatment seeking for cannabis dependence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van der Pol, Peggy; Liebregts, Nienke; de Graaf, Ron; Korf, Dirk J; van den Brink, Wim; van Laar, Margriet

    2013-12-01

    Relatively few cannabis dependent people seek treatment and little is known about determinants of treatment seeking. Treatment determinants were compared among 70 DSM-IV cannabis dependent patients and 241 non-treatment seeking DSM-IV cannabis dependent community subjects. In addition, perceived facilitators for treatment seeking were assessed in patients, whereas perceived barriers were assessed in 160/241 cannabis dependent community subjects not prepared to seek treatment (precluders), of whom 63/160 showed an objective treatment need, and 30/241 showed a subjective treatment need. Compared to non-treatment seekers, patients reported more cannabis use (176.9 versus 82.8 joints monthly), more symptoms of dependence (5.6 versus 4.5), higher perceived lack of social support (70.0% versus 41.1%), more pressure to seek treatment (58.6% versus 21.6%), a more positive attitude to treatment, and more previous treatments. In addition, patients reported more mental health problems (internalising disorders 57.1% versus 24.5%; externalising disorders 52.9% versus 35.3%) and more functional impairments (8.4 versus 4.8 monthly days out of role). Cannabis dependent 'precluders' reported desire for self-reliance (50.0%), preference for informal help (22.5%), and absent treatment need (16.9%) as their main reasons not to seek treatment, whereas cannabis dependent community subjects with a subjective treatment need mainly expressed desire for self-reliance (36.7%), treatment ineffectiveness (16.7%), and avoiding stigma (13.3%). Functional impairment, mental health problems and social pressure are important reasons to seek treatment in people with cannabis dependence. Treatment participation might improve if desire for self-reliance and the preference for informal help are considered, and perceived ineffectiveness of treatment and stigmatisation are publicly addressed. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Modeling web-based information seeking by users who are blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brunsman-Johnson, Carissa; Narayanan, Sundaram; Shebilske, Wayne; Alakke, Ganesh; Narakesari, Shruti

    2011-01-01

    This article describes website information seeking strategies used by users who are blind and compares those with sighted users. It outlines how assistive technologies and website design can aid users who are blind while information seeking. People who are blind and sighted are tested using an assessment tool and performing several tasks on websites. The times and keystrokes are recorded for all tasks as well as commands used and spatial questioning. Participants who are blind used keyword-based search strategies as their primary tool to seek information. Sighted users also used keyword search techniques if they were unable to find the information using a visual scan of the home page of a website. A proposed model based on the present study for information seeking is described. Keywords are important in the strategies used by both groups of participants and providing these common and consistent keywords in locations that are accessible to the users may be useful for efficient information searching. The observations suggest that there may be a difference in how users search a website that is familiar compared to one that is unfamiliar. © 2011 Informa UK, Ltd.

  16. How, When and Why People Seek Health Information Online: Qualitative Study in Hong Kong.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chu, Joanna Tw; Wang, Man Ping; Shen, Chen; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula; Lam, Tai Hing; Chan, Sophia Siu Chee

    2017-12-12

    The Internet has become an established source for health information. The number of individuals using the Internet to search for health information, ranging from healthy lifestyle advice to treatment and diseases, continues to grow. Scholars have emphasized the need to give greater voice and influence to health consumers. Hong Kong, being one of the most technologically advanced and connected cities in the world, has one of the highest Internet penetration rates in the world. Given the dearth of research in an Asian context, Hong Kong is an excellent platform to study individuals' perceptions (eg, benefits and limitations on seeking health information online and how the information is used) on health information seeking. The aim of this paper was to study individuals' perceptions on health information seeking and to document their Internet information-seeking behaviors. Five focus groups (n=49) were conducted from November 2015 to January 2016 with individuals across different age groups (18 years or above). Focus group contents were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. Older (55+ years) and less educated respondents were less likely to use the Internet to search for health information. Among individuals who obtained health information via the Internet, regardless of the severity of the health issue, the Internet was always the first source for information. Limited doctor consultation time and barriers to accessing professional health services were the main reasons for using the Internet. Convenience and coverage were regarded as the main advantages, whereas credibility and trustworthiness of health information were noted as limitations. The use of Web-based health information varied among individuals; hence, the implications on the doctor-patient relationship were mixed. The prevalent and increasing use of the Internet for health information seeking suggests the need for health care professionals to understand how it can be

  17. Information Seeking Behaviour of Faculty Members of Rajabhat Universities in Bangkok

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Neela J. Deshpande

    2005-12-01

    Full Text Available This article reports the results of a study of the information seeking behaviour of faculty members of Rajabhat Universities in Bangkok, Thailand. Data were collected by using a questionnaire from seven faculties in Rajabhat Universities. Results show that most of respondents (forty one percent stated their method of seeking information by consulting a knowledgeable person in the field. Two hundred and thirteen respondents (82 percent seek information for preparing lectures. Fifty-four percent of faculty members access more documents was references from a book. It is revealed that most of the faculty members (57 percent used textbooks. Seventy four percent of respondents read information materials in Thai and twenty four percent read materials in English. The Internet had been almost universally adopted; they trace materials from the library via the Internet. Google.com was used for searching information by respondents. They use frequently e-mail for communication. It is found that 42 percent of respondents use the ERIC (Education Resources Information Centre database. The majority of respondents faced the common problem while seeking information i.e. unavailability of information.

  18. Cancer Fatalism, Literacy, and Cancer Information Seeking in the American Public

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Lindsay C.; Smith, Samuel G.

    2016-01-01

    Information seeking is an important behavior for cancer prevention and control, but inequalities in the communication of information about the disease persist. Conceptual models have suggested that low health literacy is a barrier to information seeking, and that fatalistic beliefs about cancer may be a mediator of this relationship. Cancer…

  19. The impact of mass media health communication on health decision-making and medical advice-seeking behavior of u.s. Hispanic population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    De Jesus, Maria

    2013-01-01

    Mass media health communication has enormous potential to drastically alter how health-related information is disseminated and obtained by different populations. However, there is little evidence regarding the influence of media channels on health decision-making and medical advice-seeking behaviors among the Hispanic population. The Pew 2007 Hispanic Healthcare Survey was used to test the hypothesis that the amount of mass media health communication (i.e., quantity of media-based health information received) is more likely to influence Hispanic adults' health decision-making and medical advice-seeking behavior compared to health literacy and language proficiency variables. Results indicated that quantity of media-based health information is positively associated with health decision-making and medical advice-seeking behavior above and beyond the influence of health literacy and English and Spanish language proficiency. In a context where physician-patient dynamics are increasingly shifting from a passive patient role model to a more active patient role model, media-based health information can serve as an influential cue to action, prompting Hispanic individuals to make certain health-related decisions and to seek more health advice and information from a health provider. Study implications are discussed.

  20. A Study of the Information Seeking Behavior of Communication Graduate Students in Their Research Processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shih-Chuan Chen

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Thesis is the research outcome that a graduate student spends most of his or her time and energies to achieve. Therefore, the research process of student’s thesis writing is an important topic to be investigated. The main purpose of this study is to explore graduate students’ information seeking behavior during the process of thesis writing. Ten graduate students in the field of communication were interviewed, and their information horizon maps as well as bibliographical references were analyzed also. Results showed that the library, as a formal channel, is the primary source for graduate students. The documents that they used most often were theses and dissertations, monographs, and journals. In addition to the formal channels, social network also played as a very important role in students’ research process. The networks even changed their information seeking behaviors in formal channels. Students reported several problems encountered in the research process, such as lacking of the background knowledge of the interdisciplinary, being unable to find out the core and relevant documents from the search results, etc. In conclusion, graduate students’ information seeking behavior changed at different stages in the research process. [Article content in Chinese

  1. Information Needs and Seeking Behavior During the H1N1 Virus Outbreak

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Majid, Shaheen

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available Timely access to quality healthcare information during an outbreak plays an important role in curtailing its spread. The aim of this study was to investigate the information needs and seeking behavior of the general public in Singapore during the H1N1 pandemic. A pre-tested questionnaire was used for data collection. The convenience snowball sampling method was used and 260 working adults and tertiary-level students participated in this study. The most crucial information needs of a majority of the participants were: symptoms of H1N1, causes of the infection, preventive measures, and possible treatments. Data analysis also revealed that mass media such as television, newspapers, and radio were most frequently used for seeking the needed information. The use of human information sources was also quite high while only a small number of the respondents accessed online news and healthcare websites. About three-quarters of the participants indicated that the gathered information helped them to stay vigilant and take necessary precautionary measures. A major problem identified by the participants in using H1N1 information was the lack of understanding of certain terms used in public communications. This paper suggests certain measures for strengthening health information communication during future outbreaks.

  2. Patterns of Internet-based health information seeking in adult survivors of childhood cancer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Claridy, Mechelle D; Hudson, Melissa M; Caplan, Lee; Mitby, Pauline A; Leisenring, Wendy; Smith, Selina A; Robison, Leslie L; Mertens, Ann C

    2018-05-01

    To assess where, when, and why survivors of childhood cancer seek health information. Data from the Childhood Cancer Survivor Study (CCSS) cohort (n = 1386) and Health Information National Trends Survey (n = 2385) were analyzed to determine the health information seeking strategies of childhood cancer survivors. Descriptive frequencies, χ 2 analyses, t-tests, and multivariable logistic regression models were used. To seek health-related information for themselves, 54% (n = 742) of the childhood survivors reported using the Internet in the past 12 months, compared to 45% of the general population (adjusted OR: 2.76; 95% CI: 2.40-3.19). Childhood cancer survivors who used the Internet for health information were more likely to be female, between the ages of 18-34, have received some college education or be a college graduate, and report being in poor health. Although survivors were less likely than the general population to trust health information from the Internet (P < 0.01), they indicated that they would like a secure website that uses information from their medical records to provide individualized health-related information. The use of the Internet to access health information among the childhood cancer survivors was over 50%. Information on late effects was a high priority for most survivors, as was their interest in websites related to late effects and a website on patient information tailored to personal situations. Identification of factors associated with searching the Internet for cancer information may provide direction for development of effective cancer communication interventions for this at-risk population. © 2018 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  3. Do Dutch workers seek and find information on occupational safety and health?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rhebergen, Martijn D F; Lenderink, Annet F; van Dijk, Frank J H; Hulshof, Carel T J

    2012-03-01

    Currently, little is known about workers' occupational safety and health (OSH) information-seeking behavior. We assessed whether Dutch workers have (OSH) questions, what motivates them to seek information or advice to solve these questions, and whether workers actually find the information they are looking for. A random sample of 888 workers from a large business panel were sent an online questionnaire. In total, 535 workers, likely parallel to the Dutch working population, returned the questionnaire (response rate 60%). In the last year, 380 of the 535 respondents (71%) had at least one OSH question. In total, 159 of the 380 respondents (42%) with an OSH question actively searched for information or advice. In a logistic regression analysis, three factors were identified to influence workers' information seeking: cognitions about personal benefits or costs of solving the question (OR = 2.8, 95% CI: 1.8-4.5), emotions that accompany the question (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.0), and encouragement by the social environment (OR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.0-3.0). In total, 50% of the respondents seeking information indicated they could not find (all) the information they sought. The barrier most often mentioned (47%) was the poor applicability of the information. Although most workers have OSH questions, only 40% seek information or advice to answer their questions. Moreover, many OSH questions remain unanswered by common information facilities. This study provides input on how to develop campaigns and new facilities that may induce workers to seek information and that offer more applicable information. Copyright © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  4. 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.

  5. Patterns of Information Seeking Behaviour of Law Students in Digital Environment: A Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Das, Rajesh Kumar

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Nowadays the enormous growth of modern information communication technologies and its massive use have influenced information users all over the world. Such a digital environment has drastically changed the information seeking patterns of information users of every community. These also tend law students to use various legal information sources and services in digital environments while seeking information. But there have been few empirical user studies on the aspect of digital information seeking behaviours of law students in either law or library and information science literatures. This paper aims to draw out patterns of information seeking behavior of students of law in digital environments at the University of Dhaka. A stratified random sample survey was conducted for this study. The results show that students prefer the electronic format of information rather than printed format. Major e-resources used by them and the influential factors of use were also identified in this study. This study also identified some crucial problems for seeking information and provides suggestions for the development of electronic legal information systems.

  6. Promoting Oral Health Using Social Media Platforms: Seeking Arabic Online Oral Health Related Information (OHRI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almaiman, Sarah; Bahkali, Salwa; Alabdulatif, Norah; Bahkaly, Ahlam; Al-Surimi, Khaled; Househ, Mowafa

    2016-01-01

    Access to oral health care services around the world is limited by a lack of universal coverage. The internet and social media can be an important source for patients to access supplementary oral health related information (OHRI). Online OHRI presents an opportunity to enhance dental public health education about innumerable oral health issues and promote dental self-care. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of social media users among the Saudi population and identify the preferred social media platform for seeking Arabic OHRI and its impact on seekers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior. A total of 2652 Twitter followers were surveyed, using a web-based self-administered questionnaire to collect data on demographic characteristics and online OHRI seeking behavior More than two thirds, 67.7% (n= 1796), of the participants reported they were seeking Arabic online OHRI, while 41.1% of the participants reported they had no preference for using a specific social media platform. These results emphasize the need and importance of supporting the content of social media with trusted and high quality online OHRI resources to promote a high level of public awareness about oral health and dental health services. Further studies in this regard are highly recommended on a larger scale of nationalities to explore the role of social media platform preference in promoting health promotion and dental public health awareness.

  7. Health information seeking and the World Wide Web: an uncertainty management perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rains, Stephen A

    2014-01-01

    Uncertainty management theory was applied in the present study to offer one theoretical explanation for how individuals use the World Wide Web to acquire health information and to help better understand the implications of the Web for information seeking. The diversity of information sources available on the Web and potential to exert some control over the depth and breadth of one's information-acquisition effort is argued to facilitate uncertainty management. A total of 538 respondents completed a questionnaire about their uncertainty related to cancer prevention and information-seeking behavior. Consistent with study predictions, use of the Web for information seeking interacted with respondents' desired level of uncertainty to predict their actual level of uncertainty about cancer prevention. The results offer evidence that respondents who used the Web to search for cancer information were better able than were respondents who did not seek information to achieve a level of uncertainty commensurate with the level of uncertainty they desired.

  8. Information beyond the forum: Motivations, strategies, and impacts of citizen participants seeking information during a consensus conference.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Ashley A; Delborne, Jason; Kleinman, Daniel Lee

    2013-11-01

    During traditional consensus conferences, organizers control the formal information available to participants-by compiling structured background materials and recruiting expert panelists. Less formally, however, participants are encouraged to bring their own experiences into the deliberations, and in doing so, they often seek outside information. We explore this heretofore understudied phenomenon of information seeking during a deliberative event: the U.S. National Citizens' Technology Forum (2008), which addressed the convergence of nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, and cognitive science on the potential development of human-enhancement technologies. Through interviews with participants and observation of in-person and online deliberations, we identify outside information-seeking strategies and motivations. Our study demonstrates that conceptualizing models of deliberation as standalone settings of communication exchange ignores the reality of the complex information environment from which deliberative participants draw when making sense of technical issues. Future citizen deliberations must incorporate outside information seeking in the design of the exercises.

  9. Skin cancer concerns and genetic risk information-seeking in primary care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hay, J; Kaphingst, K A; Baser, R; Li, Y; Hensley-Alford, S; McBride, C M

    2012-01-01

    Genomic testing for common genetic variants associated with skin cancer risk could enable personalized risk feedback to motivate skin cancer screening and sun protection. In a cross-sectional study, we investigated whether skin cancer cognitions and behavioral factors, sociodemographics, family factors, and health information-seeking were related to perceived importance of learning about how (a) genes and (b) health habits affect personal health risks using classification and regression trees (CART). The sample (n = 1,772) was collected in a large health maintenance organization as part of the Multiplex Initiative, ranged in age from 25-40, was 53% female, 41% Caucasian, and 59% African-American. Most reported that they placed somewhat to very high importance on learning about how genes (79%) and health habits (88%) affect their health risks. Social influence actors were associated with information-seeking about genes and health habits. Awareness of family history was associated with importance of health habit, but not genetic, information-seeking. The investment of family and friends in health promotion may be a primary motivator for prioritizing information-seeking about how genes and health habits affect personal health risks and may contribute to the personal value, or personal utility, of risk information. Individuals who seek such risk information may be receptive to interventions aimed to maximize the social implications of healthy lifestyle change to reduce their health risks. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  10. Communication and information-seeking behavior of PhD students in physicists and astronomy

    OpenAIRE

    Jamali, Hamid R.

    2006-01-01

    As a part of a wider doctoral research, this paper deals with the communication and information-seeking behavior of research (PhD) students in physics and astronomy. Based on a qualitative case study of PhD students in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at University College London, this study seeks to derive behavioral patterns in information-seeking activities of PhD students. The study aims to investigate the intradisciplinary differences in information-seeking activities of physicist...

  11. Parental health information seeking and re-exploration of the 'digital divide'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malone, Mary; While, Alison; Roberts, Julia

    2014-04-01

    To describe patterns of 'online' and 'offline' health information seeking in families with children under five years of age and living in five socially, economically and culturally disparate local authority (LA) wards in one inner-city area. Earlier work analysed data from the five LA wards merged as one data set. A 'digital divide' in health information seeking was identified between parents who actively sought information from both internet websites and from 14 other health information sources (online health information seekers), and those who acquired information from a more limited range of sources excluding the internet. Of the two groups, the online health information seekers had higher levels of computer ownership and, therefore, internet access within the home. Re-analysis of data (questionnaires n = 224; five focus groups; two interviews with service providers; two opportunistic conversations with service providers). Additional data were retrieved after the original data analysis and between 2005 and 2007. These data were from service user-led discussions (n = 30) held with parents in child health clinics, informal interviews (n = 11) with health visitors and semi-structured interviews (n = 2) with health visitors. Information was also retrieved from the Office for National Statistics data set. In the re-analysis, data were disaggregated at LA ward level in order to explore local influences on patterns of health information seeking. Multiple layers of influence upon parental health information seeking emerged and revealed a non-digital second divide, which was independent of computer ownership and home internet access. This divide was based on preference for use of certain health information sources, which might be either 'online' or 'offline'. A spatial patterning of both digital and preferential divides was identified with an association between each of these and features of the physical, social, cultural and psychosocial environment, one of which was

  12. Potential Spillover Educational Effects Of Cancer-Related Direct-To-Consumer Advertising On Cancer Patients’ Increased Information Seeking Behaviors: Results From A Cohort Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tan, Andy SL

    2014-01-01

    Spillover effects of exposure to direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of cancer treatments on patients’ general inquiry about their treatments and managing their illness are not well understood. This study examines the effects of cancer patients’ exposure to cancer-related DTCA on subsequent health information seeking behaviors from clinician and non-clinician sources (lay media and interpersonal contacts). Using a longitudinal survey design over three years, data was collected from cancer survivors diagnosed with colorectal, breast, or prostate cancer who were randomly sampled from the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry. Study outcome measures include patients’ information engagement with their clinicians and information seeking from non-medical sources about cancer treatment and quality of life issues, measured in the second survey. The predictor variable is the frequency of exposure to cancer-related DTCA since diagnosis, measured at the round 1 survey. The analyses utilized lagged weighted multivariate regressions and adjusted for round 1 levels of patient-clinician engagement, information seeking from non-medical sources, and confounders. Exposure to cancer-related DTCA is associated with increased levels of subsequent patient-clinician information engagement (B=.023, 95%CI=.005 to .040, p=.012), controlling for confounders. In comparison, exposure to DTCA is marginally significant in predicting health information seeking from non-clinician sources (B=.009, 95%CI=−.001 to .018, p=.067). Cancer-related DTCA has potentially beneficial spillover effects on health information seeking behaviors among cancer patients. Exposure to DTCA predicts (a little) more patient engagement with their physicians. PMID:24254248

  13. A Multi-Level Model of Information Seeking in the Clinical Domain

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Peter W.; Johnson, Stephen B.; Kaufman, David R.; Mendonça, Eneida A.

    2008-01-01

    Objective: Clinicians often have difficulty translating information needs into effective search strategies to find appropriate answers. Information retrieval systems employing an intelligent search agent that generates adaptive search strategies based on human search expertise could be helpful in meeting clinician information needs. A prerequisite for creating such systems is an information seeking model that facilitates the representation of human search expertise. The purpose of developing such a model is to provide guidance to information seeking system development and to shape an empirical research program. Design: The information seeking process was modeled as a complex problem-solving activity. After considering how similarly complex activities had been modeled in other domains, we determined that modeling context-initiated information seeking across multiple problem spaces allows the abstraction of search knowledge into functionally consistent layers. The knowledge layers were identified in the information science literature and validated through our observations of searches performed by health science librarians. Results: A hierarchical multi-level model of context-initiated information seeking is proposed. Each level represents (1) a problem space that is traversed during the online search process, and (2) a distinct layer of knowledge that is required to execute a successful search. Grand strategy determines what information resources will be searched, for what purpose, and in what order. The strategy level represents an overall approach for searching a single resource. Tactics are individual moves made to further a strategy. Operations are mappings of abstract intentions to information resource-specific concrete input. Assessment is the basis of interaction within the strategic hierarchy, influencing the direction of the search. Conclusion: The described multi-level model provides a framework for future research and the foundation for development of an

  14. [Information seeking on the internet: what information are pregnant women seeking?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burton-Jeangros, C; Hammer, R

    2013-04-24

    In the literature, uses of the internet by patients are interpreted either as a resource supporting their autonomy, or as a source of perturbation in the doctor-patient relationship. Analysing 50 interviews with pregnant women, this article aims at describing the different uses made during pregnancy. Some women mostly aim at sharing their experience in their use of internet. Others are looking for specialised information, by curiosity, to complement the information received in medical visits or, more rarely, as a result of a lack of information in their exchanges with professionals. Uses of internet by patients will develop in the future and it is important that professionals take into account these different forms of internet use in their practices.

  15. Feeling conflicted and seeking information: when ambivalence enhances and diminishes selective exposure to attitude-consistent information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawicki, Vanessa; Wegener, Duane T; Clark, Jason K; Fabrigar, Leandre R; Smith, Steven M; Durso, Geoffrey R O

    2013-06-01

    To date, little research has examined the impact of attitudinal ambivalence on attitude-congruent selective exposure. Past research would suggest that strong/univalent rather than weak/ambivalent attitudes should be more predictive of proattitudinal information seeking. Although ambivalent attitude structure might weaken the attitude's effect on seeking proattitudinal information, we believe that conflicted attitudes might also motivate attitude-congruent selective exposure because proattitudinal information should be effective in reducing ambivalence. Two studies provide evidence that the effects of ambivalence on information choices depend on amount of issue knowledge. That is, ambivalence motivates attitude-consistent exposure when issue knowledge is relatively low because less familiar information is perceived to be effective at reducing ambivalence. Conversely, when knowledge is relatively high, more unambivalent (univalent) attitudes predicted attitude-consistent information seeking.

  16. How Frequently are “Classic” Drug-Seeking Behaviors Used by Drug-Seeking Patients in the Emergency Department?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sean M. Curry

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Drug-seeking behavior (DSB in the emergency department (ED is a very commonproblem, yet there has been little quantitative study to date of such behavior.The goal of this study wasto assess the frequency with which drug seeking patients in the ED use classic drug seeking behaviorsto obtain prescription medication.Methods: We performed a retrospective chart review on patients in an ED case management programfor DSB. We reviewed all visits by patients in the program that occurred during a 1-year period, andrecorded the frequency of the following behaviors: complaining of headache, complaining of backpain, complaining of dental pain, requesting medication by name, requesting a refill of medication,reporting medications as having been lost or stolen, reporting 10/10 pain, reporting greater than 10/10pain, reporting being out of medication, and requesting medication parenterally. These behaviors werechosen because they are described as “classic” for DSB in the existing literature.Results: We studied 178 patients from the case management program, who made 2,486 visits in 1year. The frequency of each behavior was: headache 21.7%, back pain 20.8%, dental pain 1.8%,medication by name 15.2%, requesting refill 7.0%, lost or stolen medication 0.6%, pain 10/10 29.1%,pain greater than 10/10 1.8%, out of medication 9.5%, and requesting parenteral medication 4.3%.Patients averaged 1.1 behaviors per visit.Conclusion: Drug-seeking patients appear to exhibit “classically” described drug-seeking behaviorswith only low to moderate frequency. Reliance on historical features may be inadequate when trying toassess whether or not a patient is drug-seeking.

  17. Providing patient information and education in practice: the role of the health librarian.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Truccolo, Ivana

    2016-06-01

    In this article, guest writer Ivana Truccolo presents an overview of her work at the Scientific and Patient Library of a Cancer Comprehensive Centre in Italy coordinating the patient education process. She discusses the historical evolution of the concept of patient education and how this has run alongside the role of the health librarian in the provision of consumer health information. Details are provided about various patient education programmes in place at the Centre. In particular, various activities are discussed including patient education classes, the development of patient education handouts and a narrative medicine programme which includes a literary competition. The article concludes with a specific outline of the role the health librarian can play in the provision of consumer health information and patient education. H.S. © 2016 Health Libraries Group.

  18. A Comprehensive Model of Cancer-Related Information Seeking Applied to Magazines.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, J. David; Meischke, Hendrika

    1993-01-01

    Examines a comprehensive model of information seeking resulting from the synthesis of three theoretical research streams: the health belief model, uses and gratifications research, and a model of media exposure. Suggests that models of information seeking from mass media should focus on purely communicative factors. (RS)

  19. Information needs and seeking behaviour of Tanzanian forestry ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study examined information needs and seeking behaviour of Tanzanian forestry researchers in the growing global electronic environment. A questionnaire based survey was conducted in three forestry research institutions. The findings indicated a wide range of information needs among forestry researchers in the ...

  20. Health information-seeking on behalf of others: characteristics of "surrogate seekers".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cutrona, Sarah L; Mazor, Kathleen M; Vieux, Sana N; Luger, Tana M; Volkman, Julie E; Finney Rutten, Lila J

    2015-03-01

    Understanding the behaviors of surrogate seekers (those who seek health information for others) may guide efforts to improve health information transmission. We used 2011-2012 data from the Health Information National Trends Survey to describe behaviors of online surrogate seekers. Respondents were asked about use of the Internet for surrogate-seeking over the prior 12 months. Data were weighted to calculate population estimates. Two thirds (66.6%) reported surrogate-seeking. Compared to those who sought health information online for only themselves, surrogate seekers were more likely to live in households with others (weighted percent 89.4 vs. 82.5% of self-seekers; p user-generated content: email communication with healthcare providers; visits to social networking sites to read and share about medical topics and participation in online health support groups. On multivariate analysis, those who had looked online for healthcare providers were more likely to be surrogate seekers (OR 1.67, 95% CI 1.08-2.59). In addition to seeking health information, surrogate seekers create and pass along communications that may influence medical care decisions. Research is needed to identify ways to facilitate transmission of accurate health information.

  1. Information seeking and reciprocity: A transformational analysis

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gallucci, M.; Perugini, M.

    2003-01-01

    The motivation to reciprocate is analyzed within the framework of interdependence theory, with focus on the process of transformation of situations. A model of transformation is presented for the motivation to reciprocate and hypotheses regarding allocation behavior and information seeking are

  2. Information Need and Seeking Behaviour of Diploma Students of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Understanding information need and seeking behaviour of information users is very crucial. The nature of information behaviour is vigorous thus, information scientist and librarians need to embark on investigation in order to understand the need of their clientele for service provision and improvement. This paper presented ...

  3. An In-Depth Analysis of How Elders Seek and Disseminate Health Information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altizer, Kathryn P.; Grzywacz, Joseph G.; Quandt, Sara A.; Bell, Ronny A; Arcury, Thomas A.

    2015-01-01

    This study documents older adults’ sources of health information, describes the purposes for health information seeking, and delineates gender and ethnic variation in health information seeking. Sixty-two African American and white adults age 65 and older completed qualitative interviews describing their use of complementary therapies. Interviews identified how individuals obtained and shared health information. Friends, not family, were the dominant source of health information. Participants ranged from active seekers to passive consumers of health information. Information seeking was common for benign symptoms. More women than men discuss health information with others. Friends are the primary source of health information for rural older adults. There is substantial passivity in the pursuit of health information. Identifying health information sources of rural older adults can support the dissemination of information to those who share it with others. PMID:24188253

  4. Mapping publication trends and identifying hot spots of research on Internet health information seeking behavior: a quantitative and co-word biclustering analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Fan; Li, Min; Guan, Peng; Ma, Shuang; Cui, Lei

    2015-03-25

    The Internet has become an established source of health information for people seeking health information. In recent years, research on the health information seeking behavior of Internet users has become an increasingly important scholarly focus. However, there have been no long-term bibliometric studies to date on Internet health information seeking behavior. The purpose of this study was to map publication trends and explore research hot spots of Internet health information seeking behavior. A bibliometric analysis based on PubMed was conducted to investigate the publication trends of research on Internet health information seeking behavior. For the included publications, the annual publication number, the distribution of countries, authors, languages, journals, and annual distribution of highly frequent major MeSH (Medical Subject Headings) terms were determined. Furthermore, co-word biclustering analysis of highly frequent major MeSH terms was utilized to detect the hot spots in this field. A total of 533 publications were included. The research output was gradually increasing. There were five authors who published four or more articles individually. A total of 271 included publications (50.8%) were written by authors from the United States, and 516 of the 533 articles (96.8%) were published in English. The eight most active journals published 34.1% (182/533) of the publications on this topic. Ten research hot spots were found: (1) behavior of Internet health information seeking about HIV infection or sexually transmitted diseases, (2) Internet health information seeking behavior of students, (3) behavior of Internet health information seeking via mobile phone and its apps, (4) physicians' utilization of Internet medical resources, (5) utilization of social media by parents, (6) Internet health information seeking behavior of patients with cancer (mainly breast cancer), (7) trust in or satisfaction with Web-based health information by consumers, (8

  5. Information seeking and use behaviour of economists and business analysts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eric Thivant

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. The aim of this paper is to deal with the information seeking and use problem in a professional context and understand how activity can influence practices, by taking as examples, the research undertaken by economic analysts. We analyse the relationship between the situational approach, described by Cheuk, the work environment complexity (with social, technological and personal aspects, and the information seeking and use strategies, which relied on Ellis and Wilson's model, with Bates's comments. Method. We interviewed eight economists, using a questionnaire and the SICIA (Situation, Complexity and Information Activity method. The SICAI method is a qualitative approach, which underlines the relationship between situations, professional contexts and strategies. Both methods allow better understanding of how investment analysts find out what they need for their job. We can clarify their information sources and practices of information seeking, which are very particular because of their activities. We complete our analysis by interviewing analysts from financial institutions. Analysis. A qualitative mode of analysis was used to interpret the interviewees' comments, within the research framework adopted. Results. We find similarity in information seeking and use strategies used by these two groups and environmental levels meet in most situations. But some differences can be also found, explained by the activity frameworks and goals. Conclusion. This study demonstrates that the activity and also the professional context (here the financial context can directly influence practices.

  6. Nutrition information-seeking behaviour of low-income pregnant Maghrebian women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Legault, Anik; Marquis, Marie

    2014-01-01

    Nutrition information-seeking behaviour was explored among low-income pregnant Maghrebian women living in Montreal. Environmental factors likely to influence nutrition information-seeking behaviour during pregnancy are discussed. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews with 14 primigravid pregnant women recruited via the Montreal Diet Dispensary, a nonprofit agency with the mission of promoting health among low-income pregnant women. Data collection was part of a larger project on pregnant women's nutrition decision-making. Environmental factors likely to influence information-seeking behaviour were identified. They were grouped within two major themes: culture and interactions with individuals from the social environment. The culture theme was divided into three minor themes: eating habits, food beliefs, and religious beliefs. The interactions with individuals from the social environment theme was divided into two minor themes: interactions with health care providers and interactions with family members. Understanding the influence of these environmental factors should help registered dietitians tailor communication strategies to pregnant immigrant women's specific information needs.

  7. Disposal of Information Seeking and Retrieval Research: Replacement with a Radical Proposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Budd, John M.; Anstaett, Ashley

    2013-01-01

    Introduction: Research and theory on the topics of information seeking and retrieval have been plagued by some fundamental problems for several decades. Many of the difficulties spring from mechanistic and instrumental thinking and modelling. Method: Existing models of information retrieval and information seeking are examined for efficacy in a…

  8. Information needs and seeking behaviour of distance learning ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Information need is a universally widespread essential feature of production, consumption and exchange of human mental creativity across the globe. The objective of the study was to assess the information needs, seeking behavior and sources used by the Distance Leaning Students of University of Lagos. The survey ...

  9. Health literacy, information seeking, and trust in information in Haitians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lubetkin, Erica I; Zabor, Emily C; Isaac, Kathleen; Brennessel, Debra; Kemeny, M Margaret; Hay, Jennifer L

    2015-05-01

    To assess heath literacy, health information seeking, and trust in health-related information among Haitian immigrants seen in primary care. Health literacy was measured by the Brief Health Literacy Screen (BHLS); items on health information use were from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey. BHLS scores differed according to age, education, and survey language. Participants with lower levels of health literacy tended to be more likely to place "a lot" or "some" trust in family and friends and religious organizations and leaders as sources of information about health or medical topics. Constructing a culturally-tailored and appropriate intervention regarding health promotion requires understanding how the population accesses and conveys health information.

  10. Coping with a New Health Culture: Acculturation and Online Health Information Seeking Among Chinese Immigrants in the United States.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Weirui; Yu, Nan

    2015-10-01

    As a culturally diverse country, the U.S. hosts over 39 million immigrants who may experience various cultural and linguistic obstacles to receiving quality health care. Considering online sources an important alternative for immigrants to access health information, this study investigates how Chinese immigrants in the U.S. seek health information online. A cross-sectional survey was conducted among Chinese immigrants who currently live in the U.S. to understand how acculturation strategies they use to adapt to the host society influence their Internet-based health information seeking behaviors. Our findings revealed that the language and web sources immigrants choose to use can be predicted by the acculturation strategies they utilize to cope with the new culture. This study serves as a timely and imperative call for further consideration of the role that acculturation plays in determining how immigrants seek health information and utilize the healthcare services of their host society.

  11. Informal work and formal plans: articulating the active role of patients in cancer trajectories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rikke Juul Dalsted

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Formal pathways models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer trajectories.  Methods and theory: An in-depth case study of patient trajectories at a Danish hospital and surrounding municipality using individual interviews with patients. Theory about trajectory and work by Strauss was included.  Results: Patients continuously took initiatives to organize their treatment and care. They initiated processes in the trajectories, and acquired information, which they used to form their trajectories.  Patients presented problems to the healthcare professionals in order to get proper help when needed.  Discussion: Work done by patients was invisible and not perceived as work. The patients' requests were not sufficiently supported in the professional organisation of work or formal planning. Patients' insertion and use of information in their trajectories challenged professional views and working processes. And the design of the formal pathway models limits the patients´ active participation. When looking at integrated care from the perspective of patients, the development of a more holistic and personalized approach is needed. Introduction: Formal pathway models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer trajectories. Methods and theory: An in-depth case study of patient trajectories at a Danish hospital and surrounding municipality using individual interviews with patients. Theory about trajectory and work by Strauss was included. Results: Patients continuously took initiatives to organize their

  12. Offspring of depressed and anxious patients: Help-seeking after first onset of a mood and/or anxiety disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Havinga, Petra J; Hartman, Catharina A; Visser, Ellen; Nauta, Maaike H; Penninx, Brenda W J H; Boschloo, Lynn; Schoevers, Robert A

    2018-02-01

    Offspring of patients with depressive and/or anxiety disorders are at high risk of developing a similar disorder themselves. Early recognition and treatment may have substantial effects on prognosis. The main aim of this study was to examine the time to initial help-seeking and its determinants in offspring after the first onset of a mood and/or anxiety disorder. Data are presented of 215 offspring with a mood and/or anxiety disorder participating in a cohort study with 10 year follow-up. We determined age of disorder onset and age of initial help-seeking. Offspring characteristics (gender, IQ, age of onset, disorder type, suicidal ideation) and family characteristics (socioeconomic status, family functioning) were investigated as potential predictors of the time to initial help-seeking. The estimated overall proportion of offspring of depressed/anxious patients who eventually seek help after onset of a mood and/or anxiety disorder was 91.9%. The time to initial help-seeking was more than two years in 39.6% of the offspring. Being female, having a mood disorder or comorbid mood and anxiety disorder (relative to anxiety) and a disorder onset in adolescence or adulthood (relative to childhood) predicted a shorter time to initial help-seeking. Baseline information relied on retrospective reports. Age of onsets and age of initial help-seeking may therefore be subject to recall bias. Although most offspring eventually seek help after onset of a mood/anxiety disorder, delays in help-seeking were common, especially in specific subgroups of patients. This information may help to develop targeted strategies to reduce help-seeking delays. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  13. Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Foreign Students in University of Delhi: A Survey

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K P Singh

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this paper is to investigate the information needs and information seeking behavior of foreign students. A survey method was used for the undertaken study. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire, self-administered to 120 foreign students (60 males & 60 females with 88 (47 males & 41 females returns. The research is limited to post-graduate, M.Phil. and Ph.D. foreign students in University of Delhi. It was found that post-graduate students need information regarding their program of study while research scholars need information for writing research articles and for doing their research work. Most of them seek information through the internet. Research scholars used electronic resources such as databases, e-journals and e-theses and dissertations. 88.6% of the respondents also use books for seeking information. Their use of the library is limited with complaints about library staff and too few computer terminals. The present study will be helpful in designing new systems and services for the foreign students so that their information needs can be fulfilled easily. Further, findings of the study indicate that how the library professionals should assist foreign students to accomplish their information needs.

  14. Information-seeking behaviour and information needs of LGBTQ health professionals: a follow-up study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morris, Martin; Roberto, K R

    2016-09-01

    Except for one study in 2004, the literature has no data on the information-seeking behaviour of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) health professionals. After a decade of change for LGBTQ people, and the growth of electronic information sources and social networks, it is appropriate to revisit this subject. To gain an updated understanding of the information-seeking behaviour of LGBTQ health professionals and of how medical libraries can provide a culturally competent service to such users. A mixed-methods approach was adopted combining a Web-based questionnaire with email follow-up discussions. One hundred and twenty-three complete responses were received, mostly from the USA and Canada, between November 2012 and October 2013. LGBTQ health professionals remain more comfortable seeking LGBTQ health information from a medical librarian whom they know to be LGBTQ because they perceive LGBTQ librarians as more likely to have specialist knowledge, or through concern that non-LGBTQ librarians may be more likely to react in a stigmatising or discriminatory way. The study also provides evidence suggesting that online chat has marginal appeal for respondents seeking LGBTQ health information, despite its anonymity. Medical libraries seeking to demonstrate their cultural competency should provide visible evidence of this, such as through the creation of dedicated resource lists, promotion of LGBTQ literature on the library's website, and display of other symbols or statements supporting diversity. Opportunities exist for LGBTQ health professionals and medical librarians to work together to ensure that medical libraries are culturally competent and welcoming spaces for LGBTQ patrons, that library collections match their needs, and in the creation of guides to ensure maximum access to the results of LGBTQ health research. Medical libraries should also consider nominating and, if necessary, training a specialist in LGBTQ health information. Such

  15. Children's Information Retrieval: how to support children in effective information-seeking?

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jochmann-Mannak, Hanna; Sanders, Ted; Aly, R.B.N.; Aly, Robin; Hauff, C.; Hiemstra, Djoerd; Hiemstra, D; de Jong, Franciska M.G.; de Jong, F.M.G.; Huibers, Theo W.C.; Huibers, T.W.C.

    2009-01-01

    In this paper, we describe the objectives of our research project in which we aim to design a search interface in ways consistent with children’s needs, cognitive development and thinking style to support children in effective information-seeking.

  16. Information Need and Information Seeking Behaviour Bilgi Gereksinimi ve Bilgi Arama Davranışı

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nazan Özenç Uçak

    1997-12-01

    Full Text Available Information need is one of the cognitive needs of humankind. Information need causes information seeking behaviour and these concepts complement each other. Information need and information seeking behaviour are effected by many factors. It is necessary to know these factors in establishing the effective information centers and services. Bilgi gereksinimi insanın zihinsel gereksinimlerinden birisidir. Bilgi gereksinimi sonuçta bilgi arama davranışını ortaya çıkarmakta ve bu iki kavram birbirini tamamlamaktadır. Bilgi gereksinimi ve bilgi arama davranışı pek çok faktörden etkilenmektedir. Etkili bilgi merkezlen ve hizmetleri kurabilmek için bu faktörlerin bilinmesi gerekmektedir.

  17. 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.

  18. Contingencies of Self-Worth and Psychological Distress in Iranian Patients Seeking Cosmetic Surgery: Integrative Self-Knowledge as Mediator.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valikhani, Ahmad; Goodarzi, Mohammad Ali

    2017-08-01

    Although previous studies have shown that people applying for cosmetic surgery experience high-intensity psychological distress, important variables that function as protective factors have rarely been the subject of study in this population. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of low and high self-knowledge in experiencing psychological distress and contingencies of self-worth to appearance and approval from others and to identify the mediatory role of the integrative self-knowledge in patients seeking cosmetic surgery. Eighty-eight patients seeking cosmetic surgery were selected and completed the contingencies of self-worth and integrative self-knowledge scales, as well as the depression, anxiety and stress scale. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and path analysis using 5000 bootstrap resampling. The results of MANOVA showed that patients seeking cosmetic surgery with high self-knowledge had lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress compared to patients with low self-knowledge. They also gained lower scores in contingencies of self-worth to appearance and approval from others. The results of path analysis indicated that self-knowledge is a complete mediator in the relationship between contingencies of self-worth to appearance and approval from others and psychological distress. Based on the results of this study, it can be concluded that self-knowledge as a protective factor plays a major role in relation to the psychological distress experienced by the patients seeking cosmetic surgery. In fact, by increasing self-knowledge among this group of patients, their psychological distress can be decreased. This journal requires that authors assign a level of evidence to each article. For a full description of these Evidence-Based Medicine ratings, please refer to the Table of Contents or the online Instructions to Authors www.springer.com/00266 .

  19. Chemotherapy and information‐seeking behaviour: characteristics of patients using mass‐media information sources

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Muusses, L.D.; van Weert, J.C.M.; van Dulmen, S; Jansen, extern

    2011-01-01

    Objective Fulfilling patients' information needs can help them cope with illness and improve their well-being. Little research has been conducted on the characteristics of patients using different information sources. This study aims to get insight into which information sources patients receiving

  20. Delay in treatment seeking of smear positive tuberculous patients

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bhatti, A.T.; Zahid, M.

    2010-01-01

    To assess and identify the causes and circumstances leading to delays in health seeking and diagnosis of tuberculosis patients as they often present with advance disease resulting in increased morbidity and mortality. Settings Department of Tuberculosis, DOTS clinic DHQ Hospital, Vehari. Methodology One (author) inspiration diagnosed smear positive pulmonary tuberculosis patients were included. Information was gathered through interviews and from TB-01 card. Results Maximum patients were in age group of 16-40 years. Median patient delay was 4-6 months; jobless, homeless personnel had longer delay. The main reason for delay was that the symptoms were not considered serious enough. Delay in presentation of smear positive cases may be due to the lack of awareness of patients and the incompetence of some health workers. Training and supervision of staff and awareness campaigns targeted at the population and involvement of private sector will improve TB control in Vehari. (author)

  1. A study on Singaporean women's acceptance of using mobile phones to seek health information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Sherwin; Xue, Lishan; Yen, Ching Chiuan; Chang, Leanne; Chan, Hock Chuan; Tai, Bee Choo; Duh, Henry Been Lirn; Choolani, Mahesh

    2011-12-01

    This paper is an exploratory study that investigates Singaporean women's acceptance of using mobile phones to seek health information. A mobile web containing health topics was developed to track Singaporean women's actual use of their mobile phones to seek health information. A survey questionnaire measured variables hypothesized to predict Behavioural Intention. The survey responses were then matched to the data collected on actual use. Correlation analysis and hierarchical regression were used to analyze the data collected. Findings revealed that Perceived Usefulness and Self-efficacy positively predicted the intention to use mobile phones to seek health information. The study also confirmed the presence of an intention-behaviour gap among participants. The conversion of intention to actual behaviour hinges on technical concerns and design factors. Prior experiences with health information seeking reinforced women's evaluations of the usefulness of the mobile web application and helped them to feel more self-efficacious about using their mobile phones to seek health information. Using mobile phones to seek health information was found to be complementary to online health information seeking and can be regarded as an alternative source to the internet for seeking health information. This study contributes to the existing literature by applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) in the context of mobile health information seeking, for which there has been a lack of studies, and demonstrated that the inclusion of additional variables can enhance TAM's predictive power. The empirical presence of an intention-behaviour gap calls for future research to investigate the reasons behind the gap. Finally, the findings from this study can serve as input to promote women's use of mobile phones for better self-management of health. 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Awareness of diagnosis, and information-seeking behavior of hospitalized cancer patients in Greece.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brokalaki, Eirini I; Sotiropoulos, Georgios C; Tsaras, Konstantinos; Brokalaki, Hero

    2005-11-01

    The goal of our study was to evaluate the extent of disease-related knowledge and the need for further information of cancer patients in Greece. We evaluated 203 mentally competent adult cancer patients hospitalized in general and oncological hospitals in the city of Athens and its suburbs. Data were collected by means of semistructured interviews. Patients were evaluated as to whether they had awareness of their diagnosis. Those who did so (n = 83) were further questioned about additional disease-related information. The majority of patients (59%) claimed to have no knowledge of their diagnosis. Women (p = 0.004) as well as high school and university graduates (p = 0.024) showed significantly superior levels of information when compared to men and graduates of elementary schools, respectively. Age was also a factor that influenced the level of the awareness of the diagnosis and the request for additional information: patients who were informed about the diagnosis and patients who asked for more information were significantly younger than their counterparts who ignored the diagnosis (p family beliefs, "mind-set" difficulties, and organizational issues should not become barriers to the patients' right to be fully informed of their diagnoses and choices of potential therapies.

  3. Seeking creativity: A case study on information problem solving in professional music

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Wopereis, Iwan; Derix, Egbert

    2017-01-01

    This study explored the information seeking behavior of a professional jazz musician during creative work. It aimed at revealing information seeking activities necessary to execute present-day musical projects. A single case was studied in depth. First, a narrative interview was conducted to reveal

  4. Web-based Health Information Seeking and eHealth Literacy among Patients Living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stellefson, Michael L; Shuster, Jonathan J; Chaney, Beth H; Paige, Samantha R; Alber, Julia M; Chaney, J Don; Sriram, P S

    2017-09-05

    Many people living with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) have low general health literacy; however, there is little information available on these patients' eHealth literacy, or their ability to seek, find, understand, and appraise online health information and apply this knowledge to address or solve disease-related health concerns. A nationally representative sample of patients registered in the COPD Foundation's National Research Registry (N = 1,270) was invited to complete a web-based survey to assess socio-demographic (age, gender, marital status, education), health status (generic and lung-specific health-related quality of life), and socio-cognitive (social support, self-efficacy, COPD knowledge) predictors of eHealth literacy, measured using the 8-item eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS). Over 50% of the respondents (n = 176) were female (n = 89), with a mean age of 66.19 (SD = 9.47). Overall, participants reported moderate levels of eHealth literacy, with more than 70% feeling confident in their ability to find helpful health resources on the Internet. However, respondents were much less confident in their ability to distinguish between high- and low-quality sources of web-based health information. Very severe versus less severe COPD (β = 4.15), lower lung-specific health-related quality of life (β = -0.19), and greater COPD knowledge (β = 0.62) were significantly associated with higher eHealth literacy. Higher COPD knowledge was also significantly associated with greater knowledge (ρ = 0.24, p = .001) and use (ρ = 0.24, p = .001) of web-based health resources. Findings emphasize the importance of integrating skill-building activities into comprehensive patient education programs that enable patients with severe cases of COPD to identify high-quality sources of web-based health information. Additional research is needed to understand how new social technologies can be used to help medically underserved COPD patients

  5. Cancer Information Seeking Among Adult New Zealanders: a National Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Richards, Rosalina; McNoe, Bronwen; Iosua, Ella; Reeder, Anthony; Egan, Richard; Marsh, Louise; Robertson, Lindsay; Maclennan, Brett; Dawson, Anna; Quigg, Robin; Petersen, Anne-Cathrine

    2018-06-01

    Organisations seeking to establish themselves as leading cancer information sources for the public need to understand patterns and motivators for information seeking. This study describes cancer information seeking among New Zealanders through a national cross-sectional survey conducted in 2014/15 with a population-based sample of adults (18 years and over). Participants were asked if they had sought information about cancer during the past 12 months, the type of information they sought, what prompted them to look for information and ways of getting information they found helpful. Telephone interviews were completed by 1064 participants (588 females, 476 males, 64% response rate). Of these, 33.8% of females and 23.3% of males (total, 29.2%) had searched for information about cancer over the past year. A search was most frequently prompted by a cancer diagnosis of a family member or friend (43.3%), a desire to educate themselves (17.5%), experience of potential symptoms or a positive screening test (9.4%), family history of cancer (8.9%) or the respondent's own cancer diagnosis (7.7%). Across the cancer control spectrum, the information sought was most commonly about treatment and survival (20.2%), symptoms/early detection (17.2%) or risk factors (14.2%), although many were general or non-specific queries (50.0%). The internet was most commonly identified as a helpful source of information (71.7%), followed by health professionals (35.8%), and reading material (e.g. books, pamphlets) (14.7%).This study provides a snapshot of cancer information seeking in New Zealand, providing valuable knowledge to help shape resource delivery to better meet the diverse needs of information seekers and address potential unmet needs, where information seeking is less prevalent.

  6. Informal work and formal plans: articulating the active role of patients in cancer trajectories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsted, Rikke Juul; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi; Brostrøm Kousgaard, Marius

    2012-01-01

    Introduction: Formal pathway models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer ...... participation. When looking at integrated care from the perspective of patients, the development of a more holistic and personalized approach is needed....

  7. Informal work and formal plans: Articulating the active role of patients in cancer trajectories

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dalsted, R.; Hølge-Hazelton, Bibi; Kousgaard, MB

    2013-01-01

    Formal pathways models outline that patients should receive information in order to experience a coherent journey but do not describe an active role for patients or their relatives. The aim of this is paper is to articulate and discuss the active role of patients during their cancer trajectories........ When looking at integrated care from the perspective of patients, the development of a more holistic and personalized approach is needed....

  8. Online Health-Information Seeking Among Older Populations: Family Influences and the Role of the Medical Professional.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magsamen-Conrad, Kate; Dillon, Jeanette M; Billotte Verhoff, China; Faulkner, Sandra L

    2018-02-23

    There are myriad technological devices, computer programs, and online information sources available for people to manage their health and the health of others. However, people must be technologically and health literate and capable of accessing, analyzing, and sharing the information they encounter. The authors interviewed middle-aged and older adults about their online health information seeking behavior and discovered that technology and health literacy are influenced by a collective ability to manage the health and technological needs of a family. We used information management theory to frame participants' experiences of their self-efficacy using technology to manage the health of loved ones. Findings suggest that health can be co-managed if at least one person in a family unit is technologically "savvy" and able to effectively share health information. However, individuals' confidence in their own literacy often depends on others, usually family members who tend to "do" instead of "teach."

  9. Understanding the nature of information seeking behavior in critical care: implications for the design of health information technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kannampallil, Thomas G; Franklin, Amy; Mishra, Rashmi; Almoosa, Khalid F; Cohen, Trevor; Patel, Vimla L

    2013-01-01

    Information in critical care environments is distributed across multiple sources, such as paper charts, electronic records, and support personnel. For decision-making tasks, physicians have to seek, gather, filter and organize information from various sources in a timely manner. The objective of this research is to characterize the nature of physicians' information seeking process, and the content and structure of clinical information retrieved during this process. Eight medical intensive care unit physicians provided a verbal think-aloud as they performed a clinical diagnosis task. Verbal descriptions of physicians' activities, sources of information they used, time spent on each information source, and interactions with other clinicians were captured for analysis. The data were analyzed using qualitative and quantitative approaches. We found that the information seeking process was exploratory and iterative and driven by the contextual organization of information. While there was no significant differences between the overall time spent paper or electronic records, there was marginally greater relative information gain (i.e., more unique information retrieved per unit time) from electronic records (t(6)=1.89, p=0.1). Additionally, information retrieved from electronic records was at a higher level (i.e., observations and findings) in the knowledge structure than paper records, reflecting differences in the nature of knowledge utilization across resources. A process of local optimization drove the information seeking process: physicians utilized information that maximized their information gain even though it required significantly more cognitive effort. Implications for the design of health information technology solutions that seamlessly integrate information seeking activities within the workflow, such as enriching the clinical information space and supporting efficient clinical reasoning and decision-making, are discussed. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All

  10. Gaps in knowledge: tracking and explaining gender differences in health information seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manierre, Matthew J

    2015-03-01

    Self-directed health information seeking has become increasingly common in recent years, yet there is a substantial body of evidence suggesting that females are more likely to engage in information seeking than males. Previous research has largely ignored the significance of this difference as both an empirical and a theoretical finding. The current study has two goals, seeking to track this sex gap over time and to test explanations for its existence. The three explanations tested are based in past findings of gendered division of childcare labor, gendered reactivity to illness, and gendered perceived risk of illness. These were tested using multiple dependent variables from both repeated cross sectional data and 2012 data from the Health Information Trends Survey (HINTS). Results show that females are significantly more likely to look for cancer information, information in general, and information over the Internet over time than males, though the gap may be closing in the case of cancer information. The three explanations also received little clear support though perceived risk of getting cancer acted as a mediator through which men may be less likely to look for cancer information. Based on this analysis it is clear that a sex gap in information seeking is present and theories of masculinity and health may hold promise in some contexts but additional explanations are needed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  11. Information Systems and Patient Empowerment: Role of Infomediaries in Health Decision Making

    Science.gov (United States)

    Permwonguswa, Sumate

    2017-01-01

    Information technology (IT) is playing a key role in health care improvement. IT artifacts enable better reach and access to health, allowing patients to manage care more effectively. Amongst various IT artifacts, a health infomediary is an online health platform that connects patients and providers with the purpose of sharing experience and…

  12. Profile of e-patients: analysis of their cancer information-seeking from a national survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Kyunghye; Kwon, Nahyun

    2010-10-01

    Researchers have yet to fully understand how competent e-patients are in selecting and using health information sources, or, more importantly, who e-patients are. This study attempted to uncover how cancer e-patients differ from other cancer information seekers in terms of their sociodemographic background, social networks, information competence, and selection of cancer information sources. We analyzed data from the National Cancer Institute's 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey, and a series of chi-square tests showed that factors that distinguished cancer e-patients from other cancer information seekers were age, gender, education, employment status, health insurance, and membership in online support groups. They were not different in the other factors measured by the survey. Our logistic regression analysis revealed that the e-patients were older and talked about their health issues with friends or family more frequently compared with online health information seekers without cancer. While preferring information from their doctors over the Internet, e-patients used the Internet as their primary source. In contrast to previous literature, we found little evidence that e-patients were savvy health information consumers who could make informed decisions on their own health. The findings of this study addressed a need for a better design and delivery of health information literacy programs for cancer e-patients.

  13. Patient navigation pathway and barriers to treatment seeking in cancer in India: a qualitative inquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pati, Sanghamitra; Hussain, Mohammad Akhtar; Chauhan, Abhimanyu Singh; Mallick, Diptimayee; Nayak, Sukdev

    2013-12-01

    Cancer is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Early diagnosis and treatment of cancer may curb the growing burden of the disease. Understanding cancer patients' navigation pathways for seeking treatment is important in order to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. With this background we conducted a hospital-based cross-sectional study comprising 68 randomly selected cancer inpatients in a tertiary cancer specialty hospital in Odisha, India, to explore the treatment-seeking pathways of the cancer patients and the barriers and enablers in seeking treatment. Financial constraint is one of the major reasons for the delay in accessing treatment, even when patients are suspected of or diagnosed with cancer. Low awareness of the presenting signs and symptoms of cancer and limited knowledge of the availability of cancer diagnosis and treatment facilities are major factors contributing to delay. Family and friends' support is found to be the major enabling factor toward seeking treatment. Generation of awareness of cancer among the general population and primary-care practitioners - including those in alternative systems of medicine - is important. Information on diagnostic and treatment services appears to be a felt need. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Does Media Use Result in More Active Communicators? Differences Between Native Dutch and Turkish-Dutch Patients in Information-Seeking Behavior and Participation During Consultations With General Practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schinkel, Sanne; Van Weert, Julia C M; Kester, Jorrit A M; Smit, Edith G; Schouten, Barbara C

    2015-08-01

    This study investigates differences between native Dutch and Turkish-Dutch patients with respect to media usage before and patient participation during medical consultations with general practitioners. In addition, the authors assessed the relation between patient participation and communication outcomes. The patients were recruited in the waiting rooms of general practitioners, and 191 patients (117 native Dutch, 74 Turkish-Dutch) completed pre- and postconsultation questionnaires. Of this sample, 120 patients (62.8%; 82 native Dutch, 38 Turkish-Dutch) agreed to have their consultations recorded to measure patient participation. Compared with Turkish-Dutch patients of similar educational levels, results showed that native Dutch patients used different media to search for information, participated to a greater extent during their consultations and were more responsive to their general practitioner. With respect to the Turkish-Dutch patients, media usage was related to increased patient participation, which was correlated with having fewer unfulfilled information needs; however, these relations were not found in the native Dutch patient sample. In conclusion, interventions that enhance participation among ethnic minority patients will better fulfill informational needs when such interventions stimulate information-seeking behavior in that group before a medical consultation.

  15. Reduced frontal brain volume in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals: exploring the role of impulsivity, depression, and smoking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crunelle, Cleo L; Kaag, Anne Marije; van Wingen, Guido; van den Munkhof, Hanna E; Homberg, Judith R; Reneman, Liesbeth; van den Brink, Wim

    2014-01-01

    In cocaine-dependent patients, gray matter (GM) volume reductions have been observed in the frontal lobes that are associated with the duration of cocaine use. Studies are mostly restricted to treatment-seekers and studies in non-treatment-seeking cocaine abusers are sparse. Here, we assessed GM volume differences between 30 non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals and 33 non-drug using controls using voxel-based morphometry. Additionally, within the group of non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals, we explored the role of frequently co-occurring features such as trait impulsivity (Barratt Impulsivity Scale, BIS), smoking, and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory), as well as the role of cocaine use duration, on frontal GM volume. Smaller GM volumes in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent individuals were observed in the left middle frontal gyrus. Moreover, within the group of cocaine users, trait impulsivity was associated with reduced GM volume in the right orbitofrontal cortex, the left precentral gyrus, and the right superior frontal gyrus, whereas no effect of smoking severity, depressive symptoms, or duration of cocaine use was observed on regional GM volumes. Our data show an important association between trait impulsivity and frontal GM volumes in cocaine-dependent individuals. In contrast to previous studies with treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent patients, no significant effects of smoking severity, depressive symptoms, or duration of cocaine use on frontal GM volume were observed. Reduced frontal GM volumes in non-treatment-seeking cocaine-dependent subjects are associated with trait impulsivity and are not associated with co-occurring nicotine dependence or depression.

  16. Information-seeking at a caregiving website: a qualitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kernisan, Leslie P; Sudore, Rebecca L; Knight, Sara J

    2010-07-28

    The Internet is widely used for health information, yet little is known about the online activity of family caregivers of elders, a rapidly growing group. In order to better understand the online information-seeking activity of "e-caregivers" and other visitors at a caregiving website, we undertook a qualitative analysis of survey data from a website marketed as a comprehensive resource for adults caring for aging parents. The objectives were to better understand what types of information are sought by those visiting a website focused on elder-care issues and to identify overarching themes that might inform future development of Internet resources related to caregiving and aging. From March 2008 to March 2009, a 5-question pop-up survey was offered 9662 times and completed 2161 times. For 1838 respondents, included was a free text answer to the question "What were you looking for?" and 1467 offered relevant and detailed responses. The survey also asked about satisfaction with the site, gender of the respondent, and relationship to the individual being cared for. Content analysis was used to develop a coding dictionary, to code responses into information-seeking categories, and to identify overarching themes. Of the respondents (76% of whom were female), 50% indicated they were caring for parents, 17% for themselves only, and 31% for others. Over half (57%) reported finding what they were looking for, and 46% stated they were extremely likely to recommend the website. Frequently mentioned information-seeking categories included "health information," "practical caregiving," and "support." Respondents also requested information related to housing, legal, insurance, and financial issues. Many responses referred to multiple comorbid conditions and complex caregiving situations. Overarching themes included (1) a desire for assistance with a wide range of practical skills and information and (2) help interpreting symptoms and behavior, such as knowing what life impacts to

  17. Macho-Man in School: Toward the Role of Gender Role Self-Concepts and Help Seeking in School Performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kessels, Ursula; Steinmayr, Ricarda

    2013-01-01

    This study seeks to understand boys' lower academic success by analysing the relationship between sex, gender role self-concept, help seeking attitudes, and school performance in a sample of 182 German 11th grade students (83 girls, 99 boys), age 16. Grades at two points in time, intelligence test data, help-seeking attitudes, gender role…

  18. Temporal patterns of scientific information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segev, Elad; Sharon, Aviv J

    2017-11-01

    In response to the news coverage of scientific events and to science education, people increasingly go online to get more information. This study investigates how patterns of science and technology information-seeking on Google and Wikipedia change over time, in ways that differ between "ad hoc" terms that correspond to news coverage and "cyclic" terms that correspond to the academic period. Findings show that the science and technology activity in Google and Wikipedia was significantly associated with ad hoc and cyclic patterns. While the peak activity in Google and Wikipedia largely overlapped for ad hoc terms, it mismatched for cyclic terms. The findings indicate the importance of external cues such as news media and education, and also of the online engagement process, and particularly the crucial but different role played by Google and Wikipedia in gaining science and technology knowledge. Educators and policy makers could benefit from taking into account those different patterns.

  19. Health information-seeking behavior of seniors who use the Internet: a survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Medlock, Stephanie; Eslami, Saeid; Askari, Marjan; Arts, Derk L; Sent, Danielle; de Rooij, Sophia E; Abu-Hanna, Ameen

    2015-01-08

    The Internet is viewed as an important source for health information and a medium for patient empowerment. However, little is known about how seniors use the Internet in relation to other sources for health information. The aim was to determine which information resources seniors who use the Internet use and trust for health information, which sources are preferred, and which sources are used by seniors for different information needs. Questions from published surveys were selected based on their relevance to the study objectives. The Autonomy Preference Index was used to assess information needs and preferences for involvement in health decisions. Invitation to participate in this online survey was sent to the email list of a local senior organization (298 addresses) in the Netherlands. There were 118 respondents with a median age of 72 years (IQR 67-78 years). Health professionals, pharmacists, and the Internet were the most commonly used and trusted sources of health information. Leaflets, television, newspapers, and health magazines were also important sources. Respondents who reported higher use of the Internet also reported higher use of other sources (Pseniors who use the Internet, the Internet was a preferred source of health information. Seniors who report higher use of the Internet also report higher use of other information resources and were also the primary consumers of paper-based resources. Respondents most frequently searched for health information after an appointment rather than to prepare for an appointment. Resources used varied by health topic. Future research should seek to confirm these findings in a general elderly population, investigate how seniors seek and understand information on the Internet, and investigate how to reach seniors who prefer not to use the Internet for health information.

  20. The information seeking and procurment needs of attendees at an industrial trade show

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    N. C. Bresler

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: The purpose of this article is to describe what attracts visitors to an industrial trade show, and to profile them. This will enable the show organisers to attract the right mix of exhibitors and fulfil their dual role of satisfying the needs of both attendees and exhibitors and improve the role of exhibitions in the latter's marketing mix. Problem investigated: The research seeks to elicit the attendance objectives of participants in order to ascertain their information seeking and procurement needs. This can be used to improve the marketing communication of both the organisers and exhibitors. Research methodology: The research design is a multi method, descriptive study. A non probability, judgemental sample was drawn; 1020 interviews were conducted per Electra Mining Africa expo in 2004 and 2006. Both open ended and fixed response questions were posed and due to the similarity of responses, 300 per show were analysed. The researcher fulfilled a participant observer role to enhance the validity and reliability of the findings. Findings/implications: The prime reason for visitation was to see what is new, discover, and gather information, and attendees were not disappointed in that. The trade shows attracted an informed, niche audience. Exhibitors gained access to key decision makers with buying influence. Attendees represented all roles in the buying process and intended to buy some capital items exhibited within the following year. Business contacts were made. The attraction and contact efficiency of the exhibition's were high and may result in conversion efficiency. In terms of market and geographical coverage it is a vertical international show. Originality: This paper contributes to limited research conducted on trade shows, especially in South Africa. It is unique in that it describes the effectiveness of an industrial trade show from a demand perspective in order to improve the facilitating role of exhibition organisers. It

  1. Information seeking stopping behavior in online scenarios the impact of task, technology and individual characteristics

    CERN Document Server

    Hemmer, Erik

    2014-01-01

    The growing amount of information provided via web-based information technologies forces the users of these technologies to stop seeking for information before having acquired all available information. This stopping decision is either made actively following clear guidelines or subconsciously based on the seeker's intuition. This book analyzes the aforementioned duality by developing and testing a multi-theoretical research model dealing with information seeking stopping behavior in online scenarios. Thus, by delivering insights into the mechanisms that influence information seeking activitie

  2. A Non-Linear Model of Information Seeking Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Foster, Allen

    2005-01-01

    Introduction:The results of a study of information seeking behaviour of inter-disciplinary academic and postgraduate researchers are reported. Method. The study applied the naturalistic methods recommended by Lincoln and Guba for maximising credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability in data collection and analysis. Sampling…

  3. College Students’ Information Needs and Information Seeking Behaviors regarding Personal Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yu-Wen Liu

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This study analyzed college students’ reactions toward the issues of personal information. Students’ needs and seeking behaviors for personal information were assessed. Relevant literature was reviewed for framing the research questions and designing the questionnaire items for survey. Survey subjects were students from an university at northern Taiwan. A set of questionnaire items were used to collect research data. Statistical analysis from 252 valid data reveals some items were highly rated: Students reflected highly for their need of knowledge under the security threat of personal information (M = 4.29. They reacted strongly on acquiring knowledge and resources through the Internet (M = 4.24. They preferred the use of resources clear and easy to be understood (M = 4.04. However, most students had low level faith toward either government or non-governmental organizations in securing their personal information (M < 3.0 for most items. More effort among education and government should be emphasized in the future to improve personal use and reduce uncertainty in the use of personal information.

  4. The influence of gender roles on health seeking behaviour during pregnancy in Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ay, Pinar; Hayran, Osman; Topuzoglu, Ahmet; Hidiroglu, Seyhan; Coskun, Anahit; Save, Dilsad; Nalbant, Hacer; Ozdemir, Erhan; Eker, Levent

    2009-08-01

    To explore the impact of gender roles in relation to health seeking behaviour during pregnancy and childbirth. The study was conducted in neighbourhoods with low antenatal care rates in three provinces of Turkey. The study population consisted of pregnant women who never got or discontinued antenatal care and their peers, families and community leaders. Sixteen focus group discussions and 125 in-depth interviews were conducted with a total of 239 participants. Pregnancy and childbirth are interwoven strongly with gender roles. Since the patriarchal system acknowledges women through the means of childbirth, women are expected to have many children. Hence women experience pregnancy as a burden and are not motivated to seek antenatal care. During pregnancy, only 'serious' conditions are considered as legitimate reasons for accessing care. However, the decision regarding whether a pregnant woman is seriously sick or not belongs to the responsibilities of elder women, which delays service use. Providing information regarding the value of antenatal care also to elder women is essential in increasing the demand to the services. Incorporating gender perspectives into daily health practice and maintaining access to high quality reproductive care services are vital in reducing the gender based barriers to care.

  5. The experiential health information processing model: supporting collaborative web-based patient education.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Grady, Laura A; Witteman, Holly; Wathen, C Nadine

    2008-12-16

    First generation Internet technologies such as mailing lists or newsgroups afforded unprecedented levels of information exchange within a variety of interest groups, including those who seek health information. With emergence of the World Wide Web many communication applications were ported to web browsers. One of the driving factors in this phenomenon has been the exchange of experiential or anecdotal knowledge that patients share online, and there is emerging evidence that participation in these forums may be having an impact on people's health decision making. Theoretical frameworks supporting this form of information seeking and learning have yet to be proposed. In this article, we propose an adaptation of Kolb's experiential learning theory to begin to formulate an experiential health information processing model that may contribute to our understanding of online health information seeking behaviour in this context. An experiential health information processing model is proposed that can be used as a research framework. Future research directions include investigating the utility of this model in the online health information seeking context, studying the impact of collaborating in these online environments on patient decision making and on health outcomes are provided.

  6. The experiential health information processing model: supporting collaborative web-based patient education

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Grady, Laura A; Witteman, Holly; Wathen, C Nadine

    2008-01-01

    Background First generation Internet technologies such as mailing lists or newsgroups afforded unprecedented levels of information exchange within a variety of interest groups, including those who seek health information. With emergence of the World Wide Web many communication applications were ported to web browsers. One of the driving factors in this phenomenon has been the exchange of experiential or anecdotal knowledge that patients share online, and there is emerging evidence that participation in these forums may be having an impact on people's health decision making. Theoretical frameworks supporting this form of information seeking and learning have yet to be proposed. Results In this article, we propose an adaptation of Kolb's experiential learning theory to begin to formulate an experiential health information processing model that may contribute to our understanding of online health information seeking behaviour in this context. Conclusion An experiential health information processing model is proposed that can be used as a research framework. Future research directions include investigating the utility of this model in the online health information seeking context, studying the impact of collaborating in these online environments on patient decision making and on health outcomes are provided. PMID:19087353

  7. The experiential health information processing model: supporting collaborative web-based patient education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wathen C Nadine

    2008-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background First generation Internet technologies such as mailing lists or newsgroups afforded unprecedented levels of information exchange within a variety of interest groups, including those who seek health information. With emergence of the World Wide Web many communication applications were ported to web browsers. One of the driving factors in this phenomenon has been the exchange of experiential or anecdotal knowledge that patients share online, and there is emerging evidence that participation in these forums may be having an impact on people's health decision making. Theoretical frameworks supporting this form of information seeking and learning have yet to be proposed. Results In this article, we propose an adaptation of Kolb's experiential learning theory to begin to formulate an experiential health information processing model that may contribute to our understanding of online health information seeking behaviour in this context. Conclusion An experiential health information processing model is proposed that can be used as a research framework. Future research directions include investigating the utility of this model in the online health information seeking context, studying the impact of collaborating in these online environments on patient decision making and on health outcomes are provided.

  8. Beyond access: barriers to internet health information seeking among the urban poor.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCloud, Rachel F; Okechukwu, Cassandra A; Sorensen, Glorian; Viswanath, K

    2016-11-01

    Communication inequalities deepen health disparities even when internet access is achieved. The goal of this study is to understand how a range of barriers may inhibit individuals from low socioeconomic position (SEP) from engaging with online health information even when it is freely available. Detailed data were collected from 118 low-SEP individuals from a randomized controlled trial providing internet access. Measures triangulated the health-seeking experience through internet use tracked in real-time, call log data, and self-reported barriers. Negative binomial regression models were fitted with technology and perceived predictors, and our outcome, health information seeking, and then stratified by medical status. Participants experienced a median of two computer issues (median 6 days) and two internet issues (median 6.5 days). Duration of internet problems was associated with a decrease in the rate of internet health information seeking by a factor of 0.990 (P = .03) for each additional day. Participants with a medical problem who were frustrated in their search for health information had half the rate of health information seeking of those who were not frustrated (incidence rate ratio = 0.395, P = .030). Despite IT support, participants still experienced internet connectivity issues that negatively impacted their health information seeking. Frustration in their search to find information may serve as an additional barrier to those who have medical issues. After initial internet access, a second-level digital divide emerged due to connectivity issues, highlighting the need to understand the complex network of barriers experienced by low-SEP internet users. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Parents of children with disabilities in Kuwait: a study of their information seeking behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Al-Daihani, Sultan M; Al-Ateeqi, Huda I

    2015-06-01

    Parents of children with disabilities desperately seek information regarding their children's conditions because of the high stakes involved. This study investigates the information needs of parents in Kuwait with special needs children during and after their children's diagnoses. Understanding their information seeking behaviour by identifying their information sources and information seeking barriers will assist librarians and other information professionals in meeting these important information needs. A survey was conducted by means of questionnaires administered to 240 participants at a school for children with special needs. The data were analysed using nonparametric Mann-Whitney and Kruskal-Wallis tests. Most parents needed information at the time of diagnosis, with information about educating the children having the highest mean. Doctors and physicians were the most preferred information sources, followed by books. Online support groups and social media applications were least desirable as information sources. Lack of Arabic resources was identified as the greatest information seeking barrier, followed by lack of information to help parents cope with their child's disability. Information sources and services for Kuwaiti parents of disabled children need further development and improvement. Librarians and other information professionals can assist by providing parents with information appropriate to their stage in understanding the child's diagnosis and education. © 2015 Health Libraries Group.

  10. Postpartum Health Information Seeking Using Mobile Phones: Experiences of Low-Income Mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guerra-Reyes, Lucia; Christie, Vanessa M; Prabhakar, Annu; Harris, Asia L; Siek, Katie A

    2016-11-01

    Objectives To assess low-income mothers' perceptions of their postpartum information needs; describe their information seeking behavior; explore their use of mobile technology to address those needs; and to contribute to the sparse literature on postpartum health and wellness. Methods Exploratory community-based qualitative approach. Interviewees were recruited among clients of community partners and had children aged 48 months and under. A survey assessing demographics was used to identify low-income mothers. 10 low-income mothers were recruited from survey participants to complete in-depth interviews regarding postpartum information needs, information seeking, and technology use. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded by three researchers independently. Narratives were analyzed along predetermined (etic) and emergent (emic) categories. Results Establishing breastfeeding and solving breastfeeding problems were central postpartum concerns leading to information seeking. Interviewees reported almost exclusive use of mobile phones to access the Internet. Mobile applications were widely used during pregnancy, but were not valuable postpartum. Face-to-face information from medical professionals was found to be repetitive. Online information seeking was mediated by default mobile phone search engines, and occurred over short, fragmented time periods. College graduates reported searching for authoritative knowledge sources; non-graduates preferred forums. Conclusions for Practice Low-income postpartum women rely on their smartphones to find online infant care and self-care health information. Websites replace pregnancy-related mobile applications and complement face-to-face information. Changes in searching behavior and multitasking mean information must be easily accessible and readily understood. Knowledge of page-rank systems and use of current and emergent social media will allow health-related organizations to better engage with low-income mothers online and

  11. Online Information-Seeking Behaviors of Parents of Children With ADHD.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sage, Adam; Carpenter, Delesha; Sayner, Robyn; Thomas, Kathleen; Mann, Larry; Sulzer, Sandy; Sandler, Adrian; Sleath, Betsy

    2018-01-01

    This article describes ( a) parent questions about ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder), ( b) parent Internet use to seek ADHD information, and ( c) associations between type of Internet access and ADHD information-seeking. Seventy parents of children (ages 7-17 years) with ADHD completed questionnaires after their child's visit with their pediatrician. Bivariate relationships were assessed using chi-square statistics, Pearson correlation coefficients, or t tests. Parents identified an average of 8.9 questions about ADHD for their child's provider. Common questions were related to medication and long-term implications of ADHD. A majority of parents searched the Internet for general ADHD information (87%) and ADHD medication information (81%). White parents accessed the Internet significantly more via home computer, mobile phone, and tablet, and significantly less via public library than non-White parents. Parents who accessed the Internet via home computers and tablets were more likely to search the Internet for ADHD medication information than parents who did not.

  12. Overactive bladder symptom severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and quality of life in patients with type 2 diabetes: a path analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dongjuan; Zhao, Meng; Huang, Liqun; Wang, Kefang

    2018-01-02

    This study aimed to investigate the relationships among overactive bladder (OAB) symptom severity, bother, help-seeking behavior, and quality of life (QOL) in patients with type 2 diabetes. A total of 127 diabetic patients, aged at least 18 years, with overactive bladder from a hospital in Shandong Province, China, were recruited for this study. Symptom severity, bother, and quality of life were assessed using the Overactive Bladder Symptom Score (OABSS), Patient Perception of Bladder Condition (PPBC), and Overactive Bladder Questionnaire Short Form (OAB-q SF), respectively. Help-seeking behavior was assessed by asking patients whether they consulted health care professionals or received treatment for their bladder problems. A two-step path analysis was performed to analyze the data. OAB symptom severity was directly associated with lower levels of QOL, and the strength of this association was no longer significant when taking bother and help-seeking behavior into account. Bother increased with OAB symptom severity, and patients with bothersome OAB tended to have lower levels of QOL. Moreover, bother increased help-seeking behavior; however, patients who sought help tended to have lower levels of QOL. Our findings highlight the role of bother and help-seeking behavior in the relationship between OAB symptom severity and QOL. To improve a patient's QOL, health care providers should focus not only on symptom bother but also on dysfunctional help-seeking patterns.

  13. Information Seeking Behaviour of Mathematicians: Scientists and Students

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sapa, Remigiusz; Krakowska, Monika; Janiak, Malgorzata

    2014-01-01

    Introduction: The paper presents original research designed to explore and compare selected aspects of the information seeking behaviour of mathematicians (scientists and students) on the Internet. Method: The data were gathered through a questionnaire distributed at the end of 2011 and in January 2012. Twenty-nine professional mathematicians and…

  14. Information from the Internet and the doctor-patient relationship: the patient perspective – a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Murray Elizabeth

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Both doctors and patients may perceive the Internet as a potential challenge to existing therapeutic relationships. Here we examine patients' views of the effect of the Internet on their relationship with doctors. Methods We ran 8 disease specific focus groups of between 2 and 8 respondents comprising adult patients with diabetes mellitus, ischaemic heart disease or hepatitis C. Results Data are presented on (i the perceived benefits and (ii limitations of the Internet in the context of the doctor-patient relationship, (iii views on sharing information with doctors, and (iv the potential of the Internet for the future. Information from the Internet was particularly valued in relation to experiential knowledge. Conclusion Despite evidence of increasing patient activism in seeking information and the potential to challenge the position of the doctor, the accounts here do not in any way suggest a desire to disrupt the existing balance of power, or roles, in the consultation. Patients appear to see the Internet as an additional resource to support existing and valued relationships with their doctors. Doctors therefore need not feel challenged or threatened when patients bring health information from the Internet to a consultation, rather they should see it as an attempt on the part of the patient to work with the doctor and respond positively.

  15. Information-Seeking Behaviour on Internet: A Comparison between Arts and Science Undergraduate Students in Iran

    Science.gov (United States)

    Omidian, Faranak; Seifi Maleki, A.M. Masoomeh

    2013-01-01

    The Internet has increasingly influenced the information-seeking behavior of students in higher education over the past few decades. The mass availability of information on the web has seen significant changes in the electronic information needs, information retrieval, and communication patterns (information seeking behavior) of university…

  16. Is Sensation Seeking a correlate of excessive behaviors and behavioral addictions? A detailed examination of patients with Gambling Disorder and Internet Addiction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Müller, K W; Dreier, M; Beutel, M E; Wölfling, K

    2016-08-30

    Sensation Seeking has repeatedly been related to substance use. Also, its role as a correlate of Gambling Disorder has been discussed although research has led to heterogeneous results. Likewise, first studies on Internet Addiction have indicated increased Sensation Seeking, to some extent contradicting clinical impression of patients suffering from internet addiction. We assessed Sensation Seeking in a clinical sample of n=251 patients with Gambling Disorder, n=243 patients with internet addiction, n=103 clients with excessive but not addictive internet use, and n=142 healthy controls. The clinical groups were further sub-divided according to the preferred type of addictive behavior (slot-machine gambling vs. high arousal gambling activities and internet gaming disorder vs. other internet-related addictive behaviors). Decreased scores in some subscales of Sensation Seeking were found among male patients compared to healthy controls with no differences between patients with Gambling Disorder and Internet Addiction. The type of preferred gambling or online activity was not related to differences in Sensation Seeking. Previous findings indicating only small associations between Sensation Seeking and Gambling Disorder were confirmed. Regarding Internet Addiction our results contradict findings from non-clinical samples. Sensation Seeking might be relevant in initiating contact to the health care system. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. The role of information search in seeking alternative treatment for back pain: a qualitative analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McClymont, Hoda; Gow, Jeff; Perry, Chad

    2014-01-01

    Health consumers have moved away from a reliance on medical practitioner advice to more independent decision processes and so their information search processes have subsequently widened. This study examined how persons with back pain searched for alternative treatment types and service providers. That is, what information do they seek and how; what sources do they use and why; and by what means do they search for it? 12 persons with back pain were interviewed. The method used was convergent interviewing. This involved a series of semi-structured questions to obtain open-ended answers. The interviewer analysed the responses and refined the questions after each interview, to converge on the dominant factors influencing decisions about treatment patterns. Persons with back pain mainly search their memories and use word of mouth (their doctor and friends) for information about potential treatments and service providers. Their search is generally limited due to personal, provider-related and information-supply reasons. However, they did want in-depth information about the alternative treatments and providers in an attempt to establish apriori their efficacy in treating their specific back problems. They searched different sources depending on the type of information they required. The findings differ from previous studies about the types of information health consumers require when searching for information about alternative or mainstream healthcare services. The results have identified for the first time that limited information availability was only one of three categories of reasons identified about why persons with back pain do not search for more information particularly from external non-personal sources.

  18. Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Health Seeking Behaviour of patients at a tertiary care hospital.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aman Deep

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available BackgroundBenign Prostatic Hyperplasia is a widely prevalent conditionaffecting elderly men throughout the world. With increasinglife expectancy, there has been a rise in the percentage ofelderly men and so for this disease across the globe. There islack of information about health seeking behaviour of patientswith Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. Therefore the study wasdesigned with the objectives of assessing health-seekingbehaviour and the effect of literacy on it among adult andolder subjects suffering from Benign Prostatic Hyperplasiaattending a tertiary care hospital.MethodA series of 81 patients suffering from Benign ProstaticHyperplasia above the age of 50 years, attending surgical OutPatient Department of a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, wereassessed for their health seeking behaviour using a pre-testedand a modified questionnaire designed for assessing healthseeking behaviour.ResultsPositive health seeking behaviour of patients was observed in44%, who reported to a doctor within a month of noticingtheir problem. A greater proportion of the literates was awareabout the symptoms suggestive of enlarged prostate andconsulted a qualified health care practitioner as their firstaction. More literates approached the higher level of healthcare facility on being referred and had maximum faith inallopathic system of medicine. Also, lesser number of literateshad performed pooja (Hindi word for worship or othertraditional rituals for relief of their problems.ConclusionWe concluded that majority of subjects suffering fromBenign Prostatic Hypertrophy were not aware of theirdisease and their health-seeking behaviour was poor andcould be related to literacy. Our data highlights the needfor public awareness program targeting the younger malepopulation so that early detection and treatment can beoffered.

  19. Workplace substance abuse prevention and help seeking: comparing team-oriented and informational training.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, J B; Lehman, W E

    2001-07-01

    Employees fail to seek help for alcohol or drug (AOD) abuse because of unhealthy work climates, stigma, and distrust in Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). To address such problems, the authors randomly assigned groups of municipal employees (N = 260) to 2 types of training: a 4-hr informational review of EAPs and policy and an 8-hr training that embedded messages about AOD reduction in the context of team building and stress management. Pre- and posttraining and 6-month follow-up surveys assessed change. Group privacy regulation, EAP trust, help seeking, and peer encouragement increased for team training. Stigma of substance users decreased for information training. EAP/policy knowledge increased for both groups. A control group showed little change. Help seeking and peer encouragement also predicted EAP utilization. Integrating both team and informational training may be the most effective for improving help seeking and EAP utilization.

  20. Environmental scanning as information seeking and organizational learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available Environmental scanning is the acquisition and use of information about events, trends, and relationships in an organization's external environment, the knowledge of which would assist management in planning the organization's future course of action. Depending on the organization's beliefs about environmental analyzability and the extent that it intrudes into the environment to understand it, four modes of scanning may be differentiated: undirected viewing, conditioned viewing, enacting, and searching. We analyze each mode of scanning by examining its characteristic information needs, information seeking, and information use behaviours. In addition, we analyze organizational learning processes by considering the sensemaking, knowledge creating and decision making processes at work in each mode.

  1. Help Seeking among Peers: The Role of Goal Structure and Peer Climate

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shim, Sungok Serena; Kiefer, Sarah M.; Wang, Cen

    2013-01-01

    With a sample of 373 middle school students, the present longitudinal study examined the role of the classroom peer climate in mediating the relation between perceptions of classroom goal structures and academic help seeking among peers. Classroom goal structures were measured in the fall and classroom peer climate and help seeking among peers…

  2. The Health Seeking Behaviors and Perceptions of Iranian Patient with Osteoarthritis about Pain Management: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zamanzadeh, Vahid; Ahmadi, Fazlollah; Foolady, Marjaneh; Behshid, Mozhgan; Irajpoor, Alireza

    2017-03-01

    Introduction: Pain is the main reason for patients with osteoarthritis (OA) to visit health clinics. Health seeking behaviors indicate unmet patient needs and lack of understanding of OA pain patterns. This study aimed to describe the experiences of Iranian patients with OA and explore their health seeking behaviors and perceptions on pain management related to osteoarthritis. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, data was collected by interviewing 19 patients, 2 family members, and 5 health care providers from the in-patient and out-patient clinics, and physicians' offices. Data saturation was reached after 31 in-depth and semi-structured interviews (five second interviews). Data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis, using comparison, reflection and interpretation techniques. The criteria used to enhance rigor included credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Results: Two main categories and six subcategories emerged from data analysis. The first main category included "adapting to the reality" which had three subcategories: Facing OA pain, seeking health care, and accepting pain as a part of life. The second main category included "behavior fluctuation" with three subcategory of role conflict, responsibility for self-care and, adherence to prescribed treatment versus self-treatment. Conclusion: Care seeking behaviors for chronic pain sufferers are void of cultural, emotional, social and financial situation and patient expectations. Some misconceptions emerged about the health problem and its management, which may lead to negative attitudes toward treatment and therapists and finally lead to non-adherence to treatment. Patients need for education to enhance appropriate health care utilization.

  3. The Health Seeking Behaviors and Perceptions of Iranian Patient with Osteoarthritis about Pain Management: A Qualitative Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Zamanzadeh

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Pain is the main reason for patients with osteoarthritis (OA to visit health clinics. Health seeking behaviors indicate unmet patient needs and lack of understanding of OA pain patterns. This study aimed to describe the experiences of Iranian patients with OA and explore their health seeking behaviors and perceptions on pain management related to osteoarthritis. Methods: Using a qualitative approach, data was collected by interviewing 19 patients, 2 family members, and 5 health care providers from the in-patient and out-patient clinics, and physicians’ offices. Data saturation was reached after 31 in-depth and semi-structured interviews (five second interviews. Data were analyzed by qualitative content analysis, using comparison, reflection and interpretation techniques. The criteria used to enhance rigor included credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability. Results: Two main categories and six subcategories emerged from data analysis. The first main category included "adapting to the reality" which had three subcategories: Facing OA pain, seeking health care, and accepting pain as a part of life. The second main category included "behavior fluctuation" with three subcategory of role conflict, responsibility for self-care and, adherence to prescribed treatment versus self-treatment. Conclusion: Care seeking behaviors for chronic pain sufferers are void of cultural, emotional, social and financial situation and patient expectations. Some misconceptions emerged about the health problem and its management, which may lead to negative attitudes toward treatment and therapists and finally lead to non-adherence to treatment. Patients need for education to enhance appropriate health care utilization.

  4. 'What do patients want?' Tailoring medicines information to meet patients' needs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Young, Amber; Tordoff, June; Smith, Alesha

    2017-11-01

    Medicines information leaflets can equip patients to be in control of their own healthcare and support the safe and effective use of medicines. The design and content of leaflets influences patients' willingness to read them, and poor examples can cause patient confusion and anxiety. Researchers examined the literature over the past 8 years to determine the content and design of medicine information leaflets that patients prefer in order to read, understand, and use them effectively. It was found that existing leaflets do not meet patients' needs and appear ineffective. Leaflets lack the information patients seek and may contain non-essential material, affecting patients' perception of, and willingness to read them. Additionally, the acceptable leaflet length varies between patients. Application of good design principles improves readability, comprehension, and ability to locate information. Medicine information leaflets must meet patients' needs and be well designed. Tailoring information leaflets to patient characteristics and requirements would enhance effectiveness. Passive provision of pre-printed leaflets is outdated, unvalued and ineffective. Using automated computer systems for leaflet tailoring with the ability to further adapt patients' information might be the best way forward. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  5. Health care-seeking behavior among patients with chronic kidney disease: A cross-sectional study of patients presenting at a single teaching hospital in Lagos

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    Babawale Taslim Bello

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Health care-seeking behavior of individuals determines how early they present for appropriate care. In patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD, late presentation to the nephrologist is associated with poor outcomes. This study aims to describe the health care-seeking behavior of patients with CKD attending the nephrology outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital located in Lagos, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey conducted on 104 consecutive adult patients with CKD, presenting for the first time at the nephrology outpatient clinic of a teaching hospital located in Lagos, South West Nigeria. Information was retrieved from the study participants using a structured interviewer-administered questionnaire, entered into an Excel spreadsheet, and analyzed using Epi Info® statistical software version 7.0. Results: Overall, 74 (71.2% patients sought help, first from a trained health care provider, and their health care-seeking behavior was adjudged to be appropriate. Compared to patients with appropriate health care-seeking behavior, those with inappropriate health care-seeking behavior had a lower mean age (40.4 ± 13.7 years vs 47.3 ± 15.6 years;P = 0.03, were less likely to see their illness as a medical problem (46.7% vs 67.6%;P = 0.04, more likely to have a monthly income less than N25,000 ($150 (80.0% vs 59.5%;P = 0.04, and have received below tertiary level education (20.0% vs 48.6%; P < 0.01. They were also more likely to have consulted more than one health care provider before being referred to our clinic. The factors predicting inappropriate health care-seeking behavior were education below the tertiary level and age less than 45 years. Conclusion: Though health care-seeking behavior was appropriate in majority of our patients with CKD, there remains a need for improved public health awareness.

  6. An evolving user-oriented model of Internet health information seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaie, Martha J

    2006-01-01

    This paper presents an evolving user-oriented model of Internet health information seeking (IS) based on qualitative data collected from 22 lung cancer (LC) patients and caregivers. This evolving model represents information search behavior as more highly individualized, complex, and dynamic than previous models, including pre-search psychological activity, use of multiple heuristics throughout the process, and cost-benefit evaluation of search results. This study's findings suggest that IS occurs in four distinct phases: search initiation/continuation, selective exposure, message processing, and message evaluation. The identification of these phases and the heuristics used within them suggests a higher order of complexity in the decision-making processes that underlie IS, which could lead to the development of a conceptual framework that more closely reflects the complex nature of contextualized IS. It also illustrates the advantages of using qualitative methods to extract more subtle details of the IS process and fill in the gaps in existing models.

  7. After the Flood : Anger, Attribution, and the Seeking of Information

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Griffin, Robert J.; Yang, Zheng; ter Huurne, E.F.J.; Boerner, Francesca; Ortiz, Sherry; Dunwoody, Sharon

    2008-01-01

    In an effort to understand what motivates people to attend to information about flood risks, this study applies the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model to explore how local residents responded to damaging river flooding in the Milwaukee area. The results indicate that anger at managing

  8. Patient seeking behaviors and online personas: social media's role in cosmetic dermatology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Nicholas A; Todd, Quintin; Saedi, Nazanin

    2015-02-01

    Social media sites, composed of providers, patients, and their social circles, facilitate health and healthcare delivery. To examine patients' perspective on social media as an information source, communication tool, and referral service through an anonymous survey. In addition, influences on patient Internet personas, an actively constructed online identity, around the time of cosmetic procedures are examined. Patients completed an anonymous institutional review board-approved survey during their initial cosmetic visit. Patients are highly active on social media using it as a multipurpose tool for physician referral services, support groups, and disease education. Patients gathered dermatology information from multiple sources, including friends, family, social media pages, and other online sources, often sharing their own experiences through social media platforms. Patients indicated a desire for provider educational materials on interactive media pages. Most preferred material written by a physician, but some indicated a preference for both physician and lay material. Online images highlighting dissatisfying skin features were influential to select patients, prompting manipulation of online personas and evaluation for aesthetic procedures. Although the study examines cosmetic patient perspectives, data highlight valuable trends for all dermatologists. Social media can improve patient education, collaboration, recruitment, and online professional image, leading to healthier patient-centered care.

  9. Racial and Ethnic Differences in Tobacco Information Seeking and Information Sources: Findings From the 2015 Health Information National Trends Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Anh B; Robinson, Joelle; O'Brien, Erin Keely; Zhao, Xiaoquan

    2017-09-01

    This article describes sources of health information, types of tobacco information sought, and trust in sources of tobacco information among U.S. racial/ethnic groups (Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asian and Pacific Islanders, and Other). Cross-sectional data (N = 3,788) from a nationally representative survey, HINTS-FDA 2015, were analyzed to examine unadjusted and adjusted associations between race/ethnicity and (a) first source of health information, (b) tobacco information seeking, and (c) trust in sources of tobacco information. Adjusted associations controlled for current tobacco product use and sociodemographic variables. Findings indicated that the Internet was the most common first source of health information while health care providers were the second most common source for all racial/ethnic groups. Tobacco-related health information seeking was more prevalent than other tobacco product information seeking. Unadjusted analyses indicated that a higher proportion of Whites sought other tobacco product information compared to Asians and Pacific Islanders. Trust was rated highest for doctors while trust for health organizations was rated second highest. Asians and Pacific Islanders had higher trust in the government compared to all other groups. Blacks had higher trust in religious organizations compared to all other groups besides Hispanics. Blacks had higher trust for tobacco companies compared to Whites and Other. Many of these differences were attenuated in adjusted analyses. This research has implications for tobacco control practice and policymaking by identifying potential dissemination strategies.

  10. Health seeking and sexual behaviour among patients with sexually ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Health seeking and sexual behaviour among patients with sexually transmitted ... condom use among patients presenting with sexually transmitted infections (STI) ... having less than 8 years of school education; and being resident in villages.

  11. The Information Seeking Behavior of Digital Native and Digital Immigrant Students of Bogor Agricultural University

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Janti Gristinawati Sujana

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Technological expansion and the changing way individuals gain access to information has deeply impacted the structure of libraries – physically as well as conceptually. A new generation of digital services platforms for libraries is emerging, designed to provide a more comprehensive  approach  to  the  management  and  access  to  all  formats  of  library  materials. Despite the modernization of libraries and their adaption to the digital age, the library still hold a critical role within community to serve its users, continuing to be beacons of information sharing, learning, and entertainment even amidst tight fiscal times.  As one of the leading university in Indonesia, Bogor Agricultural University Library must find solutions to new challenges, overhaul many of their entrenched business processes, and foster systems that engage students.  This study examined the information seeking behavior of the digital native and digital immigrant students of Bogor Agricultural University, in order to remind the library that there are some changes happened in its users and to recommend the new services should be taken by the library. The similarities and differences in seeking information of those two group students were discussed.

  12. Information-seeking behavior of basic science researchers: implications for library services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haines, Laura L; Light, Jeanene; O'Malley, Donna; Delwiche, Frances A

    2010-01-01

    This study examined the information-seeking behaviors of basic science researchers to inform the development of customized library services. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted on a sample of basic science researchers employed at a university medical school. The basic science researchers used a variety of information resources ranging from popular Internet search engines to highly technical databases. They generally relied on basic keyword searching, using the simplest interface of a database or search engine. They were highly collegial, interacting primarily with coworkers in their laboratories and colleagues employed at other institutions. They made little use of traditional library services and instead performed many traditional library functions internally. Although the basic science researchers expressed a positive attitude toward the library, they did not view its resources or services as integral to their work. To maximize their use by researchers, library resources must be accessible via departmental websites. Use of library services may be increased by cultivating relationships with key departmental administrative personnel. Despite their self-sufficiency, subjects expressed a desire for centralized information about ongoing research on campus and shared resources, suggesting a role for the library in creating and managing an institutional repository.

  13. Seeking and Avoiding Information in a Risky World

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choo, Chun Wei

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: In an era where collective action is necessary to confront societal level risks such as climate change and food safety, we need to better understand how people are motivated to seek risk information that would lead them to make choices and behavioural changes to mitigate those hazards. Method: We selectively review the research in…

  14. Relationship Between Parental and Adolescent eHealth Literacy and Online Health Information Seeking in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Fong-Ching; Chiu, Chiung-Hui; Chen, Ping-Hung; Miao, Nae-Fang; Lee, Ching-Mei; Chiang, Jeng-Tung; Pan, Ying-Chun

    2015-10-01

    This study examined the relationship between parental and adolescent eHealth literacy and its impact on online health information seeking. Data were obtained from 1,869 junior high school students and 1,365 parents in Taiwan in 2013. Multivariate analysis results showed that higher levels of parental Internet skill and eHealth literacy were associated with an increase in parental online health information seeking. Parental eHealth literacy, parental active use Internet mediation, adolescent Internet literacy, and health information literacy were all related to adolescent eHealth literacy. Similarly, adolescent Internet/health information literacy, eHealth literacy, and parental active use Internet mediation, and parental online health information seeking were associated with an increase in adolescent online health information seeking. The incorporation of eHealth literacy courses into parenting programs and school education curricula is crucial to promote the eHealth literacy of parents and adolescents.

  15. E-Health Literacy and Health Information Seeking Behavior Among University Students in Bangladesh.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Islam, Md Mohaimenul; Touray, Musa; Yang, Hsuan-Chia; Poly, Tahmina Nasrin; Nguyen, Phung-Anh; Li, Yu-Chuan Jack; Syed Abdul, Shabbir

    2017-01-01

    Web 2.0 has become a leading health communication platform and will continue to attract young users; therefore, the objective of this study was to understand the impact of Web 2.0 on health information seeking behavior among university students in Bangladesh. A random sample of adults (n = 199, mean 23.75 years, SD 2.87) participated in a cross-sectional, a survey that included the eHealth literacy scale (eHEALS) assessed use of Web 2.0 for health information. Collected data were analyzed using a descriptive statistical method and t-tests. Finally logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine associations between sociodemographic, social determinants, and use of Web 2.0 for seeking and sharing health information. Almost 74% of older Web 2.0 users (147/199, 73.9%) reported using popular Web 2.0 websites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to find and share health information. Current study support that current Web-based health information seeking and sharing behaviors influence health-related decision making.

  16. Between information seeking and sharing – use of social media in a young learner context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hyldegård, Jette Seiden

    2013-01-01

    -generated content: Which activities are associated with social media as information sources? What are the motivations and constraints for using social media as information sources? The presentation is based on a systematic review of a selected number of core LIS journals in addition to results from recent research......This presentation addresses information seeking behavior among young learners and ,in particular, their use of social media in an educational context. The focus is on young learners’ use of social media as information sources in the intersection between information seeking and sharing of user...... associated with social media as information sources and the implications for information literacy. Many web tutorials have been developed with the aim of guiding students’ information seeking, research and writing behavior, hence providing a platform for building information literacy (IL) knowledge...

  17. Product diffusion through on-demand information-seeking behaviour.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riedl, Christoph; Bjelland, Johannes; Canright, Geoffrey; Iqbal, Asif; Engø-Monsen, Kenth; Qureshi, Taimur; Sundsøy, Pål Roe; Lazer, David

    2018-02-01

    Most models of product adoption predict S-shaped adoption curves. Here we report results from two country-scale experiments in which we find linear adoption curves. We show evidence that the observed linear pattern is the result of active information-seeking behaviour: individuals actively pulling information from several central sources facilitated by modern Internet searches. Thus, a constant baseline rate of interest sustains product diffusion, resulting in a linear diffusion process instead of the S-shaped curve of adoption predicted by many diffusion models. The main experiment seeded 70 000 (48 000 in Experiment 2) unique voucher codes for the same product with randomly sampled nodes in a social network of approximately 43 million individuals with about 567 million ties. We find that the experiment reached over 800 000 individuals with 80% of adopters adopting the same product-a winner-take-all dynamic consistent with search engine driven rankings that would not have emerged had the products spread only through a network of social contacts. We provide evidence for (and characterization of) this diffusion process driven by active information-seeking behaviour through analyses investigating (a) patterns of geographical spreading; (b) the branching process; and (c) diffusion heterogeneity. Using data on adopters' geolocation we show that social spreading is highly localized, while on-demand diffusion is geographically independent. We also show that cascades started by individuals who actively pull information from central sources are more effective at spreading the product among their peers. © 2018 The Authors.

  18. A Study of Rural Elderly’s Health Information Needs and Seeking Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wei-Chun Liao

    2012-06-01

    Full Text Available Survey method was used and 92 valid questionnaires were collected for the analyses. The results showed that the majority of the rural elder people expressed the need for and attention to health information. ‘‘health service information’’ and ‘‘prevention health care information’’ were the most needed and important. Family, friends and television were the main channels for accessing health information. However, fewer respondents actively sought health information. When health problems occurred, they tended to seek direct medical treatment. This study also found that men were more attentive and active in seeking health information. Respondents over 75 years old rarely concerned about their health information need. People with more education were also more aware of their health information needs and more attentive to information disseminated via mass media. [Article content in Chinese

  19. Appearance vs. health reasons for seeking treatment among obese patients with binge eating disorder.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reas, Deborah L; Masheb, Robin M; Grilo, Carlos M

    2004-05-01

    This study examined reasons for seeking treatment reported by obese patients diagnosed with binge eating disorder (BED). Participants were 248 adults (58 men and 190 women) who met DSM criteria for BED. Participants were recruited through advertisements for treatment studies looking for persons who wanted to "stop binge eating and lose weight." Patients' reasons for seeking treatment were examined with respect to demography (gender and age), obesity (BMI and age of onset), features of eating disorders, and associated psychological functioning (depression and self-esteem). Of the 248 participants, 64% reported health concerns and 36% reported appearance concerns as their primary reason for seeking treatment. Reasons for seeking treatment did not differ significantly by gender. Patients seeking treatment because of appearance-related reasons had lower BMIs than those reporting health-related reasons (34.8 vs. 38.5, respectively), but they reported greater body dissatisfaction, more features of eating disorders, and lower self-esteem. Reasons that prompt treatment seeking among obese individuals with BED reflect meaningful patient characteristics and, therefore, warrant assessment and consideration during treatment planning. Further research is needed to determine whether reasons for treatment seeking among different obese patient groups affect treatment outcomes. Copyright 2004 NAASO

  20. Information seeking and students studying for professional careers: the cases of engineering and law students in Ireland

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gillian Kerins

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in Leckie et al.'s model. Students learned their information seeking strategies, including effective and less effective approaches, from educators and continuing mis-perceptions of libraries and information professionals. The studies suggest that engineering and law students in Ireland could benefit from greater information literacy training and awareness, enabling them to acquire the information skills they need to function effectively and efficiently in their future professional work lives.

  1. The Information Seeking Interface with Spatial Icons for the Children Digital-learning Database

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    吳可久、林佳蓉、陳泓均、柯皓仁 Ko-Chiu Wu,Chia-Jung Lin,Hung-Chun Chen,Hao-Ren Ke

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available In this age of information technology, children must develop the ability to search digital databases.However, the information-seeking behavior and cognitive abilities associated with language and images differ substantially between children and adults. Therefore there is an urgent need foran information-searching interface customized for children. Drawing on the design of computer games, we created a three-dimensional (3D human-computer interface (HCI. Children’s experience playing computer games can therefore inform way-finding and information-seeking behavior inthis spatially-oriented interface. Three types of HCI were developed: a 2D graphic hyperlink (GH,a 3D extended survey (ES, and a 3D extended route (ER. These were tested for efficiency, effectiveness, and time of operation by one-way analysis of variance. Our results indicated that children behave differently on the various interfaces. The proposed HCI is a helpful tool offering children a knowledge map that enables them to search for the information they need. Our results demonstrate that information visualization theory and concept association are topics worthy offurther study in the development of a child-oriented information-seeking interface. pp. 51-65

  2. Information Seeking and Students Studying for Professional Careers: The Cases of Engineering and Law Students in Ireland

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kerins, Gillian; Madden, Ronan; Fulton, Crystal

    2004-01-01

    This paper reports the results of two empirical studies which explored the information seeking behaviour of engineering and law students in Ireland. Findings reveal similar patterns in the information seeking behaviour between students studying to become professionals and information seeking patterns of these groups identified in the Leckie et al.…

  3. Time, Cost, Information Seeking Skills and Format of Resources Present Barriers to Information Seeking by Primary Care Practitioners in a Research Environment. A review of: Andrews James E., Kevin A. Pearce, Carol Ireson, and Margaret M. Love. “Information‐Seeking Behaviors of Practitioners in a Primary Care Practice‐Based Research Network (PBRN.” Journal of the Medical Library Association 93.2 (Apr. 2005: 206‐12.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha Ingrid Preddie

    2007-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To determine the information seeking behaviors of primary care practitioners in order to inform future efforts towards the design of information services that would support quality inprimary care.Design – A cross‐sectional survey.Setting – A primary care practice based research network (PBRN of caregivers who serve a broad population while simultaneously studying and disseminating innovations aimed at improvements in quality, efficiency and/or safety of primaryhealth care in the United States.Subjects – All primary care practitioners in the PBRN including family practitioners, general practitioners, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.Methods – A questionnaire comprising twenty‐six questions was distributed to 116 practitioners. Practitioners attached to academic centres (who were also members of the PBRN were excluded in order “to achieve a sample of practices more representative of the primary care practising population” (208. Descriptive data were collected and analyzed. SPSS v11.5 was used for statistical analyses.Main results – There was a response rate of 51% (59 of 116. Fifty‐eight percent of the respondents stated that they sought information (excluding drug dosing or drug interactions information to support patient care several times a week. Sixty‐eight per cent sought this information while the patient waited. Almost half of therespondents had access to a small medical library (48% or a hospital library (46%, while 21% used a university medical library.Approximately 14% had no immediate access to a medical library. Almost 60% of practitioners stated that they had an e‐mail account. Thirty‐four percent agreed that the use of e‐mail to communicate with patients enhanced medical practice, while 24% disagreed. There was frequent prescribing of Internet‐based consumer health information to patients by only 16% of the practitioners, while Internet support groups were frequently recommended

  4. Self-Injury, Help-Seeking, and the Internet: Informing Online Service Provision for Young People.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Frost, Mareka; Casey, Leanne; Rando, Natalie

    2016-01-01

    Although increasing numbers of young people are seeking help online for self-injury, relatively little is known about their online help-seeking preferences. To investigate the perspectives of young people who self-injure regarding online services, with the aim of informing online service delivery. A mixed-methods exploratory analysis regarding the perspectives of a subsample of young people who reported a history of self-injury and responded to questions regarding preferences for future online help-seeking (N = 457). The sample was identified as part of a larger study (N = 1,463) exploring self-injury and help-seeking. Seven themes emerged in relation to preferences for future online help-seeking: information, guidance, reduced isolation, online culture, facilitation of help-seeking, access, and privacy. Direct contact with a professional via instant messaging was the most highly endorsed form of online support. Young people expressed clear preferences regarding online services for self-injury, supporting the importance of consumer consultation in development of online services.

  5. Patient perspectives on online health information and communication with doctors: a qualitative study of patients 50 years old and over.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silver, Michelle Pannor

    2015-01-13

    As health care systems around the world shift toward models that emphasize self-care management, there is increasing pressure for patients to obtain health information online. It is critical that patients are able to identify potential problems with using the Internet to diagnose and treat a health issue and that they feel comfortable communicating with their doctor about the health information they acquire from the Internet. Our aim was to examine patient-identified (1) problems with using the Internet to identify and treat a health issue, (2) barriers to communication with a doctor about online health information seeking, and (3) facilitators of communication with a doctor about patient searches for health information on the Internet. For this qualitative exploratory study, semistructured interviews were conducted with a sample of 56 adults age 50 years old and over. General concerns regarding use of the Internet to diagnose and treat a health issue were examined separately for participants based on whether they had ever discussed health information obtained through the Internet with a doctor. Discussions about barriers to and facilitators of communication about patient searches for health information on the Internet with a doctor were analyzed using thematic analysis. Six higher-level general concerns emerged: (1) limitations in own ability, (2) credibility/limitations of online information, (3) anxiety, (4) time consumption, (5) conflict, and (6) non-physical harm. The most prevalent concern raised by participants who communicated with a doctor about their online health information seeking related to the credibility or limitations in online information. Participants who had never communicated with a doctor about their online health information seeking most commonly reported concerns about non-physical harm. Four barriers to communication emerged: (1) concerns about embarrassment, (2) concerns that the doctor doesn't want to hear about it, (3) belief that there

  6. Parental education and children's online health information seeking: beyond the digital divide debate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Shanyang

    2009-11-01

    Research has shown that increasing numbers of teenagers are going online to find health information, but it is unclear whether there are disparities in the prevalence of online health seeking among young Internet users associated with social and economic conditions. Existing literature on Internet uses by adults indicates that low income, less educated, and minority individuals are less likely to be online health seekers. Based on the analysis of data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project for the US, this study finds that teens of low education parents are either as likely as or even more likely than teens of high education parents to seek online health information. Multiple regression analysis shows that the higher engagement in health seeking by teens of low education parents is related to a lower prevalence of parental Internet use, suggesting that some of these teens may be seeking online health information on behalf of their low education parents. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to the issues of the digital divide and digital empowerment.

  7. Exploring information seeking behaviour in a digital museum context

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Skov, Mette; Ingwersen, Peter

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the preliminary results of a case study of task-based interactive information seeking and retrieval behaviour of virtual museum visitors in context. The research described here is part of a larger study: this paper specifically looks at 1) leisure tasks/interests and derived ...

  8. "Something's Gotta Give:" Advanced-Degree Seeking Women's Experiences of Sexism, Role Overload, and Psychological Distress

    Science.gov (United States)

    West, Lindsey M.

    2014-01-01

    With the rise in advanced-degree seeking women and the minimal research on the dual impact of sexism and role overload, the current study aims to better understand the impact of sexism and role overload on psychological distress in a particular sample of advanced-degree seeking women. Seventy-six female medical student participants (mean age 24.7)…

  9. 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

    interviews, with data saturation achieved by the 14th interview. While we identified a broad range of online health information-seeking behaviors, most related to information discussed during consumer-health professional consultations such as looking for information about medication side effects. The barriers we identified included intrinsic barriers, such as limited eHealth literacy, and extrinsic barriers, such as the inconsistency of information between different online sources. The navigational needs of our participants were extrinsic in nature and included health professionals directing consumers to appropriate online resources and better filtering of online health information. Our participants' online health information-seeking behaviors, reported barriers, and navigational needs were underpinned by the themes of trust, patient activation, and relevance. This study suggests that existing interventions aimed to assist consumers with navigating online health information may not be what consumers want or perceive they need. eHealth literacy and patient activation appear to be prevalent concepts in the context of consumers' online health information-seeking behaviors. Furthermore, the role for health professionals in guiding consumers to quality online health information is highlighted.

  10. Approaching the Affective Factors of Information Seeking: The Viewpoint of the Information Search Process Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Savolainen, Reijo

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: The article contributes to the conceptual studies of affective factors in information seeking by examining Kuhlthau's information search process model. Method: This random-digit dial telephone survey of 253 people (75% female) living in a rural, medically under-serviced area of Ontario, Canada, follows-up a previous interview study…

  11. Informed consent: using a structured interview changes patients' attitudes towards informed consent.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawes, P J; O'Keefe, L; Adcock, S

    1993-09-01

    Patients want to know more about their condition and its proposed treatment. Gaining patients' confidence before treatment reduces the changes of their seeking legal redress for an unexpected outcome. As part of a prospective study of informed consent for surgery we have assessed the attitudes of patients towards informed consent when different types of consent interview are used. We found that most patients are happy to do as their doctor advises but think the informal consent interview is important because it gives them information; they also want to know about most, but not all, complications of the procedure. One quarter worried about the anaesthetic, about one eighth worried about 'not waking up' and similar proportions worried about complications and other things such as pain and nausea. Most patients think that the consent form is a legal document. In addition patients who had an informal interview felt obliged to sign the consent form and thought it had medicolegal implications. In contrast those who had a structured interview felt less obliged to sign the consent form and more involved in the decision to operate.

  12. A Study of Social Information Seeking (SIS among LIS Research Scholars in Pakistan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Arif Khan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: There is ample evidence that students and teachers often seek academic information using participatory online social sites (POSS. The purpose of this study is to explore the intent of social information seeking (SIS among library & information science research students in Pakistan. The study also attempts to examine the relationship between change in information behaviour and information retrieval strategies while seeking information from online social spaces. The influence of online collaboration in the use of social media was also examined. Methodology: Quantitative research method was used to conduct this study. Data was collected from 123 research (MPhil & PhD students currently enrolled in seven postgraduate library schools in Pakistan. The data was gathered using survey questionnaire (using 5-point Likert scale items, administered both in print format and online through Google Form. SPSS version 19 was used to analyse the data. Findings: Major findings of this study were that there is a strong positive correlation between SIS and change in the overall information behaviour of research students. Majority of participants responded that social websites help in reshaping the information behaviour in a collaborative environment thus contributing to upsurge the SIS practices among research students. The study also found that LIS research scholars in Pakistan prefer to consult interactive websites more than social media spaces for academic information. Gender has been an influencing variable in SIS practices, however, time spent and frequency of using POSS does not affect one’s SIS practices. Originality: Social Information helps people to connect with each other and is comparatively a new concept in the field of Information Seeking Behaviour. This is the first study on SIS with respect to LIS research students in Pakistan.

  13. Motivation, Critical Thinking and Academic Verification of High School Students' Information-seeking Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Hidayat

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available High school students have known as Gen Y or Z and their media using can be understand on their information-seeking behavior. This research’s purposes were: 1 to analyze the students’ motivation; 2 to analyze the critical thinking and academic verification; 3 to analyze the information-seeking behavior. This study used quantitative approach through survey among 1125 respondents in nine clusters, i.e. Central, East, North, West, and South of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, and Bogor. Schools sampling based on "the best schools rank" by the government, while respondents have taken by accidental in each school. Construct of questionnaire included measurement of motivation, critical thinking and academic verification, and the information-seeking behavior at all. The results showed that the motivations of the use of Internet were dominated by habit to interact and be entertained while on the academic needs are still relatively small but increasing significantly. Students’ self-efficacy, performance and achievement goals tend to be high motives, however the science learning value, and learning environment stimulation were average low motives. High school students indicated that they think critically about the various things that become content primarily in social media but less critical of the academic information subjects. Unfortunately, high school students did not conducted academic verification on the data and information but students tend to do plagiarism. Key words: Student motivation, critical thinking, academic verification, information-seeking behavior, digital generation.

  14. Delay in seeking medical help following Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or "mini-stroke": a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mc Sharry, Jennifer; Baxter, Alison; Wallace, Louise M; Kenton, Anthony; Turner, Andrew; French, David P

    2014-01-01

    Prompt treatment following Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) can reduce the risk of subsequent stroke and disability. However, many patients delay in making contact with medical services. This study aimed to explore TIA patients' accounts of delay between symptom onset and contacting medical services including how decisions to contact services were made and the factors discussed in relation to delay. Twenty interviews were conducted with TIA patients in England. Using a previous systematic review as an initial framework, interview data were organised into categories of symptom recognition, presence of others and type of care sought. A thematic analysis was then conducted to explore descriptions of care-seeking relevant to each category. Delay in contacting medical services varied from less than an hour to eight days. Awareness of typical stroke symptoms could lead to urgent action when more severe TIA symptoms were present but could lead to delay when experienced symptoms were less severe. The role of friends and family varied widely from deciding on and enacting care-seeking decisions to simply providing transport to the GP practice. When family or friends played a greater role, and both made and enacted care-seeking decisions, delays were often shorter, even when patients themselves failed to identify symptoms. Healthcare professionals also impacted on patients' care-seeking with greater delays in seeking further care for the same episode described when patients perceived a lack of urgency during initial healthcare interactions. This study provides new information on patients' decisions to contact medical services following TIA and identifies overlapping factors that can lead to delay in receiving appropriate treatment. While recognition of symptoms may contribute to delay in contacting medical services, additional factors, including full responsibility being taken by others and initial healthcare interactions, can over-ride or undermine the importance of patients

  15. Information seeking-pattern of Nigerian textile market women and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The study investigated the information seeking-pattern of Nigerian textile market women and strategies for improvement of which the study was an ex-post-facto type and adopted survey research design. Disproportional stratified random technique was used to select markets for the study while questionnaire was used to ...

  16. Factors driving public tolerance levels and information-seeking behaviour concerning insects in the household environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoelitsz, Bruce; Poortvliet, P Marijn; Takken, Willem

    2018-06-01

    The public's negative attitudes towards household insects drive tolerance for these insects and their control. Tolerance levels are important in integrated pest management (IPM), as are pest knowledge and information. The risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model describes the relationships between personal factors and information-seeking behaviour. We combined IPM and RISP to determine important relationships between factors driving insect tolerance levels and information-seeking behaviour through an online survey and tested whether this model is valid and generally applicable. Relationships between variables from both IPM and RISP models were tested for seven insect species. Tolerance levels were measured with two factors: willingness to pay for pest control and whether insects are tolerated. Willingness to pay for control was positively affected by age, experience, risk perception, insect characteristics, and negative emotions and affected behavioural intention, by influencing information sufficiency and information-seeking behaviour. Tolerability was influenced by perception of insect characteristics and determines whether control measures are taken. It was possible to combine the RISP and IPM models. Relevant driving factors were a person's age, experience, risk perception, negative affective responses, tolerance levels, relevant channel beliefs about online forums, information sufficiency and information-seeking behaviour. There was, however, variation in important factors between different insects. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry. © 2017 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

  17. Internet usage among pregnant women for seeking health information: A review article

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marzieh Javanmardi

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: In recent years, the Internet has become one of the most popular sources of health information for users, and pregnant women are no exception. This study aimed to investigate Internet usage among pregnant women for achieving health information on the finding of related studies. Materials and Methods: This review study was conducted by searching databases such as IranMedex, Magiran, Scientific Information Database, Irandoc, PubMed, Science Direct, Cochrane, Google Scholar, and Scopus in December 2016. Restrictions were placed on publication to within 16 years and language of publication was restricted to English and Persian. Keywords used in the search included information-seeking behavior, information-seeking, information needs, access to information, pregnancy, and pregnant women. Results: This search resulted in 106 related publications and among them sixteen articles met inclusion criteria. This review showed that the use of the Internet by pregnant women was driven by information needs, ease, and speed of access and finding people with the same situation. Fetal development, symptoms, and complications of pregnancy, prenatal tests and nutrition, activities during pregnancy, and stages of delivery were the most often mentioned topics of interest. The benefits of internet use include reduced anxiety, personal support, creating an emotional connection and an increased confidence. Conclusions: Health providers must have sufficient ability for interpreting the achieved information from the Internet and should allocate efficient amount of time for discussing information-seeking manners with pregnant women. Furthermore, they must try to respond to the doubts of pregnant women and provide valid and reliable online educational resources.

  18. Gestational weight gain information: seeking and sources among pregnant women

    OpenAIRE

    Willcox, Jane C.; Campbell, Karen J.; McCarthy, Elizabeth A.; Lappas, Martha; Ball, Kylie; Crawford, David; Shub, Alexis; Wilkinson, Shelley A.

    2015-01-01

    Background Promoting healthy gestational weight gain (GWG) is important for preventing obstetric and perinatal morbidity, along with obesity in both mother and child. Provision of GWG guidelines by health professionals predicts women meeting GWG guidelines. Research concerning women?s GWG information sources is limited. This study assessed pregnant women?s sources of GWG information and how, where and which women seek GWG information. Methods Consecutive women (n?=?1032) received a mailed que...

  19. Internet health information seeking is a team sport: analysis of the Pew Internet Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadasivam, Rajani S; Kinney, Rebecca L; Lemon, Stephenie C; Shimada, Stephanie L; Allison, Jeroan J; Houston, Thomas K

    2013-03-01

    Previous studies examining characteristics of Internet health information seekers do not distinguish between those who only seek for themselves, and surrogate seekers who look for health information for family or friends. Identifying the unique characteristics of surrogate seekers would help in developing Internet interventions that better support these information seekers. To assess differences between self seekers versus those that act also as surrogate seekers. We analyzed data from the cross-sectional Pew Internet and American Life Project November/December 2008 health survey. Our dependent variable was self-report of type of health information seeking (surrogate versus self seeking). Independent variables included demographics, health status, and caregiving. After bivariate comparisons, we then developed multivariable models using logistic regression to assess characteristics associated with surrogate seeking. Out of 1250 respondents who reported seeking health information online, 56% (N=705) reported being surrogate seekers. In multivariable models, compared with those who sought information for themselves only, surrogate seekers were more likely both married and a parent (OR=1.57, CI=1.08, 2.28), having good (OR=2.05, CI=1.34, 3.12) or excellent (OR=2.72, CI=1.70, 4.33) health status, being caregiver of an adult relative (OR=1.76, CI=1.34, 2.30), having someone close with a serious medical condition (OR=1.62, CI=1.21, 2.17) and having someone close to them facing a chronic illness (OR=1.55, CI=1.17, 2.04). Our findings provide evidence that information needs of surrogate seekers are not being met, specifically of caregivers. Additional research is needed to develop new functions that support surrogate seekers. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  20. Association of eHealth literacy with cancer information seeking and prior experience with cancer screening.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Hyejin; Moon, Mikyung; Baeg, Jung Hoon

    2014-09-01

    Cancer is a critical disease with a high mortality rate in the US. Although useful information exists on the Internet, many people experience difficulty finding information about cancer prevention because they have limited eHealth literacy. This study aimed to identify relationships between the level of eHealth literacy and cancer information seeking experience or prior experience with cancer screening tests. A total of 108 adults participated in this study through questionnaires. Data covering demographics, eHealth literacy, cancer information seeking experience, educational needs for cancer information searching, and previous cancer screening tests were obtained. Study findings show that the level of eHealth literacy influences cancer information seeking. Individuals with low eHealth literacy are likely to be less confident about finding cancer information. In addition, people who have a low level of eHealth literacy need more education about seeking information than do those with a higher level of eHealth literacy. However, there is no significant relationship between eHealth literacy and cancer screening tests. More people today are using the Internet for access to information to maintain good health. It is therefore critical to educate those with low eHealth literacy so they can better self-manage their health.

  1. Information seeking behaviours of users in the enhancements of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Furthermore, the result indicates that information seeking behaviours is of great challenge when using ICT to get materials in the library. Recommendations were then made that there is absolute need to introduced digital catalogue to the academic libraries. When the libraries are automated, library users can have access to ...

  2. Cancer Fatalism, Literacy, and Cancer Information Seeking in the American Public.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kobayashi, Lindsay C; Smith, Samuel G

    2016-08-01

    Information seeking is an important behavior for cancer prevention and control, but inequalities in the communication of information about the disease persist. Conceptual models have suggested that low health literacy is a barrier to information seeking, and that fatalistic beliefs about cancer may be a mediator of this relationship. Cancer fatalism can be described as deterministic thoughts about the external causes of the disease, the inability to prevent it, and the inevitability of death at diagnosis. This study aimed to examine the associations between these constructs and sociodemographic factors, and test a mediation model using the American population-representative Health Information and National Trends Survey (HINTS 4), Cycle 3 (n = 2,657). Approximately one third (34%) of the population failed to answer 2/4 health literacy items correctly (limited health literacy). Many participants agreed with the fatalistic beliefs that it seems like everything causes cancer (66%), that one cannot do much to lower his or her chances of getting cancer (29%), and that thinking about cancer makes one automatically think about death (58%). More than half of the population had "ever" sought information about cancer (53%). In analyses adjusted for sociodemographic characteristics and family cancer history, people with limited health literacy were less likely to have ever sought cancer information (odds ratio [OR] = 0.63; 0.42-0.95) and more frequently endorsed the belief that "there's not much you can do . . ." (OR = 1.61; 1.05-2.47). This fatalistic belief partially explained the relationship between health literacy and information seeking in the mediation model (14% mediation). Interventions are needed to address low health literacy and cancer fatalism to increase public interest in cancer-related information. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  3. Health Seeking Behavior of Patients Diagnosed with Cervical ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2018-03-01

    Mar 1, 2018 ... explore the care seeking behavior of women with cervical cancer. ... approach. The ... suggested that most cancer patients in sub- .... therapy is perceived to be beneficial by most of ... friend advised me initially to go to Family.

  4. Differences among college women for breast cancer prevention acquired information-seeking, desired apps and texts, and daughter-initiated information to mothers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kratzke, Cynthia; Amatya, Anup; Vilchis, Hugo

    2014-04-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine among college women acquired breast cancer prevention information-seeking, desired apps and texts, and information given to mothers. Using a cross-sectional study, a survey was administered to college women at a southwestern university. College women (n = 546) used the Internet (44 %) for active breast cancer prevention information-seeking and used the Internet (74 %), magazines (69 %), and television (59 %) for passive information receipt. Over half of the participants desired breast cancer prevention apps (54 %) and texts (51 %). Logistic regression analyses revealed predictors for interest to receive apps were ethnicity (Hispanic), lower self-efficacy, actively seeking online information, and older age and predictors for interest to receive texts were lower self-efficacy and higher university level. Eighteen percent of college women (n = 99) reported giving information to mothers and reported in an open-ended item the types of information given to mothers. Predictors for giving information to mothers were actively and passively seeking online information, breast self-exam practice, and higher university level. Screenings were the most frequent types of information given to mothers. Breast cancer prevention information using apps, texts, or Internet and daughter-initiated information for mothers should be considered in health promotion targeting college students or young women in communities. Future research is needed to examine the quality of apps, texts, and online information and cultural differences for breast cancer prevention sources.

  5. Association of health literacy with health information-seeking preference in older people: A correlational, descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Su Hyun; Utz, Sonja

    2018-02-28

    Low health literacy has been recognized as a potential barrier to obtaining knowledge and maintaining self-care in older people. However, little is known about information-seeking preference in relation to health literacy among older people. The aim of the present study was to understand the influence of health literacy on the information-seeking preference of older people. A total of 129 community-residing Korean older people completed a survey in 2016. The findings revealed that health literacy was a significant predictor of information-seeking preference in older people after controlling for demographic and illness variables. Our study highlights the important need to incorporate strategies to increase the desire for information seeking in older people, in addition to adopting communication strategies that address low health literacy. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  6. Lay-friendliness in translated Patient Information Leaflets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Matilde Nisbeth; Zethsen, Karen Korning

    This paper seeks to empirically explore the claim that translated Danish Patient Information Leaflets (PILs) are less lay-friendly than their English source texts. The last two decades have seen an increased focus on providing patients with lay-friendly, easily understood information, enabling them...... to make informed decisions concerning their health. For this purpose, many new genres have been created, one such genre being the PIL, a mandatory text which in an EU context has to accompany all medication informing patients about dosage, side effects etc. Legally, the PIL genre is required to ensure lay......-friendly information as it must be “written and designed to be clear and understandable, enabling the users to act appropriately” (Article 63(2) of EU Directive 2001/83/EC). Despite the legal requirements and the intensified focus on lay-friendly health communication, many studies have shown that PILs are often...

  7. Online health information seeking among Jewish and Arab adolescents in Israel: results from a national school survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumark, Yehuda; Lopez-Quintero, Catalina; Feldman, Becca S; Hirsch Allen, A J; Shtarkshall, Ronny

    2013-01-01

    This study examined patterns and determinants of seeking online health information among a nationally representative sample of 7,028 Jewish and Arab 7th- through 12th-grade students in 158 schools in Israel. Nearly all respondents (98.7%) reported Internet access, and 52.1% reported having sought online health information in the past year. Arab students (63%) were more likely than Jewish students (48%) to seek online health information. Population-group and sex differences in health topics sought online were identified, although fitness/exercise was most common across groups. Multivariate regression models revealed that having sought health information from other sources was the strongest independent correlate of online health information-seeking among Jews (adjusted odds ratio = 8.93, 95% CI [7.70, 10.36]) and Arabs (adjusted odds ratio = 9.77, 95% CI [7.27, 13.13]). Other factors associated with seeking online health information common to both groups were level of trust in online health information, Internet skill level, having discussed health/medical issues with a health care provider in the past year, and school performance. The most common reasons for not seeking online health information were a preference to receive information from a health professional and lack of interest in health/medical issues. The closing of the digital divide between Jews and Arabs represents a move toward equality. Identifying and addressing factors underpinning online health information-seeking behaviors is essential to improve the health status of Israeli youth and reduce health disparities.

  8. Patient Perspectives on Online Health Information and Communication With Doctors: A Qualitative Study of Patients 50 Years Old and Over

    Science.gov (United States)

    2015-01-01

    Background As health care systems around the world shift toward models that emphasize self-care management, there is increasing pressure for patients to obtain health information online. It is critical that patients are able to identify potential problems with using the Internet to diagnose and treat a health issue and that they feel comfortable communicating with their doctor about the health information they acquire from the Internet. Objective Our aim was to examine patient-identified (1) problems with using the Internet to identify and treat a health issue, (2) barriers to communication with a doctor about online health information seeking, and (3) facilitators of communication with a doctor about patient searches for health information on the Internet. Methods For this qualitative exploratory study, semistructured interviews were conducted with a sample of 56 adults age 50 years old and over. General concerns regarding use of the Internet to diagnose and treat a health issue were examined separately for participants based on whether they had ever discussed health information obtained through the Internet with a doctor. Discussions about barriers to and facilitators of communication about patient searches for health information on the Internet with a doctor were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Six higher-level general concerns emerged: (1) limitations in own ability, (2) credibility/limitations of online information, (3) anxiety, (4) time consumption, (5) conflict, and (6) non-physical harm. The most prevalent concern raised by participants who communicated with a doctor about their online health information seeking related to the credibility or limitations in online information. Participants who had never communicated with a doctor about their online health information seeking most commonly reported concerns about non-physical harm. Four barriers to communication emerged: (1) concerns about embarrassment, (2) concerns that the doctor doesn’t want

  9. Delay in Seeking Medical Help following Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) or “Mini-Stroke”: A Qualitative Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mc Sharry, Jennifer; Baxter, Alison; Wallace, Louise M.; Kenton, Anthony; Turner, Andrew; French, David P.

    2014-01-01

    Background Prompt treatment following Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA) can reduce the risk of subsequent stroke and disability. However, many patients delay in making contact with medical services. This study aimed to explore TIA patients' accounts of delay between symptom onset and contacting medical services including how decisions to contact services were made and the factors discussed in relation to delay. Methods Twenty interviews were conducted with TIA patients in England. Using a previous systematic review as an initial framework, interview data were organised into categories of symptom recognition, presence of others and type of care sought. A thematic analysis was then conducted to explore descriptions of care-seeking relevant to each category. Results Delay in contacting medical services varied from less than an hour to eight days. Awareness of typical stroke symptoms could lead to urgent action when more severe TIA symptoms were present but could lead to delay when experienced symptoms were less severe. The role of friends and family varied widely from deciding on and enacting care-seeking decisions to simply providing transport to the GP practice. When family or friends played a greater role, and both made and enacted care-seeking decisions, delays were often shorter, even when patients themselves failed to identify symptoms. Healthcare professionals also impacted on patients' care-seeking with greater delays in seeking further care for the same episode described when patients perceived a lack of urgency during initial healthcare interactions. Conclusions This study provides new information on patients' decisions to contact medical services following TIA and identifies overlapping factors that can lead to delay in receiving appropriate treatment. While recognition of symptoms may contribute to delay in contacting medical services, additional factors, including full responsibility being taken by others and initial healthcare interactions, can over

  10. The information needs of adult Type 2 diabetic patients at Addington ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study was based on a Master's dissertation which investigated the information needs and information seeking behaviour of Type 2 diabetic patients at Addington Hospital in Durban. Longo's 2010, Health Information Model provided the conceptual framework for the study. The study adopted a qualitative approach to ...

  11. Public stigma and self-stigma: differential association with attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pattyn, Elise; Verhaeghe, Mieke; Sercu, Charlotte; Bracke, Piet

    2014-02-01

    Individuals in need of psychiatric treatment often avoid seeking help because of stigma. This study examined the impact of two stigma dimensions on help-seeking attitudes. Perceived public stigma refers to discrimination and devaluation by others, and anticipated self-stigma refers to internalization of negative stereotypes about people who seek help. Data were from the 2009 Stigma in a Global Context-Belgian Mental Health Study, in which face-to-face interviews were conducted with a representative sample of the general Belgian population. The study reported here included 728 respondents who received a vignette depicting major depression or schizophrenia. Perceived public stigma and anticipated self-stigma were measured with validated instruments. Respondents' attitudes toward help seeking were measured by the importance they assigned to care from formal and informal providers: general practitioners, psychiatrists, psychologists, family members, or friends. Multiple linear regression models were estimated. Respondents with higher levels of anticipated self-stigma attached less importance to care provided by general practitioners or psychiatrists, and those with higher levels of perceived public stigma rated informal help seeking as less important. The gender and the ethnicity of the person and respondents' sociodemographic characteristics had relatively little effect on help-seeking attitudes. Anticipated self-stigma and perceived public stigma appeared to have a differential impact on attitudes toward formal and informal help seeking. Internalization of negative stereotypes was negatively associated with the perceived importance of care from medical providers (general practitioners and psychiatrists). Awareness of stereotypes held by others deterred respondents from acknowledging the importance of informal care.

  12. Emotions delay care-seeking in patients with an acute myocardial infarction.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nymark, Carolin; Mattiasson, Anne-Cathrine; Henriksson, Peter; Kiessling, Anna

    2014-02-01

    In acute myocardial infarction the risk of death and loss of myocardial tissue is at its highest during the first few hours. However, the process from symptom onset to the decision to seek medical care can take time. To comprehend patients' pre-hospital delay, attention must be focused on the circumstances preceding the decision to seek medical care. To add a deeper understanding of patients' thoughts, feelings and actions that preceded the decision to seek medical care when afflicted by an acute myocardial infarction. Fourteen men and women with a first or second acute myocardial infarction were interviewed individually in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed by qualitative content analysis. Four themes were conceptualized: 'being incapacitated by fear, anguish and powerlessness', 'being ashamed of oneself', 'fear of losing a healthy identity' and 'striving to avoid fear by not interacting with others'. Patients were torn between feelings such as anguish, fear, shame and powerlessness. They made an effort to uphold their self-image as being a healthy person thus affected by an unrecognized discomfort. This combined with a struggle to protect others from involvement, strengthened the barriers to seeking care. The present study indicates that emotional reactions are important and influence patients' pre-hospital behaviour. Being ashamed of oneself stood out as a novel finding. Emotions might be an important explanation of undesired and persisting patient delays. However, our findings have to and should be evaluated quantitatively. Such a study is in progress.

  13. Associations between media use and health information-seeking behavior on vaccinations in South Korea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiyeon Kim

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Although vaccinations are critical for preventing emerging infectious diseases, scant research has been conducted on risk communication. With socio-economic characteristics, health behavior, and underlying diseases under control, we investigated associations between media use, health information-seeking behavior, health information type, and vaccination in the population. Methods This study relied on a national survey of Korean adults (n = 1367. Participants were adult males and females age 20 and older. Web and face-to-face surveys were conducted throughout July 2014. The main outcome was vaccination (categorized as yes or no. Independent variables were time spent on media, frequency of health information-seeking behavior, and types of health information sought. Results Controlling for co-variates, logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors that influence Korean adults being vaccinated. Results revealed that accessible information about emerging infectious diseases, listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper were associated with increased odds of being vaccinated. Active seeking health information as well as being female and of higher socio-economic status were positively correlated with Korean adults being vaccinated. Conclusion It is critical to promote health information-seeking behavior and use diverse media channels to increase acceptance and awareness of emerging infectious diseases and vaccinations. Because there are differences in vaccination awareness depending on social class, it is critical to reduce communication inequality, strengthen accessibility to vaccinations, and devise appropriate risk communication strategies that ensure Korean adults receive vaccinations.

  14. Associations between media use and health information-seeking behavior on vaccinations in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jiyeon; Jung, Minsoo

    2017-09-11

    Although vaccinations are critical for preventing emerging infectious diseases, scant research has been conducted on risk communication. With socio-economic characteristics, health behavior, and underlying diseases under control, we investigated associations between media use, health information-seeking behavior, health information type, and vaccination in the population. This study relied on a national survey of Korean adults (n = 1367). Participants were adult males and females age 20 and older. Web and face-to-face surveys were conducted throughout July 2014. The main outcome was vaccination (categorized as yes or no). Independent variables were time spent on media, frequency of health information-seeking behavior, and types of health information sought. Controlling for co-variates, logistic regression analysis was conducted to identify factors that influence Korean adults being vaccinated. Results revealed that accessible information about emerging infectious diseases, listening to the radio, and reading the newspaper were associated with increased odds of being vaccinated. Active seeking health information as well as being female and of higher socio-economic status were positively correlated with Korean adults being vaccinated. It is critical to promote health information-seeking behavior and use diverse media channels to increase acceptance and awareness of emerging infectious diseases and vaccinations. Because there are differences in vaccination awareness depending on social class, it is critical to reduce communication inequality, strengthen accessibility to vaccinations, and devise appropriate risk communication strategies that ensure Korean adults receive vaccinations.

  15. A Study of Labour Market Information Needs through Employers' Seeking Behaviour

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sanchez-Cuadrado, Sonia; Morato, Jorge; Andreadakis, Yorgos; Moreiro, Jose Antonio

    2010-01-01

    Introduction: The objective of this study is understand the information needs that businesses have while seeking Library and Information Science professionals and analyse how they formulate those needs. Method: The analysis is performed by examining the professional skills and capabilities demanded in job offers published. A total of 1,020 job…

  16. Understanding Health Information Seeking from an Actor-Centric Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Simon Batchelor

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a conceptual approach for discussing health information seeking among poor households in Africa and Asia. This approach is part of a larger research endeavor aimed at understanding how health systems are adapting; with possibilities and constraints emerging. These health systems can be found in a context of the changing relationships between states, markets and civil society in low and middle income countries. The paper starts from an understanding of the health sector as a “health knowledge economy”, organized to provide people with access to knowledge and advice. The use of the term “health knowledge economy” draws attention to the ways the health sector is part of a broader knowledge economy changing the way individuals and households obtain and use specialist information. The paper integrates an actor centric approach with the theory of planned behavior. It seeks to identify the actors engaged in the health knowledge economy as a precursor to longer term studies on the uptake of innovations integrating health services with mobile phones, commonly designated as mHealth, contributing to an understanding of the potential vulnerabilities of poor people, and highlighting possible dangers if providers of health information and advice are strongly influenced by interest groups.

  17. Pediatric injury information seeking for mothers with young children: The role of health literacy and ehealth literacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manganello, Jennifer A; Falisi, Angela L; Roberts, Kristin J; Smith, Katherine C; McKenzie, Lara B

    2016-01-01

    An understanding of preferred sources of injury information among parents is needed to develop best practices for information dissemination. Yet, almost no research examines injury information seeking for a national sample of mothers. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted in 2013 with 1081 mothers in the United States (U.S.) with at least one child literacy with the Morris Single-Item Screener (18% low), and eHealth literacy using the eHEALS (28% low). The internet was the most preferred source for injury information (76%), followed by health providers (44%), and family/friends (35%). Most mothers selected the internet as the first choice for information about bicycle helmets (65%) and car seats (63%). For poison prevention, preferences were mixed; 48% internet compared with 41% health providers. Mothers with low health literacy were more likely to have discussed injury prevention with their doctors ( P = 0.022) and searched for injury information ( P = 0.001), but less likely to report the internet as a top source ( P literacy were less likely to search for injury information ( P information ( P = 0.028). Findings suggest the internet is a common source of injury prevention information, but health providers remain a valuable resource for mothers, especially those with lower literacy skills. Despite widespread internet use, health providers should be sure to communicate injury prevention information to mothers, especially those at risk for low health literacy and eHealth literacy.

  18. Reconnect on Facebook: The Role of Information Seeking Behavior and Individual- and Relationship-Level Factors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramirez, Artemio; Sumner, Erin M; Hayes, Jameson

    2016-08-01

    Social network sites (SNSs) such as Facebook function as both venues for reconnecting with associates from a user's past and sources of social information about them. Yet, little is known about what factors influence the initial decision to reconnect with a past associate. This oversight is significant given that SNSs and other platforms provide an abundance of social information that may be utilized for reaching such decisions. The present study investigated the links among relational reconnection, information seeking (IS) behavior, and individual- and relationship-level factors in user decisions to reconnect on Facebook. A national survey of 244 Facebook users reported on their most recent experience of receiving a friend request from someone with whom they had been out of contact for an extended period. Results indicated that uncertainty about the potential reconnection partner and forecast about the reconnection's potential reward level significantly predicted IS behavior (passive on both target and mutual friends' SNS pages as well as active). However, the emergence of their two-way interaction revealed that the forecasts moderated the IS-uncertainty link on three of the strategies (extractive, both passive approaches). Moreover, social anxiety, sociability, uncertainty about the partner, the forecast about the reconnection's reward level, and extractive and passive (target SNS pages) strategies significantly predicted user decisions to reconnect. Future directions for research on relational reconnection on SNSs are offered.

  19. The decision-making role of the patient in localised prostate cancer treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luke L Wang

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Our objective was to review the current literature on patient participation and decision-making in the treatment selection process for localised prostate cancer, and to evaluate capacity for improvement. Methods: 42 articles from our literature search were deemed eligible and relevant for review. We reviewed studies on all facets of the treatment decision-making process with most number of articles (16 on treatment preferences. Results: The majority of the patients prefer an active or collaborative role in decision-making. Patients are seeking information from a myriad of sources but the recommendation from their treating physician is often the most influential on the final decision. Radical prostatectomy is more likely to be selected in patients who view a cure for cancer as being of the utmost importance and radiation therapy is preferred in patients who are concerned about treatment side effects. Conclusion: Currently no ideal tool exists to assist patients in making informed treatment decisions that also takes into account patients’ values and preferences. We encourage collaborative partnership in a multidisciplinary setting to optimise this process and individualised risk-based decision-making tools may provide a better pathway to assist patients reach decisions.

  20. Designing Health Websites Based on Users' Web-Based Information-Seeking Behaviors: A Mixed-Method Observational Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Patrick Cheong-Iao; Chang, Shanton; Verspoor, Karin; Pearce, Jon

    2016-06-06

    Laypeople increasingly use the Internet as a source of health information, but finding and discovering the right information remains problematic. These issues are partially due to the mismatch between the design of consumer health websites and the needs of health information seekers, particularly the lack of support for "exploring" health information. The aim of this research was to create a design for consumer health websites by supporting different health information-seeking behaviors. We created a website called Better Health Explorer with the new design. Through the evaluation of this new design, we derive design implications for future implementations. Better Health Explorer was designed using a user-centered approach. The design was implemented and assessed through a laboratory-based observational study. Participants tried to use Better Health Explorer and another live health website. Both websites contained the same content. A mixed-method approach was adopted to analyze multiple types of data collected in the experiment, including screen recordings, activity logs, Web browsing histories, and audiotaped interviews. Overall, 31 participants took part in the observational study. Our new design showed a positive result for improving the experience of health information seeking, by providing a wide range of information and an engaging environment. The results showed better knowledge acquisition, a higher number of page reads, and more query reformulations in both focused and exploratory search tasks. In addition, participants spent more time to discover health information with our design in exploratory search tasks, indicating higher engagement with the website. Finally, we identify 4 design considerations for designing consumer health websites and health information-seeking apps: (1) providing a dynamic information scope; (2) supporting serendipity; (3) considering trust implications; and (4) enhancing interactivity. Better Health Explorer provides strong

  1. Examining the Correlates of Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior Among Men Compared With Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikoloudakis, Irene A; Vandelanotte, Corneel; Rebar, Amanda L; Schoeppe, Stephanie; Alley, Stephanie; Duncan, Mitch J; Short, Camille E

    2016-05-18

    This study aimed to identify and compare the demographic, health behavior, health status, and social media use correlates of online health-seeking behaviors among men and women. Cross-sectional self-report data were collected from 1,289 Australian adults participating in the Queensland Social Survey. Logistic regression analyses were used to identify the correlates of online health information seeking for men and women. Differences in the strength of the relation of these correlates were tested using equality of regression coefficient tests. For both genders, the two strongest correlates were social media use (men: odds ratio [OR] = 2.57, 95% confidence interval [CI: 1.78, 3.71]; women: OR = 2.93, 95% CI [1.92, 4.45]) and having a university education (men: OR = 3.63, 95% CI [2.37, 5.56]; women: OR = 2.74, 95% CI [1.66, 4.51]). Not being a smoker and being of younger age were also associated with online health information seeking for both men and women. Reporting poor health and the presence of two chronic diseases were positively associated with online health seeking for women only. Correlates of help seeking online among men and women were generally similar, with exception of health status. Results suggest that similar groups of men and women are likely to access health information online for primary prevention purposes, and additionally that women experiencing poor health are more likely to seek health information online than women who are relatively well. These findings are useful for analyzing the potential reach of online health initiatives targeting both men and women. © The Author(s) 2016.

  2. The role of provider-patient communication and trust in online sources in Internet use for health-related activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hou, Jiran; Shim, Minsun

    2010-01-01

    Provider-patient communication is an important factor influencing patients' satisfaction and health outcomes. This study draws upon the uses and gratification theory to examine how individuals' perception of communication with healthcare providers is associated with their Internet use for health-related activities. Using the data from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), we found that as individuals perceived their communication with providers to be less patient-centered, they were more likely to engage in various types of online health activities, such as using websites for healthy lifestyles, searching for healthcare providers, and seeking health information. Trust in online health information was also found to be a significant predictor of online health activities. The results of this study emphasized the important role of provider-patient communication in motivating individuals to turn to the Internet for health purposes.

  3. Greek Academic Librarians' Perceptions of the Impact of Google on Their Role as Information Providers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garoufallou, Emmanouel; Balatsoukas, Panos; Siatri, Rania; Zafeiriou, Georgia; Asderi, S.; Ekizoglou; P.

    2008-01-01

    The increased popularity of Google search engine in the daily routine in one's workplace and in the academic information seeking process is undeniable. "Googling" challenges the traditional skills of librarians as information providers and the role of library and information service provision in the digital era. This paper reports on the…

  4. Quality of life and mental health among women with ovarian cancer: examining the role of emotional and instrumental social support seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill, Erin M

    2016-07-01

    The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of emotional and instrumental social support seeking in the quality of life (QOL) and mental health of women with ovarian cancer. Participants were recruited through the Pennsylvania Cancer Registry, and one hundred women took part in a mail questionnaire that collected information on their demographics, medical status, social support seeking, QOL and mental health including anxiety, depression and stress. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were conducted to assess the influence of emotional and instrumental social support seeking on QOL and mental health. After controlling for remission status, greater emotional social support seeking was predictive of higher overall QOL, social/family QOL, functional QOL and lower depression scores. Instrumental social support seeking was not significant in the models. The results illustrate that social support seeking as a coping mechanism is an important consideration in the QOL and mental health of women with ovarian cancer. Future studies should examine the psychological and behavioral mediators of the relationship to further understand the QOL and mental health of women with ovarian cancer.

  5. Understanding consumer health information-seeking behavior from the perspective of the risk perception attitude framework and social support in mobile social media websites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Deng, Zhaohua; Liu, Shan

    2017-09-01

    This study integrates the risk perception attitude framework and social support to examine factors influencing consumers' intentions to seek health information in mobile social media websites. We develop a research model consisting of four social support dimensions, perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and health information-seeking intention. A survey is conducted among patients with non-serious conditions. A two-step approach of structural equation modeling is used to test the research model. Among the four dimensions of social support, tangible support and appraisal support significantly influence perceived risk, whereas emotional support and esteem support significantly influence health self-efficacy. Perceived health risk and health self-efficacy significantly influence the health information-seeking behavior intention of consumers. Specifically, health self-efficacy significantly moderates the relationship between perceived risk and behavior intention. This study highlights the integrated effects of social capital and risk perception attitude framework on health information-seeking intention. It examines relationships among perceived health risk, health self-efficacy, and behavior intention in the mobile social media context. The findings help understand effects of social capital factors on perceived health risk and health self-efficacy. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  6. Information-Seeking about Anxiety and Perceptions about Technology to Teach Coping Skills in Older Veterans.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zapata, Aimee Marie L; Beaudreau, Sherry A; O'Hara, Ruth; Bereknyei Merrell, Sylvia; Bruce, Janine; Garrison-Diehn, Christina; Gould, Christine E

    2018-01-01

    We sought to learn where older veterans seek information about anxiety and coping. Due to increasing use of technology in health care, we also explored benefits and barriers of using technology to teach coping skills. Twenty veterans (mean age = 69.5 years, SD = 7.3) participated in semi-structured interviews in which we inquired about where they seek information about anxiety. We explored quantitative and qualitative differences for veterans with high versus low anxiety. In follow-up focus groups, we examined opinions about learning coping skills using technology. Though veterans primarily named health care professionals as sources of information about anxiety, online searches and reading books were frequently mentioned. Reported benefits of using technology were convenience and standardized instruction of coping skills. Barriers included lack of interaction and frustration with technology usability. Older veterans use multiple sources, heavily rely on interpersonal sources (e.g., professionals, friends), and employ varied search strategies regarding how to cope with anxiety. Using technology to teach coping skills was generally acceptable to older veterans. Health care professionals could guide patients towards credible online and book sources. Providing instruction about using technology may help older adults use technology to learn coping skills.

  7. Patients in need of medicine information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kazaryan, I; Sevikyan, A

    2015-01-01

    Reliable medicine information is important not only for physicians and pharmacists, but also for patients [6]. However, the results of studies implemented in some countries show that patients may have slightly different needs and preferences in using sources of information [1, 4, 5, 7]. The main objective of patient medicines information is assisting consumers to achieve safe and effective use of pharmaceuticals [2, 3]. To identify patients' needs in medicine information and sources they use to receive it. We interviewed 1059 people who had visited community pharmacies in 10 regions of Armenia and Yerevan. Previously developed questionnaire was used for interviewing patients. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS program. We found that consumers need medicine information. 68.9% of respondents often use pharmaceuticals only if necessary medicines information is available. The majority of them believe that it is important to have information about therapeutic indications of pharmaceuticals to be used (91.8%), their dosage and method of administration (91.1%), contraindications (82.4%), adverse reactions (81.9%) and the simultaneous use of multiple medicines (76.5%). 58.9% of consumers value information about medicine's price. More than 70% of patients often seek information from health professionals and use medicines package information leaflets (PIL), and more than 75% of respondents mainly trust the same sources. 71.5% of respondents read package leaflets, while 42.0% of consumers do this several times. Only 36.7% of respondents completely understand information in a leaflet. Patients in Armenia need medicine information. They prefer to receive information from sources they trust.Many patients do not understand the content of package information leaflets (PILs) due to barriers, which can be removed by introducing appropriate regulatory provisions for their content and readability.

  8. Fall-related Information seeking behavior of seniors on the web

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Askari, Marjan; Eslami, Saied; Medlock, Stephanie; de Rooij, Sophia E.; Abu-Hanna, Ameen

    2014-01-01

    Falls form a major health problem for older persons, and increasingly strain the healthcare system. The Internet is a potentially useful platform for empowering seniors. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate the information-seeking behavior about falls among elderly Internet users. A

  9. Delays and care seeking behavior among tuberculosis patients in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Delays and care seeking behavior among tuberculosis patients in Tigray of Northern Ethiopia. Mengiste M Mesfin, Tesfay W Tasew, Israel G Tareke, Yohannes T Kifle, Witten H Karen, Madeley J Richard ...

  10. Help-seeking for child psychopathology: pathways to informal and professional services in the Netherlands.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zwaanswijk, M.; Ende, J. van der; Verhaak, P.F.M.; Bensing, J.M.; Verhulst, F.C.

    2005-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To devise and test a model describing the process of help-seeking for child psychopathology in professional and informal service settings. METHOD: Using structural equation modeling, associations between several help-seeking stages, and the influence of child, family, and context

  11. Psychiatric disorders of patients seeking obesity treatment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lin Hung-Yen

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Obese and overweight people have a higher risk of both chronic physical illness and mental illness. Obesity is reported to be positively associated with psychiatric disorders, especially in people who seek obesity treatment. At the same time, obesity treatment may be influenced by psychological factors or personality characteristics. This study aimed to understand the prevalence of mental disorders among ethnic Chinese who sought obesity treatment. Methods Subjects were retrospectively recruited from an obesity treatment center in Taiwan. The obesity treatments included bariatric surgery and non-surgery treatment. All subjects underwent a standardized clinical evaluation with two questionnaires and a psychiatric referral when needed. The psychiatric diagnosis was made thorough psychiatric clinic interviews using the SCID. A total of 841 patients were recruited. We compared the difference in psychiatric disorder prevalence between patients with surgical and non-surgical treatment. Results Of the 841 patients, 42% had at least one psychiatric disorder. Mood disorders, anxiety disorders and eating disorders were the most prevalent categories of psychiatric disorders. Females had more mood disorders and eating disorders than males. The surgical group had more binge-eating disorder, adjustment disorder, and sleep disorders than the non-surgical group. Conclusion A high prevalence of psychiatric disorders was found among ethnic Chinese seeking obesity treatment. This is consistent with study results in the US and Europe.

  12. Internet use by pregnant women seeking pregnancy-related information: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sayakhot, Padaphet; Carolan-Olah, Mary

    2016-03-28

    The Internet has become one of the most popular sources of information for health consumers and pregnant women are no exception. The primary objective of this review was to investigate the ways in which pregnant women used the Internet to retrieve pregnancy-related information. We conducted a systematic review to answer this question. In November 2014, electronic databases: Scopus, Medline, PreMEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PubMed were searched for papers with the terms "Internet"; "pregnancy"; "health information seeking", in the title, abstract or as keywords. Restrictions were placed on publication to within 10 years and language of publication was restricted to English. Quantitative studies were sought, that reported original research and described Internet use by pregnant women. Seven publications met inclusion criteria and were included in the review. Sample size ranged from 182 - 1347 pregnant women. The majority of papers reported that women used the Internet as a source of information about pregnancy. Most women searched for information at least once a month. Fetal development and nutrition in pregnancy were the most often mentioned topics of interest. One paper included in this review found that women with higher education were three times more likely to seek advice than women with less than a high school education, and also that single and multiparous women were less likely to seek advice than married and nulliparous women. The majority of women found health information on the Internet to be reliable and useful. Most women did not discuss the information they retrieved from the Internet with their health providers. Thus, health providers may not be aware of potentially inaccurate information or mistaken beliefs about pregnancy, reported on the Internet. Future research is needed to address this issue of potentially unreliable information.

  13. Impact of Information and Communication Technology on Information Seeking Behavior of Users in Astronomy and Astrophysics Centers of India: A Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sahu, H. K.; Singh, S. N.

    2010-10-01

    This study is based on a survey designed to determine the Information Seeking Behavior (ISB) of Astronomy and Astrophysics users in India. The main objective of the study is to determine the sources consulted and the general pattern of the information-gathering system of users and the impact of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on the Astronomy and Astrophysics user's Information Seeking Behavior. It examines various Information and Communication Technology-based resources and methods of access and use. A descriptive sample stratified method has been used and data was collected using a questionnaire as the main tool. The response rate was 72%. Descriptive statistics were also employed and data have been presented in tables and graphs. The study is supported by earlier studies. It shows that Astronomy and Astrophysics users have developed a unique Information Seeking Behavior to carry out their education and research. The vast majority of respondents reported that more information is available from a variety of e-resources. Consequently, they are able to devote more time to seek out relevant information in the current Information and Communication Technology scenario. The study also indicates that respondents use a variety of information resources including e-resources for teaching and research. Books and online databases such as the NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS) were considered more important as formal sources of information. E-mail and face-to-face communications are used extensively by users as informal sources of information. It also reveals that despite the presence of electronic sources, Astronomy and Astrophysics users are still using printed materials. This study should to help to improve various Information and Communication Technology-based services. It also suggests that GOI should adopt Information and Communication Technology-based Information Centers and Libraries services and recommends a network-based model for Astronomy and

  14. Do Patients Feel Well Informed in a Radiation Oncology Service?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jimenez-Jimenez, Esther; Mateos, Pedro; Ortiz, Irene; Aymar, Neus; Vidal, Meritxell; Roncero, Raquel; Pardo, Jose; Soto, Carmen; Fuentes, Concepción; Sabater, Sebastià

    2018-04-01

    Information received by cancer patients has gained importance in recent decades. The aim of this study was to evaluate the perception of information received by oncological patients in a radiotherapy department and to measure the importance of the other information sources. A cross-sectional study was conducted, evaluating patients who received radiotherapy. All the patients were asked two questionnaires: the EORTC QLQ-INFO26 module evaluating their satisfaction with received information, and a questionnaire analyzing other sources of information search. One hundred patients between 27 and 84 years were enrolled. Breast cancer (26 %) was the commonest cancer. Patients felt better informed about the medical tests and secondly about the performed treatment. The younger patients were those who were more satisfied with the information received and patients with no formal education felt less satisfied, with statistically significant differences. Patients did not seek external information; at the most, they asked relatives and other people with cancer. Patients were satisfied with the received information, although a high percentage would like more information. In general, patients did not search for external information sources. Age and educational level seem to influence in the satisfaction with the received information.

  15. Utilizing social media to study information-seeking and ethical issues in gene therapy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robillard, Julie M; Whiteley, Louise; Johnson, Thomas Wade; Lim, Jonathan; Wasserman, Wyeth W; Illes, Judy

    2013-03-04

    The field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups. To address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express. We conducted a content analysis of questions containing the keywords "gene therapy" from the Q&A site "Yahoo! Answers" for the 5-year period between 2006 and 2010. From the pool of questions retrieved (N=903), we identified those containing at least one theme related to ethics, environment, economics, law, or society (n=173) and then characterized the content of relevant answers (n=399) through emergent coding. The results show that users seek a wide range of information regarding gene therapy, with requests for scientific information and ethical issues at the forefront of enquiry. The question sample reveals high expectations for gene therapy that range from cures for genetic and nongenetic diseases to pre- and postnatal enhancement of physiological attributes. Ethics questions are commonly expressed as fears about the impact of gene therapy on self and society. The answer sample echoes these concerns but further suggests that the acceptability of gene therapy varies depending on the specific application. Overall, the findings highlight the powerful role of social media as a rich resource for research into attitudes toward biomedicine and as a platform for knowledge exchange and public engagement for topics relating to health and disease.

  16. Information Seeking and Avoidance Behavior in School Library Distance Learning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Yunfei

    2010-01-01

    Library science students in school librarianship were surveyed to determine their information seeking and avoidance behaviors in Web-based online environments. Two coping styles were identified among students. Barriers to student online collaboration, such as individual preferences, concerns on efficiency, and lack of mutual trust, were observed.…

  17. Looking for information a survey of research on information seeking, needs, and behavior

    CERN Document Server

    Case, Donald O

    2016-01-01

    The 4th edition of this popular and well-cited text is now co-authored, and includes significant changes from earlier texts. Presenting a comprehensive review of over a century of research on information behavior (IB), this book is intended for students in information studies and disciplines interested in research on information activities. The initial two chapters introduce IB as a multi-disciplinary topic, the 3rd provides a brief history of research on information seeking. Chapter four discusses what is meant by the terms 'information' and 'knowledge.' Chapter five discusses 'information needs,' and how they are addressed. The 6th chapter identifies many related concepts. Twelve models of information behavior (expanded from earlier editions) are illustrated in chapter seven. Chapter eight reviews various paradigms and theories informing IB research. Chapter nine examines research methods invoked in IB studies and a discussion of qualitative and mixed approaches. The 10th chapter gives examples of IB studie...

  18. Health literacy and barriers to health information seeking: A nationwide survey in South Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jeong, Seok Hee; Kim, Hyun Kyung

    2016-11-01

    To identify the level of health literacy and barriers to information seeking and to explore the predictors of health literacy. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. A total of 1000 Korean adults were recruited through proportional quota sampling. Health literacy, barriers to health information seeking, sociodemographics, and health-related characteristics were surveyed. Descriptive statistics and binary logistic regression were performed for data analysis. About 61% of participants were classified as inadequately health literate. "No health fairs/activities near home" was the most frequently reported barrier. Older age, lower education, living in the capital city, barriers regarding how to get information and access to expensive books and magazines were predictors of inadequate health literacy. Strategies for improving health literacy and reducing barriers to health information seeking should be designed. Education on how to access health-related information with easily accessible sources either free or inexpensive could be a way to help adults with limited health literacy. Health care professionals should assess clients' health literacy levels, particularly amongst those who are older or have less education. They should provide clients with information on how to access credible and readily available sources of health-related information, considering their health literacy level. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  19. Mental Health-Related Outcomes of Robin Williams' Death: The Role of Parasocial Relations and Media Exposure in Stigma, Help-Seeking, and Outreach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffner, Cynthia A; Cohen, Elizabeth L

    2017-10-19

    This study explores responses to the death of actor/comedian Robin Williams, focusing on the role of celebrity attachment and exposure to media coverage following his suicide. A total of 350 respondents recruited on Mechanical Turk completed an online survey. Participants who had a stronger parasocial relationship with Williams reported lower social distance from people with depression, greater willingness to seek treatment for depression, and more frequent outreach to other people with depression or suicidal thoughts following his death. Exposure to media coverage of suicide/depression - both informational and stigmatizing - was associated with more frequent outreach to others, but only informational coverage was related to greater willingness to seek treatment. Stigmatizing media exposure was related to greater depression stereotypes. Seeing more media stories celebrating Williams' life and career was associated with reduced depression stigma but also with less willingness to seek treatment for depression and less outreach to others. Implications of the findings for media and mental health are discussed.

  20. Association of Socio-demographic Characteristics with Pattern of Health Seeking Behavior among Hepatitis C Patients in Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pirani, S.; Ali, T.S.; Allana, S.; Ismail, F.W.

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: To identify association between socio-demographic characteristics and pattern of health seeking behavior among hepatitis C patients in Karachi, Pakistan. Study design, settings and duration: A descriptive, cross-sectional study done at Aga Khan University Hospital and the Civil Hospital Karachi between March and May 2013. Patients and Methods: Hepatitis C patients who were coming for treatment at the above 2 sites underwent a filling of questionnaire by the researcher. The questionnaire collected basic demographic information and their health seeking behavior i.e. visit to traditional healer or spiritual healer or medical doctor. Sample size of 250 patients was calculated. Analysis was done by using Chi square test and Fisher's exact test. p-value of 0.05 was considered as statistically significant. Results: A total of 250 hepatitis patients were interviewed. The study showed that patient's occupation and educational level had significant association with their first visit either to a spiritual healer or traditional healer. More educated group consulted the medical doctor while those with none or low education initially went to see spiritual healers (p < 0.008) and second visit was made to traditional healers (p < 0.002). Patients with larger number of children went less often to visit a medical doctor on their second visit (p = 0.007), and family members belonging to the medical field were more likely to make their first visit to doctors (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Socio-demographic characteristics greatly influence the pattern of health seeking behavior among hepatitis C patients. (author)

  1. Designing Health Websites Based on Users’ Web-Based Information-Seeking Behaviors: A Mixed-Method Observational Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pang, Patrick Cheong-Iao; Verspoor, Karin; Pearce, Jon

    2016-01-01

    Background Laypeople increasingly use the Internet as a source of health information, but finding and discovering the right information remains problematic. These issues are partially due to the mismatch between the design of consumer health websites and the needs of health information seekers, particularly the lack of support for “exploring” health information. Objective The aim of this research was to create a design for consumer health websites by supporting different health information–seeking behaviors. We created a website called Better Health Explorer with the new design. Through the evaluation of this new design, we derive design implications for future implementations. Methods Better Health Explorer was designed using a user-centered approach. The design was implemented and assessed through a laboratory-based observational study. Participants tried to use Better Health Explorer and another live health website. Both websites contained the same content. A mixed-method approach was adopted to analyze multiple types of data collected in the experiment, including screen recordings, activity logs, Web browsing histories, and audiotaped interviews. Results Overall, 31 participants took part in the observational study. Our new design showed a positive result for improving the experience of health information seeking, by providing a wide range of information and an engaging environment. The results showed better knowledge acquisition, a higher number of page reads, and more query reformulations in both focused and exploratory search tasks. In addition, participants spent more time to discover health information with our design in exploratory search tasks, indicating higher engagement with the website. Finally, we identify 4 design considerations for designing consumer health websites and health information–seeking apps: (1) providing a dynamic information scope; (2) supporting serendipity; (3) considering trust implications; and (4) enhancing interactivity

  2. 75 FR 64357 - Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-19

    ... refusal to provide the information or providing false information. The agency's contractor's reviewing... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Renew an Information Collection.... For Additional Information or Comments: Contact Suzanne H. Plimpton, Reports Clearance Officer...

  3. Educational leaders' information seeking behavior and problem solving - an explorative study

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hyldegård, Jette Seiden; Harboe, Thomas; Rump, Camilla Østerberg

    in education may influence educational leaders’ approach to educational leadership. As demonstrated in the poster it seems that the preferred approach to information seeking and problem solving could be associated with specific approaches to educational leadership, hence different notions of quality: 1......) informal, 2) bureaucratic or 3) knowledge based. It is stated that information, leadership and quality are interrelated and influential factors in educational development and practice. Consequently, more research is needed to inform and develop academic leadership in higher education as well as helping...

  4. Attitudes toward Professional Psychological Help Seeking in South Asian Students: Role of Stigma and Gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arora, Prerna G.; Metz, Kristina; Carlson, Cindy I.

    2016-01-01

    This study examined (a) the roles of perceived and personal stigma on attitudes toward professional psychological help seeking and (b) the effects of these constructs across gender in South Asians. Personal stigma and being male was negatively associated with attitudes toward professional psychological help seeking; no difference in the…

  5. The Behavior of Information Seeking and Utilizing on Livelihood among Rural Poor People

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pawit Muhammad Yusup

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available This study aims to specifically assess the behavior of the rural poor people in seeking and utilizing information about livelihoods. This study focuses on the aspects of: the type of information sought and used by the rural poor people; and the way they seek and use information about livelihood for their survivability. The method used is Schutz’s qualitative tradition of phenomenology. Data collection used techniques of in-depth interviews and participatory observation of 22 rural poor people. The research location is in southern rural part of West Java. The research result shows that, the type of livelihood information sought and used by the rural poor people, referred to the kinds of unstable jobs with the limited scope of resources and channel/media. Their way to find and use livelihood information has active and passive pattern, but still refer to the resources of unstable jobs, limited scope of the search, pattern of interpersonal relationships, and informal.

  6. Understanding cancer survivors' information needs and information-seeking behaviors for complementary and alternative medicine from short- to long-term survival: a mixed-methods study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scarton, Lou Ann; Del Fiol, Guilherme; Oakley-Girvan, Ingrid; Gibson, Bryan; Logan, Robert; Workman, T Elizabeth

    2018-01-01

    The research examined complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) information-seeking behaviors and preferences from short- to long-term cancer survival, including goals, motivations, and information sources. A mixed-methods approach was used with cancer survivors from the "Assessment of Patients' Experience with Cancer Care" 2004 cohort. Data collection included a mail survey and phone interviews using the critical incident technique (CIT). Seventy survivors from the 2004 study responded to the survey, and eight participated in the CIT interviews. Quantitative results showed that CAM usage did not change significantly between 2004 and 2015. The following themes emerged from the CIT: families' and friends' provision of the initial introduction to a CAM, use of CAM to manage the emotional and psychological impact of cancer, utilization of trained CAM practitioners, and online resources as a prominent source for CAM information. The majority of participants expressed an interest in an online information-sharing portal for CAM. Patients continue to use CAM well into long-term cancer survivorship. Finding trustworthy sources for information on CAM presents many challenges such as reliability of source, conflicting information on efficacy, and unknown interactions with conventional medications. Study participants expressed interest in an online portal to meet these needs through patient testimonials and linkage of claims to the scientific literature. Such a portal could also aid medical librarians and clinicians in locating and evaluating CAM information on behalf of patients.

  7. Motivation, Critical Thinking and Academic Verification of High School Students' Information-seeking Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Z Hidayat

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available High school students have known as Gen Y or Z and their media using can be understand on their information-seeking behavior. This research’s purposes were: 1 to analyze the students’ motivation; 2 to analyze the critical thinking and academic verification; 3 to analyze the information-seeking behavior. This study used quantitative approach through survey among 1125 respondents in nine clusters, i.e. Central, East, North, West, and South of Jakarta, Tangerang, Bekasi, Depok, and Bogor. Schools sampling based on "the best schools rank" by the government, while respondents have taken by accidental in each school. Construct of questionnaire included measurement of motivation, critical thinking and academic verification, and the information-seeking behavior at all. The results showed that the motivations of the use of Internet were dominated by habit to interact and be entertained while on the academic needs are still relatively small but increasing significantly. Students’ self-efficacy, performance and achievement goals tend to be high motives, however the science learning value, and learning environment stimulation were average low motives. High school students indicated that they think critically about the various things that become content primarily in social media but less critical of the academic information subjects. Unfortunately, high school students did not conducted academic verification on the data and information but students tend to do plagiarism.

  8. Seeking Health Information Online: The Moderating Effects of Problematic Situations on User Intention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lidan Xia

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: This study investigates how online user intention in searching health information is affected by problematic situations. Design/methodology/approach: Based on the Theory of Reasoned Action, the Technology Acceptance Model, and Sense-making theory, we propose two dimensions of problematic situations: urgency and severity of health issues being searched online. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey among 214 Wuhan University students and analyzed using hierarchical regression analysis. Findings: Perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and subjective norm can influence user intention to seek health information online. The urgency of problematic situations has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between perceived ease of use and user intention and the relationship between subjective norm and user intention. The severity of problematic situations has a negative moderating effect on the relationship between subjective norm and user intention. Research limitations: The respondents of the survey are limited to students in one Chinese university, so whether this study’s results can be applied to another population or not remains to be verified. In addition, only two dimensions of problematic situations are considered in this study. Practical implications: The paper puts forward the moderating effect of problematic situations and verifies it, which is the compensation for online health information-seeking behavior research. Besides, our analyses have implications for professional design of health care systems and related consumer information searches, and improve their performance. Originality/value: Previous work has reported the effects of problematic situation on user intention to seek health information online, ignoring its influence on other factors. This empirical study extends that work to identify the influence of problematic situation when seeking intention-behavior data in two dimensions, urgency and

  9. Protecting against natural hazards - Information seeking behaviour in anticipation of severe weather events

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Jeuring, Jelmer

    2011-01-01

    Protection against natural hazards - Information seeking behaviour in anticipation of severe weather events Severe weather events can have considerable impact on society, including tourism organisations and tourists. Providing accurate and timely information about possible risks due to environmental

  10. Health-Seeking Behavior and Barriers to Care in Patients With Rectal Bleeding in Nigeria

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Olusegun I. Alatise

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Purpose: Colorectal cancer (CRC incidence rates are steadily increasing in Nigeria. Organized screening is still largely unused because of financial and logistical barriers; most CRCs are detected by symptoms. One symptom of CRC is rectal bleeding. This study sought to determine health-seeking behavior and barriers to care in patients with rectal bleeding in Nigeria. This study also surveyed physicians to determine major breakdowns in access to care. Methods: The recruitment process for this study involved patients referred for colonoscopy because of rectal bleeding as well as response to a media advertisement for a free colonoscopy. Physicians were recruited at the African Research Group for Oncology meeting. Patient responses were scored on the basis of knowledge of rectal bleeding. The physician questionnaire was supporting information and mainly descriptive in nature. Results: A total of 82 patients and 45 physicians participated in this study. Less than 40% of patients knew that rectal bleeding could be caused by cancer. Major barriers to care were resolution of the symptom (42%, no consideration of the bleeding as problematic (40%, and financial constraint (22%. Education was strongly correlated with knowledge of rectal bleeding and health-seeking behavior. Although physicians regularly saw patients with rectal bleeding, most of them provided a differential diagnosis of hemorrhoids and few referred patients for colonoscopy. Conclusion: General awareness about the signs of colorectal cancer is lacking. This demonstrates the strong need for patient education programs about this issue. Physicians should also receive additional training on differentiation of a potential cancer diagnosis from something more benign, such as hemorrhoids.

  11. Health-Seeking Behavior and Barriers to Care in Patients With Rectal Bleeding in Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alatise, Olusegun I; Fischer, Sara E; Ayandipo, Omobolaji O; Omisore, Akinlolu G; Olatoke, Samuel A; Kingham, T Peter

    2017-12-01

    Purpose Colorectal cancer (CRC) incidence rates are steadily increasing in Nigeria. Organized screening is still largely unused because of financial and logistical barriers; most CRCs are detected by symptoms. One symptom of CRC is rectal bleeding. This study sought to determine health-seeking behavior and barriers to care in patients with rectal bleeding in Nigeria. This study also surveyed physicians to determine major breakdowns in access to care. Methods The recruitment process for this study involved patients referred for colonoscopy because of rectal bleeding as well as response to a media advertisement for a free colonoscopy. Physicians were recruited at the African Research Group for Oncology meeting. Patient responses were scored on the basis of knowledge of rectal bleeding. The physician questionnaire was supporting information and mainly descriptive in nature. Results A total of 82 patients and 45 physicians participated in this study. Less than 40% of patients knew that rectal bleeding could be caused by cancer. Major barriers to care were resolution of the symptom (42%), no consideration of the bleeding as problematic (40%), and financial constraint (22%). Education was strongly correlated with knowledge of rectal bleeding and health-seeking behavior. Although physicians regularly saw patients with rectal bleeding, most of them provided a differential diagnosis of hemorrhoids and few referred patients for colonoscopy. Conclusion General awareness about the signs of colorectal cancer is lacking. This demonstrates the strong need for patient education programs about this issue. Physicians should also receive additional training on differentiation of a potential cancer diagnosis from something more benign, such as hemorrhoids.

  12. How older persons structure information in the decision to seek medical care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peter J. Veazie

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available Typical models of the decision to seek care consider information as a single conceptual object. This paper presents an alternative that allows multiple objects. For older persons seeking care, results support this alternative. Older decision-makers that segregate information into multiple conceptual objects assessed separately are characterized by socio-demographic (younger age, racial category, non-Hispanic, higher education, higher income, and not married, health status (better general health for men and worse general health for women, fewer known illnesses, and neuropsychological (less memory loss for men, trouble concentrating and trouble making decisions for men factors. Results of this study support the conclusion that older persons are more likely to integrate information, and individuals with identifiable characteristics are more likely to do so than others. The theory tested in this study implies a potential explanation for misutilization of care (either over or under-utilization.

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

    Science.gov (United States)

    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

  14. Patient-Centered Tools for Medication Information Search.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilcox, Lauren; Feiner, Steven; Elhadad, Noémie; Vawdrey, David; Tran, Tran H

    2014-05-20

    Recent research focused on online health information seeking highlights a heavy reliance on general-purpose search engines. However, current general-purpose search interfaces do not necessarily provide adequate support for non-experts in identifying suitable sources of health information. Popular search engines have recently introduced search tools in their user interfaces for a range of topics. In this work, we explore how such tools can support non-expert, patient-centered health information search. Scoping the current work to medication-related search, we report on findings from a formative study focused on the design of patient-centered, medication-information search tools. Our study included qualitative interviews with patients, family members, and domain experts, as well as observations of their use of Remedy, a technology probe embodying a set of search tools. Post-operative cardiothoracic surgery patients and their visiting family members used the tools to find information about their hospital medications and were interviewed before and after their use. Domain experts conducted similar search tasks and provided qualitative feedback on their preferences and recommendations for designing these tools. Findings from our study suggest the importance of four valuation principles underlying our tools: credibility, readability, consumer perspective, and topical relevance.

  15. Health-seeking behaviour among patients with faecal incontinence in a Malaysian academic setting.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roslani, A C; Ramakrishnan, R; Azmi, S

    2017-12-01

    Faecal incontinence (FI) is not a common presenting complaint in Malaysia, and little has been published on this topic. Since it is a treatable condition, a greater understanding of factors contributing to healthseeking behaviour is needed in order to plan effective provision of services. A survey of 1000 patients and accompanying relatives, visiting general surgical and obstetrics and gynaecology clinics for matters unrelated to FI, was conducted at University Malaya Medical Centre between January 2009 and February 2010. A follow-up regression analysis of the 83 patients who had FI, to identify factors associated with health-seeking behaviour, was performed. Variables identified through univariate analysis were subjected to multivariate analysis to determine independence. Reasons for not seeking treatment were also analysed. Only eight patients (9.6%) had sought medical treatment. On univariate analysis, the likelihood of seeking treatment was significantly higher among patients who had more severe symptoms (OR 30.0, p=0.002), had incontinence to liquid stool (OR 3.83, p=0.002) or when there was an alteration to lifestyle (OR: 17.34; p<0.001). Nevertheless, the only independently-associated variable was alteration in lifestyle. Common reasons given for not seeking treatment was that the condition did not affect patients' daily activities (88.0%), "social taboo" (5.3%) and "other" reasons (6.7%). Lifestyle alteration is the main driver of healthseeking behaviour in FI. However, the majority do not seek treatment. Greater public and physician-awareness on FI and available treatment options is needed.

  16. An Ethnographic Analysis of Adolescent Sexual Minority Website Usage: Exploring Notions of Information Seeking and Sexual Identity Development

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sulfridge, Rocky M.

    2012-01-01

    This dissertation explores the website usage of adolescent sexual minorities, examining notions of information seeking and sexual identity development. Sexual information seeking is an important element within human information behavior and is uniquely problematic for young sexual minorities. Utilizing a contemporary gay teen website, this…

  17. Uncertainty and Motivation to Seek Information from Pharmacy Automated Communications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bones, Michelle; Nunlee, Martin

    2018-05-28

    Pharmacy personnel often answer telephones to respond to pharmacy customers (subjects) who received messages from automated systems. This research examines the communication process in terms of how users interact and engage with pharmacies after receiving automated messages. No study has directly addressed automated telephone calls and subjects' interactions. The purpose of this study is to test the interpersonal communication (IC) process of uncertainty in subjects in receipt of automated telephone calls ATCs from pharmacies. Subjects completed a survey of validated scales for Satisfaction (S); Relevance (R); Quality (Q); Need for Cognitive Closure (NFC). Relationships between S, R, Q, NFC, and subject preference to ATCs were analyzed to determine whether subjects contacting pharmacies display information seeking behavior. Results demonstrated that seeking information occurs if subjects: are dissatisfied with the content of the ATC; perceive that the Q of ATC is high and like receiving the ATC, or have a high NFC and do not like receiving ATCs. Other interactions presented complexities amongst uncertainty and tolerance of NFC within the IC process.

  18. Celebrity disclosures and information seeking: the case of Angelina Jolie.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Juthe, Robin H; Zaharchuk, Amber; Wang, Catharine

    2015-07-01

    On 14 May 2013, actress Angelina Jolie disclosed that she had a BRCA1 mutation and underwent a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy. This study documents the impact of her disclosure on information-seeking behavior, specifically that regarding online genetics and risk reduction resources available from the National Cancer Institute. Using Adobe Analytics, daily page views for 11 resources were tracked from 23 April 2013 through 25 June 2013. Usage data were also obtained for four resources over a 2-year period (2012-2013). Source of referral that viewers used to locate a specific resource was also examined. There was a dramatic and immediate increase in traffic to the National Cancer Institute's online resources. The Preventive Mastectomy fact sheet received 69,225 page views on May 14, representing a 795-fold increase as compared with the previous Tuesday. A fivefold increase in page views was observed for the PDQ Genetics of Breast and Ovarian Cancer summary in the same time frame. A substantial increase, from 0 to 49%, was seen in referrals from news outlets to four resources from 7 May to 14 May. Celebrity disclosures can dramatically influence online information-seeking behaviors. Efforts to capitalize on these disclosures to ensure easy access to accurate information are warranted.

  19. Labels, Gender-Role Conflict, Stigma, and Attitudes Toward Seeking Psychological Help in Men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahto, Rachel; Swift, Joshua K

    2016-05-01

    Despite a comparable need, research has indicated that on average men hold more negative attitudes toward psychological help seeking than women. Several researchers have suggested that the gender gap in service use and attitudes could be addressed through efforts to better market psychological services to men; however, a limited number of studies have tested this hypothesis. This study examined whether altering the labels for mental health providers (psychologist or counselor), settings (mental health clinic or counseling center), and treatments (problem or feeling focused) could result in less perceived stigma (social and self) by men. Participants, 165 male college students, were asked to read one of eight randomly assigned vignettes that described a man who was experiencing symptoms of depression and was considering seeking help. The vignettes differed in the labels that were used to describe the help that was being considered. Participants then completed measures assessing the stigma (self and social) associated with the treatment, and their preexisting experience of gender-role conflict and attitudes toward psychological help seeking. In summary, perceived stigma did not depend on the type of label that was used; however, 59% of the variance in attitudes was predicted by self-stigma (uniquely explaining 11%), gender-role conflict (uniquely explaining 10%), and social stigma (uniquely explaining 5%). Specifically, higher levels of gender-role conflict, social stigma, and self-stigma were associated with more negative attitudes toward psychological help seeking. Based on the demographics of the sample, these findings primarily have implications for Caucasian college-educated young adult men. Further limitations with the study and recommendations for future research are discussed. © The Author(s) 2014.

  20. A Self-Determination Perspective on Online Health Information Seeking: The Internet vs. Face-to-Face Office Visits With Physicians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Seow Ting; Lin, Julian

    2016-06-01

    This study elucidates the experiential and motivational aspects of online health information beyond the theoretically limited instrumental perspective that dominates the extant literature. Based on a sample of 993 online health information seekers in India, the survey found that online health information seeking offers individuals greater autonomy, competence, and relatedness compared to face-to-face office visits with physicians. According to self-determination theory, individuals are motivated to act by a sense of volition and experience of willingness, validation of one's skills and competencies, and feeling of connection with others who shaped one's decisions. These 3 psychological needs, which motivate individuals to pursue what they innately seek as human beings, help explain why individuals turn online for health information. T tests showed that all 3 self-determination theory constructs -autonomy, competence, and relatedness-were higher for online health information seeking than for face-to-face office visits with physicians. A regression analysis found that 2 variables, autonomy and relatedness, explained online health information seeking. Competence was not a significant factor, likely because of competency issues faced by individuals in interpreting, understanding, and making use of online health information. The findings, which do not suggest that online health information seeking would displace physicians as many have feared, offer promise for an integrated system of care. Office visits with physicians would necessarily evolve into an expanded communicative space of health information seeking instead of an alternative channel for health information.

  1. Can written information material help to increase treatment motivation in patients with erectile dysfunction? A survey of 1188 men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Günzler, C; Kriston, L; Stodden, V; Leiber, C; Berner, M M

    2007-01-01

    Although erectile dysfunction (ED) prevalence is high, patients and physicians often have problems discussing this issue. This study examines whether written information material increases motivation to seek treatment in patients with ED. For the study, persons were able to order information material about sexual problems within the context of a public campaign. From a total of 70,000 responders, 8000 persons were asked to fill out an epidemiological questionnaire. The response rate yielded 18.4%, the data of 1188 men with ED were analyzed. As a result of the information material, 28.3% of the untreated men intended to seek treatment and 38.5% of the men who had not spoken with their physician about their problem, planned to do so now. Nearly all responders were satisfied with the information material. These data reflect the usefulness of written information for men with ED. It not only serves as an informational source for patients but may also encourage them to seek treatment.

  2. Cancer patients seeking a second surgical opinion: results of a study on motives, needs, and expectations.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Mellink, W.A.M.; Dulmen, A.M. van; Wiggers, TH.; Spreeuwenberg, P.M.M.; Eggermont, A.M.M.; Bensing, J.M.

    2003-01-01

    Purpose: To explore the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of cancer patients seeking a second-opinion consultation and to analyze their second opinion-related motives, needs, and expectations. Patients and methods: In 212 consecutive patients seeking a second opinion at the Surgical

  3. Log Usage Analysis: What it Discloses about Use, Information Seeking and Trustworthiness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David Nicholas

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available The Trust and Authority in Scholarly Communications in the Light of the Digital Transition research project1 was a study which investigated the behaviours and attitudes of academic researchers as producers and consumers of scholarly information resources in respect to how they determine authority and trustworthiness. The research questions for the study arose out of CIBER’s studies of the virtual scholar. This paper focuses on elements of this study, mainly an analysis of a scholarly publisher’s usage logs, which was undertaken at the start of the project in order to build an evidence base, which would help calibrate the main methodological tools used by the project: interviews and questionnaire. The specific purpose of the log study was to identify and assess the digital usage behaviours that potentially raise trustworthiness and authority questions. Results from the self-report part of the study were additionally used to explain the logs. The main findings were that: 1 logs provide a good indicator of use and information seeking behaviour, albeit in respect to just a part of the information seeking journey; 2 the ‘lite’ form of information seeking behaviour observed in the logs is a sign of users trying to make their mind up in the face of a tsunami of information as to what is relevant and to be trusted; 3 Google and Google Scholar are the discovery platforms of choice for academic researchers, which partly points to the fact that they are influenced in what they use and read by ease of access; 4 usage is not a suitable proxy for quality. The paper also provides contextual data from CIBER’s previous studies.

  4. Caring for the person with cancer: Information and support needs and the role of technology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heynsbergh, Natalie; Botti, Mari; Heckel, Leila; Livingston, Patricia M

    2018-06-01

    Informal carers experience a variety of information and support needs when providing care to someone with cancer. It is unclear when carers seek information and what resources they access to support themselves throughout the cancer trajectory. A sample of 45 carers and 15 oncology nurses were recruited to participate in either focus groups or phone interviews. Carers in the study were more likely to be women (60%), caring for a spouse or partner (64.4%), living with the patient (86.7%), and hold a university degree (46.7%). The majority of oncology nurses were females (66.6%). Findings showed that carers had limited access to adequate information as needs arose. Supports used to address information needs included information booklets, the Internet, and communication with healthcare professionals or with other carers. Barriers in communication between nurses and carers impacted on the adequacy of information received. Participants reported that technology, such as smartphone applications, might be appropriate for improving information and support needs. Caring for someone with cancer is multifaceted. Carers need access to timely information to help them effectively manage patients' needs. Future studies should assess the role of contemporary approaches, such as digital technology, as a solution to the delivery of information and support for carers of people with cancer. © 2018 The Authors. Psycho-Oncology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  5. The role of masculinity in men's help-seeking for depression: A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seidler, Zac E; Dawes, Alexei J; Rice, Simon M; Oliffe, John L; Dhillon, Haryana M

    2016-11-01

    Conformity to traditional masculine gender norms may deter men's help-seeking and/or impact the services men engage. Despite proliferating research, current evidence has not been evaluated systematically. This review summarises findings related to the role of masculinity on men's help-seeking for depression. Six electronic databases were searched using terms related to masculinity, depression and help-seeking. Titles and abstracts were reviewed and data systematically extracted and examined for methodological quality. Of 1927 citations identified, 37 met inclusion criteria. Seventeen (46%) studies reported qualitative research; eighteen (49%) employed quantitative methods, and two (5%) mixed methods. Findings suggest conformity to traditional masculine norms has a threefold effect on men experiencing depression, impacting: i) their symptoms and expression of symptoms; ii) their attitudes to, intention, and, actual help-seeking behaviour; and, iii) their symptom management. Results demonstrate the problematic impact of conformity to traditional masculine norms on the way men experience and seek help for depression. Tailoring and targeting clinical interventions may increase men's service uptake and the efficacy of treatments. Future research examining factors associated with men's access to, and engagement with depression care will be critical to increasing help-seeking, treatment uptake, and effectual self-management among men experiencing depression. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  6. An examination of the relationships among uncertainty, appraisal, and information-seeking behavior proposed in uncertainty management theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rains, Stephen A; Tukachinsky, Riva

    2015-01-01

    Uncertainty management theory (UMT; Brashers, 2001, 2007) is rooted in the assumption that, as opposed to being inherently negative, health-related uncertainty is appraised for its meaning. Appraisals influence subsequent behaviors intended to manage uncertainty, such as information seeking. This study explores the connections among uncertainty, appraisal, and information-seeking behavior proposed in UMT. A laboratory study was conducted in which participants (N = 157) were primed to feel and desire more or less uncertainty about skin cancer and were given the opportunity to search for skin cancer information using the World Wide Web. The results show that desired uncertainty level predicted appraisal intensity, and appraisal intensity predicted information-seeking depth-although the latter relationship was in the opposite direction of what was expected.

  7. Information is in the eye of the beholder: Seeking information on the MMR vaccine through an Internet search engine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yom-Tov, Elad; Fernandez-Luque, Luis

    2014-01-01

    Vaccination campaigns are one of the most important and successful public health programs ever undertaken. People who want to learn about vaccines in order to make an informed decision on whether to vaccinate are faced with a wealth of information on the Internet, both for and against vaccinations. In this paper we develop an automated way to score Internet search queries and web pages as to the likelihood that a person making these queries or reading those pages would decide to vaccinate. We apply this method to data from a major Internet search engine, while people seek information about the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccine. We show that our method is accurate, and use it to learn about the information acquisition process of people. Our results show that people who are pro-vaccination as well as people who are anti-vaccination seek similar information, but browsing this information has differing effect on their future browsing. These findings demonstrate the need for health authorities to tailor their information according to the current stance of users.

  8. Patient-provider discussion of online health information: results from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chung, Jae Eun

    2013-01-01

    Increasing numbers of people have turned to the Internet for health information. Little has been done beyond speculation to empirically investigate patients' discussion of online health information with health care professionals (HCPs) and patients' perception of HCPs' reactions to such discussion. The author analyzed data from the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to identify the characteristics of patients (a) who search for health information on the Internet, (b) who discuss the information found on the Internet with HCPs, and (c) who positively assess HCPs' reaction to the online information. Findings show that men were more likely than were women to have a conversation on online information with HCPs. It is unfortunate that patients who had trouble understanding or trusting online health information were no more likely to ask questions to or seek guidance from HCPs. Reactions of HCPs to online information were perceived as particularly negative by certain groups of patients, such as those who experienced poor health and those who had more concerns about the quality of their searched information. Results are discussed for their implications for patient empowerment and patient-HCP relationships.

  9. Examining the role of MEDLINE as a patient care information resource: an analysis of data from the Value of Libraries study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dunn, Kathel; Marshall, Joanne Gard; Wells, Amber L; Backus, Joyce E B

    2017-10-01

    This study analyzed data from a study on the value of libraries to understand the specific role that the MEDLINE database plays in relation to other information resources that are available to health care providers and its role in positively impacting patient care. A previous study on the use of health information resources for patient care obtained 16,122 responses from health care providers in 56 hospitals about how providers make decisions affecting patient care and the role of information resources in that process. Respondents indicated resources used in answering a specific clinical question from a list of 19 possible resources, including MEDLINE. Study data were examined using descriptive statistics and regression analysis to determine the number of information resources used and how they were used in combination with one another. Health care professionals used 3.5 resources, on average, to aid in patient care. The 2 most frequently used resources were journals (print and online) and the MEDLINE database. Using a higher number of information resources was significantly associated with a higher probability of making changes to patient care and avoiding adverse events. MEDLINE was the most likely to be among consulted resources compared to any other information resource other than journals. MEDLINE is a critical clinical care tool that health care professionals use to avoid adverse events, make changes to patient care, and answer clinical questions.

  10. Healthcare-seeking behavior of patients with epileptic seizure disorders attending a tertiary care hospital, Kolkata

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Abhik Sinha

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction : Neurological diseases are very important causes of prolonged morbidity and disability, leading to profound financial loss. Epilepsy is one of the most important neurological disorders Healthcare seeking by epilepsy patients is quite diverse and unique. Aims and Objectives: The study was conducted among the epilepsy patients, to assess their healthcare-seeking behavior and its determinants. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and fifteen epilepsy patients, selected by systematic random sampling, in the neuromedicine outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital were interviewed with a predesigned, pretested, semi-structured proforma. Results and Conclusion: More than 90% sought healthcare just after the onset of a seizure. The majority opted for allopathic medicine and the causes for not seeking initial care from allopaths were ignorance, faith in another system, constraint of money, and so on. A significant association existed between rural residence and low social status of the patients with initial care seeking from someone other than allopaths. No association was found among sex, type of seizure, educational status of the patients, and care seeking. The mean treatment gap was 2.98 ± 10.49 months and the chief motivators were mostly the family members. Patients for anti epileptic drugs preferred neurologists in urban areas and general practitioners in rural areas. District care model of epilepsy was proposed in the recommendation.

  11. Improving the Blood Pressure Control With the ProActive Attitude of Hypertensive Patients Seeking Follow-up Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, Shangfeng; Bishwajit, Ghose; Ji, Lu; Feng, Da; Fang, Haiqing; Fu, Hang; Shao, Tian; Shao, Piaopiao; Liu, Chunyan; Feng, Zhanchun; Luba, Tegene R.

    2016-01-01

    Abstract Proactive attitude of hypertensive patients seeking follow-up services (FUS) lies at the core of self-efficacy. However, few evidence have shown the activeness of seeking FUS in the context of blood pressure control among hypertensive patients. Improvements in follow-up visits may not just by services itself cause better control of blood pressure among hypertensive patients, rather due to the patient's pro-active attitude of the patient in seeking FUS. A cross-sectional study was carried out in selected rural regions of China to explore the association between blood pressure control and sociodemographic and economic variables and activeness of hypertensive patients in seeking FUS. The primary clinical outcome for this study was blood pressure control (systolic blood pressure seekers were 3.17 times greater than those of passive seekers (odds ratio [OR] = 3.17, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.56–3.93, P passively. Proactive attitude of seeking follow-up services can improve blood pressure control among hypertensive patients. PMID:27057859

  12. 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.

  13. Sensation seeking and drunk driving: the mediational role of social norms and self-efficacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    González-Iglesias, Beatriz; Gómez-Fraguela, José Antonio; Luengo, Ma Ángeles

    2014-10-01

    The aim of this work was to examine the role of sensation seeking in drunk driving by youths, and the potential mediational effect of social, cognitive and emotional variables on their relationship. To this end, a survey was conducted on 274 drivers (164 females and 110 males) aged 24.36±2.96 years (range 18-30 years). The results obtained confirm the significance of sensation seeking to drunk driving by youths and the mediating role of biased self-efficacy perceptions in their relationship. The important practical implications of this finding on the development of effective interventions to prevent the risks of drunk driving in youths are discussed. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Pathway Linking Internet Health Information Seeking to Better Health: A Moderated Mediation Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Shaohai; Street, Richard L

    2017-08-01

    The Internet increasingly has been recognized as an important medium with respect to population health. However, little is known about the mechanisms that underlie the potential impact of health-related Internet use on health outcomes. Based on the three-stage model of health promotion using interactive media, this study empirically tested a moderated mediation pathway model. Results showed that the effect of Internet health information seeking on three health outcomes (general, emotional, and physical) was completely mediated by respondents' access to social support resources. In addition, users' online health information seeking experience positively moderated this mediation path. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for the design of Internet-based health promotion resources to improve health outcomes.

  15. A Study of Information-Seeking Behaviors and Processes of New Zealand Men during Periods of Life-Stress

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wellstead, Peta

    2014-01-01

    New Zealand men have poor health outcomes in a range of domains compared to women. They also report barriers (both personal and structural) in their information-seeking behaviors and processes to improve health and wellbeing. This paper reports a research project in progress that is investigating the information-seeking behaviors and processes of…

  16. Information literacy during entry to practice: information-seeking behaviors in student nurses and recent nurse graduates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wahoush, Olive; Banfield, Laura

    2014-02-01

    The ability to locate information pertinent to guide clinical practice is important for quality nursing care and patient safety. To date, little is known about the transfer of information literacy skills as student nurses transition to clinical practice as new graduates. This study begins to address this gap from the perspective of student nurses, recent nurse graduates (RNs), nurse leaders and library staff. To describe the information-seeking behaviors of student nurses and RNs within their clinical settings. This is a descriptive study that included both cross-sectional surveys and key informant interviews. Participants were senior-level undergraduate students and recently graduated RNs (graduated since 2008), and nurse leaders and library staff employed in one of the clinical sites accepting undergraduate students from the McMaster Mohawk and Conestoga BScN program. The study was completed in two large hospital corporations in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Student nurses and RNs were invited to complete online surveys to assess their access to and use of information sources and resources within clinical practice. Students completed a survey comprised of five open-ended questions, while RNs completed a survey comprised of 13 fixed choice and open-ended questions. Nurse leaders and library staff participated in qualitative interviews to verify the extent and availability of information resources. Eighteen RNs and 62 students completed their respective surveys. Three categories of information sources and resources were identified: electronic, print and interpersonal. Electronic sources of information were the most used resource by both students and RNs. More RNs reported using interpersonal sources, while students reported using more print sources of information. Recent RN graduates meet the Canadian Association of Schools of Nursing performance indicators related to information access for the entry to practice Nursing Informatics competencies. Crown Copyright

  17. Internet health information in the patient-provider dialogue.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Traci

    2008-10-01

    A patient discussing Internet health information with a health care provider (referred to as "patient-provider communication about Internet health information") can contribute positively to health outcomes. Although research has found that once Internet access is achieved, there are no ethnic differences in Internet health information seeking, it is unclear if there are ethnic differences in patient-provider communication about Internet health information. To help fill this gap in the literature, the National Cancer Institute's Health Information National Trends Survey 2005 was analyzed with Stata 9. Two sets of logistic regression analyses were conducted, one for a subsample of Internet users (n = 3,244) and one for a subsample of Internet users who are first-generation immigrants (n = 563). The dependent variable was patient-provider communication about Internet health information, which assessed whether survey participants had discussed online health information with a health care provider. The predictor variables included trust of health care provider, trust of online health information, Internet use, health care coverage, frequency of visits to health care provider, health status, and demographics. Among all Internet users, Whites had higher levels of patient-provider communication about Internet health information than Blacks and Asians. Similarly, among Internet users who are immigrants, Whites had higher levels of patient-provider communication about Internet health information than Blacks and Asians. While the digital divide is narrowing in terms of Internet access, racial differences in patient-provider communication about Internet health information may undermine the potential benefits of the information age.

  18. Internet Information-Seeking and Its Relation to Support for Access to Government Records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cuillier, David; Piotrowski, Suzanne J.

    2009-01-01

    Public access to government records is essential for democratic self-governance, and attitudes toward that right can facilitate or hinder public policy regarding transparency. As more people use the internet for gathering information about their governments and communities, it is unknown whether such online information-seeking is related to…

  19. Health Information Seeking Among Rural African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics: It Is Built, Did They Come?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powe, Barbara D

    2015-09-01

    This cross-sectional study examines health information-seeking behaviors and access to and use of technology among rural African Americans, Caucasians, and Hispanics. There was a low level of health information seeking across the sample. Few used smartphones or tablets and did not endorse receiving health information from their health care provider by e-mail. Printed materials remained a source of health information as did friends and family. Information should be shared using multiple platforms including more passive methods such as television and radio. More research is needed to ensure the health literacy, numeracy, and ability to navigate the online environment. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  20. Quality of life among obese patients seeking weight loss surgery: the importance of obesity-related social stigma and functional status.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wee, Christina C; Davis, Roger B; Huskey, Karen W; Jones, Daniel B; Hamel, Mary B

    2013-02-01

    Obesity is a stigmatizing condition associated with adverse psychosocial consequences. The relative importance of weight stigma in reducing health utility or the value a person places on their current health state is unknown. We conducted a telephone survey of patients with obesity. All were seeking weight loss surgery at two bariatric centers (70 % response rate). We assessed patients' health utility (preference-based quality life measure) via a series of standard gamble scenarios assessing patients' willingness to risk death to lose various amounts of weight or achieve perfect health (range 0 to 1; 0 = death and 1 = most valued health/weight state). Multivariable models assessed associations among quality of life domains from the Short-form 36 (SF-36) and Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-lite (IWQOL-lite) and patients' health utility. Our study sample (n = 574) had a mean body mass index of 46.5 kg/m(2) and a mean health utility of 0.87, reflecting the group's average willingness to accept a 13 % risk of death to achieve their most desired health/weight state; utilities were highly variable, however, with 10 % reporting a utility of 1.00 and 27 % reporting a utility lower than 0.90. Among the IWQOL-lite subscales, Public Distress and Work Life were the only two subscales significantly associated with patients' utility after adjustment for sociodemographic factors. Among the SF-36 subscales, Role Physical, Physical Functioning, and Role Emotional were significantly associated with patients' utility. When the leading subscales on both IWQOL-lite and SF-36 were considered together, Role Physical, Public Distress, and to a lesser degree Role Emotional remained independently associated with patients' health utility. Patients seeking weight loss surgery report health utilities similar to those reported for people living with diabetes or with laryngeal cancer; however, utility values varied widely with more than a quarter of patients willing to accept more than a

  1. Women's experiences seeking informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa: a descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gerdts, Caitlin; Raifman, Sarah; Daskilewicz, Kristen; Momberg, Mariette; Roberts, Sarah; Harries, Jane

    2017-10-02

    In settings where abortion is legally restricted, or permitted but not widely accessible, women face significant barriers to abortion access, sometimes leading them to seek services outside legal facilities. The advent of medication abortion has further increased the prevalence of informal sector abortion. This study investigates the reasons for attempting self-induction, methods used, complications, and sources of information about informal sector abortion, and tests a specific recruitment method which could lead to improved estimates of informal sector abortion prevalence among an at-risk population. We recruited women who have sought informal sector abortion services in Cape Town, South Africa using respondent driven sampling (RDS). An initial seed recruiter was responsible for initiating recruitment using a structured coupon system. Participants completed face-to-face questionnaires, which included information about demographics, informal sector abortion seeking, and safe abortion access needs. We enrolled 42 women, nearly one-third of whom reported they were sex workers. Thirty-four women (81%) reported having had one informal sector abortion within the past 5 years, 14% reported having had two, and 5% reported having had three. These women consumed home remedies, herbal mixtures from traditional healers, or tablets from an unregistered provider. Twelve sought additional care for potential warning signs of complications. Privacy and fear of mistreatment at public sector facilities were among the main reported reasons for attempting informal sector abortion. Most women (67%) cited other community members as their source of information about informal sector abortion; posted signs and fliers in public spaces also served as an important source of information. Women are attempting informal sector abortion because they seek privacy and fear mistreatment and stigma in health facilities. Some were unaware how or where to seek formal sector services, or believed the

  2. Novel data sources for women's health research: mapping breast screening online information seeking through Google trends.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fazeli Dehkordy, Soudabeh; Carlos, Ruth C; Hall, Kelli S; Dalton, Vanessa K

    2014-09-01

    Millions of people use online search engines everyday to find health-related information and voluntarily share their personal health status and behaviors in various Web sites. Thus, data from tracking of online information seeker's behavior offer potential opportunities for use in public health surveillance and research. Google Trends is a feature of Google which allows Internet users to graph the frequency of searches for a single term or phrase over time or by geographic region. We used Google Trends to describe patterns of information-seeking behavior in the subject of dense breasts and to examine their correlation with the passage or introduction of dense breast notification legislation. To capture the temporal variations of information seeking about dense breasts, the Web search query "dense breast" was entered in the Google Trends tool. We then mapped the dates of legislative actions regarding dense breasts that received widespread coverage in the lay media to information-seeking trends about dense breasts over time. Newsworthy events and legislative actions appear to correlate well with peaks in search volume of "dense breast". Geographic regions with the highest search volumes have passed, denied, or are currently considering the dense breast legislation. Our study demonstrated that any legislative action and respective news coverage correlate with increase in information seeking for "dense breast" on Google, suggesting that Google Trends has the potential to serve as a data source for policy-relevant research. Copyright © 2014 AUR. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  3. Patterns and Determinants of Treatment Seeking among Previously Untreated Psychotic Patients in Aceh Province, Indonesia: A Qualitative Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marthoenis Marthoenis

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Immediate treatment of first-episode psychosis is essential in order to achieve a positive outcome. However, Indonesian psychiatric patients often delay accessing health services, the reason for which is not yet fully understood. The current study aimed to understand patterns of treatment seeking and to reveal determinants of the delay in accessing psychiatric care among first-time user psychotic patients. Qualitative interviews were conducted with sixteen family members who accompanied the patients to a psychiatric hospital. Many families expressed beliefs that mental illness appertains to village sickness and not hospital sickness; therefore, they usually take the patients to traditional or religious healers before taking them to a health professional. They also identified various factors that potentially delay accessing psychiatric treatment: low literacy and beliefs about the cause of the illness, stigmatisation, the role of extended family, financial problems, and long distance to the psychiatric hospital. On the other hand, the family mentioned various factors related to timely help seeking, including being a well-educated family, living closer to health facilities, previous experience of successful psychotic therapy, and having more positive symptoms of psychosis. The findings call for mental health awareness campaigns in the community.

  4. The patient's role in rheumatology care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brady, T J

    1998-03-01

    This article reviews narrative and empiric studies in rheumatology and related literature to explicate the patient's role in rheumatology care. In contrast to early conceptualizations, such as Parsons' sick role that emphasized compliance, current literature describes chronic disease patients as active participants in their care, rather than passive recipients of care. Active patients roles include participant in shared decision making, self-manager, and help and information seeker. All of these roles are colored by the individual's need to preserve a personally defined acceptable lifestyle. Suggestions for strategies that physicians and health professionals can use to engage and support these essential patient roles are also reviewed.

  5. University Procurement Officers’ Use of Technology When Seeking Information

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yahel Giat

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available The transition from printed to electronic sources of information has resulted in a profound change to the way procurement officers seek information. Furthermore, in the past decade there have been additional technological revolutions that are expected to further affect the procurement process. In this paper, we conduct a survey among forty nine university procurement officers in Israel to examine to what extent procurement officers have adapted to smartphones and tablets by testing how frequently officers use notebooks, smartphones, and tablets for work-related and leisure purposes. We find that while officers prefer electronic sources of information over printed sources of information, officers have not yet adapted to the later technological advances (i.e., smartphones and tablets. Notebooks are more frequently used than either smartphones or tablets for work-related and leisure purposes. One explanation behind this result is that officers are not skilled in using smartphone and tablets applications. This implies that training officers in the use of these devices may improve their performance.

  6. An Investigation into Information Needs and Information Seeking Behavior of Elementary and Middle School Teachers Teaching Indigenous Courses

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shan-Ju L. Chang

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research is to systematically study the information need, seeking, and use behavior of middle school teachers of Taiwan historical resources, and to explore the implications of the findings for digital library system design. This research employs multiple methods, first by qualitative approach followed by quantitative approach. The study investigated elementary and high school teachers, and compared the findingswith those of the scholar user group, using literature analysis, deep interview, and questionnaire survey as the methods for data collection, and content analysis, case study, and statistic analysis for data analysis. The results lead to (1 a better understanding of information seeking and use behavior of primary and middle school teachers of Taiwan historical archives; (2 deeper knowledge and empirical data for developing theory on human information behavior of Taiwan local people; (3 identification of important teaching and learning resources on Taiwan and the salient characteristics of those resources; (4 development of information organization guideline for localized digital library and museum systems. [Article content in Chinese

  7. Sociocultural determinants of the help-seeking behavior of patients with mental illness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, K M; Inui, T S; Kleinman, A M; Womack, W M

    1982-02-01

    This descriptive study employed semistructured interviewing and questionnaire administration to delineate the sociocultural determinants of the help-seeking process in 48 psychiatric patients. The help-seeking process is considered in two stages. The first stage starts from the recognition of initial symptoms and ends in the first contact with a mental health professional. The second stage is defined as that time between the first contact and actual participation in a planned treatment program. In both stages, patients typically go through phases of lay consultation, nonpsychiatric professional consultation, and referral. The multiple steps which are usually involved in help seeking often result in significant delay of both mental health contact and treatment. The help-seeking process was found to correlate strongly with ethnicity. Both Asians and Blacks showed more extended family involvement, and the involvement of key family members tended to be persistent and intensive in Asians. Ethnicity was also associated with the length of delay, with Asians showing the longest delay and Caucasians the least. These ethnic differences were also reflected in help-seeking pathway assignment using Lin's criteria. Although modernity and parochialism, as measured by the level of modernization and the cohesiveness of the social network system of the subjects, were also found to be correlated with delay, they appeared to exert an influence independent from that of ethnicity.

  8. The role of sensation seeking and motivations for eating in female and male adolescents who binge eat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laghi, Fiorenzo; Pompili, Sara; Baumgartner, Emma; Baiocco, Roberto

    2015-04-01

    Although different personality traits have been associated with the onset and maintenance of binge eating, the role of sensation seeking is still not well documented. The aim of the present study was to investigate the role of sensation seeking and motivations for eating in male and female adolescents who binge eat. 336 adolescents (196 boys and 140 girls, mean age 17.48) completed a survey composed of Binge Eating Scale, Motivation for Eating Scale, and Brief Sensation Seeking Scale. Our results showed that for female adolescents, binge eating was significantly correlated with age, body mass index (BMI), Environmental and Emotional Eating. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that BMI was a significant positive predictor of binge eating; Emotional and Physical Eating accounted for 34% of the variance. For male adolescents, binge eating was significantly correlated with age, BMI, Boredom susceptibility, Experience seeking, environmental, Social and Emotional Eating. The most significant variables that contribute to binge symptoms, were age and BMI (that accounted for 16% of the variance), Experience seeking and Boredom susceptibility (11%) and emotional eating (18%). Our results provided support for emotional motivations as significant triggers for binge eating behavior in both male and female adolescents. Although two sensation seeking dimensions were significant predictors of binge eating in males, sensation seeking was not associated to binge eating in the female subsample. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  9. PA2 Satisfaction with information received: perceptions of the patient and the informal caregiver.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dawber, R; Armour, K; Carter, C; Ferry, P; Meystre, C

    2015-04-01

    Provision of information to patients and families is a priority of palliative care. Lack of information on symptoms, treatment and disease progress adversely affects patients' and caregivers' abilities to self manage and participate in decision making and care. Qualitative reports of end of life care suggest caregivers seek more information than patients. Ignorance of this need may hamper health promotion strategies and limitation of patient and caregiver morbidity during end of life and bereavement processes. To compare satisfaction of dying patients with information given; to proxy satisfaction estimates on the patient's behalf. Prospective study comparing assessment of satisfaction with information received by nurse, informal caregiver and dying patient (>64 years) in hospital. Assessments made within 24 h, using patient and caregiver versions of the palliative outcome scale (POS). weighted kappa for agreement between proxy and patient. Informal caregivers overestimate dissatisfaction with level of information given compared to patients. Weighted kappa patient versus ICG 0.187 (slight agreement), n = 50. The disparity between patient and proxy information satisfaction reflects the complexity of participatory strategies to limit morbidity at the end of life. Proxy over- estimation of patient dissatisfaction with information received may reflect the caregivers own dissatisfaction. As death approaches, caregivers require more information than patients, their burden increases and they become the interpreter of patient symptoms. Ignorance may lead to overestimation of symptoms, early breakdown of social care, and unplanned admission, risking death other than in the patients preferred place. Meeting caregiver information needs may reduce caregiver burden and improve proxy assessments, reducing patient and caregiver morbidity. © 2015, Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  10. Information therapy: The strategic role of prescribed information in disease self-management.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mettler, Molly; Kemper, Donald W

    2006-01-01

    Imagine this: evidence-based medical information specifically written for and prescribed to a patient with chronic illness, targeted to that patient's specific "moment in care" and designed to help that patient manage his or her illness. Imagine "information therapy" built into every clinical encounter that a patient has with a physician or other health care service. Information therapy is defined as the timely prescription and availability of evidence-based health information to meet individuals' specific needs and support sound decision making. Information therapy is a new disease management tool that provides cost-effective disease management support to a much larger portion of the chronically ill population than is generally reached. This paper is a practical presentation of information therapy, its role in predictive modeling and disease self-management, and its potential for improving the outcomes of chronic care.

  11. A review of Web information seeking research: considerations of method and foci of interest

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Konstantina Martzoukou

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available Introduction. This review shows that Web information seeking research suffers from inconsistencies in method and a lack of homogeneity in research foci. Background. Qualitative and quantitative methods are needed to produce a comprehensive view of information seeking. Studies also recommend observation as one of the most fundamental ways of gaining direct knowledge of behaviour. User-centred research emphasises the importance of holistic approaches, which incorporate physical, cognitive, and affective elements. Problems. Comprehensive studies are limited; many approaches are problematic and a consistent methodological framework has not been developed. Research has often failed to ensure appropriate samples that ensure both quantitative validity and qualitative consistency. Typically, observation has been based on simulated rather than real information needs and most studies show little attempt to examine holistically different characteristics of users in the same research schema. Research also deals with various aspects of cognitive style and ability with variant definitions of expertise and different layers of user experience. Finally the effect of social and cultural elements has not been extensively investigated. Conclusion. The existing limitations in method and the plethora of different approaches allow little progress and fewer comparisons across studies. There is urgent need for establishing a theoretical framework on which future studies can be based so that information seeking behaviour can be more holistically understood, and results can be generalised.

  12. 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.

  13. Selective information seeking: can consumers' avoidance of evidence-based information on colorectal cancer screening be explained by the theory of cognitive dissonance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckelberg, Anke; Kasper, Jürgen; Mühlhauser, Ingrid

    2007-08-27

    Evidence-based patient information (EBPI) is a prerequisite for informed decision-making. However, presentation of EBPI may lead to irrational reactions causing avoidance, minimisation and devaluation of the information. To explore whether the theory of cognitive dissonance is applicable to medical decision-making and useful to explain these phenomena. 261 volunteers from Hamburg (157 women), >or=50 years old without diagnosis of colorectal cancer. DESIGN AND VARIABLES: Within an experiment we simulated information seeking on colorectal cancer screening. Consumers' attitudes towards screening were surveyed using a rating scale from -5 (participate in no way) to +5 (participate unconditionally) (independent variable). Using a cover story, participants were asked to sort 5 article headlines according to their reading preferences. The headlines simulated the pro to contra variety of contents to be found in print media about colorectal cancer screening. The dependent variable was the sequence of article headlines. Participants were very much in favour of screening with scores for faecal occult blood test of 4.0 (0.1) and for colonoscopy 3.3 (0.1). According to our hypothesis we found statistically significant positive correlations between the stimuli in favour of screening and attitudes and significant negative correlations between the stimuli against screening and attitudes. The theory of cognitive dissonance is applicable to medical decision-making. It may explain some phenomena of irrational reactions to evidence-based patient information.

  14. Assessing health consumerism on the Web: a demographic profile of information-seeking behaviors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorence, Daniel P; Park, Heeyoung; Fox, Susannah

    2006-08-01

    The growing diversity of the online health information community is increasingly cited as a limiting factor related to the potential of the Internet as an effective health communication channel and information resource. Public-access Internet portals and decreasing costs of personal computers have created a consensus that unequal access to information, or a "Digital Divide," presents a like problem specific to health care consumers. Access to information, however, is an essential part of the consumer-centric framework outlined in the recently proposed U.S. National Health Information Infrastructure (NHII) and Health Architecture initiatives. To date little research has been done to differentiate the types of health information sought on the Web by different subgroups, linking user characteristics and health-seeking behaviors. Data from a study of consumer Web search activity in a post-intervention era serves as a natural experiment, and can identify whether a "digitally underserved group" persists in the United States. Such an environment would serve to exclude traditionally underserved groups from the benefits of the planned national heath information infrastructure. This exploratory technology assessment study seeks to differentiate and delineate specific behaviors, or lack of desired behaviors, across targeted health care subgroups. Doing so allows the design of more effective strategies to promote the use of the Web as a health education and health promotion tool, under the envisioned shared decision-making, consumer-centric health information model.

  15. Patient privacy, consent, and identity management in health information exchange

    CERN Document Server

    Hosek, Susan D

    2013-01-01

    As a step toward improving its health information technology (IT) interoperability, the Military Health System is seeking to develop a research roadmap to better coordinate health IT research efforts, address IT capability gaps, and reduce programmatic risk for its enterprise projects. This report identifies gaps in research, policy, and practice involving patient privacy, consent, and identity management that need to be addressed to improve the quality and efficiency of care through health information exchange.

  16. Acute care patients discuss the patient role in patient safety.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rathert, Cheryl; Huddleston, Nicole; Pak, Youngju

    2011-01-01

    Patient safety has been a highly researched topic in health care since the year 2000. One strategy for improving patient safety has been to encourage patients to take an active role in their safety during their health care experiences. However, little research has shed light on how patients view their roles. This study attempted to address this deficit by inductively exploring the results of a qualitative study in which patients reported their ideas about what they believe their roles should be. Patients with an overnight stay in the previous 90 days at one of three hospitals were surveyed using a mailing methodology. Of 1,040 respondents, 491 provided an open-ended response regarding what they believe the patient role should be. Qualitative analysis found several prominent themes. The largest proportion of responses (23%) suggested that patients should follow instructions given by care providers. Other prominent themes were that patients should ask questions and become informed about their conditions and treatments, and many implied that they should expect competent care. Our results suggest that patients believe they should be able to trust that they are being provided competent care, as opposed to assuming a leadership role in their safety. Our results suggest that engaging patients in safety efforts may be complex, requiring a variety of strategies. Managers must provide environments conducive to staff and patient interactions to support patients in this effort. Different types of patients may require different engagement strategies.

  17. Individual differences in embracing negatively valenced art: The roles of openness and sensation seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fayn, Kirill; Kuppens, Peter

    2017-01-01

    We elaborate on the role of individual differences in the processing mechanisms outlined by the Distancing-Embracing model. The role of openness is apparent in appreciating meaning-making art that elicits interest, feeling moved, and mixed emotions. The influence of sensation seeking is likely to manifest in thrill-chasing art that draws on the arousing interplay of positive and negative emotions.

  18. Parental use of the Internet to seek health information and primary care utilisation for their child: a cross-sectional study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Migeot Virginie

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Using the Internet to seek health information is becoming more common. Its consequences on health care utilisation are hardly known in the general population, in particular among children whose parents seek health information on the Internet. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between parental use of the Internet to seek health information and primary care utilisation for their child. Methods This cross-sectional survey has been carried out in a population of parents of pre-school children in France. The main outcome measure was the self-reported number of primary care consultations for the child, according to parental use of the Internet to seek health information, adjusted for the characteristics of the parents and their child respectively, and parental use of other health information sources. Results A total of 1 068 out of 2 197 questionnaires were returned (response rate of 49%. No association was found between parental use of the Internet to seek health information and the number of consultations within the last 12 months for their child. Variables related to the number of primary care consultations were characteristics of the child (age, medical conditions, homeopathic treatment, parental characteristics (occupation, income, stress level and consultation of other health information sources (advice from pharmacist, relatives. Conclusion We did not find any relationship between parental use of the Internet to seek health information and primary care utilisation for children. The Internet seems to be used as a supplement to health services rather than as a replacement.

  19. Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yousefi-Nooraie Reza

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. Methods The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. Results The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. Conclusions The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming

  20. Information seeking for making evidence-informed decisions: a social network analysis on the staff of a public health department in Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Social network analysis is an approach to study the interactions and exchange of resources among people. It can help understanding the underlying structural and behavioral complexities that influence the process of capacity building towards evidence-informed decision making. A social network analysis was conducted to understand if and how the staff of a public health department in Ontario turn to peers to get help incorporating research evidence into practice. Methods The staff were invited to respond to an online questionnaire inquiring about information seeking behavior, identification of colleague expertise, and friendship status. Three networks were developed based on the 170 participants. Overall shape, key indices, the most central people and brokers, and their characteristics were identified. Results The network analysis showed a low density and localized information-seeking network. Inter-personal connections were mainly clustered by organizational divisions; and people tended to limit information-seeking connections to a handful of peers in their division. However, recognition of expertise and friendship networks showed more cross-divisional connections. Members of the office of the Medical Officer of Health were located at the heart of the department, bridging across divisions. A small group of professional consultants and middle managers were the most-central staff in the network, also connecting their divisions to the center of the information-seeking network. In each division, there were some locally central staff, mainly practitioners, who connected their neighboring peers; but they were not necessarily connected to other experts or managers. Conclusions The methods of social network analysis were useful in providing a systems approach to understand how knowledge might flow in an organization. The findings of this study can be used to identify early adopters of knowledge translation interventions, forming Communities of Practice, and

  1. Strategies, Obstacles, and Attitudes: Student Collaboration in Information Seeking and Synthesis Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leeder, Chris; Shah, Chirag

    2016-01-01

    Introduction: While group work that takes place in education contexts has been studied by researchers, student collaborative research behaviour has received less attention. This empirical case study examined the strategies that students use and the obstacles they encounter while working in collaborative information seeking contexts on an in-class…

  2. Informal interpreting in general practice: Are interpreters' roles related to perceived control, trust, and satisfaction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zendedel, Rena; Schouten, Barbara C; van Weert, Julia C M; van den Putte, Bas

    2018-06-01

    The aim of this observational study was twofold. First, we examined how often and which roles informal interpreters performed during consultations between Turkish-Dutch migrant patients and general practitioners (GPs). Second, relations between these roles and patients' and GPs' perceived control, trust in informal interpreters and satisfaction with the consultation were assessed. A coding instrument was developed to quantitatively code informal interpreters' roles from transcripts of 84 audio-recorded interpreter-mediated consultations in general practice. Patients' and GPs' perceived control, trust and satisfaction were assessed in a post consultation questionnaire. Informal interpreters most often performed the conduit role (almost 25% of all coded utterances), and also frequently acted as replacers and excluders of patients and GPs by asking and answering questions on their own behalf, and by ignoring and omitting patients' and GPs' utterances. The role of information source was negatively related to patients' trust and the role of GP excluder was negatively related to patients' perceived control. Patients and GPs are possibly insufficiently aware of the performed roles of informal interpreters, as these were barely related to patients' and GPs' perceived trust, control and satisfaction. Patients and GPs should be educated about the possible negative consequences of informal interpreting. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavarria, Enmanuel Antonio; Chaney, Elizabeth Hensleigh; Stellefson, Michael Leland; Chaney, J Don; Chavarria, Nikita; Dodd, Virginia Jones

    2017-11-01

    Despite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that CMLF seek and (b) to determine the factors motivating OHI seeking among CMLF. Four 1- to 1.5-hour focus groups were conducted in two public universities in Florida with 41 college-aged Latino males in an established Latino fraternity. E-mails were used to recruit fraternity members. Qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts identified that CMLF search for a variety of OHI types including searches on symptoms, diagnoses, weight loss, and treatments for conditions or diseases among other types of OHI. Factors motivating OHI seeking included informational needs of others and concerns for others, worries due to lack of health insurance, preoccupations with health condition, concerns over physical appearance, and clarification through social media. CMLF may be elicited to serve as information conduits to increase access to health information on chronic diseases for older non-English-speaking Latino adults. Lack of health insurance along with other factors in this segment of the population have led to self-diagnosis and self-treatment of illness. Thus, empirical research and health promotion on the potential risks due to self-diagnosing and self-treatment of illness is warranted among CMLF.

  4. Information Seeking by Geoscientists: An Update on Bichteler and Ward (1989)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Alstad, Knut; Hertzum, Morten

    2018-01-01

    , and the library database). Bibliographic databases were used infrequently and perceived as yielding poorer quality results than consulting a colleague. The likelihood of using web search and colleagues to find information about a new topic was determined by the ease of using these sources. In contrast......Purpose – This study investigates how often geoscientists use different information sources and how this pattern of source use balances their perceptions of the quality and ease of use of the information sources. Design/methodology/approach – The geoscientists at the Geological Survey of Norway...... were surveyed about their information-seeking behavior. The response rate was 70%. Findings – The geoscientists primarily relied on web search and colleagues for information. These two information sources were perceived as easy to use, more so than bibliographic databases (GeoRef, Web of Science...

  5. 76 FR 22103 - The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau Seeks Comment on “Need for Speed” Information for...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-20

    ...In this document, the Commission, via the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (Bureau), seeks input on the information necessary for consumers to make informed choices among competing broadband Internet access services. According to the most recently available data, many consumers lack information about their broadband connection's performance and its ability to support different services and activities online. This document seeks comment about the speed and performance required for the range of Internet applications consumers intend to use, and how to communicate that information to consumers.

  6. Patient reported delays in seeking treatment for Tuberculosis (TB among adult and pediatric TB patients and TB patients co-infected with HIV in Lima, Peru: a qualitative study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valerie A Paz-Soldan

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Tuberculosis (TB remains a significant public health challenge worldwide, and particularly in Peru with one of the highest incidence rates in Latin America. TB patient behavior has a direct influence on whether a patient will receive timely diagnosis and successful treatment of their illness. Objectives: The objective was to understand the complex factors that can impact TB patient health seeking behavior. Methods: In-depth interviews were conducted with adult and parents of pediatric patients receiving TB treatment (n=43, within that group a sub-group was also co-infected with HIV (n=11. Results: Almost all of the study participants recognized delays in seeking either their child’s or their own diagnosis of their TB symptoms. The principal reasons for treatment-seeking delays were lack of knowledge and confusion of tuberculosis symptoms, fear and embarrassment of receiving a TB diagnosis, and a patient tendency to self-medicate prior to seeking formal medical attention.Conclusions: Health promotion activities that target patient delays have the potential to improve individual patient outcomes and mitigate the spread of TB at a community level.

  7. Factors Influencing Professional Help-Seeking for Suicidality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Jin; Batterham, Philip J; Calear, Alison L; Randall, Rebecca

    2018-05-01

    Evidence suggests that the majority of people with suicidality do not seek help. Little systematic evaluation of factors influencing professional help-seeking has been done. To systematically evaluate the factors that influence professional help-seeking for suicidality. Published quantitative and qualitative studies in Medline and PsycInfo databases were reviewed following PRISMA. In all, 55 relevant studies were identified. Of these, 15 studies examined professional help-seeking intentions for perceived suicidal ideation, among people with or without suicidality; 21 studies examined professional help-seeking behavior among people with suicidality; and 19 studies examined suicidal decedents' health services use. Several potential important barriers were identified including high self-reliance, lack of perceived need for treatment, and stigmatizing attitudes toward suicide, toward mental health issues, and toward seeking professional treatment. The presence of suicidality and mental health issues was found to generally decrease help-seeking intentions for perceived suicidal ideation while facilitating actual service use. Social support and informal support from family and friends also played an important role in professional help-seeking. Although the majority of the included studies were of sound quality, some of the factors identified in the review were assessed in relatively few studies, and most of the included studies were conducted in industrialized countries. Further quantitative and qualitative studies examining the potential important factors in broader community samples, especially in developing countries, are needed.

  8. The role of maternal perceptions and ethnic background in the mental health help-seeking pathway of adolescent girls

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    I.J.E. Flink (Ilse); T.M.J. Beirens (Tinneke); D. Butte (Dick); H. Raat (Hein)

    2013-01-01

    textabstractMothers play a crucial role in the help-seeking pathway of adolescents. This study examined how mothers with different ethnic backgrounds perceive the issue of help-seeking for internalizing problems (e.g. depression) in adolescent girls. Seven focus group discussions were conducted with

  9. A critical role of lateral hypothalamus in context-induced relapse to alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchant, Nathan J; Rabei, Rana; Kaganovsky, Konstantin; Caprioli, Daniele; Bossert, Jennifer M; Bonci, Antonello; Shaham, Yavin

    2014-05-28

    In human alcoholics, abstinence is often self-imposed, despite alcohol availability, because of the negative consequences of excessive use. During abstinence, relapse is often triggered by exposure to contexts associated with alcohol use. We recently developed a rat model that captures some features of this human condition: exposure to the alcohol self-administration environment (context A), after punishment-imposed suppression of alcohol self-administration in a different environment (context B), provoked renewal of alcohol seeking in alcohol-preferring P rats. The mechanisms underlying context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence are unknown. Here, we studied the role of the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and its forebrain projections in this effect. We first determined the effect of context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking on Fos (a neuronal activity marker) expression in LH. We next determined the effect of LH reversible inactivation by GABAA + GABAB receptor agonists (muscimol + baclofen) on this effect. Finally, we determined neuronal activation in brain areas projecting to LH during context-induced renewal tests by measuring double labeling of the retrograde tracer cholera toxin subunit B (CTb; injected in LH) with Fos. Context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence was associated with increased Fos expression in LH. Additionally, renewal was blocked by muscimol + baclofen injections into LH. Finally, double-labeling analysis of CTb + Fos showed that context-induced renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence was associated with selective activation of accumbens shell neurons projecting to LH. The results demonstrate an important role of LH in renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence and suggest a role of accumbens shell projections to LH in this form of relapse. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/347447-11$15.00/0.

  10. Impact of the web on citation and information-seeking behaviour of academics

    OpenAIRE

    2012-01-01

    D.Litt. et Phil. This study investigated the impact of the Web on the information-seeking and citation behaviour of Unisa academics. The research study was executed in two phases. Phase 1 consisted of a Web citation analysis and phase 2 a questionnaire. Phase 1 explored how the availability of Web information resources affected the scholarly citation behaviour of Unisa academics by determining the relationship between Web-based references and non-Web-based references in the reference lists...

  11. Six Degrees of Information Seeking: Stanley Milgram and the Small World of the Library

    Science.gov (United States)

    James, Kathryn

    2006-01-01

    Stanley Milgram's 1967 "small world" social connectivity study is used to analyze information connectivity, or patron information-seeking behavior. The "small world" study, upon examination, offers a clear example of the failure of social connectivity. This failure is used to highlight the importance of the subjectivities of patron experience of…

  12. Why Breast Cancer Patients Seek Traditional Healers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mazanah Muhamad

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Traditional healing is a common practice in low and middle income countries such as Malaysia. Eighty percent of Malaysians consult traditional healers or “bomoh” at some time in their life for health-related issues. The purpose of our study was to explore why breast cancer patients visit traditional healers. This is a qualitative study utilizing in-depth interviews with 11 cancer survivors who sought both traditional and Western medicine. The findings revealed the following reasons for which patients seek traditional healers: (1 recommendation from family and friends, (2 sanction from family, (3 perceived benefit and compatibility, (4 healer credibility, and (5 reservation with Western medicine and system delay. These factors work together and are strongly influenced by the Malaysian cultural context. The issue with the Western health system is common in a developing country with limited health facilities.

  13. Why Breast Cancer Patients Seek Traditional Healers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Muhamad, M.; Merriam, Sh.; Merriam, Sh.; Suhami, N.

    2012-01-01

    Traditional healing is a common practice in low and middle income countries such as Malaysia. Eighty percent of Malaysians consult traditional healers or bomoh at some time in their life for health-related issues. The purpose of our study was to explore why breast cancer patients visit traditional healers. This is a qualitative study utilizing in-depth interviews with 11 cancer survivors who sought both traditional and Western medicine. The findings revealed the following reasons for which patients seek traditional healers: (1) recommendation from family and friends, (2) sanction from family, (3) perceived benefit and compatibility, (4) healer credibility, and (5) reservation with Western medicine and system delay. These factors work together and are strongly influenced by the Malaysian cultural context. The issue with the Western health system is common in a developing country with limited health facilities

  14. Help seeking behavior of women with self-discovered breast cancer symptoms: a meta-ethnographic synthesis of patient delay.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zohreh Khakbazan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Patient delay makes a critical contribution to late diagnosis and poor survival in cases of breast cancer. Identifying the factors that influence patient delay could provide information for adopting strategies that shorten this delay. The aim of this meta-ethnography was to synthesize existing qualitative evidence in order to gain a new understanding of help seeking behavior in women with self-discovered breast cancer symptoms and to determine the factors that influence patient delay. METHODS: The design was a meta-ethnography approach. A systematic search of the articles was performed in different databases including Elsevier, PubMed, ProQuest and SCOPUS. Qualitative studies with a focus on help seeking behaviors in women with self-discovered breast cancer symptoms and patient delay, published in the English language between 1990 and 2013 were included. The quality appraisal of the articles was carried out using the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme qualitative research checklist and 13 articles met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis was conducted according to Noblit and Hare's meta-ethnographic approach (1988, through reciprocal translational analysis and lines-of-argument. FINDINGS: The synthesis led to identification of eight repeated key concepts including: symptom detection, initial symptom interpretation, symptom monitoring, social interaction, emotional reaction, priority of medical help, appraisal of health services and personal-environmental factors. Symptom interpretation is identified as the important step of the help seeking process and which changed across the process through active monitoring of their symptoms, social interactions and emotional reactions. The perceived seriousness of the situation, priority to receive medical attention, perceived inaccessibility and unacceptability of the health care system influenced women's decision-making about utilizing health services. CONCLUSION: Help seeking

  15. Factors driving public tolerance levels and information-seeking behaviour concerning insects in the household environment

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schoelitsz, Bruce; Poortvliet, P.M.; Takken, Willem

    2018-01-01

    BACKGROUND: The public's negative attitudes towards household insects drive tolerance for these insects and their control. Tolerance levels are important in integrated pest management (IPM), as are pest knowledge and information. The risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model describes the

  16. Exploring dispositional tendencies to seek online information about direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paquin, Ryan S; Richards, Adam S; Koehly, Laura M; McBride, Colleen M

    2012-12-01

    Varying perspectives exist regarding the implications of genetic susceptibility testing for common disease, with some anticipating adverse effects and others expecting positive outcomes; however, little is known about the characteristics of people who are most likely to be interested in direct-to-consumer genetic testing. To that end, this study examines the association of individual dispositional differences with health risk perceptions and online information seeking related to a free genetic susceptibility test. Healthy adults enrolled in a large health maintenance organization were surveyed by telephone. Eligible participants (N = 1,959) were given access to a secure website that provided risk and benefit information about a genetic susceptibility test and given the option to be tested. Neuroticism was associated with increased perceptions of disease risk but not with logging on. Those scoring high in conscientiousness were more likely to log on. We found no evidence that neuroticism, a dispositional characteristic commonly linked to adverse emotional response, was predictive of online genetic information seeking in this sample of healthy adults.

  17. The effect of the proximity of patients' nearest alternative hospital on their intention to search for information on hospital quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Victoor, Aafke; Rademakers, Jany; Reitsma-van Rooijen, Margreet; de Jong, Judith; Delnoij, Diana; Friele, Roland

    2014-01-01

    In several countries, patients are encouraged to choose health care providers. Simultaneously, there is a tendency towards the concentration of health care, which might lessen the choice. Our aim was to assess the impact of patients' distances from their providers on their information-seeking, which is one element of choice. Two thousand members of the Dutch Health Care Consumer Panel were sent a questionnaire that included a question on whether they would search for information about hospitals to inform their choice. Distances from providers were obtained from a database that includes the distances between all postcodes in the Netherlands. To assess the influence of distance on information-seeking, logistic regression analyses were conducted. There was a good response (75%). Older, less educated respondents were less inclined to seek information when their nearest alternative was located further away (OR 0.85; 95% CI: 0.79-0.92), and younger, more educated respondents were more inclined to search in this situation (OR 1.11; 95% CI: 1.01-1.22). As fewer older, less educated patients would search for information to guide their choice, they might not opt for the best hospital. Additionally, the need for providers to compete for the patronage of these patients might be lessened.

  18. The Willingness of Military Members to Seek Help: The Role of Social Involvement and Social Responsibility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bowen, Gary L; Jensen, Todd M; Martin, James A; Mancini, Jay A

    2016-03-01

    Anchored in the social organization theory of action and change, we use data from a large sample of active-duty Air Force members to examine the direct and indirect influence of social involvement and social responsibility on willingness to seek help in times of need via trust in formal systems and informal supports. Group comparisons are conducted between junior male, junior female, senior male, and senior female service members. The key mediational path in the model for all groups is the connection between social involvement and willingness to seek help via trust in formal systems. These results can inform both unit- and community-level interventions intended to increase the likelihood that active-duty AF members will seek help in times of need. © Society for Community Research and Action 2016.

  19. Novel Data Sources for Women’s Health Research: Mapping Breast Screening Online Information Seeking Through Google Trends

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dehkordy, Soudabeh Fazeli; Carlos, Ruth C.; Hall, Kelli S.; Dalton, Vanessa K.

    2015-01-01

    Rationale and Objectives Millions of people use online search engines every day to find health-related information and voluntarily share their personal health status and behaviors in various Web sites. Thus, data from tracking of online information seeker’s behavior offer potential opportunities for use in public health surveillance and research. Google Trends is a feature of Google which allows internet users to graph the frequency of searches for a single term or phrase over time or by geographic region. We used Google Trends to describe patterns of information seeking behavior in the subject of dense breasts and to examine their correlation with the passage or introduction of dense breast notification legislation. Materials and Methods In order to capture the temporal variations of information seeking about dense breasts, the web search query “dense breast” was entered in the Google Trends tool. We then mapped the dates of legislative actions regarding dense breasts that received widespread coverage in the lay media to information seeking trends about dense breasts over time. Results Newsworthy events and legislative actions appear to correlate well with peaks in search volume of “dense breast”. Geographic regions with the highest search volumes have either passed, denied, or are currently considering the dense breast legislation. Conclusions Our study demonstrated that any legislative action and respective news coverage correlate with increase in information seeking for “dense breast” on Google, suggesting that Google Trends has the potential to serve as a data source for policy-relevant research. PMID:24998689

  20. Patient information comes of age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murphy, Jeannette

    2017-12-01

    This virtual issue (VI) has been assembled to coincide with the 8th Annual Patient Information Conference 2013 organised by the UK Patient Information Forum (PiF). The conference theme 'Information and support - a service in its own right' is a response to policy documents and initiatives in both Scotland and England which signal the coming of age of patient/consumer information. The VI consists of a collection of open access articles and addresses the question 'What can health science librarians do to ensure that the public are able to find, appraise and use health information?' This material provides research evidence, and examples of the types of initiatives librarians have undertaken to make information a health and care service in its own right. Two recurrent messages are that health science librarians need to form partnerships with healthcare providers and they have a role to play in improving health literacy skills. © 2013 The authors. Health Information and Libraries Journal © 2013 Health Libraries Group.

  1. Effect of information seeking and avoidance behavior on self-rated health status among cancer survivors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jung, Minsoo; Ramanadhan, Shoba; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

    2013-07-01

    Social determinants, such as socioeconomic status (SES) and race/ethnicity are linked to striking health disparities across the cancer continuum. One important mechanism linking social determinants and health disparities may be communication inequalities that are caused by differences in accessing, processing and utilizing cancer information. In this context, we examined health information-seeking/avoidance as a potential mediator between social determinants and self-rated health (SRH) status among cancer survivors. Data came from the 2008 well-informed, thriving and surviving (WITS) study of post-treatment cancer survivors (n=501). We examined the mediating effect of health communication-related behavior between SES and disparities in SRH. The likelihood of belonging to the Low SRH group was higher among patients who had avoided health information and whose family members had not sought health information on behalf of the survivor, those in the lowest household income bracket, and those who had high school or less education after adjusting for potential confounders. Differences in SRH among cancer survivors are associated with SES as well as communication inequalities. It is necessary to provide a supportive environment in which health information is made available if disparities in health-related quality of life among cancer survivors are to be reduced. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Selective information seeking: can consumers' avoidance of evidence-based information on colorectal cancer screening be explained by the theory of cognitive dissonance?

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    Mühlhauser, Ingrid

    2007-08-01

    Full Text Available Background: Evidence-based patient information (EBPI is a prerequisite for informed decision-making. However, presentation of EBPI may lead to irrational reactions causing avoidance, minimisation and devaluation of the information. Objective: To explore whether the theory of cognitive dissonance is applicable to medical decision-making and useful to explain these phenomena. Setting and participants: 261 volunteers from Hamburg (157 women, ≥50 years old without diagnosis of colorectal cancer. Design and variables: Within an experiment we simulated information seeking on colorectal cancer screening. Consumers’ attitudes towards screening were surveyed using a rating scale from -5 (participate in no way to +5 (participate unconditionally (independent variable. Using a cover story, participants were asked to sort 5 article headlines according to their reading preferences. The headlines simulated the pro to contra variety of contents to be found in print media about colorectal cancer screening. The dependent variable was the sequence of article headlines. Results: Participants were very much in favour of screening with scores for faecal occult blood test of 4.0 (0.1 and for colonoscopy 3.3 (0.1. According to our hypothesis we found statistically significant positive correlations between the stimuli in favour of screening and attitudes and significant negative correlations between the stimuli against screening and attitudes. Conclusion: The theory of cognitive dissonance is applicable to medical decision-making. It may explain some phenomena of irrational reactions to evidence-based patient information.

  3. The role of strategic information systems planning a typical Small or Medium-sized Enterprise

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    Nicky Meyer

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available Little is known about how Strategic Information Systems Planning (SISP and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs are linked in a developing country. SISP has also been a concern for many in the Information Technology (IT industry and IT based businesses as a whole. This research seeks to address this shortcoming by exploring what constitutes a typical SME, what role Information Systems (ISs play in SMEs and what role SISP plays in SMEs. Consequently, a Delphi panel comprising a questionnaire in the first phase and an interview in the second phase was employed. Some correlation was found to exist with the literature, with the exception of the role of IS in SMEs, whether SISP is an on-going activity, and the fact that SISP can be outsourced. Some new facts were discovered, especially on the topic of outsourcing. Keywords: company strategy; strategic information systems planning; small and mediumsized enterprises; SME sustainability; stakeholders and management; Viewpoint Training and Consulting

  4. Information Seeking on the Web--An Integrated Model of Browsing and Searching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Choo, Chun Wei; Detlor, Brian; Turnbull, Don

    This paper presents findings from a study of how knowledge workers use the Web to seek external information as a part of their daily work. Participants were mainly IT specialists, managers, and research/marketing/consulting staff working in organizations that included a large utility company, a major bank, and a consulting firm. Thirty-four…

  5. Help-seeking amongst women survivors of domestic violence: a qualitative study of pathways towards formal and informal support.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Evans, Maggie A; Feder, Gene S

    2016-02-01

    Informal and formal support for women experiencing domestic violence and abuse (DVA) can improve safety and health outcomes. There has been little qualitative work on the role of both pathways to support and women's experiences of disclosing their experience of DVA in different contexts. This qualitative study used repeat interviews with women survivors of DVA to explore their pathways to support and their experiences of barriers and facilitators to disclosure and help-seeking. Thirty-one women seeking help from specialist DVA agencies in the UK were interviewed twice over 5 months. Women recounted long journeys of ambivalence, often only disclosing abuse after leaving the perpetrator. Access to specialist support rarely came via general practitioners, despite high levels of consulting for anxious and depressed feelings, and was more often facilitated by police or housing agencies following a crisis such as assault. Informal disclosure only led to specialist help if the family member or friend themselves had experience or knowledge of DVA. Women experiencing DVA need earlier access to specialized DVA services. Many women needed an 'enabler' to facilitate access, but once this contact was made, disclosure to other professionals or to family and friends was legitimized in the eyes of the women. Safely accessible publicity about DVA services and an appropriate response from social and health-care professionals should be promoted, including support for women disclosing DVA to take action on the information they receive about services. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Why primary care practices should become digital health information hubs for their patients.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baird, Aaron; Nowak, Samantha

    2014-11-25

    the primary care practice as a central component of digital information coordination, especially when considering the current challenges of digital health information fragmentation. Given these fragmentation issues and the emphasis on primary care as central to improving health and lower overall health care costs, we suggest that primary care practices should embrace their evolving role and should seek to become digital health information hubs for their patients.

  7. Preoperative psychological assessment of patients seeking weight-loss surgery: identifying challenges and solutions

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    Edwards-Hampton SA

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available Shenelle A Edwards-Hampton,1 Sharlene Wedin2 1Department of General Surgery, Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Medical Center Boulevard, Winston-Salem, NC, 2Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA Abstract: Preoperative psychosocial assessment is the standard of care for patients seeking weight-loss surgery (WLS. However, the assessment procedure varies widely by surgery site. Comprehensive assessments can provide a wealth of information that assists both the patient and the treatment team, anticipate and prepare for challenges associated with extensive behavioral and lifestyle changes that are required postsurgery. In this review, we provide an overview of the purpose of the preoperative psychosocial assessment and domains to be included. Challenges commonly identified in the assessment are discussed, including maladaptive eating behaviors, psychiatric comorbidities, and alcohol use. Potential solutions and approaches to these challenges are provided. Additionally, patient populations requiring special consideration are presented to include adolescents, those with cognitive vulnerabilities, and aging adults. Keywords: bariatric surgery, preoperative assessment, weight-loss surgery, challenges, adolescents, older adults, cognitive impairment, maladaptive eating, alcohol misuse

  8. What Predicts Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior Among Egyptian Adults? A Cross-Sectional Study.

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    Ghweeba, Mayada; Lindenmeyer, Antje; Shishi, Sobhi; Abbas, Mostafa; Waheed, Amani; Amer, Shaymaa

    2017-06-22

    Over the last decade, the Internet has become an important source of health-related information for a wide range of users worldwide. Yet, little is known about the personal characteristics of Egyptian Internet users who search for online health information (OHI). The aim of the study was to identify the personal characteristics of Egyptian OHI seekers and to determine any associations between their personal characteristics and their health information-seeking behavior.  This cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted from June to October 2015. A Web-based questionnaire was sent to Egyptian users aged 18 years and older (N=1400) of a popular Arabic-language health information website. The questionnaire included (1) demographic characteristics; (2) self-reported general health status; and (3) OHI-seeking behavior that included frequency of use, different topics sought, and self-reported impact of obtained OHI on health behaviors. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and multiple regression analysis. A total of 490 participants completed the electronic questionnaire with a response rate equivalent to 35.0% (490/1400). Regarding personal characteristics, 57.1% (280/490) of participants were females, 63.4% (311/490) had a university level qualification, and 37.1% (182/490) had a chronic health problem. The most commonly sought OHI by the participants was nutrition-related. Results of the multiple regression analysis showed that 31.0% of the variance in frequency of seeking OHI among Egyptian adults can be predicted by personal characteristics. Participants who sought OHI more frequently were likely to be female, of younger age, had higher education levels, and good self-reported general health. Our results provide insights into personal characteristics and OHI-seeking behaviors of Egyptian OHI users. This will contribute to better recognize their needs, highlight ways to increase the availability of appropriate OHI, and may lead to the

  9. Cognitive coping style (monitoring and blunting) and the need for information, information satisfaction and shared decision making among patients with haematological malignancies.

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    Rood, Janneke A J; Van Zuuren, Florence J; Stam, Frank; van der Ploeg, Tjeerd; Huijgens, Peter C; Verdonck-de Leeuw, Irma M

    2015-05-01

    A haematological malignancy is a serious, life-altering disease and may be characterised as an uncontrollable and unpredictable stress situation. In dealing with potentially threatening information, individuals generally utilise two main cognitive coping styles: monitoring (the tendency to seek threat-relevant information) and blunting (avoiding threatening information and seeking distraction). The aim of this study was to obtain insight into the association between cognitive coping style and (a) need for information, (b) satisfaction with information, (c) involvement in decision making, and (d) quality of life (QoL). In this cross-sectional study, coping style was assessed among adult patients diagnosed with a haematological malignancy, using an adapted version of the Threatening Medical Situations Inventory. Information need, information satisfaction, decision-making preference and QoL were measured with validated questionnaires. In total, 458 patients returned the questionnaire (66%). A monitoring coping style was positively related to need for both general and specific information. Blunting was positively and QoL was negatively related to need for information. Monitoring was positively related to involvement in decision-making and negatively to information satisfaction. Using multivariate analysis, this relation between monitoring and information satisfaction disappeared, and for blunting, we found a negatively significant relation. QoL was not related to coping style. Among patients with haematological malignancies, coping style is related to a need for information, information satisfaction, and involvement in treatment decision-making. Therefore, it is important for health care professionals to be aware of individual differences in cognitive coping style. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  10. Seeking and Accepting: U.S. Clergy Theological and Moral Perspectives Informing Decision Making at the End of Life.

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    Sanders, Justin J; Chow, Vinca; Enzinger, Andrea C; Lam, Tai-Chung; Smith, Patrick T; Quiñones, Rebecca; Baccari, Andrew; Philbrick, Sarah; White-Hammond, Gloria; Peteet, John; Balboni, Tracy A; Balboni, Michael J

    2017-10-01

    People with serious illness frequently rely on religion/spirituality to cope with their diagnosis, with potentially positive and negative consequences. Clergy are uniquely positioned to help patients consider medical decisions at or near the end of life within a religious/spiritual framework. We aimed to examine clergy knowledge of end-of-life (EOL) care and beliefs about the role of faith in EOL decision making for patients with serious illness. Key informant interviews, focus groups, and survey. A purposive sample of 35 active clergy in five U.S. states as part of the National Clergy End-of-Life Project. We assessed participant knowledge of and desire for further education about EOL care. We transcribed interviews and focus groups for the purpose of qualitative analysis. Clergy had poor knowledge of EOL care; 75% desired more EOL training. Qualitative analysis revealed a theological framework for decision making in serious illness that balances seeking life and accepting death. Clergy viewed comfort-focused treatments as consistent with their faith traditions' views of a good death. They employed a moral framework to determine the appropriateness of EOL decisions, which weighs the impact of multiple factors and upholds the importance of God-given free will. They viewed EOL care choices to be the primary prerogative of patients and families. Clergy described ambivalence about and a passive approach to counseling congregants about decision making despite having defined beliefs regarding EOL care. Poor knowledge of EOL care may lead clergy to passively enable congregants with serious illness to pursue potentially nonbeneficial treatments that are associated with increased suffering.

  11. Kuhlthau’s Classic Research on the Information Search Process (ISP Provides Evidence for Information Seeking as a Constructivist Process. A review of: Kuhlthau, Carol C. “Inside the Search Process: Information Seeking from the User's Perspective.” Journal of the American Society for Information Science 42.5 (1991: 361‐71.

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    Shelagh K. Genuis

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective – To extend understanding of purposeful information seeking and to present a model of the information search process (ISP from the perspective of the user.Design – Review of theoretical foundation, summing up of qualitative and quantitative data from a series of five foundational studies, and presentation of ISP model. Setting – Summarised research was conducted primarily in high school and college environments where subjects were investigating an assigned topic. A small proportion of public libraries were used in the fifth study within the reviewed series.Subjects – The ISP model as presented in this ‘classic’ article is based on studies involving a total of 558 participants. The first study involved 26 academically advanced high school seniors, and the 2 subsequent studies involved respectively 20 and 4 of the original participants following their completion of 4 years of college. The final 2 studies involved respectively 147 high, middle and low achieving high school seniors, and 385 academic, public and school library users.Methods – This paper presents the foundation for the ISP model by reviewing the relationship between Kelly’s personal construct theory, Belkin, Brooks, and Oddy’s investigation of cognitive aspects of the constructive information seeking process, and Taylor’s work on levels of information need (“Question‐negotiation” and value‐added information (“Value added”. This is followed by a review of Kuhlthau’s five foundational studies, which investigated the common information seeking experiences of users who were seeking to expand knowledge related to a particular topic or problem. The first of these studies was a small‐scale exploration in which participants were given two assignments. Questionnaires, journaling, search logs, and reflective writing were used to collect data throughout the process of assignment completion. Data collection was augmented by case studies involving in

  12. The Role of Social Support and Social Networks in Health Information Seeking Behavior among Korean Americans

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    Kim, Wonsun

    2013-01-01

    Access to health information appears to be a crucial piece of the racial and ethnic health disparities puzzle among immigrants. There are a growing number of scholars who are investigating the role of social networks that have shown that the number and even types of social networks among minorities and lower income groups differ (Chatman, 1991;…

  13. Nativity and language preference as drivers of health information seeking: examining differences and trends from a U.S. population-based survey.

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    Massey, Philip M; Langellier, Brent A; Sentell, Tetine; Manganello, Jennifer

    2017-12-01

    To examine differences in health information seeking between U.S.-born and foreign-born populations in the U.S. Data from 2008 to 2014 from the Health Information National Trends Survey were used in this study (n = 15,249). Bivariate analyses, logistic regression, and predicted probabilities were used to examine health information seeking and sources of health information. Findings demonstrate that 59.3% of the Hispanic foreign-born population reported looking for health information, fewer than other racial/ethnic groups in the sample. Compared with non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic Black (OR = 0.62) and Hispanic foreign-born individuals (OR = 0.31) were the least likely to use the internet as a first source for health information. Adjustment for language preference explains much of the disparity in health information seeking between the Hispanic foreign-born population and Whites; controlling for nativity, respondents who prefer Spanish have 0.25 the odds of using the internet as a first source of health information compared to those who prefer English. Foreign-born nativity and language preference are significant determinants of health information seeking. Further research is needed to better understand how information seeking patterns can influence health care use, and ultimately health outcomes. To best serve diverse racial and ethnic minority populations, health care systems, health care providers, and public health professionals must provide culturally competent health information resources to strengthen access and use by vulnerable populations, and to ensure that all populations are able to benefit from evolving health information sources in the digital age.

  14. Pregnancy-related health information-seeking behaviors among rural pregnant women in India: validating the Wilson model in the Indian context.

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    Das, Ashavaree; Sarkar, Madhurima

    2014-09-01

    Understanding health information-seeking behaviors and barriers to care and access among pregnant women can potentially moderate the consistent negative associations between poverty, low levels of literacy, and negative maternal and child health outcomes in India. Our seminal study explores health information needs, health information-seeking behaviors, and perceived information support of low-income pregnant women in rural India. Using the Wilson Model of health information-seeking framework, we designed a culturally tailored guided interview to assess information-seeking behaviors and barriers to information seeking among pregnant women. We used a local informant and health care worker to recruit 14 expectant women for two focus group interviews lasting 45 minutes to an hour each. Thirteen other related individuals including husbands, mothers, mothers-in-law, and health care providers were also recruited by hospital counselors for in-depth interviews regarding their pregnant wives/daughters and daughters-in-law. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed by coding the data into thematic categories. The data were coded manually and emerging themes included pregnancy-related knowledge and misconceptions and personal, societal, and structural barriers, as well as risk perceptions and self-efficacy. Lack of access to health care and pregnancy-related health information led participants to rely heavily on information and misconceptions about pregnancy gleaned from elder women, friends, and mothers-in-law and husbands. Doctors and para-medical staff were only consulted during complications. All women faced personal, societal, and structural level barriers, including feelings of shame and embarrassment, fear of repercussion for discussing their pregnancies with their doctors, and inadequate time with their doctors. Lack of access and adequate health care information were of primary concern to pregnant women and their families. Our study can help inform policies and multi

  15. Ethnic differences in breast cancer prevention information-seeking among rural women: will provider mobile messages work?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kratzke, Cynthia; Wilson, Susan

    2014-09-01

    Although growing research supports cancer survivor information-seeking, little is known about breast cancer prevention information-seeking among women. The purpose of the study was to examine differences in breast cancer risk factor knowledge, information sources, and desired mobile messages among Hispanic and non-Hispanic rural women. Women were recruited to complete a survey at an imaging center during a mammography screening visit. A total of 156 women (mean age = 61, SD = 12.07) completed the survey. Breast cancer risk factor knowledge was significantly higher for non-Hispanic women compared to Hispanic women (p = .035). Television, magazines, and Internet were the most frequent information sources. Providers were the most frequent interpersonal information source. Nearly 87 % used cell phones and 47 % used texting. Hispanic women were more likely to desire breast cancer prevention cell voice messages (p breast cancer prevention education, and best practices to manage screening appointments.

  16. Reasons for inpatients not to seek clarity at Dr George Mukhari Academic Hospital, Pretoria

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    Langalibalele H. Mabuza

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: Healthcare practitioners should provide patients with information regarding their clinical conditions. Patients should also feel free to seek clarity on information provided. However, not all patients seek this clarity. Objectives: To explore the reasons inpatients gave for not seeking clarity on information that was received but not understood. Methods: This was a qualitative arm of a larger study, titled ‘Are inpatients aware of the admission reasons and management plans of their clinical conditions? A survey at a tertiary hospital in South Africa’, conducted in 2010. Of the 264 inpatients who participated in the larger study, we extracted the unstructured responses from those participants (n = 152 who had indicated in the questionnaire that there was information they had not understood during their encounter with healthcare practitioners, but that they had nonetheless not sought clarity.Data were analysed thematically. Results: Themes that emerged were that inpatients did not ask for clarity as they perceived healthcare practitioners to be ‘too busy’, aloof, non-communicators and sometimes uncertain about patients’ conditions. Some inpatients had unquestioning trust in healthcare practitioners,whilst others had experiences of bad treatment. Inpatients had poor self-esteem, incapacitating clinical conditions, fear of bad news and prior knowledge of their clinical conditions. Some inpatients stated that they had no reason for not seeking clarity. Conclusion: The reasons for not seeking clarity were based on patients’ experiences with the healthcare practitioners and their perceptions of the latter and of themselves. A programme should be developed in order to educate inpatients on effective communication with their healthcare practitioners.

  17. Informal networks, phones and Facebook : Information seeking and technology use by undocumented migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Newell, Bryce; Gomez, Ricardo

    2015-01-01

    Through semi-structured interviews with recently deported and other migrants and migrant aid-workers at a shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, we examine how undocumented migrants are seeking, acquiring, understanding, and using information prior to, and during, migration across the

  18. Help-Seeking and Counseling within a Traditional Male Gender Role: An Examination from a Multicultural Perspective

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    McCarthy, John; Holliday, Ebony L.

    2004-01-01

    A traditional male gender role reflects an affirmation of masculine identity associated with such qualities as success and self-reliance. This gender role is examined from a diversity perspective in counseling, because it may affect many men's help-seeking attitudes and behaviors. Suggestions from the literature are reviewed from the standpoint of…

  19. Extrinsic and Intrinsic Help-Seeking Motivation in the Assessment of Cognitive Decline.

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    Haussmann, Robert; Mayer-Pelinski, René; Borchardt, Maike; Beier, Fabrice; Helling, Franziska; Buthut, Maria; Meissner, Gisa; Lange, Jan; Zweiniger, Anne; Donix, Markus

    2018-06-01

    Diagnostic assessments for dementia include the evaluation of subjective memory impairment, dementia worries, or depressive symptoms. Data on the predictive value of these factors remain unclear, and varying help-seeking behavior may contribute to this finding. We investigate whether differentiating help-seeking motivation from other psychological factors associated with cognitive impairment would enhance the prediction of diagnostic outcomes in a memory clinic. We obtained information on help-seeking motivation from 171 patients who underwent routine diagnostic assessments. Utilizing a discriminant correspondence analysis, our results indicate that extrinsic motivation increases the likelihood of receiving a dementia diagnosis, whereas depression or the duration of deficits carries discriminatory information to further guide the differentiation of prodromal dementia. Recognizing motivational aspects of help-seeking behavior can complement the clinical evaluation of cognitive performance.

  20. Healthcare-seeking behavior, treatment delays and its determinants among pulmonary tuberculosis patients in rural Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

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    Ukwaja Kingsley N

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Nigeria ranks fourth among 22 high tuberculosis (TB burden countries. Although it reached 99% DOTS coverage in 2008, current case detection rate is 40%. Little is known about delays before the start of TB therapy and health-seeking behaviour of TB patients in rural resource-limited settings. We aimed to: 1 assess healthcare-seeking behaviour and delay in treatment of pulmonary TB patients, 2 identify the determinants of the delay in treatment of pulmonary TB. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of adult new pulmonary TB patients notified to the National Tuberculosis Control Programme (NTP by three rural (two mission/one public hospitals. Data on health-seeking and delays were collected using a standardised questionnaire. We defined patient delay as the interval (weeks between the onset of cough and the first visit to any health provider, and health system delay as the time interval (weeks between patient's first attendance to any health provider, and the onset of treatment. Total delay is the sum of both delays. Multiple linear regression models using nine exposure variables were built to identify determinants of delays. Results Of 450 patients (median age 30 years enrolled, most were males (55%, subsistent farmers (49%, rural residents (78%; and 39% had no formal education. About 84% of patients reported first consulting a non-NTP provider. For such patients, the first facilities visited after onset of symptoms were drug shops (79%, traditional healers (10%, and private hospitals (10%. The median total delay was 11 (IQR 9–16 weeks, patient delay 8 (IQR 8–12 and health system (HS delay 3 (IQR 1–4 weeks. Factors associated with increased patient delay were older age (P Conclusion Overall, TB treatment delays were high; and needs to be reduced in Nigeria. This may be achieved through improved access to care, further education of patients, engagement of informal care providers, and strengthening of existing public

  1. Information, consent and treatment of patients with Morgellons disease: an ethical perspective.

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    Söderfeldt, Ylva; Groß, Dominik

    2014-04-01

    Morgellons is a medically contested diagnosis with foremost dermatological symptoms. Patients experience fibers emerging from the skin, together with a range of other somatic, psychiatric, and neurological complaints. Within the medical community, it is generally held to be a variation of delusional parasitosis/delusional infestation, which is usually treated with antipsychotics. Little attention has been paid in the literature to the ethical aspects of treating patients with Morgellons disease. The communicative strategies suggested in the literature display significant ethical issues, primarily the use of therapeutic privilege, i.e. withholding information from the patient. Since this limits patient autonomy, that approach is ethically problematic. Instead, the physician has an ethical obligation to respect the patient's autonomy, provide full information, and seek consent before initiating a psychiatric referral.

  2. The role of dual diagnosis in health-related quality of life among treatment-seeking patients in Spain.

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    Daigre, Constanza; Grau-López, Lara; Rodríguez-Cintas, Laia; Ros-Cucurull, Elena; Sorribes-Puertas, Marta; Esculies, Oriol; Bones-Rocha, Katia; Roncero, Carlos

    2017-12-01

    The comorbidity of any substance use disorder and another mental disorder is defined as dual diagnosis. Dual diagnosis is very common and clinical and therapeutic consequences have been described. This cross-sectional study aimed to analyse health-related quality of life (HRQoL) according to clinical characteristics and psychiatric comorbidities in patients with substance dependence. A total of 1276 substance-dependent patients seeking treatment were recruited. HRQoL was evaluated by the Short-Form 36 (SF-36) questionnaire. The SCID-I, SCID-II and Conners' adult ADHD diagnostic interview were used to evaluate dual diagnosis. A visual analogue scale was used to measure craving. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were performed, and correction for multiple tests was conducted. Substance-dependent patients had impaired quality of life, especially in the mental component. SF-36 physical and mental component scores were 47.7 ± 10.9 and 36.1 ± 14.1, respectively. Furthermore, 65% of the patients had dual diagnosis, 51% had an Axis I DSM-IV-TR mental disorder and 35% had some personality disorder. Impaired physical quality of life was independently associated with medical condition, age, being female, depressive disorder and anxiety disorder. Depression disorder, any personality disorder, active consumption last month, Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorder, suicide attempt were independently associated with worse mental quality of life. These findings emphasize the significance of dual diagnosis in the impairment of HRQoL in substance-dependent patients, particularly with regard to mental component. In addicted patients with low scores on SF-36, psychiatric comorbidity should be evaluated and treated in an integrated approach.

  3. Personality traits as predictors of intentions to seek online information about STDs and HIV/AIDS among junior and senior college students in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Hung-Yi; Palmgreen, Philip C; Zimmerman, Rick S; Lane, Derek R; Alexander, Linda J

    2006-10-01

    The purpose of this cross-sectional study is to examine how personality traits such as sensation- seeking and impulsive decision-making affect Taiwanese college students' intentions to seek online information about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Five hundred thirty-five (n = 535) junior and senior college students in Taiwan were recruited and completed self-report questionnaires. This study found high sensation-seekers were more likely to seek information about STDs and HIV/AIDS on the Internet than low sensation-seekers. Impulsive decision-makers were less likely than rational decision-makers to seek information about STDs and HIV/AIDS on the Internet. These findings suggest that personality needs to be considered as an exploratory factor which potentially influences intentions to seek STD and HIV/AIDS information on the Internet among Taiwanese college students.

  4. Within the Bounds: The Role of Relocation on Intimate Partner Violence Help-Seeking for Immigrant and Native Women With Histories of Homelessness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crisafi, Denise N; Jasinski, Jana L

    2016-07-01

    Our study examines the effects of abused women's relocation and recentness to an area on informal and formal help-seeking, and how access to personal and social resources affect these relationships. Secondary data analysis was conducted using a sample of 572 women with histories of abuse and homelessness who were interviewed at shelters in the state of Florida. Findings from nested linear regressions demonstrate that relocation affects formal help-seeking while recentness to an area affects informal help-seeking. Access to personal resources also predicts women's use of both informal and formal resources. Implications for intimate partner violence help-seeking are discussed. © The Author(s) 2015.

  5. Developing the Role of a Health Information Professional in a Clinical Research Setting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Helen M. Seeley

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective ‐ This paper examines the role of a health information professional in a large multidisciplinary project to improve services for head injury.Methods ‐ An action research approach was taken, with the information professional acting as co‐ordinator. Change management processes were guided by theory and evidence. The health information professional was responsible for an ongoing literature review on knowledge management (clinical and political issues, data collection and analysis (from patient records, collating and comparing data (to help develop standards, and devising appropriate dissemination strategies.Results ‐ Important elements of the health information management role proved to be 1 co‐ordination; 2 setting up mechanisms for collaborative learning through information sharing; and 3 using the theoretical frameworks (identified from the literature review to help guide implementation. The role that emerged here has some similarities to the informationist role that stresses domain knowledge, continuous learning and working in context (embedding. This project also emphasised the importance of co‐ordination, and the ability to work across traditional library information analysis (research literature discovery and appraisal and information analysis of patient data sets (the information management role.Conclusion ‐ Experience with this project indicates that health information professionals will need to be prepared to work with patient record data and synthesis of that data, design systems to co‐ordinate patient data collection, as well as critically appraise external evidence.

  6. 7 CFR Exhibit B to Subpart F of... - Suggested Outline for Seeking Information From Lenders on Credit Criteria for Graduation of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-01

    ... 7 Agriculture 14 2010-01-01 2009-01-01 true Suggested Outline for Seeking Information From Lenders... Seeking Information From Lenders on Credit Criteria for Graduation of Single Family Housing Loans Date... (CONTINUED) PROGRAM REGULATIONS (CONTINUED) SERVICING AND COLLECTIONS Analyzing Credit Needs and Graduation...

  7. "There are too many steps before you get to where you need to be": help-seeking by patients with first-episode psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Anderson, Kelly K; Fuhrer, Rebecca; Malla, Ashok K

    2013-08-01

    There has been substantial research on pathways to care in first-episode psychosis (FEP); however, few studies have used a qualitative research paradigm or have been done from the perspective of the person experiencing the psychotic episode. We sought to describe the experiences of patients with FEP on their pathway to care and to identify factors that help or hinder help-seeking efforts. Using a qualitative descriptive approach, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 16 patients recruited from an early intervention program. Data were analyzed using content analysis to organize the findings into themes. Self-stigma and a pervasive lack of knowledge regarding the symptoms of psychosis and availability of services were barriers to help-seeking. Participants highlighted the crucial role of significant others in initiating the help-seeking process. Participants typically described a complex series of contacts along the pathway to care which resulted in feelings of being misunderstood and losing control, but many individuals identified unexpected benefits of their experience. Our findings suggest a shift in the philosophy and orientation of service delivery towards the creation of services that address these concerns and are relevant to the young people who utilize them.

  8. Tuberculosis knowledge, attitudes and health-seeking behaviour in rural Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buregyeya, E; Kulane, A; Colebunders, R; Wajja, A; Kiguli, J; Mayanja, H; Musoke, P; Pariyo, G; Mitchell, E M H

    2011-07-01

    To assess tuberculosis (TB) knowledge, attitudes and health-seeking behaviour to inform the design of communication and social mobilisation interventions. Iganga/Mayuge Demographic Surveillance Site, Uganda. Between June and July 2008, 18 focus group discussions and 12 key informant interviews were conducted, including parents of infants and adolescents and key informant interviews with community leaders, traditional healers and patients with TB. People viewed TB as contagious, but not necessarily an airborne pathogen. Popular TB aetiologies included sharing utensils, heavy labour, smoking, bewitchment and hereditary transmission. TB patients were perceived to seek care late or to avoid care. Combining care from traditional healers and the biomedical system was common. Poverty, drug stock-outs, fear of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) testing and length of TB treatment negatively affect health-seeking behaviour. Stigma and avoidance of persons with TB often reflects an assumption of HIV co-infection. The community's concerns about pill burden, quality of care, financial barriers, TB aetiology, stigma and preference for pluralistic care need to be addressed to improve early detection. Health education messages should emphasise the curability of TB, the feasibility of treatment and the engagement of traditional healers as partners in identifying cases and facilitating adherence to treatment.

  9. Explanatory Models of Illness, Help Seeking Behaviours and Related Factors in Patients with Schizophrenia: A Comparative Study from Two Different Provinces of Turkey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yalvaç, Hayriye Dilek; Mutlu, Elif Aktan; Kotan, Zeynep; Özer, İbrahim; Karslıoğlu, Ersin Hatice; Çayköylü, Ali

    2017-11-01

    This study aims to identify the help seeking behaviours of patients from two geographically distinct provinces of Turkey. A questionnaire about sociodemographic characteristics and help seeking ways was applied to 49 schizophrenia patients from Van, 99 from Ankara. The ratio of patients seeking psychiatric help at the beginning of their illness was 76% in Ankara, the capital city, in contrast to 54% in Van (p = 0.01). Twenty-two percent of patients from Ankara and 69% from Van reported that non-psychiatric help seeking was the choice of their families (p help (p = 0.002). Help seeking behaviours show regional variations. Religious help seeking behaviour is a major way of dealing with the illness. Psychoeducation is a crucial need both for patients and families.

  10. Does Seeking e-Cigarette Information Lead to Vaping? Evidence from a National Longitudinal Survey of Youth and Young Adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Qinghua; Liu, Jiaying; Lochbuehler, Kirsten; Hornik, Robert

    2017-12-13

    Youth and young adults (YYAs) are vulnerable populations for e-cigarette use or vaping. This study examined the effect of YYAs' health information seeking behavior (HISB) around e-cigarette use and vaping on their subsequent vaping behavior. We conducted a nationally representative longitudinal phone survey of 13-25 year olds from June 2014 to September 2016, with 2,413 respondents who completed a baseline and follow-up survey six months later. The results from lagged logistic regressions and mediation analyses showed a) that information seeking predicted higher likelihood of vaping six months later even after controlling for baseline smoking and vaping status, intention to vape, and demographics, and b) that information seeking partially mediated the relationship between intention to vape and subsequent vaping behavior. Theoretical and regulatory implications are discussed.

  11. Nurses' roles in informed consent in a hierarchical and communal context.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Susilo, Astrid P; Van Dalen, Jan; Scherpbier, Albert; Tanto, Sugiharto; Yuhanti, Patricia; Ekawati, Nora

    2013-06-01

    Although the main responsibility for informed consent of medical procedures rests with doctors, nurses' roles are also important, especially as patient advocates. Nurses' preparation for this role in settings with a hierarchical and communal culture has received little attention. We explored the views of hospital managers and nurses regarding the roles of nurses in informed consent and factors influencing these roles. We conducted a qualitative study in a private, multispecialty hospital in Indonesia. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven managers. Two rounds of focus group discussions with nurses (n = 27) were conducted. Constant comparative approach was used in the analysis. Nurses can act as manager, witness, information giver, and advocate in the informed consent process. These roles are influenced by nurses' preparedness, hospital culture and policy, patients' understanding, family involvement, and cost-related issues. In preparation for these tasks, nurses should acquire communication skills, clinical knowledge, and legal and ethical knowledge.

  12. Trends in Health Information-Seeking Behaviour in the U.S. Foreign-Born Population Based on the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2005-2014

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yoon, JungWon; Huang, Hong; Soojung Kim

    2017-01-01

    Introduction: This study investigated trends in the health information-seeking behaviour of the U.S. foreign-born population over a ten-year period and examined whether health information disparities between this population and native-born citizens have decreased. Method: Data were collected from six iterations of the Health Information National…

  13. Internet usage for health information by patients with epilepsy in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jianming; Liu, Zhiliang; Zhang, Zhong; Dong, Sheng; Zhen, Zhe; Man, Li; Xu, Ruxiang

    2013-11-01

    Most patients with epilepsy report a desire for more information on the disease and possible treatments than provided by clinicians. In the past two decades, many have turned to the internet for information, but this information is of variable accuracy and objectivity. We assessed the prevalence of internet use for gathering information about epilepsy and patient satisfaction in a sample of epilepsy patients in China. A cross-sectional multicenter study was conducted using a standard anonymous questionnaire that gathered demographic information and information on internet use. The reasons for using the internet, the sites visited, general satisfaction with the information provided, and impact on self-management were investigated. Of the 780 patients studied, 288 (36.9%) had internet access and 73% of these participants reported searching for general information on epilepsy, 64% for treatment information, 30% to prepare for actual hospital visits, 12% to communicate with other patients, 5% for purchasing products for epilepsy management, and 6% for other reasons. All of the participants used search engines. However, only 6% browsed websites recommended by their doctors and 96.8% thought the information gathered from other sites was inadequate. The internet holds great potential for informing epileptic patients about their disease and to seek social support. Governments, hospitals, doctors, and internet service providers must collaborate to ensure that this information is reliable and beneficial. Copyright © 2013 British Epilepsy Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. The mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment in adolescents.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nikooyeh, Elika; Zarani, Fariba; Fathabadi, Jalil

    2017-08-01

    Drawing upon a sample of 400 female high school students in Tehran, Iran, the present study examines the mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment in adolescent girls. Statistical analysis revealed positive correlations between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment; trait emotional intelligence and social skills; and social skills and school adjustment. The study also revealed a negative correlation between trait emotional intelligence and sensation seeking, as well as sensation seeking and school adjustment. In addition, the data provided a good fit to the hypothesized model of the mediating role of social skills and sensation seeking in the relationship between trait emotional intelligence and school adjustment. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. Survey of the Information-Seeking Behaviour of Hospital Professionals at a Public Cancer Hospital in Greece Proves the Value of Hospital Libraries. A Review of: Kostagiolas, P. A., Ziavrou, K., Alexias, G., & Niakas, D. (2012. Studying the information-seeking behavior of hospital professionals: The case of METAXA Cancer Hospital in Greece. Journal of Hospital Librarianship, 12(1, 33-45.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio DeRosa

    2013-06-01

    time (3.7 score on Likert scale. A lack of information services was second to the time issue with a Likert scale score of 3.6.Conclusion – Based on the research results, the authors affirmed the invaluable role of hospital libraries. The hospital library can help to eliminate the obstacles faced by healthcare professionals by providing support in the areas of weakness based on the survey results. This can be made possible through the hospital library’s involvement in educational activities, investigation of information technologies, and development of information services to accommodate the difficulties regularly experienced by hospital staff. Researchers revealed that funding for hospital libraries in Greece is an issue preventing many new initiatives, that there is no association to represent hospital libraries in Greece, that the few libraries operating in hospitals in Greece are understaffed with no administrative control, and the majority of Greek hospitals do not have adequate library facilities. These drawbacks contribute to the information-seeking challenges experienced by Greek healthcare professionals.

  16. Information Seeking Behaviours of Business Students and the Development of Academic Digital Libraries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kelli WooShue

    2006-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives ‐ To gain insight into the extent to which user information‐seeking behaviours should inform the design and development of Digital Libraries in an academic setting, a study was carried out at Dalhousie University, Canada to explore the information‐seeking behaviours of business students.Methods ‐ The students studied were drawn from the School of Business Administration at Dalhousie University, Canada. The study was based on qualitative and quantitative data collected through a survey, in‐depth semi‐structured interviews, observational study and document analysis. Qualitative case study data was coded using QSR N6 qualitative data analysis software. The data was categorized using Atkinson’s “Model of BusinessInformation Users’ Expectations” and Renda and Straccia‘s personalized collaborative DL model. Atkinson’s model defines the expectations of business students in terms of cost, time,effort required, pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Renda and Straccia’s model of a personalized and collaborative digital library centres around three concepts: actors, objects, and functionality. The survey data was analysed using the Zoomerang software.Results ‐ The study results revealed that students tend to select resources based on cost(free or for fee, accessibility, ease of use, speed of delivery (of results, and convenience. The results showed that similar to Atkinson’s findings, the business students’ information seeking behaviour is influenced by the concepts of cost‐benefit and break‐even analyses that underlie business education. Concerning speed of delivery and convenience, the organization of the resources was paramount. Students preferred user‐defined resource lists, alert services, and expert‐created business resource collections. When asked about the usefulness of potential digital library functionalities, students valued a personalized user interface and communal virtual spaces to share

  17. Physician office vs retail clinic: patient preferences in care seeking for minor illnesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ahmed, Arif; Fincham, Jack E

    2010-01-01

    Retail clinics are a relatively new phenomenon in the United States, offering cheaper and convenient alternatives to physician offices for minor illness and wellness care. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cost of care and appointment wait time on care-seeking decisions at retail clinics or physician offices. As part of a statewide random-digit-dial survey of households, adult residents of Georgia were interviewed to conduct a discrete choice experiment with 2 levels each of 4 attributes: price ($59; $75), appointment wait time (same day; 1 day or longer), care setting-clinician combination (nurse practitioner in retail clinic; physician in private office), and acute illness (urinary tract infection [UTI]; influenza). The respondents indicated whether they would seek care under each of the 16 resulting choice scenarios. A cooperation rate of 33.1% yielded 493 completed telephone interviews. The respondents preferred to seek care for both conditions; were less likely to seek care for UTI (beta = -0.149; P = .008); preferred to seek care from a physician (beta = 1.067; P clinic and $82.12 to wait 1 day or more. Time and cost savings offered by retail clinics are attractive to patients, and they are likely to seek care there given sufficient cost savings. Appointment wait time is the most important factor in care-seeking decisions and should be considered carefully in setting appointment policies in primary care practices.

  18. Factors influencing the patient with rheumatoid arthritis in their decision to seek podiatry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blake, A; Mandy, P J; Stew, G

    2013-12-01

    Despite the level of foot involvement in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and the literature to support early assessment of foot care needs, local referral of patients to podiatry has been occurring too late to instigate certain preventative interventions. Preliminary fieldwork has highlighted that the primary responsibility for the instigation of this lies with the patient. The present study describes the factors that influence the patient with RA in their decision to self-report foot problems. A case study research strategy was employed. Nine patients attending the outpatient rheumatology department participated in the study and data were gathered through semi-structured interviews. This information was analysed using a framework approach. The key themes derived from the data suggested that there are a variety of factors influencing the patient's decision to self-report foot concerns. Some will act to encourage the action and others will act to oppose it. Other factors can influence the decision either way, depending on the individual patient (psychological state, previous experience, body image changes). In addition, age, gender, and cultural and social aspects are also significant. Due to the multitude of factors influencing the individual's decision to seek help, the patient cannot be given sole responsibility for their foot health if we wish to achieve timely and appropriate podiatry, as recommended in the literature. Responsibility should be three-way; the patient, the members of the rheumatology team and, once in the podiatry service, the podiatrist should maintain this. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  19. Information seeking, technology use, and vulnerability among migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Newell, Bryce; Gomez, Ricardo; Guajardo, Veronica

    2016-01-01

    Through interviews with migrants and migrant aid-workers at a shelter in the border town of Nogales, Mexico, we examine how undocumented migrants are seeking, acquiring, understanding, and using information prior to, and during, migration across the U.S.-Mexico border. Our study examines migrants’

  20. The Prevalence of Internet and Social Media Based Medication Information Seeking Behavior in Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bahkali, Salwa; Alfurih, Suha; Aldremly, Maha; Alzayyat, Ma'an; Alsurimi, Khaled; Househ, Mowafa

    2016-01-01

    The internet has become an important resource to help people search for online medication information. This study aims to report the prevalence and profile of Saudi online medication seeking behavior. Conducted via a web-based survey with Twitter participants between January-February, 2015, the primary outcome measures were the self-reported rates of using the internet to search for medication related information. A valid sample of 4847 participants was collected over the period of the study. Out of the total participants, 68.3% (n=3311) were found to seek online medication related information frequently. Most of the social media users were female 83.5% (n=2766). The majority of respondents 63.6% (n= 3081) used Google, followed by Twitter 28.7% (n= 1392), Snapchat 21%, (n=1019), WhatsApp 13.8% (n= 670), Instagram 11.4%, (n= 553), and Facebook 5.5 % (n= 267), with few searching YouTube 1.3% (n=65) to access online medication information. Findings indicate that the Saudi population actively uses the internet and social media to obtain medication information. Further studies are needed to explore the influence of the internet and social media on user perception, attitude, and behavior with the use of online medication information.

  1. Digital multimedia books produced using iBooks Author for pre-operative surgical patient information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Briggs, Matthew; Wilkinson, Caroline; Golash, Aprajay

    2014-10-01

    Presenting patients with medical information and ensuring informed consent can be difficult due to patients with varying levels of literacy, physical and mental disabilities and spoken languages. Patients obtaining information from external sources, such as the internet, can also be problematic as the information can be irrelevant, inaccurate or misleading. A patient satisfaction study was performed in order to assess the effectiveness of using ebooks in order to communicate pre and post surgical information to neurosurgical patients. 3 digital books were produced using iBooks Author (a free desktop publishing program designed by Apple) including ACDF (anterior cervical discectomy and fusion), lumbar laminectomy and lumbar discectomy. Each book contained written information organised into sections and chapters along with an array of multimedia elements including 3D animations, interactive diagrams, 3D models of anatomy and patient experience videos. 32 volunteer patients were then presented with the digital books via an iPad during their preoperative assessment and then asked to complete a questionnaire. The results demonstrated a demand for this type of digital presentation of medical information and also showed patients no longer felt the need to seek further information from external sources.

  2. Depression and social anxiety in help-seeking patients with an ultra-high risk for developing psychosis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rietdijk, Judith; Ising, Helga K; Dragt, Sara; Klaassen, Rianne; Nieman, Dorien; Wunderink, Lex; Cuijpers, Pim; Linszen, Don; van der Gaag, Mark

    2013-10-30

    Knowledge on associations between ultra-high risk (UHR) for developing psychosis and on non-psychotic psychopathology in help-seeking populations is limited with respect to differences between male and female patients. The present study tests the hypothesis that both social anxiety and depression are highly prevalent in an UHR population, particularly among women. From February 2008 to February 2010 baseline data were collected from help-seeking subjects (14-35 years) who were included in the Dutch Early Detection and Intervention Evaluation (EDIE-NL) trial. Two recruiting strategies were used: a two-stage screening strategy in a population of consecutive help-seeking and distressed subjects of secondary mental health services, and a referral strategy. This study included 201 patients with a mean age of 22.7 years. Of these, 102 (51%) were female, 58% of the patients met the criteria for clinical depression on the Beck Depression Inventory and 42% met the criteria for clinical social phobia on the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale. Women showed more depression and social anxiety than men. The results support the hypothesis that UHR is associated with depression and social anxiety, particularly in women. Screening a help-seeking population with depression and anxiety may be effective in detecting patients at UHR for developing psychosis. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Information Seeking Behavior and Needs of Women Parliamentarians of Pakistan: A Case Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maqsood Ahmad Shaheen

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available This study probes into the information needs and seeking behavior of women parliamentarians in the 12th National Assembly of Pakistan during 2002 through 2007. It attempts to answer some of the questions raised on women’s political participation in the parliament and their information habits and needs by analyzing their preferred sources used in preparing for speeches, resolutions, bills, and laws. It also measures their information and communication technology skills. The study gauges their dependence and perception about the National Assembly Library and other sources of information available and suggests possible means by which information services to parliamentarians can be further enhanced. The findings of this study may present aspects which have never before been considered by researchers in trying to meet women parliamentarians’ information needs.

  4. Patient information in radiooncology. Results of a patient survey

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schaefer, C.; Dietl, B.; Putnik, K.; Altmann, D.; Herbst, M.; Marienhagen, J.

    2002-01-01

    Background: As a result of increased interest and public demand, providing patients with adequate information about radiooncology has become more and more difficult for the doctor. Insufficient patient information can not only cause anxiety for the patient, but can also lead to legal action against the physician. In order to gain a deeper insight into our clinical practice of providing patient information, we developed a special questionnaire. We describe our first experiences in using this questionnaire at our institute. Patients and methods: We examine the amount of information and level of satisfaction, as well as the agreement of assessment between patient and physician after the provision of standard patient information before and at the end of radiotherapy. 51 consecutive patients were interviewed with a newly designed questionnaire. The first questioning with 13 items was carried out before radiotherapy and the second with ten items was done at the end of treatment. Sum scores for information and satisfaction were defined and agreement was measured by the weighted κ coefficient. Results: Global level of information and satisfaction was good, and a significant increase in information level and a significant decline in satisfaction were seen between questionnaire 1 and 2. Agreement between patient and physician was fair, for example intent of treatment resulted in a κ coefficient of 0.34, and poor for the doctor's role with a κ coefficient of -0.002. Only 52% of the patients who received palliative radiotherapy rated correctly the non-curative intent of treatment, whereas 86% of the patients who received curative radiotherapy made a correct statement. Before radiotherapy, emotional state was often both negatively and positively assessed by the patients. Conclusion: Our short questionnaire is simple and easy to understand. It provides insights into patient information with respect to assessment of the information, satisfaction level, and agreement between

  5. Sensation Seeking in Street Violence

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Heinskou, Marie Bruvik; Liebst, Lasse Suonperä

    Sensation seeking leads to violence—runs an influential hypothesis in the social scientific study of violent behavior. Although studies confirm that violence is sometimes structured by sensation-seeking motives, the literature seldom comments on the limits to this explanation of violence....... The present study examines the scale of violence motivated by sensation seeking and the degree to which there are several distinct forms of sensation seeking motives operative in violence, rather than a sensation-seeking motive in the singular. The study draws on a sample of situations from Copenhagen...... involving street violence, which are coded quantitatively and qualitatively. Our analysis shows that sensation seeking only seldom seems to play a role in the structuring of street violence. Moreover, the data indicate that sensation seeking finds expression in street violence situations in two different...

  6. We Need Health Information Too: A Systematic Review of Studies Examining the Health Information Seeking and Communication Practices of Sexual Minority Youth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rose, India D.; Friedman, Daniela B.

    2013-01-01

    Objective: To systematically review literature focused on the health information seeking practices of sexual minority youth (SMY), those youth who identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual. The aims of this systematic

  7. A critical role of nucleus accumbens dopamine D1-family receptors in renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marchant, Nathan J; Kaganovsky, Konstantin

    2015-06-01

    In humans, places or contexts previously associated with alcohol use often provoke relapse during abstinence. This phenomenon is modeled in laboratory animals using the ABA renewal procedure, in which extinction training in context (B) suppresses alcohol seeking, and renewal of this seeking occurs when the animal returns to the original training context (A). However, extinction training does not adequately capture the motivation for abstinence in human alcoholics who typically self-initiate abstinence in response to the negative consequences of excessive use. We recently developed a procedure to study renewal in laboratory rats after abstinence imposed by negative consequences (footshock punishment). The mechanisms of renewal of punished alcohol seeking are largely unknown. Here, we used the D1-family receptor antagonist SCH 23390 to examine the role of nucleus accumbens (NAc) shell and core dopamine in renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence. We trained alcohol-preferring "P rats" to self-administer 20% alcohol in Context A and subsequently suppressed alcohol taking via response-contingent footshock punishment in Context B. We tested the effects of systemic, NAc shell, or NAc core injections of SCH 23390 on renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence. We found that both systemic and NAc shell and core injections of SCH 23390 decreased renewal of punished alcohol seeking. Our results demonstrate a critical role of NAc dopamine in renewal of alcohol seeking after punishment-imposed abstinence. We discuss these results in reference to the brain mechanisms of renewal of alcohol seeking after extinction versus punishment. (c) 2015 APA, all rights reserved).

  8. The effect of time perspectives on mental health information processing and help-seeking attitudes and intentions in younger versus older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erickson, Julie; Mackenzie, Corey S; Menec, Verena H; Bailis, Daniel S

    2017-03-01

    Socioemotional selectivity theory posits that changes in time perspective over the lifespan are associated with distinct goals and motivations. Time perspectives and their associated socioemotional motivations have been shown to influence information processing and memory, such that motivation-consistent information is more likely to be remembered and evaluated more positively. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of motivation-consistent mental health information on memory for and evaluations of this information, as well as help-seeking attitudes and intentions to seek mental health services. We randomly assigned an Internet-based sample of 160 younger (18-25) and 175 older (60-89) adults to read a mental health information pamphlet that emphasized time perspectives and motivations relevant to either young adulthood (future-focused) or late adulthood (present-focused). Participants completed measures assessing their time perspective, memory for and subjective evaluation of the pamphlet, and help-seeking attitudes and intentions. The time perspective manipulation had no effect on memory for pamphlet information or help-seeking attitudes and intentions. There was, however, a significant interaction between time perspective and pamphlet version on the rated liking of the pamphlet. Although motivation-consistent information only affected perceptions of that information for present-focused (mostly older) individuals, this finding has important implications for enhancing older adults' mental health literacy.

  9. SEEK!: creating and crowdfunding a game-based open educational resource to improve information literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew Walsh

    2014-03-01

    Full Text Available Crowdfunding was used for the development and production of an information literacy game, SEEK!, in 2012. The game aims to build skills around creating a search strategy and is deliberately generic and adaptable. This article outlines the reasons for using such a game for the teaching of information skills, the process of gaining funding via the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo and some future developments that build on the initial game creation and use.

  10. Influenza-like-illness and clinically diagnosed flu: disease burden, costs and quality of life for patients seeking ambulatory care or no professional care at all.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bilcke, Joke; Coenen, Samuel; Beutels, Philippe

    2014-01-01

    This is one of the first studies to (1) describe the out-of-hospital burden of influenza-like-illness (ILI) and clinically diagnosed flu, also for patients not seeking professional medical care, (2) assess influential background characteristics, and (3) formally compare the burden of ILI in patients with and without a clinical diagnosis of flu. A general population sample with recent ILI experience was recruited during the 2011-2012 influenza season in Belgium. Half of the 2250 respondents sought professional medical care, reported more symptoms (especially more often fever), a longer duration of illness, more use of medication (especially antibiotics) and a higher direct medical cost than patients not seeking medical care. The disease and economic burden were similar for ambulatory ILI patients, irrespective of whether they received a clinical diagnosis of flu. On average, they experienced 5-6 symptoms over a 6-day period; required 1.6 physician visits and 86-91% took medication. An average episode amounted to €51-€53 in direct medical costs, 4 days of absence from work or school and the loss of 0.005 quality-adjusted life-years. Underlying illness led to greater costs and lower quality-of-life. The costs of ILI patients with clinically diagnosed flu tended to increase, while those of ILI patients without clinically diagnosed flu tended to decrease with age. Recently vaccinated persons experienced lower costs and a higher quality-of-life, but this was only the case for patients not seeking professional medical care. This information can be used directly to evaluate the implementation of cost-effective prevention and control measures for influenza. In particular to inform the evaluation of more widespread seasonal influenza vaccination, including in children, which is currently considered by many countries.

  11. Influenza-like-illness and clinically diagnosed flu: disease burden, costs and quality of life for patients seeking ambulatory care or no professional care at all.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Joke Bilcke

    Full Text Available This is one of the first studies to (1 describe the out-of-hospital burden of influenza-like-illness (ILI and clinically diagnosed flu, also for patients not seeking professional medical care, (2 assess influential background characteristics, and (3 formally compare the burden of ILI in patients with and without a clinical diagnosis of flu. A general population sample with recent ILI experience was recruited during the 2011-2012 influenza season in Belgium. Half of the 2250 respondents sought professional medical care, reported more symptoms (especially more often fever, a longer duration of illness, more use of medication (especially antibiotics and a higher direct medical cost than patients not seeking medical care. The disease and economic burden were similar for ambulatory ILI patients, irrespective of whether they received a clinical diagnosis of flu. On average, they experienced 5-6 symptoms over a 6-day period; required 1.6 physician visits and 86-91% took medication. An average episode amounted to €51-€53 in direct medical costs, 4 days of absence from work or school and the loss of 0.005 quality-adjusted life-years. Underlying illness led to greater costs and lower quality-of-life. The costs of ILI patients with clinically diagnosed flu tended to increase, while those of ILI patients without clinically diagnosed flu tended to decrease with age. Recently vaccinated persons experienced lower costs and a higher quality-of-life, but this was only the case for patients not seeking professional medical care. This information can be used directly to evaluate the implementation of cost-effective prevention and control measures for influenza. In particular to inform the evaluation of more widespread seasonal influenza vaccination, including in children, which is currently considered by many countries.

  12. Association between seeking oral health information online and knowledge in adults with spinal cord injury: A pilot study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuen, Hon K.; Azuero, Andres; London, Steven

    2011-01-01

    Objective To characterize adults with spinal cord injury (SCI) who seek oral health information online, and investigate whether seeking oral health information online is associated with oral health knowledge and behaviors. Methods An online oral health survey was posted on the South Carolina Spinal Cord Injury Association website. Respondents were 192 adult residents of the US ages 19–83 years who identified themselves as having SCI occurring at least 1 year before the survey date. Results About 12% (n = 23) of the respondents searched oral health information online in the past 12 months. Significant associations between the proportion of respondents who searched for oral health information online and socio-demographic and the proportion of respondents who engaged in various oral health behaviors were not detected. However, multivariable logistic regression indicated that respondents who searched oral health information online in the past 12 months have 3.4 times the odds of possessing adequate oral health knowledge compared to respondents who did not search oral health information online (adjusted odds ratio = 3.41, 95% confidence interval = 1.35, 8.62, P = 0.01). Conclusions Given the significant association between seeking oral health information online and adequate oral health knowledge, this study suggests that online oral health information may be a potential avenue for dental health professionals to supplement oral health education in adults with SCI. PMID:21903017

  13. Configural frequency analysis as a method of determining patients' preferred decision-making roles in dialysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Loeffert Sabine

    2010-09-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Numerous studies examined factors in promoting a patient preference for active participation in treatment decision making with only modest success. The purpose of this study was to identify types of patients wishing to participate in treatment decisions as well as those wishing to play a completely active or passive role based on a Germany-wide survey of dialysis patients; using a prediction typal analysis method that defines types as configurations of categories belonging to different attributes and takes particularly higher order interactions between variables into account. Methods After randomly splitting the original patient sample into two halves, an exploratory prediction configural frequency analysis (CFA was performed on one-half of the sample (n = 1969 and the identified types were considered as hypotheses for an inferential prediction CFA for the second half (n = 1914. 144 possible prediction types were tested by using five predictor variables and control preferences as criterion. An α-adjustment (0.05 for multiple testing was performed by the Holm procedure. Results 21 possible prediction types were identified as hypotheses in the exploratory prediction CFA; four patient types were confirmed in the confirmatory prediction CFA: patients preferring a passive role show low information seeking preference, above average trust in their physician, perceive their physician's participatory decision-making (PDM-style positive, have a lower educational level, and are 56-75 years old (Type 1; p 76 years old (Type 2; p p p Conclusions The method prediction configural frequency analysis was newly introduced to the research field of patient participation and could demonstrate how a particular control preference role is determined by an association of five variables.

  14. Exploring determinants of care-seeking behaviour of oral cancer patients in India: A qualitative content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rath, Hemamalini; Shah, Swikant; Sharma, Gaurav; Mishra, Ekagrata

    2018-04-01

    A major public health concern in India is the high morbidity and mortality rates of oral cancer because of late diagnosis. Among the several determinants of this late diagnosis, the most important is the healthcare-seeking behaviour of the oral cancer patients. The aim of this study was to explore the care-seeking behaviour and its determinants among oral cancer patients. A face-to-face in-depth interview was conducted among 70 oral cancer patients using a semi-structured questionnaire, and qualitative content analysis of the results was performed. All the patients had squamous-cell carcinoma and none had attended any screening programme. The most common site affected was the buccal mucosa with a non-healing wound. Most of the patients contacted a doctor available nearby; only 7% of patients consulted a dentist. Only one patient approached a traditional healer. The median patient delay was 30 (4-365) days and the professional delay was 40 (4-650) days. Enablers included determinants such as increasing symptoms (80%), influence of the society (74%), fear (10%), and social media (3%). The main barriers were lack of awareness (97%), hope that the lesion will heal spontaneously (90%), lack of perception of seriousness (64%), financial constraints (55%), provider switching (47%), and missed diagnosis (44%). The care-seeking path among oral cancer patients is complex, customised, and influenced by multiple patient-related and system-related factors. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  15. Role of the agranular insular cortex in contextual control over cocaine-seeking behavior in rats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arguello, Amy A; Wang, Rong; Lyons, Carey M; Higginbotham, Jessica A; Hodges, Matthew A; Fuchs, Rita A

    2017-08-01

    Environmental stimulus control over drug relapse requires the retrieval of context-response-cocaine associations, maintained in long-term memory through active reconsolidation processes. Identifying the neural substrates of these phenomena is important from a drug addiction treatment perspective. The present study evaluated whether the agranular insular cortex (AI) plays a role in drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior and cocaine memory reconsolidation. Rats were trained to lever press for cocaine infusions in a distinctive context, followed by extinction training in a different context. Rats in experiment 1 received bilateral microinfusions of vehicle or a GABA agonist cocktail (baclofen and muscimol (BM)) into the AI or the overlying somatosensory cortex (SSJ, anatomical control region) immediately before a test of drug-seeking behavior (i.e., non-reinforced lever presses) in the previously cocaine-paired context. The effects of these manipulations on locomotor activity were also assessed in a novel context. Rats in experiment 2 received vehicle or BM into the AI after a 15-min reexposure to the cocaine-paired context, intended to reactivate context-response-cocaine memories and initiate their reconsolidation. The effects of these manipulations on drug context-induced cocaine-seeking behavior were assessed 72 h later. BM-induced pharmacological inactivation of the AI, but not the SSJ, attenuated drug context-induced reinstatement of cocaine-seeking behavior without altering locomotor activity. Conversely, AI inactivation after memory reactivation failed to impair subsequent drug-seeking behavior and thus cocaine memory reconsolidation. These findings suggest that the AI is a critical element of the neural circuitry that mediates contextual control over cocaine-seeking behavior.

  16. Thrill and adventure seeking in risky driving at work: The moderating role of safety climate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wishart, Darren; Somoray, Klaire; Evenhuis, Amanda

    2017-12-01

    Introduction Within many industrialized countries, the leading cause of worker fatalities and serious injuries can be attributed to road trauma. In non-occupational research, high levels of sensation seeking personality, and specifically thrill and adventure seeking, have been associated with risky driving behaviors. In work driving literature, high organizational safety climate has been associated with reduced risky driving in work drivers. However, the extent that factors such as safety climate and thrill seeking interact in regard to work driving safety remains unclear, and the current research examined this interaction. Methods A total of 1,011 work drivers from four organizations participated in the research. Surveys were distributed online and hardcopies were sent via mail. The survey included measures of thrill and adventure seeking, safety climate and work-related driving behaviors, as well as questions relating to participant demographics and information about their work driving. Results The results demonstrated that safety climate significantly moderated the effect of thrill and adventure seeking trait on driving errors, driving violations, and driving while fatigued. Conclusion These results suggest that the development of a strong safety climate has the potential to improve work driving safety outcomes by reducing the impact of particular personality traits such as thrill seeking within an organizational context. Practical application To improve work driving safety, organizations and management need to develop strategies to encourage and foster positive work driving safety climate, particularly within work settings that may attract thrill and adventure seeking employees. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  17. [Internet as a source of information about infertility among infertile patients].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Talarczyk, Joanna; Hauke, Jan; Poniewaz, Marta; Serdyńska-Szuster, Monika; Pawelczyk, Leszek; Jedrzejczak, Piotr

    2012-04-01

    Around one million couples in Poland suffer from infertility People in reproductive age are most active Internet users. The aim of the study was to assess Internet habits of infertile patients. We checked to what extent infertile patients seek information about infertility on-line and what is their approach to the information found. 85 female patients treated for infertility for at least one year were surveyed. The anonymous questionnaire was designed by the authors of the publication. It consisted of questions related to medical history of the patients and sources of information about infertility they used. It also checked Internet activity of the patients and contained Beck's Depression Inventory (BDI). Chi-square test and Spearman's correlation test were used to evaluate the results. The majority of patients used Internet to find information about infertility (93%); 46% of the respondent declared Internet forums to be their main source of information about it. Patients used on-line sources of information more often than stricte medical sources. Internet influenced their relation with the physician. 64% of patients verified on-line information and treatment proposed by their doctor before using them. One third of the surveyed women claimed their knowledge about infertility comes more from the Internet than the specialist who treated them. There was a positive correlation between patients who checked diagnostic or therapeutic methods proposed by their physician with depression in BDI. Considering the great impact of Internet forums and web pages on patient approach to diagnostics and treatment of infertility there seems to be a need to create a professional Polish website and forum to provide the patients with reliable information about the disease.

  18. Seeking Information after the 2010 Haiti Earthquake: A Case Study in Mass-Fatality Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Kailash

    2013-01-01

    The 2010 earthquake in Haiti, which killed an estimated 316,000 people, offered many lessons in mass-fatality management (MFM). The dissertation defined MFM in seeking information and in recovery, preservation, identification, and disposition of human remains. Specifically, it examined how mass fatalities were managed in Haiti, how affected…

  19. A Comparison of Treatment-Seeking Behavioral Addiction Patients with and without Parkinson’s Disease

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sauvaget, Anne; Jiménez-Murcia, Susana; Fernández-Aranda, Fernando; Granero, Roser; Grall-Bronnec, Marie; Victorri-Vigneau, Caroline; Bulteau, Samuel; Derkinderen, Pascal; Vanelle, Jean M.; Hakansson, Anders; Mestre-Bach, Gemma; Steward, Trevor; Menchón, José M.

    2017-01-01

    The administration of dopaminergic medication to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is associated with addictive behaviors and impulse control disorders. Little is known, however, on how PD patients differ from other patients seeking treatments for behavioral addictions. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of behavioral addiction patients with and without PD. N = 2,460 treatment-seeking men diagnosed with a behavioral addiction were recruited from a university hospital. Sociodemographic, impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11)], and personality [Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R)] measures were taken upon admission to outpatient treatment. Patients in the PD group were older and had a higher prevalence of mood disorders than patients without PD. In terms of personality characteristics and impulsivity traits, PD patients appeared to present a more functional profile than PD-free patients with a behavioral addiction. Our results suggest that PD patients with a behavioral addiction could be more difficult to detect than their PD-free counterparts in behavioral addiction clinical setting due to their reduced levels of impulsivity and more standard personality traits. As a whole, this suggests that PD patients with a behavioral addiction may have different needs from PD-free behavioral addiction patients and that they could potentially benefit from targeted interventions. PMID:29163234

  20. The Relationship between Learning Styles and Information Seeking Behavior in Master Degree Students of Medical Sciences in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Parsaeian

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Introduction: Learning styles influence the methods and ways of obtaining information and lead to the variety of information seeking behaviors from the searchers. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between learning styles and information seeking behavior in master degree students of medical science in Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd. Methods: This study was a cross-sectional analytic study. The population of the study was 601 master degree students of Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences in Yazd in 2013-2015. They were all freshmen. The sample size of 234 students was determined using Cochran formula. Data were collected by two questionnaires (Kolb questionnaire and researcher-made seeking behavior questionnaire. The validity of questionnaires was confirmed by a panel of experts and their reliability was confirmed by Cronbach`s alpha. Data analysis was done by inferential statistics and statistical software SPSS (version 18. Measuring the significant relationship between learning styles and information seeking behavior was done with Pierson correlation coefficient. The significant difference between learning styles and information seeking behavior in terms of gender and faculty was examined by Fisher`s test. Results: Learning styles had effect on information seeking behavior; also correlation coefficients between the learning styles and information seeking behavior had significant difference, but there was no difference in terms of faculty. Conclution: Recognition of learning styles and including it into designing of information systems may increase system`s interactivity that it may lead to have better and faster accessibility to information resources.

  1. Roles of Perceived Sexist Events and Perceived Social Support in the Mental Health of Women Seeking Counseling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moradi, Bonnie; Funderburk, Jamie R.

    2006-01-01

    The authors of the present study contribute to research on the role of sexist events in women's mental health by examining the sexism-distress relation (a) with a sample of women who are seeking mental health services and (b) in the context of the additional roles of perceived social support in positive self-appraisal (i.e., empowerment and…

  2. Reaching rural women: breast cancer prevention information seeking behaviors and interest in Internet, cell phone, and text use.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kratzke, Cynthia; Wilson, Susan; Vilchis, Hugo

    2013-02-01

    The purpose of this study was to examine the breast cancer prevention information seeking behaviors among rural women, the prevalence of Internet, cell, and text use, and interest to receive breast cancer prevention information cell and text messages. While growing literature for breast cancer information sources supports the use of the Internet, little is known about breast cancer prevention information seeking behaviors among rural women and mobile technology. Using a cross-sectional study design, data were collected using a survey. McGuire's Input-Ouput Model was used as the framework. Self-reported data were obtained from a convenience sample of 157 women with a mean age of 60 (SD = 12.12) at a rural New Mexico imaging center. Common interpersonal information sources were doctors, nurses, and friends and common channel information sources were television, magazines, and Internet. Overall, 87% used cell phones, 20% had an interest to receive cell phone breast cancer prevention messages, 47% used text messaging, 36% had an interest to receive text breast cancer prevention messages, and 37% had an interest to receive mammogram reminder text messages. Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences between age, income, and race/ethnicity and use of cell phones or text messaging. There were no differences between age and receiving text messages or text mammogram reminders. Assessment of health information seeking behaviors is important for community health educators to target populations for program development. Future research may identify additional socio-cultural differences.

  3. Impulsivity but not sensation seeking is associated with opioid analgesic misuse risk in patients with chronic pain.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marino, Elise N; Rosen, Kristen D; Gutierrez, Antonio; Eckmann, Maxim; Ramamurthy, Somayaji; Potter, Jennifer Sharpe

    2013-05-01

    Impulsivity and sensation seeking have been associated with substance use disorders, including opioid use disorders. This pilot study sought to examine whether impulsivity and sensation seeking, as measured by the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) and Sensation Seeking Scale (SSS), were associated with opioid analgesic misuse risk in chronic, low-back pain patients prescribed opioid analgesics. Participants were 42 chronic, low-back pain patients enrolled in a larger study examining problematic opioid analgesic use. Impulsivity was assessed using the BIS, sensation seeking was measured using the SSS, and opioid analgesic misuse risk was assessed using the Current Opioid Misuse Measure (COMM). Significant bivariate associations were found between the COMM and the following predictor variables: age and the three BIS subscales: Attentional Impulsiveness, Non-planning Impulsiveness, and Motor Impulsiveness. Using a multivariate linear regression, after controlling for age, the BIS subscales accounted for 29.0% of the variance in the COMM. Attentional Impulsiveness was the only significant BIS subscale. These results suggest a potential relationship between impulsivity, but not sensation seeking, and risk for opioid analgesic misuse. Impulsivity is not a prominent trait observed in chronic pain patients; however, it may be an important risk factor for opioid analgesic misuse for a subset of individuals with chronic pain. As such, these findings suggest that additional exploration of this potential risk factor is warranted. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  4. Factors related to cancer information scanning and seeking behavior among high school students in Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kye, Su Yeon; Yun, E Hwa; Park, Keeho

    2012-01-01

    This paper aimed to determine the relationship between cancer information scanning and seeking experience of adolescents and cancer preventive behavior, perceived cancer risk, and levels of cancer- related knowledge. The study sample comprised 1,000 second-year students from 6 high schools: the general and vocational school systems were each represented by 1 boys', 1 girls', and 1 coeducational high school. In July 2011, trained researchers visited each classroom, explained the purpose of the study, distributed questionnaires to the students who agreed to participate, instructed them to complete the survey by self-reporting, and collected the completed questionnaires. The students who attended general high schools (as compared with vocational high schools), earned higher grades, consumed more vegetables, had a higher perceived cancer risk, and answered the cancer-related questions more correctly and had more cancer information scanning and seeking experience. These results reinforce the importance of cancer prevention health education. Furthermore, the results may help in preparing a strategy that enables people to acquire accurate cancer-related information easily and quickly.

  5. Patients' and Surgeons' Perceptions of Social Media's Role in the Decision Making for Primary Aesthetic Breast Augmentation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Montemurro, Paolo; Cheema, Mubashir; Hedén, Per

    2018-02-09

    Social media (SoMe) has evolved to be a platform that patients use to seek information prior to an operation, share perioperative and postoperative journey, provide feedback, offer and receive support. While there have been studies looking at the evolution and usage of SoMe either by patients or by surgeons, there is no information that compares its usefulness for both the groups. The aim of this study was to compare the view held by patients and surgeons, towards social media and other internet resources, in relation to one commonly performed operation. A questionnaire was presented to 648 consecutive patients who attended our clinic for consultation for primary breast augmentation from September 2016 to March 2017. A separate "surgeons' questionnaire" was answered by a group of 138 plastic surgeons who either worked in our clinic, had previously done fellowship with us or were visiting the clinic. All 138 surgeons and 648 patients responded to the questionnaire. 91.4% of patients said that they had searched online and 61.4% had searched in specific online groups for information on breast augmentation. 88.9% of patients had specifically looked for clinical photographs and 73.4% had specifically searched for unfavorable reviews of the surgeon. In comparison, 72.5% of surgeons thought that over three quarters of patients gather information on the internet while only 20.3% thought that over three-quarters of patients use social media for their information. 52.5% of surgeons have noticed that social media affected their consultations. With the evolution of Internet and related technologies, the role of social media continues to increase. While patients use social media to help make their decision, it is not the only deciding factor. Surgeons appear to underestimate the patients' use of these technologies. There is concern in each group about the amount of inaccurate information on the social media. This underlines the importance of providing factual, evidence

  6. Role of Information Anxiety and Information Load on Processing of Prescription Drug Information Leaflets.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bapat, Shweta S; Patel, Harshali K; Sansgiry, Sujit S

    2017-10-16

    In this study, we evaluate the role of information anxiety and information load on the intention to read information from prescription drug information leaflets (PILs). These PILs were developed based on the principals of information load and consumer information processing. This was an experimental prospective repeated measures study conducted in the United States where 360 (62% response rate) university students (>18 years old) participated. Participants were presented with a scenario followed by exposure to the three drug product information sources used to operationalize information load. The three sources were: (i) current practice; (ii) pre-existing one-page text only; and (iii) interventional one-page prototype PILs designed for the study. Information anxiety was measured as anxiety experienced by the individual when encountering information. The outcome variable of intention to read PILs was defined as the likelihood that the patient will read the information provided in the leaflets. A survey questionnaire was used to capture the data and the objectives were analyzed by performing a repeated measures MANOVA using SAS version 9.3. When compared to current practice and one-page text only leaflets, one-page PILs had significantly lower scores on information anxiety ( p information load ( p Information anxiety and information load significantly impacted intention to read ( p < 0.001). Newly developed PILs increased patient's intention to read and can help in improving the counseling services provided by pharmacists.

  7. Information Seeking in Uncertainty Management Theory: Exposure to Information About Medical Uncertainty and Information-Processing Orientation as Predictors of Uncertainty Management Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rains, Stephen A; Tukachinsky, Riva

    2015-01-01

    Uncertainty management theory outlines the processes through which individuals cope with health-related uncertainty. Information seeking has been frequently documented as an important uncertainty management strategy. The reported study investigates exposure to specific types of medical information during a search, and one's information-processing orientation as predictors of successful uncertainty management (i.e., a reduction in the discrepancy between the level of uncertainty one feels and the level one desires). A lab study was conducted in which participants were primed to feel more or less certain about skin cancer and then were allowed to search the World Wide Web for skin cancer information. Participants' search behavior was recorded and content analyzed. The results indicate that exposure to two health communication constructs that pervade medical forms of uncertainty (i.e., severity and susceptibility) and information-processing orientation predicted uncertainty management success.

  8. Unravelling the spirits’ message: a study of help-seeking steps and explanatory models among patients suffering from spirit possession in Uganda

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    As in many cultures, also in Uganda spirit possession is a common idiom of distress associated with traumatic experiences. In the DSM-IV and -5, possession trance disorders can be classified as dissociative disorders. Dissociation in Western countries is associated with complicated, time-consuming and costly therapies. Patients with spirit possession in SW Uganda, however, often report partial or full recovery after treatment by traditional healers. The aim of this study is to explore how the development of symptoms concomitant help-seeking steps, and explanatory models (EM) eventually contributed to healing of patients with spirit possession in SW Uganda. Illness narratives of 119 patients with spirit possession referred by traditional healers were analysed using a mixed-method approach. Treatments of two-thirds of the patients were unsuccessful when first seeking help in the medical sector. Their initially physical symptoms subsequently developed into dissociative possession symptoms. After an average of two help-seeking steps, patients reached a healing place where 99% of them found satisfactory EM and effective healing. During healing sessions, possessing agents were summoned to identify themselves and underlying problems were addressed. Often-mentioned explanations were the following: neglect of rituals and of responsibilities towards relatives and inheritance, the call to become a healer, witchcraft, grief, and land conflicts. The results demonstrate that traditional healing processes of spirit possession can play a role in restoring connections with the supra-, inter-, intra-, and extra-human worlds. It does not always seem necessary to address individual traumatic experiences per se, which is in line with other research in this field. The study leads to additional perspectives on treatment of trauma-related dissociation in Western countries and on developing effective mental health services in low -and middle-income countries. PMID:24940355

  9. Unravelling the spirits' message: a study of help-seeking steps and explanatory models among patients suffering from spirit possession in Uganda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Duijl, Marjolein; Kleijn, Wim; de Jong, Joop

    2014-01-01

    As in many cultures, also in Uganda spirit possession is a common idiom of distress associated with traumatic experiences. In the DSM-IV and -5, possession trance disorders can be classified as dissociative disorders. Dissociation in Western countries is associated with complicated, time-consuming and costly therapies. Patients with spirit possession in SW Uganda, however, often report partial or full recovery after treatment by traditional healers. The aim of this study is to explore how the development of symptoms concomitant help-seeking steps, and explanatory models (EM) eventually contributed to healing of patients with spirit possession in SW Uganda. Illness narratives of 119 patients with spirit possession referred by traditional healers were analysed using a mixed-method approach. Treatments of two-thirds of the patients were unsuccessful when first seeking help in the medical sector. Their initially physical symptoms subsequently developed into dissociative possession symptoms. After an average of two help-seeking steps, patients reached a healing place where 99% of them found satisfactory EM and effective healing. During healing sessions, possessing agents were summoned to identify themselves and underlying problems were addressed. Often-mentioned explanations were the following: neglect of rituals and of responsibilities towards relatives and inheritance, the call to become a healer, witchcraft, grief, and land conflicts. The results demonstrate that traditional healing processes of spirit possession can play a role in restoring connections with the supra-, inter-, intra-, and extra-human worlds. It does not always seem necessary to address individual traumatic experiences per se, which is in line with other research in this field. The study leads to additional perspectives on treatment of trauma-related dissociation in Western countries and on developing effective mental health services in low -and middle-income countries.

  10. Information Needs in a Community of Reading Specialists: What Information Needs Say about Contextual Frameworks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normore, Lorraine

    2011-01-01

    Introduction: The perceived information needs of teachers who specialize in reading instruction for at-risk first graders were studied and related to frameworks for the role of social context in information needs, seeking and use. The frameworks considered were: disciplinarity, role theory in work settings, small worlds and information grounds and…

  11. Breast cancer prevention information seeking behavior and interest on cell phone and text use: a cross-sectional study in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Akhtari-Zavare, Mehrnoosh; Ghanbari-Baghestan, Abbas; Latiff, Latiffah A; Khaniki, Hadi

    2015-01-01

    Breast cancer is the most common cancer and the second principal cause of cancer deaths among women worldwide, including Malaysia. This study focused on media choice and attempted to determine the communication channels mostly used and preferred by women in seeking information and knowledge about breast cancer. A cross sectional study was carried out to examine the breast cancer prevention information seeking behavior among 450 students at one private university in Malaysia. The mean age of respondents was 25±4.3 years. Common interpersonal information sources were doctors, friends, and nurses and common channel information sources were television, brochure, and internet. Overall, 89.9% used cell phones, 46.1% had an interest in receiving cell phone breast cancer prevention messages, 73.9% used text messaging, and 36.7% had an interest in receiving text breast cancer prevention messages. Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences among age, eduation, nationality and use of cell phones. Assessment of health information seeking behavior is important for community health educators to target populations for program development.

  12. Can prospect theory explain risk-seeking behavior by terminally ill patients?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasiel, Emma B; Weinfurt, Kevin P; Schulman, Kevin A

    2005-01-01

    Patients with life-threatening conditions sometimes appear to make risky treatment decisions as their condition declines, contradicting the risk-averse behavior predicted by expected utility theory. Prospect theory accommodates such decisions by describing how individuals evaluate outcomes relative to a reference point and how they exhibit risk-seeking behavior over losses relative to that point. The authors show that a patient's reference point for his or her health is a key factor in determining which treatment option the patient selects, and they examine under what circumstances the more risky option is selected. The authors argue that patients' reference points may take time to adjust following a change in diagnosis, with implications for predicting under what circumstances a patient may select experimental or conventional therapies or select no treatment.

  13. Clinical information seeking in traumatic brain injury: a survey of Veterans Health Administration polytrauma care team members.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hogan, Timothy; Martinez, Rachael; Evans, Charlesnika; Saban, Karen; Proescher, Eric; Steiner, Monica; Smith, Bridget

    2018-03-01

    The polytraumatic nature of traumatic brain injury (TBI) makes diagnosis and treatment difficult. To (1) characterise information needs among Veterans Health Administration (VHA) polytrauma care team members engaged in the diagnosis and treatment of TBI; (2) identify sources used for TBI related information; and (3) identify barriers to accessing TBI related information. Cross-sectional online survey of 236 VHA polytrauma care team members. Most respondents (95.8%) keep at least somewhat current regarding TBI, but 31.5% need more knowledge on diagnosing TBI and 51.3% need more knowledge on treating TBI. Respondents use VHA affiliated sources for information, including local colleagues (81.7%), VHA offsite conferences/meetings (78.3%) and onsite VHA educational offerings (73.6%); however, limited time due to administrative responsibilities (50.9%), limited financial resources (50.4%) and patient care (50.4%) were prominent barriers. Medical librarians are in a unique position to develop information services, resources and other electronic tools that reflect the clinical context in which polytrauma care team members practice, and the different tasks they perform. Polytrauma care team members could benefit from additional information regarding the diagnosis and treatment of TBI. Addressing their information needs and supporting their information seeking requires a mulit-pronged approach to time and financial constraints. Published 2017. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.

  14. Self-Perceived Information Seeking Skills and Self-Esteem in Adolescents by Race and Gender

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simpson-Scott, Lynne

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to explore the correlation between self-perceived information seeking skills and self-esteem in adolescents and, further, to determine whether this correlation varied according to race and gender. Tenth-grade students from three public high schools in a Midwestern city were given two instruments. Self-perceived…

  15. Information Seeking Behaviour of Undergraduates in a Nigerian ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    role in our daily professional and personal lives and we are constantly challenged to take ... and academic librarian deliver standard services which will improve the academic .... quality of content in selecting an information source or channel.

  16. Literature Suggests Information Professionals Have Adopted New Roles

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin E. Miller

    2017-03-01

    , skills, competencies, or something else? How information professionals describe their work is a useful inquiry. As a survey of articles about the work information professionals do, this research may inform hiring managers or other librarians who seek to redefine existing roles or create new roles to fill needs within their libraries. This research could be expanded to include trade and grey literature. Practical applications of this research would be enhanced with refined search terms and terminology that distinguishes between librarian position titles, responsibilities, and competencies.

  17. Health care seeking practices of caregivers of children under 5 with diarrhea in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukiira, Carol; Ibisomi, Latifat

    2015-06-01

    In Kenya, as in other developing countries, diarrhea is among the leading causes of child mortality. Despite being easy to prevent and treat, care seeking for major child illnesses including diarrhea remains poor in the country. Mortality due to diarrhea is even worse in informal settlements that are characterized by poor sanitary conditions and largely unregulated health care system among other issues. The study aims to examine the health care seeking practices of caregivers of children under 5 with diarrhea in two informal settlements in Nairobi, Kenya. The article used data from a maternal and child health (MCH) prospective study conducted between 2006 and 2010. Results show that more than half (55%) of the caregivers sought inappropriate health care in the treatment of diarrhea of their child. Of the 55%, about 35% sought no care at all. Use of oral rehydration solution and zinc supplements, which are widely recommended for management of diarrhea, was very low. The critical predictors of health care seeking identified in the study are duration of illness, informal settlement of residence, and the child's age. The study showed that appropriate health care seeking practices for childhood diarrhea remain a great challenge among the urban poor in Kenya. © The Author(s) 2013.

  18. Junior physician's use of Web 2.0 for information seeking and medical education: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, Benjamin; Joshi, Indra; Lemonde, Hugh; Wareham, Jonathan

    2009-10-01

    Web 2.0 internet tools and methods have attracted considerable attention as a means to improve health care delivery. Despite evidence demonstrating their use by medical professionals, there is no detailed research describing how Web 2.0 influences physicians' daily clinical practice. Hence this study examines Web 2.0 use by 35 junior physicians in clinical settings to further understand their impact on medical practice. Diaries and interviews encompassing 177 days of internet use or 444 search incidents, analyzed via thematic analysis. Results indicate that 53% of internet visits employed user-generated or Web 2.0 content, with Google and Wikipedia used by 80% and 70% of physicians, respectively. Despite awareness of information credibility risks with Web 2.0 content, it has a role in information seeking for both clinical decisions and medical education. This is enabled by the ability to cross check information and the diverse needs for background and non-verified information. Web 2.0 use represents a profound departure from previous learning and decision processes which were normally controlled by senior medical staff or medical schools. There is widespread concern with the risk of poor quality information with Web 2.0 use, and the manner in which physicians are using it suggest effective use derives from the mitigating actions by the individual physician. Three alternative policy options are identified to manage this risk and improve efficiency in Web 2.0's use.

  19. Predicting Cancer Information Seeking Behaviors of Smokers, Former Smokers and Nonsmokers Using the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Suekyung

    2013-01-01

    Cancer can be one of the most serious diseases that can result in a costly reduction in the quality of life. Among a number of cancer risk factors, tobacco use has been identified as the leading preventable cause of deaths. Prior research has suggested that cancer information seeking may be a pre-step to adopt health protective behaviors that can…

  20. A Comparison of Treatment-Seeking Behavioral Addiction Patients with and without Parkinson’s Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne Sauvaget

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available The administration of dopaminergic medication to treat the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (PD is associated with addictive behaviors and impulse control disorders. Little is known, however, on how PD patients differ from other patients seeking treatments for behavioral addictions. The aim of this study was to compare the characteristics of behavioral addiction patients with and without PD. N = 2,460 treatment-seeking men diagnosed with a behavioral addiction were recruited from a university hospital. Sociodemographic, impulsivity [Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11], and personality [Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised (TCI-R] measures were taken upon admission to outpatient treatment. Patients in the PD group were older and had a higher prevalence of mood disorders than patients without PD. In terms of personality characteristics and impulsivity traits, PD patients appeared to present a more functional profile than PD-free patients with a behavioral addiction. Our results suggest that PD patients with a behavioral addiction could be more difficult to detect than their PD-free counterparts in behavioral addiction clinical setting due to their reduced levels of impulsivity and more standard personality traits. As a whole, this suggests that PD patients with a behavioral addiction may have different needs from PD-free behavioral addiction patients and that they could potentially benefit from targeted interventions.

  1. Exploring the Feasibility of Information Communication Technologies in the Context of Academic Help Seeking

    Science.gov (United States)

    Linney, Jeffrey S.

    2017-01-01

    This study sought to investigate whether the popularity of Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) would impact the behavioral intention (BI) to use of these technologies to aid in the task of academic help-seeking (AHS). Out of the ICTs available today, the most popular is text-messaging, especially among a sizable percentage of the college…

  2. 78 FR 1266 - Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Extend a Current Information Collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-01-08

    ... the World Wide Web. The survey is a fully automated Web data collection effort and is handled... NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION Notice of Intent To Seek Approval To Extend a Current Information Collection AGENCY: National Science Foundation. ACTION: Notice and request for comments. SUMMARY: The...

  3. E-Learning in Universities: Supporting Help-Seeking Processes by Instructional Prompts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schworm, Silke; Gruber, Hans

    2012-01-01

    University students are more responsible than school students for their own learning. The role of self-regulated learning increases in virtual e-learning course environments. Academic help-seeking is an important strategy of self-regulated learning, but many students fail to use this strategy appropriately. A lack of information and a perceived…

  4. Health Information-Seeking Patterns of the General Public and Indications for Disease Surveillance: Register-Based Study Using Lyme Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pesälä, Samuli; Virtanen, Mikko J; Sane, Jussi; Mustonen, Pekka; Kaila, Minna; Helve, Otto

    2017-11-06

    People using the Internet to find information on health issues, such as specific diseases, usually start their search from a general search engine, for example, Google. Internet searches such as these may yield results and data of questionable quality and reliability. Health Library is a free-of-charge medical portal on the Internet providing medical information for the general public. Physician's Databases, an Internet evidence-based medicine source, provides medical information for health care professionals (HCPs) to support their clinical practice. Both databases are available throughout Finland, but the latter is used only by health professionals and pharmacies. Little is known about how the general public seeks medical information from medical sources on the Internet, how this behavior differs from HCPs' queries, and what causes possible differences in behavior. The aim of our study was to evaluate how the general public's and HCPs' information-seeking trends from Internet medical databases differ seasonally and temporally. In addition, we aimed to evaluate whether the general public's information-seeking trends could be utilized for disease surveillance and whether media coverage could affect these seeking trends. Lyme disease, serving as a well-defined disease model with distinct seasonal variation, was chosen as a case study. Two Internet medical databases, Health Library and Physician's Databases, were used. We compared the general public's article openings on Lyme disease from Health Library to HCPs' article openings on Lyme disease from Physician's Databases seasonally across Finland from 2011 to 2015. Additionally, media publications related to Lyme disease were searched from the largest and most popular media websites in Finland. Both databases, Health Library and Physician's Databases, show visually similar patterns in temporal variations of article openings on Lyme disease in Finland from 2011 to 2015. However, Health Library openings show not only

  5. Toward a Better Understanding of Patient Health Literacy: A Focus on the Skills Patients Need to Find Health Information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champlin, Sara; Mackert, Michael; Glowacki, Elizabeth M; Donovan, Erin E

    2017-07-01

    While many health literacy assessments exist, this area of research lacks an instrument that isolates and reflects the four components driving this concept (abilities to find, understand, use, and communicate about health information). The purpose of this study was to determine what abilities comprise the first component, how a patient finds health information. Low ( n = 13) and adequate ( n = 14) health literacy patients, and health professionals ( n = 10) described their experiences when looking for health information and the skills they employed to complete these tasks. Major skills/themes elicited included knowing when to search, credibility assessments, finding text and numerical information, interpersonal seeking, technology and online search, and spatial navigation. Findings from this study suggest that each of the dimensions included in the definition of health literacy warrants specific attention and assessment. Given identification of the skills comprising each dimension, interventions targeting deficits across health literacy dimensions could be developed to improve patient health.

  6. The theory of reasoned action and intention to seek cancer information.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ross, Levi; Kohler, Connie L; Grimley, Diane M; Anderson-Lewis, Charkarra

    2007-01-01

    To evaluate the applicability of the theory of reasoned action to explain men's intentions to seek prostate cancer information. Three hundred randomly selected African American men participated in telephone interviews. Correlational and regression analyses were conducted to examine relationships among measures. All relationships were significant in regression analyses. Attitudes and subjective norm were significantly related to intentions. Indirect measures of beliefs derived from elicitation research were associated with direct measures of attitude and subjective norms. The data are sufficiently clear to support the applicability of the theory for this behavioral domain with African American men and suggest several important areas for future research.

  7. Finding competitive intelligence on Internet start-up companies: a study of secondary resource use and information-seeking processes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    2001-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper reports findings from a study of CI activities involving Internet start-up companies in the telecommunications industry. The CI gathering was conducted by graduate students in library and information science in the context of a class project for a real business client, itself a small Internet start-up company. The primary objective of the study was to provide empirical insights into the applicability of specific types of secondary information resources to finding competitive intelligence information on small Internet start-up companies. An additional objective was to identify the characteristics of research strategies applied in the collection of CI on Internet start-ups from the perspective of current conceptual frameworks of information-seeking behaviour presented in the library and information science literature. This study revealed some interesting findings regarding the types of secondary information resources that can be used to find competitive intelligence on small, Internet start-up companies. The study also provided insight into the characteristics of the overall information-seeking strategies that are applied in this type of competitive intelligence research.

  8. Music Information Seeking Behaviour Poses Unique Challenges for the Design of Information Retrieval Systems. A Review of: Lee, J. H. (2010. Analysis of user needs and information features in natural language queries seeking music information. Journal of the American Society for information Science and Technology, 61, 1025-1045.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cari Merkley

    2010-12-01

    , reproduction, description, research, and other. Reproduction in this context is defined as “questions asking for text” and referred most often to questions looking for song lyrics, while evaluation typically meant the user was seeking reviews of works (p. 1029. Sixteen question topics were outlined in the coding framework. They included lyrics, translation, meaning (i.e., of lyrics, score, work, version, recording (e.g., where is an album available for purchase, related work, genre, artist, publisher, instrument, statistics, background (e.g. definitions, resource (i.e. sources of music information and other.The questions were also coded for their features or the information provided by the user. The final coding framework outlined 57 features, some of which were further subdivided by additional attributes. For example, a feature with attributes was title. The researcher further clarified the attribute of title by indicating whether the user mentioned the title of a musical work, recording, printed material or related work in their question. More than one feature could appear in a user query.Main Results – Overall, the most common questions posted on the Google Answers service relating to music involved identifying works or artists, finding recordings, or retrieving lyrics. The most popular query forms were identification (43.8%, location (33.3%, and reproduction (10.9%. The most common topics were work (49.1%, artist (36.4%, recording (16.7%, and lyrics (10.4%. The most common features provided by users in their posted questions were person name (53%, title (50.9%, date (45.6%, genre (37.2%, role (33.8%, and lyric (27.6%. The person name usually referred to an artist’s name (in 95.6% of cases and title most often referred to the title of a musical work. Another feature that appeared in 25.6% of queries was place reference, almost half of which referred to the place where the user encountered the music they were enquiring about. While the coding framework eventually

  9. [Men and depression: gender-related help-seeking behavior].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Möller-Leimkühler, A M

    2000-11-01

    As epidemiological data concerning gender-related help-seeking behaviour indicate, consultation rate and help-seeking by men is consistently lower, especially in the case of emotional problems and depressive symptoms. There is empirical evidence that the poor treatment rate of men cannot be explained by a better health but must be attributed to a discrepancy of need and help-seeking behaviour. Social change and epidemiological trends in depression point to the male gender-role being an important factor of increasing rates among young men as well as an important determinant of help-seeking behaviour. It is argued that social norms of traditional masculinity make help-seeking more difficult because of the inhibition of expressiveness affecting symptom perception and symptomatology of depression. Besides these predisposing factors of male help-seeking other medical and social factors are mentioned producing further barriers to help-seeking. Further research is needed to investigate the question whether changing masculinity implies gender-role conflict or positive health effects.

  10. Don't Want to Look Dumb? The Role of Theories of Intelligence and Humanlike Features in Online Help Seeking.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sara; Zhang, Ke; Park, Daeun

    2018-02-01

    Numerous studies have shown that individuals' help-seeking behavior increases when a computerized helper is endowed with humanlike features in nonachievement contexts. In contrast, the current research suggests that anthropomorphic helpers are not universally conducive to help-seeking behavior in contexts of achievement, particularly among individuals who construe help seeking as a display of incompetence (i.e., entity theorists). Study 1 demonstrated that when entity theorists received help from an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, they were more concerned about negative judgments from other people, whereas incremental theorists were not affected by anthropomorphic features. Study 2 showed that when help was provided by an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, entity theorists were less likely to seek help, even at the cost of lower performance. In contrast, incremental theorists' help-seeking behavior and task performance were not affected by anthropomorphism. This research deepens the current understanding of the role of anthropomorphic computerized helpers in online learning contexts.

  11. What Contributes to the Activeness of Ethnic Minority Patients with Chronic Illnesses Seeking Allied Health Services? A Cross-Sectional Study in Rural Western China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shangfeng Tang

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Actively seeking health services lies at the core of effective models of chronic disease self-management and contributes to promoting the utilization of allied health services (AHS. However, the use of AHS by ethnic minority Chinese, especially the elderly living in rural areas, has not received much attention. This study, therefore, aims to explore the association between personal characteristics and the activeness of ethnic minority patients with chronic diseases in rural areas of western China seeking AHS. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data on the socio-demographic and economic characteristics, health knowledge level and health communication channels of the sampled patients. A logistic regression model was used to examine the association of these predictors with the activeness of the surveyed patients in seeking AHS. A total of 1078 ethnic minorities over 45 years old who had chronic conditions were randomly selected from three western provinces in China and were interviewed in 2014. It is found that the New Cooperative Medical Scheme (NCMS is the most salient predictor affecting the activeness of Chinese ethnic minorities in seeking AHS. The probability is 8.51 times greater for those insured with NCMS to actively seek AHS than those without (95% Confidence Interval (CI 4.76–15.21; p < 0.001. Moreover, participants between 60 and 70 years old and those who have five to six household members are more likely to seek AHS compared with other social groups (Odds Ratio (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.28–2.97, p = 0.007; OR = 1.95, 95% CI 1.15–2.36, p = 0.002. However, the activeness of patients seeking AHS is lower for those who have better household economic conditions. Besides socio-demographic predictors, the Chinese ethnic minorities’ activeness in seeking AHS is clearly associated with the communication channels used for receiving health information, which include direct communication with doctors (OR = 5.18, 95% CI 3.58–7

  12. Study of Relationship Between Illness Perception and Delay in Seeking Help for Breast Cancer Patients Based on Leventhal's Self-Regulation Model.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Attari, Seyedeh Maryam; Ozgoli, Giti; Solhi, Mahnaz; Alavi Majd, Hamid

    2016-01-01

    One of the major causes of morbidity and mortality in breast cancer patients is delay in seeking help. Leventhal's self-regulation model provides an appropriate framework to assess delay in seeking help. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between "illness perception" and "help seeking delay" in breast cancer patients based on Leventhal's self-regulation model. In this correlational descriptive study with convenience sampling conducted in 2013, participants were 120 women with breast cancer who were diagnosed in the last year and referred to chemotherapy and radiotherapy centers in Rasht, Iran. Data collection scales included demographic data, Revised Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ-R)and a researcher made questionnaire to measure the delay in seeking help. Pre-hospital delay (help seeking delay) was evaluated in 3 phases (assessment, disease, behavior). The data were analyzed using SPSS-19. The mean (SD) age calculated for the patients was 47.3±10.2. Some 43% of the patients had a high school or higher education level and 82% were married. The "pre-hospital delay" was reported ≥3 months. Logistic regression analysis showed that none of the illness perception components were correlated with appraisal and behavioral delay phases. In the illness delay phase, "time line" (p-value =0.04) and "risk factors"(p-value=0.03) had significant effects on reducing and "psychological attributions" had significant effects on increasing the delay (p-value =0.01). "Illness coherence" was correlated with decreased pre-hospital patient delay (p-valueperceptions of breast cancer influences delay in seeking help. In addition to verifying the validity of Leventhal's self-regulation model in explaining delay in seeking help, the results signify the importance of the "illness delay phase" (decision to seek help) and educational interventions-counseling for women in the community.

  13. Information-seeking strategies and science content understandings of sixth-grade students using on-line learning environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hoffman, Joseph Loris

    1999-11-01

    This study examined the information-seeking strategies and science content understandings learners developed as a result of using on-line resources in the University of Michigan Digital Library and on the World Wide Web. Eight pairs of sixth grade students from two teachers' classrooms were observed during inquiries for astronomy, ecology, geology, and weather, and a final transfer task assessed learners' capabilities at the end of the school year. Data included video recordings of students' screen activity and conversations, journals and completed activity sheets, final artifacts, and semi-structured interviews. Learners' information-seeking strategies included activities related to asking, planning, tool usage, searching, assessing, synthesizing, writing, and creating. Analysis of data found a majority of learners posed meaningful, openended questions, used technological tools appropriately, developed pertinent search topics, were thoughtful in queries to the digital library, browsed sites purposefully to locate information, and constructed artifacts with novel formats. Students faced challenges when planning activities, assessing resources, and synthesizing information. Possible explanations were posed linking pedagogical practices with learners' growth and use of inquiry strategies. Data from classroom-lab video and teacher interviews showed varying degrees of student scaffolding: development and critique of initial questions, utilization of search tools, use of journals for reflection on activities, and requirements for final artifacts. Science content understandings included recalling information, offering explanations, articulating relationships, and extending explanations. A majority of learners constructed partial understandings limited to information recall and simple explanations, and these occasionally contained inaccurate conceptualizations. Web site design features had some influence on the construction of learners' content understandings. Analysis of

  14. Temporary stages and motivational variables: Two complementary perspectives in the help-seeking process for mental disorders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Del Valle Del Valle, Gema; Carrió, Carmen; Belloch, Amparo

    2017-10-09

    Help-seeking for mental disorders is a complex process, which includes different temporary stages, and in which the motivational variables play an especially relevant role. However, there is a lack of instruments to evaluate in depth both the temporary and motivational variables involved in the help-seeking process. This study aims to analyse in detail these two sets of variables, using a specific instrument designed for the purpose, to gain a better understanding of the process of treatment seeking. A total of 152 patients seeking treatment in mental health outpatient clinics of the NHS were individually interviewed: 71 had Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, 21 had Agoraphobia, 18 had Major Depressive Disorder), 20 had Anorexia Nervosa, and 22 had Cocaine Dependence. The patients completed a structured interview assessing the help-seeking process. Disorder severity and quality of life was also assessed. The patients with agoraphobia and with major depression took significantly less time in recognising their mental health symptoms. Similarly, patients with major depression were faster in seeking professional help. Motivational variables were grouped in 3 sets: motivators for seeking treatment, related to the negative impact of symptoms on mood and to loss of control over symptoms; motivators for delaying treatment, related to minimisation of the disorder; and stigma-associated variables. The results support the importance of considering the different motivational variables involved in the several stages of the help-seeking process. The interview designed to that end has shown its usefulness in this endeavour. Copyright © 2017 SEP y SEPB. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  15. Impact of culture on healthcare seeking behavior of Asian Indians.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gupta, Vidya Bhushan

    2010-01-01

    Healthcare seeking behavior is a dynamic process that evolves through the stages of self evaluation of symptoms, self treatment, seeking professional advice and acting on professional advice. (Weaver, 1970) This article explores the influence of culture at each of these stages in the context of Asian Indian culture. Although Asian-Indians constitute only 1.5% of the US population they are among the fastest growing minorities in the United States. Through the example of Asian Indian culture this article informs the clinicians that at the initial visit they should explore what the symptoms mean to the patient and what modalities including complementary and alternative (CAM) were used by the patient to address them and at subsequent visits they should explore how their advise was filtered through the prism of the patient's culture and what was adhered to and what was not. In the case of disability and death the clinicians should explore religious beliefs such as karma that help the patient in coping.

  16. Nutrition-related information seeking behaviours before and throughout the course of pregnancy: consequences for nutrition communication

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Szwajcer, E.M.; Hiddink, G.J.; Koelen, M.A.; Woerkum, van C.M.J.

    2005-01-01

    Background: Research has shown that especially pregnant women, and also women with a wish for a child, have increased nutrition awareness. Seeking nutrition information seemed to be an important determinant for nutrition awareness. However, little research has been carried out about

  17. Information needs of patients with spondyloarthritis about their disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almodóvar, Raquel; Gratacós, Jordi; Zarco, Pedro

    2017-06-02

    1. To describe the information provided to, or inquired about, by patients with axial spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. 2. To analyze improvements. Analysis of the discourse of focus groups (with patients, some of them from patient associations, and rheumatologists). The discussion included the identification of elements that shape the reality being studied, describing the relationship among them and summarizing the results by: 1)thematic segmentation; 2)categorization according to situations, relationships, opinions, feelings or others; 3)coding of the various categories, and 4)interpretation of results. Representativeness was ensured by using a typological framework. Rheumatologists are the main source of information. Patient associations have a fundamental role and are well-regarded. Internet is used with caution due to its limited reliability. Patients are interested in: disease characteristics and treatments, the course and prognosis, and social, administrative and other kinds of support. More information is needed (objective and constructive, avoiding a catastrophic tone); it should be provided progressively, adjusted to patients features and needs. There are areas for improvement including: the standardization and updating of contents (based on scientific evidence), the optimization of informative materials (written, electronic), and other resources such as nursing and primary care. Rheumatologists are the main and most reliable source of information for patients with spondyloarthritis and psoriatic arthritis. Patient associations have an important role and are well-regarded. Changes in the content, format and sources of information are required. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier España, S.L.U. and Sociedad Española de Reumatología y Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología. All rights reserved.

  18. Information seeking and retrieval skills of nurses: Nurses readiness for evidence based practice in hospitals of a medical university in Iran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farokhzadian, Jamileh; Khajouei, Reza; Ahmadian, Leila

    2015-08-01

    With the explosion of medical information, and emergence of evidence-based practice (EBP) in healthcare system, searching, retrieving and selecting information for clinical decision-making are becoming required skills for nurses. The aims of this study were to examine the use of different medical information resources by nurses and their information searching and retrieving skills in the context of EBP. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in four teaching hospitals in Iran. Data were collected from 182 nurses using a questionnaire in 2014. The nurses indicated that they use more human and printed resources than electronic resources to seek information (mean=2.83, SD=1.5; mean=2.77, SD=1.07; and mean=2.13, SD=0.88, respectively). To search online resources, the nurses use quick/basic search features more frequently (mean=2.45, SD=1.15) than other search features such as advanced search, index browsing and MeSH term searching. (1.74≤mean≤2.30, SD=1.01). At least 80% of the nurses were not aware of the purpose or function of search operators such as Boolean and proximity operators. In response to the question measuring skills of the nurses in developing an effective search statement by using Boolean operators, only 20% of them selected the more appropriate statement, using some synonyms of the concepts in a given subject. The study showed that the information seeking and retrieval skills of the nurses were poor and there were clear deficits in the use of updated information resources. To compensate their EBP incompetency, nurses may resort to human resources. In order to use the latest up to date evidence independently, nurses need to improve their information literacy. To reach this goal, clinical librarians, health information specialists, nursing faculties, and clinical nurse educators and mentors can play key roles by providing educational programs. Providing access to online resources in clinical wards can also encourage nurses to learn and use

  19. Parent's use of the Internet in the search for healthcare information and subsequent impact on the doctor-patient relationship.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harvey, S; Memon, A; Khan, R; Yasin, F

    2017-11-01

    The Internet is an unavoidable source of healthcare information. This information, both reliable and unreliable, has previously been shown to influence carer's decisions. Our aim was to evaluate this information seeking behavior among parents and its subsequent potential impact on the doctor-patient relationship. We undertook a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey of paediatric outpatients. Enrollment took place over 4 weeks in March 2015. There were no inclusion or exclusion criteria and enrollment was voluntary. In total 100 questionnaires were completed. General Practitioners were the most common source of healthcare information. The Internet ranked third as a reliable source of healthcare information. The Internet was commonly used as an educational resource to learn about causes, treatment, and medications. A significant percentage of our population expressed concern regarding Internet information reliability. A small percentage of parents were concerned that disclosing Internet usage may worsen the relationship with their doctor. Parents showed a willingness to learn about diseases and treatments, and felt that the Internet was a good resource to do so. This study shows that open discussion about Internet usage between parents and doctors is not common and carers feel at risk of judgment should they admit to Internet usage. The Internet should be seen as a positive adjunct to patient education which can improve understanding, thus strengthening the doctor-patient relationship. The Internet will never replace the role of healthcare professionals but must be seen as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary approach.

  20. EVALUATING SKILLS AND CHALLENGES AS ANTECEDENTS OF COMPELLING ONLINE INFORMATION-SEEKING EXPERIENCES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alina LAZOC

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available In contemporary information societies, consumers are increasingly expected to be proficient users of online information to support and guide their buying decisions. Due to the world wide web and its availability on a wide range of connectable devices, information from infinite commercial and non-commercial sources can be instantly accessed and used. However, consumers’ level of self-efficacy in dealing with technology and the wide range of information content as well as the extent to which they feel cognitively challenged by the technological and content issues may significantly influence the intensity of their involvement with companies’ marketing information. Based on the online flow theory, describing total involvement experiences, as well as on recent developments of the information literacy construct, in the present paper we propose a research instrument for assessing two essential preconditions of optimal, highly engaging consumer online information-seeking experiences. We posit that consumers have compelling online search experiences when the level of both their technical and their cognitive skills match the informational challenges perceived in the online medium. Nevertheless, the following study represents only the first step in a complex scale development process and in building and testing the structural model describing causal relationships between flow constructs.

  1. How health information affects college students' inclination toward variety-seeking tendency.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chien-Huang, Lin; Hung-Chou, Lin

    2010-12-01

    College students often consume too much snacks (e.g. potato chips) and such high-fat snacks are found to be related to obesity. This paper seeks to explore the effect of health-related information on the relationship of mood states and variety seeking (VS) behavior among enjoyable snacks. Health warnings and nutritional labeling are used to examine the moderating effects on this relationship. Consistent with our hypotheses, the results indicate that the presence of health warnings attenuates the influence of mood states on VS, so that happy and sad students tend to converge to similar levels of VS. However, in the absence of health warnings, sad students tend to incorporate significantly more VS than happy students. Similarly, the presence of nutritional labeling attenuates the influence of mood states on VS, so that happy and sad students tend to converge to similar levels of VS. However, in the absence of nutritional labeling, sad students tend to incorporate significantly more VS than happy students. The results provide evidence that making health warnings and nutritional labeling more salient might be a good way to decrease students' VS tendency for high-fat snacks. © 2010 The Authors. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology © 2010 The Scandinavian Psychological Associations.

  2. Help-seeking intentions for early dementia diagnosis in a sample of Irish adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Devoy, Susan; Simpson, Ellen Elizabeth Anne

    2017-08-01

    To identify factors that may increase intentions to seek help for an early dementia diagnosis. Early dementia diagnosis in Ireland is low, reducing the opportunity for intervention, which can delay progression, reduce psychological distress and increase social supports. Using the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), and a mixed methods approach, three focus groups were conducted (N = 22) to illicit attitudes and beliefs about help seeking for an early dementia diagnosis. The findings informed the development of the Help Seeking Intentions for Early Dementia Diagnosis (HSIEDD) questionnaire which was piloted and then administered to a sample of community dwelling adults from Dublin and Kildare (N = 95). Content analysis revealed participants held knowledge of the symptoms of dementia but not about available interventions. Facilitators of help seeking were family, friends and peers alongside well informed health professionals. Barriers to seeking help were a lack of knowledge, fear, loss, stigma and inaccessible services. The quantitative findings suggest the TPB constructs account for almost 28% of the variance in intentions to seek help for an early diagnosis of dementia, after controlling for sociodemographic variables and knowledge of dementia. In the final step of the regression analysis, the main predictors of help seeking were knowledge of dementia and subjective norm, accounting for 6% and 8% of the variance, respectively. Future interventions should aim to increase awareness of the support available to those experiencing early memory problems, and should highlight the supportive role that family, friends, peers and health professionals could provide.

  3. Information and communication technology use in asthmatic patients: a cross-sectional study in Latin America.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Calderón, Juan; Cherrez, Annia; Ramón, Germán Darío; Lopez Jove, Orlando; Baptist, Alan; Matos, Edgar; Morfín Maciel, Blanca; Calero, Erick; Sanchez-Borges, Mario; Cherrez, Sofia; Simancas-Racines, Daniel; Cherrez Ojeda, Ivan

    2017-07-01

    Rapid diffusion, low cost and broad availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) make them an attractive platform for managing care, communication and interventions in asthma. There is little information in Latin America about usage frequency of ICTs in asthmatic patients. The analysis undertaken consisted of an observational, cross-sectional study that aimed to identify the frequency and type of ICTs most often used by asthmatics. The Spanish version of the Michigan questionnaire was employed in five Latin American countries. Age and educational level was categorised. Logistic regression was performed among these groups concerning the frequency of ICT usage and the level of interest shown in seeking and receiving information about asthma. In total, 673 asthma patients were surveyed. The mean age was 43.44 years. Over two-thirds of the participants were female (68.4%). The most used ICT was the short message service (SMS) (69.9%). SMS and E-mail are useful tools for communicating ( i.e. receiving and seeking information) with all asthma patients, irrespective of their age. WhatsApp (61.5%) and Facebook (32.0%) were rated as being the most interesting channels of communication for receiving information. Regression analysis showed that younger asthmatics and asthmatics with higher educational levels were most likely to use almost all forms of ICTs. ICTs are generally an attractive platform for managing care, communication and interventions to improve asthma care. SMS and E-mail were found to be the preferred ICT forms among users. However, social media forms such as WhatsApp and Facebook may also be appropriate for certain types of patient.

  4. Information and communication technology use in asthmatic patients: a cross-sectional study in Latin America

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cherrez, Annia; Ramón, Germán Darío; Lopez Jove, Orlando; Baptist, Alan; Matos, Edgar; Morfín Maciel, Blanca; Calero, Erick; Sanchez-Borges, Mario; Cherrez, Sofia; Simancas-Racines, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Rapid diffusion, low cost and broad availability of information and communication technologies (ICTs) make them an attractive platform for managing care, communication and interventions in asthma. There is little information in Latin America about usage frequency of ICTs in asthmatic patients. The analysis undertaken consisted of an observational, cross-sectional study that aimed to identify the frequency and type of ICTs most often used by asthmatics. The Spanish version of the Michigan questionnaire was employed in five Latin American countries. Age and educational level was categorised. Logistic regression was performed among these groups concerning the frequency of ICT usage and the level of interest shown in seeking and receiving information about asthma. In total, 673 asthma patients were surveyed. The mean age was 43.44 years. Over two-thirds of the participants were female (68.4%). The most used ICT was the short message service (SMS) (69.9%). SMS and E-mail are useful tools for communicating (i.e. receiving and seeking information) with all asthma patients, irrespective of their age. WhatsApp (61.5%) and Facebook (32.0%) were rated as being the most interesting channels of communication for receiving information. Regression analysis showed that younger asthmatics and asthmatics with higher educational levels were most likely to use almost all forms of ICTs. ICTs are generally an attractive platform for managing care, communication and interventions to improve asthma care. SMS and E-mail were found to be the preferred ICT forms among users. However, social media forms such as WhatsApp and Facebook may also be appropriate for certain types of patient. PMID:28717641

  5. [The Role of Resilience Factors in Informal Caregivers of Dementia Patients - A Review on Selected Factors].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kunzler, Angela; Skoluda, Nadine; Nater, Urs

    2018-01-01

    In the face of demographic change, the informal care of dementia patients is becoming increasingly important. However, due to dementia symptoms as well as persisting care demands, this subgroup of informal caregivers is confronted with a large number of stressors resulting in chronic stress and impaired physical and mental health in many caregivers. Based on the current research on resilience (i. e., maintaining or regaining health despite stress and adversities), there is increasing interest in identifying resilience factors that may serve as resources to cope with informal care and protect caregivers against health problems. The review discusses the role of resilience factors in the association between ongoing caregiving stress and health. In analyzing the current state of research on resilience factors for dementia caregivers, we focus on the factors self-efficacy, relationship quality, and social support. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  6. Ghrelin influences novelty seeking behavior in rodents and men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hansson, Caroline; Shirazi, Rozita H; Näslund, Jakob; Vogel, Heike; Neuber, Corinna; Holm, Göran; Anckarsäter, Henrik; Dickson, Suzanne L; Eriksson, Elias; Skibicka, Karolina P

    2012-01-01

    Recent discoveries indicate an important role for ghrelin in drug and alcohol reward and an ability of ghrelin to regulate mesolimbic dopamine activity. The role of dopamine in novelty seeking, and the association between this trait and drug and alcohol abuse, led us to hypothesize that ghrelin may influence novelty seeking behavior. To test this possibility we applied several complementary rodent models of novelty seeking behavior, i.e. inescapable novelty-induced locomotor activity (NILA), novelty-induced place preference and novel object exploration, in rats subjected to acute ghrelin receptor (growth hormone secretagogue receptor; GHSR) stimulation or blockade. Furthermore we assessed the possible association between polymorphisms in the genes encoding ghrelin and GHSR and novelty seeking behavior in humans. The rodent studies indicate an important role for ghrelin in a wide range of novelty seeking behaviors. Ghrelin-injected rats exhibited a higher preference for a novel environment and increased novel object exploration. Conversely, those with GHSR blockade drastically reduced their preference for a novel environment and displayed decreased NILA. Importantly, the mesolimbic ventral tegmental area selective GHSR blockade was sufficient to reduce the NILA response indicating that the mesolimbic GHSRs might play an important role in the observed novelty responses. Moreover, in untreated animals, a striking positive correlation between NILA and sucrose reward behavior was detected. Two GHSR single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs2948694 and rs495225, were significantly associated with the personality trait novelty seeking, as assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), in human subjects. This study provides the first evidence for a role of ghrelin in novelty seeking behavior in animals and humans, and also points to an association between food reward and novelty seeking in rodents.

  7. Seeking health care through international medical tourism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eissler, Lee Ann; Casken, John

    2013-06-01

    The purpose of this study was the exploration of international travel experiences for the purpose of medical or dental care from the perspective of patients from Alaska and to develop insight and understanding of the essence of the phenomenon of medical tourism. The study is conceptually oriented within a model of health-seeking behavior. Using a qualitative design, 15 Alaska medical tourists were individually interviewed. The data were analyzed using a hermeneutic process of inquiry to uncover the meaning of the experience. Six themes reflecting the experiences of Alaska medical tourists emerged: "my motivation," "I did the research," "the medical care I need," "follow-up care," "the advice I give," and "in the future." Subthemes further categorized data for increased understanding of the phenomenon. The thematic analysis provides insight into the experience and reflects a modern approach to health-seeking behavior through international medical tourism. The results of this study provide increased understanding of the experience of obtaining health care internationally from the patient perspective. Improved understanding of medical tourism provides additional information about a contemporary approach to health-seeking behavior. Results of this study will aid nursing professionals in counseling regarding medical tourism options and providing follow-up health care after medical tourism. Nurses will be able to actively participate in global health policy discussions regarding medical tourism trends. © 2013 Sigma Theta Tau International.

  8. Utilizing Social Media to Study Information-Seeking and Ethical Issues in Gene Therapy

    OpenAIRE

    Robillard, Julie M; Whiteley, Louise; Johnson, Thomas Wade; Lim, Jonathan; Wasserman, Wyeth W; Illes, Judy

    2013-01-01

    Background The field of gene therapy is rapidly evolving, and while hopes of treating disorders of the central nervous system and ethical concerns have been articulated within the academic community, little is known about views and opinions of different stakeholder groups. Objective To address this gap, we utilized social media to investigate the kind of information public users are seeking about gene therapy and the hopes, concerns, and attitudes they express. Methods We conducted a content ...

  9. Use and toxicity of traditional and complementary medicine among patients seeking care at an emergency department of a teaching hospital in Malaysia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jatau, Abubakar Ibrahim; Aung, Myat Moe Thwe; Kamauzaman, Tuan Hairulnizam Tuan; Ab Rahman, Ab Fatah

    2018-05-01

    Traditional and Complementary Medicines (TCM) are widely used worldwide, and many of them have the potential to cause toxicity, interaction with conventional medications and non-adherence to prescribed medications due to patients' preference for the TCM use. However, information regarding their use among patients seeking care at emergency departments (ED) of a healthcare facility is limited. The study aimed to evaluate the TCM use among patients attending the ED of a teaching hospital in Malaysia. A sub-analysis of data from a prevalence study of medication-related visits among patients at the ED of Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia was conducted. The study took place over a period of six weeks from December 2014 to January 2015 involving 434 eligible patients. Data on demography, conventional medication, and TCM uses were collected from patient interview and the medical folders. Among this cohort, 66 patients (15.2%, 95%CI 12.0, 19.0) reported concurrent TCM use. Sixteen (24.2%) of the TCM users were using more than one (1) type of TCM, and 17 (25.8%) came to the ED for medication-related reasons. Traditional Malay Medicine (TMM) was the most frequently used TCM by the patients. Five patients (7.6%) sought treatment at the ED for medical problems related to use of TCM. Patients seeking medical care at the ED may be currently using TCM. ED-physicians should be aware of these therapies and should always ask patients about the TCM use. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  10. Patient-Reported Safety Information: A Renaissance of Pharmacovigilance?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Härmark, Linda; Raine, June; Leufkens, Hubert; Edwards, I Ralph; Moretti, Ugo; Sarinic, Viola Macolic; Kant, Agnes

    2016-10-01

    The role of patients as key contributors in pharmacovigilance was acknowledged in the new EU pharmacovigilance legislation. This contains several efforts to increase the involvement of the general public, including making patient adverse drug reaction (ADR) reporting systems mandatory. Three years have passed since the legislation was introduced and the key question is: does pharmacovigilance yet make optimal use of patient-reported safety information? Independent research has shown beyond doubt that patients make an important contribution to pharmacovigilance signal detection. Patient reports provide first-hand information about the suspected ADR and the circumstances under which it occurred, including medication errors, quality failures, and 'near misses'. Patient-reported safety information leads to a better understanding of the patient's experiences of the ADR. Patients are better at explaining the nature, personal significance and consequences of ADRs than healthcare professionals' reports on similar associations and they give more detailed information regarding quality of life including psychological effects and effects on everyday tasks. Current methods used in pharmacovigilance need to optimise use of the information reported from patients. To make the most of information from patients, the systems we use for collecting, coding and recording patient-reported information and the methodologies applied for signal detection and assessment need to be further developed, such as a patient-specific form, development of a severity grading and evolution of the database structure and the signal detection methods applied. It is time for a renaissance of pharmacovigilance.

  11. A Coding System for Qualitative Studies of the Information-Seeking Process in Computer Science Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moral, Cristian; de Antonio, Angelica; Ferre, Xavier; Lara, Graciela

    2015-01-01

    Introduction: In this article we propose a qualitative analysis tool--a coding system--that can support the formalisation of the information-seeking process in a specific field: research in computer science. Method: In order to elaborate the coding system, we have conducted a set of qualitative studies, more specifically a focus group and some…

  12. Care seeking for orofacial pain

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rollman, A.; Visscher, C.M.; Gorter, R.C.; Naeije, M.

    2012-01-01

    AIMS: To determine the contribution of a wide range of factors to care-seeking behavior in orofacial pain patients, expressed as (A) decision to seek care and (B) number of health care practitioners visited. METHODS: Subjects with orofacial pain complaints were recruited in seven TMD clinics and

  13. Help-Seeking After Domestic Violence: The Critical Role of Children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rasool, Shahana

    2016-05-01

    Limited knowledge is available on the conditions that contribute to women's help-seeking after domestic violence in South Africa. Qualitative research conducted with 17 abused women in shelters in South Africa indicate that the best interests of children are influential both in women's decisions to stay in abusive relationships and to seek help. The personal decisions of women to seek help are influenced by powerful social discourses on the best interests of the child. Policy and practice that advocate for the best interests of the child need to prioritize the safety of both mothers and their children in domestic violence situations. © The Author(s) 2015.

  14. "Do your homework…and then hope for the best": the challenges that medical tourism poses to Canadian family physicians' support of patients' informed decision-making.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, Jeremy; Crooks, Valorie A; Johnston, Rory; Dharamsi, Shafik

    2013-09-22

    Canadian family physicians who now find themselves needing to carefully negotiate their roles and responsibilities in the informed decision-making process of their patients who decide to seek private treatment abroad as medical tourists. These physicians can and should be educated to enable their patients to look critically at the information available about medical tourism providers and to ask critical questions of patients deciding to access care abroad.

  15. Sources of information about mental health and links to help seeking: findings from the 2007 Australian National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reavley, Nicola J; Cvetkovski, Stefan; Jorm, Anthony F

    2011-12-01

    The aim of this paper is to provide an analysis of data from the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (NSMHWB) on the factors associated with the use of sources of information on mental health. A further aim is to examine the associations between the use of information sources and professional help-seeking. Data from the 2007 NSMHWB were used. The survey sample comprised 8,841 residents of private dwellings across Australia aged 16-85 years. Television was the most common source of information about mental health issues in the previous 12 months (accessed by 20.5% of respondents) followed by pamphlets and brochures (accessed by 15.6% of respondents). Having an anxiety or affective disorder, female gender, higher levels of education and having a family member with a mental health problem was associated with the seeking of information on mental health issues from the internet, non-fiction books and brochures/pamphlets. Accessing information on the internet was associated with increased use of any mental health services, GPs and mental health professionals (MHPs). The results suggest that promotion of internet resources may offer the opportunity to increase help seeking for mental health problems and may offer the opportunity to engage those least likely to seek professional help, notably young males.

  16. The Role of Impulsivity, Sensation Seeking, Coping, and Year of Study in Student Gambling: A Pilot Study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Luke A.; Norman, Christine; Griffiths, Mark D.

    2012-01-01

    Students are among the most prevalent gamblers with the highest incidence of problem gambling. Furthermore, research into gambling has noted certain personality traits and coping mechanisms to be highly predictive of gambling in student populations. The present study examined the role of impulsivity, sensation seeking, coping strategies, and year…

  17. Information quality and dynamics of patients' interactions on tonsillectomy web resources

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marianne Arsenault

    2016-05-01

    Full Text Available Information technologies have drastically altered the way patients gather health-related information. By analysing web resources on tonsillectomy, we expose information quality and dynamics of patients' interactions in the online continuum. Readability was assessed using Flesch Reading Ease (FRE, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG, and Gunning Fog Index (GFI. Comprehensibility and actionability were assessed using the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT. Metrics of forums included author characteristics (level of disclosure, gender, age, avatar image, etc., posts' motive (community support vs. medical information and content (word count, emoticon use, number of replies, etc.. Analysis of 6 professional medical websites, of 10 health information portals, and of 3 discussion forums totalizing 1369 posts on 358 threads, from January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2014, reveals that online resources exceed understandability recommendations. Women were more present on online health forums (68.2% of authors disclosing their gender and invested themselves more in their avatar. Authors replying were significantly older than authors of original posts (39.7 ± 0.8 years vs. 29.2 ± 0.9 years, p < 0.001. The degree of self-disclosure was inversely proportional to the requests for medical information (p < 0.001. Men and women were equally seeking medical information (men: 74.0%, women: 77.0% and community support (men: 65.7%, women: 70.4%, however women responded more supportively (women 86.2%, men 59.1%, p < 0.001. The dynamics of patients' interactions used to overcome accessibility difficulties encountered is complex. This work outlines the necessity for comprehensible medical information to adequately answer patients' needs.

  18. Help seeking behavior and onset-to-alarm time in patients with acute stroke: sub-study of the preventive antibiotics in stroke study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zock, E.; Kerkhoff, H.; Kleyweg, R. P.; van Bavel-Ta, T. B. V.; Scott, S.; Kruyt, N. D.; Nederkoorn, P. J.; van de Beek, D.

    2016-01-01

    Patients with acute stroke often do not seek immediate medical help, which is assumed to be driven by lack of knowledge of stroke symptoms. We explored the process of help seeking behavior in patients with acute stroke, evaluating knowledge about stroke symptoms, socio-demographic and clinical

  19. Improving communication when seeking informed consent: a randomised controlled study of a computer-based method for providing information to prospective clinical trial participants.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karunaratne, Asuntha S; Korenman, Stanley G; Thomas, Samantha L; Myles, Paul S; Komesaroff, Paul A

    2010-04-05

    To assess the efficacy, with respect to participant understanding of information, of a computer-based approach to communication about complex, technical issues that commonly arise when seeking informed consent for clinical research trials. An open, randomised controlled study of 60 patients with diabetes mellitus, aged 27-70 years, recruited between August 2006 and October 2007 from the Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology at the Alfred Hospital and Baker IDI Heart and Diabetes Institute, Melbourne. Participants were asked to read information about a mock study via a computer-based presentation (n = 30) or a conventional paper-based information statement (n = 30). The computer-based presentation contained visual aids, including diagrams, video, hyperlinks and quiz pages. Understanding of information as assessed by quantitative and qualitative means. Assessment scores used to measure level of understanding were significantly higher in the group that completed the computer-based task than the group that completed the paper-based task (82% v 73%; P = 0.005). More participants in the group that completed the computer-based task expressed interest in taking part in the mock study (23 v 17 participants; P = 0.01). Most participants from both groups preferred the idea of a computer-based presentation to the paper-based statement (21 in the computer-based task group, 18 in the paper-based task group). A computer-based method of providing information may help overcome existing deficiencies in communication about clinical research, and may reduce costs and improve efficiency in recruiting participants for clinical trials.

  20. Health literacy, health information seeking behaviors and internet use among patients attending a private and public clinic in the same geographic area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutierrez, Natalia; Kindratt, Tiffany B; Pagels, Patti; Foster, Barbara; Gimpel, Nora E

    2014-02-01

    Despite the growing body of health information available online, patients with limited health literacy may lack either internet access or skills necessary to utilize this information. Nonetheless, patients at all health literacy levels may prefer other primary sources to obtain health information. We conducted a cross-sectional study to measure health literacy of patients attending two clinics in Dallas, TX and determine associations between health literacy, health information access and internet usage before and after controlling for confounders. Patients from both clinics (county N = 265; private N = 233) completed a brief survey which included sociodemographics, internet patterns, confidence in filling out medical forms and a self-administered Newest Vital Sign to measure health literacy. In the county clinic, most patients (61.5 %) were Hispanic, had low income (literacy (68.5 %). In the private clinic, participants were mostly black (40.4 %) or white (38.6 %), had higher incomes (≥$46,000), higher education (technical college or college) and adequate health literacy (75.1 %). The primary source of obtaining health information in both clinics was their health care professional (50.6 % county; 40.1 % private). In multivariate analyses to determine differences by health literacy level, there were no statistically significant differences between patients with limited and adequate health literacy and their primary information source. Regardless of health literacy, patients rely on their health care providers to obtain health information. These results showcase the importance of providers' effective communication with patients to make shared decisions about their health regardless of other factors.