scholarly journals The relationships between health anxiety, online health information seeking, and cyberchondria: Systematic review and meta-analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 245 ◽  
pp. 270-278 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan D. McMullan ◽  
David Berle ◽  
Sandra Arnáez ◽  
Vladan Starcevic
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research

10.2196/19985 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e19985
Author(s):  
Christian Kubb ◽  
Heather M Foran
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
The Web

Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. Objective The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. Results A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. Conclusions This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

scholarly journals Online health information seeking by parents for their children. A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Kubb ◽  
H Foran
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
Search Behaviors

Abstract Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the importance of parental search behaviors, this area of research remains understudied and no comprehensive review of this research area has been conducted. Our aim is to summarize the existing findings on searched topics and search experience of online health information seeking among parents for their children with focus on building an agenda for further research and recommendations for public health. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of parental online health information seeking studies in the databases of PsycInfo, JMIR and PubMED. Studies from 1994 to June 2018 were considered. Results A total of 33 studies met the eligibility criteria, including 8665 parents. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. Parents report wishing for more guidance especially from their pediatrician on how to find online health information; however, studies found parents rarely report discussing online health information with their healthcare providers. Only five studies investigated health anxiety related to online health information and prevalences ranged from 14% and 52%, three examined theoretical models, and only three examined consequences of search behaviors more in-depth. Conclusions Results of this systematic review identify important gaps in theoretical models, risk factors to predict search behaviors, and health outcomes associated with parental search behaviors. An agenda for future research will be presented. Key messages Parents are heavy users of the health-related web, but more research is needed to support them in effective use. Tailored digital public health approaches could empower parents to make better use of online resources and improve health-related decision making.

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Kubb ◽  
Heather M Foran
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. RESULTS A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

scholarly journals Risk factors for distress during online health information seeking behavior in parents

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Kubb ◽  
H Foran
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Health Anxiety ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Couple Satisfaction ◽  
Parental Burden ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Abstract Background Parents use the Internet commonly for themselves and to search for information about their children's health. However, health-related information from the web has the potential to trigger anxiety and stress. The understanding of contributing factors for distress during health-related information search processes and which factors could be targeted for prevention is still limited. Methods Parents living in Austria with a child between 0 and 6 years were randomly assigned to search the web for current somatic health issues related to self- or child-symptoms. The task was performed on a desktop computer with a timeframe of 15 minutes. The stress level was assessed immediately before and after the search task with the State-Trait Anxiety-Inventory (STAI). Recruitment was terminated early due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic outbreak (sample size prior to COVID-19, N = 53). Results Multiple linear regression was used to predict parents' stress change during the search task based on health anxiety, attitude towards online health information, eHealth literacy, couple satisfaction and parental burden. Health anxiety, attitude towards online health information and eHealth literacy did not significantly contribute to predict parents' stress change (STAI state anxiety change), however couple satisfaction (β = -.393, t = -2.46, p = .018) and parental burden (β = -.388, t = -2.30, p = .026) did. Higher parents' baseline level of stress immediately before the search task was only associated with higher levels of parental burden (β = .882, t = 4.00, p < .001). Conclusions The results of this study indicate the importance of the relational level, rather than the individual level, in understanding stress during online health information seeking among parents. Future research should incorporate relational variables like parental burden and couple satisfaction into theoretical models and test their influence on online health distress in larger samples. Key messages Family and relational variables should be considered in future research investigating distress during online health information seeking for oneself or by proxy. Fostering parents' couple satisfaction and reducing parental burden may can contribute to lower stress levels after symptom-related online searches.

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking Behavior: A Systematic Review

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1740
Author(s):  
Xiaoyun Jia ◽  
Yan Pang ◽  
Liangni Sally Liu
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

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

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