Does Online Health Information Seeking Act Like a Health Behavior?: A Test of the Behavioral Model

BACKGROUND Previous research has identified disparities in seeking and using online health information to inform health-related behaviors. Relatively few studies, however, have examined the correlates of online health information seeking and use at the intersection of race, gender, age, and the presence of chronic health condition. OBJECTIVE In this study, we identify factors associated with seeking and using online health information among a uniquely vulnerable and intersectional population, middle-aged and older (40+) African-American and Hispanic men living with one or more chronic conditions. METHODS Survey responses were collected from a purposive sample of African-American and Hispanic men using Qualtrics online survey management software. To qualify for inclusion in the study, respondents had to identify as African-American or Hispanic men, report having at least one chronic condition, and aged 40 years and older. RESULTS Online health information seeking among minority men is function of education, the presence of multiple chronic conditions, frustrations with healthcare providers, internet use, and the perceived reliability of online health information. Use of online health information to inform interactions with healthcare providers is more common for minority men who rate their health as relatively good, perceive barriers to care, use technology regularly, and take more daily medications. CONCLUSIONS Understanding the factors that influence minority males to seek online health information may help to improve care and treatment of chronic conditions. Minority males seek online health information as a substitute for routine care, but also to inform their discussions with healthcare providers. CLINICALTRIAL N/A

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

Journal of Medical Internet 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.

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