scholarly journals From Their Perspective: Baby Boomers’ Health Information Searching Behaviors

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 422-422
Author(s):  
Tammy Walkner
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Baby Boomers ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Healthy Aging ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Social Connections ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Information Searching

Abstract People frequently turn to the Internet for health information, especially as they get older. But searches and results can be influenced by many factors including the comfort level for using digital technology, input from social connections, and personal knowledge. The Baby Boom generation is changing the age structure of the U.S. toward an older age demographic. Despite the significance of this cohort, little is known about how they apply health information to manage personal health. This study focused on Baby Boomers to increase knowledge about their health information searching behavior, the role social support plays in that behavior, and to better understand their perceptions of healthy aging. Social cognitive theory (Bandura, 2004) was the framework to investigate micro-level factors that may influence Baby Boomers’ decisions about health information and whether they apply that information for healthy aging. Findings confirm Baby Boomers use online health information to advocate for specific treatments and more appropriate medications, to change their diet and exercise routines as well as to maintain their quality of life as they age. They also routinely rely on social connections when gathering information and implementing changes. Knowledge about Baby Boomers’ health information seeking behaviors has broad implications for health care professionals, web page designers, policy makers, and others interested in promoting healthy aging. Insight into older adults’ perceptions about using newer digital devices and their perseverance to learn new procedures like accessing electronic health records may spark changes in the communication between health care providers and patients of all abilities.

Patients' Perceptions of Different Information Exchange Mechanisms: An Exploratory Study in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 59 (04/05) ◽  
pp. 162-178
Author(s):  
Pouyan Esmaeilzadeh
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
The United States ◽  
Exchange Mechanism ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Security Risks ◽  
Direct Exchange

Abstract Background Patients may seek health care services from various providers during treatment. These providers could serve in a network (affiliated) or practice separately (unaffiliated). Thus, using secure and reliable health information exchange (HIE) mechanisms would be critical to transfer sensitive personal health information (PHI) across distances. Studying patients' perceptions and opinions about exchange mechanisms could help health care providers build more complete HIEs' databases and develop robust privacy policies, consent processes, and patient education programs. Objectives Due to the exploratory nature of this study, we aim to shed more light on public perspectives (benefits, concerns, and risks) associated with the four data exchange practices in the health care sector. Methods In this study, we compared public perceptions and expectations regarding four common types of exchange mechanisms used in the United States (i.e., traditional, direct, query-based, patient-mediated exchange mechanisms). Traditional is an exchange through fax, paper mailing, or phone calls, direct is a provider-to-provider exchange, query-based is sharing patient data with a central repository, and patient-mediated is an exchange mechanism in which patients can access data and monitor sharing. Data were collected from 1,624 subjects using an online survey to examine the benefits, risks, and concerns associated with the four exchange mechanisms from patients' perspectives. Results Findings indicate that several concerns and risks such as privacy concerns, security risks, trust issues, and psychological risks are raised. Besides, multiple benefits such as access to complete information, communication improvement, timely and convenient information sharing, cost-saving, and medical error reduction are highlighted by respondents. Through consideration of all risks and benefits associated with the four exchange mechanisms, the direct HIE mechanism was selected by respondents as the most preferred mechanism of information exchange among providers. More than half of the respondents (56.18%) stated that overall they favored direct exchange over the other mechanisms. 42.70% of respondents expected to be more likely to share their PHI with health care providers who implemented and utilized a direct exchange mechanism. 43.26% of respondents believed that they would support health care providers to leverage a direct HIE mechanism for sharing their PHI with other providers. The results exhibit that individuals expect greater benefits and fewer adverse effects from direct HIE among health care providers. Overall, the general public sentiment is more in favor of direct data transfer. Our results highlight that greater public trust in exchange mechanisms is required, and information privacy and security risks must be addressed before the widespread implementation of such mechanisms. Conclusion This exploratory study's findings could be interesting for health care providers and HIE policymakers to analyze how consumers perceive the current exchange mechanisms, what concerns should be addressed, and how the exchange mechanisms could be modified to meet consumers' needs.

scholarly journals Development and Evaluation of a New Security and Privacy Track in a Health Informatics Graduate Program: Multidisciplinary Collaboration in Education (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leming Zhou ◽  
Bambang Parmanto ◽  
James Joshi
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Informatics ◽  
Graduate Program ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Security And Privacy ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Widespread Application ◽  
Mobile Health Apps

BACKGROUND The widespread application of technologies such as electronic health record systems, mobile health apps, and telemedicine platforms, has made it easy for health care providers to collect relevant data and deliver health care regimens. While efficacious, these new technologies also pose serious security and privacy challenges. OBJECTIVE The training program described here aims at preparing well-informed health information security and privacy professionals with enhanced course materials and various approaches. METHODS A new educational track has been built within a health informatics graduate program. Several existing graduate courses have been enhanced with new security and privacy modules. New labs and seminars have been created, and students are being encouraged to participate in research projects and obtain real-world experience from industry partners. Students in this track receive both theoretical education and hands-on practice. Evaluations have been performed on this new track by conducting multiple surveys on a sample of students. RESULTS We have succeeded in creating a new security track and developing a pertinent curriculum. The newly created security materials have been implemented in multiple courses. Our evaluation indicated that students (N=72) believed that receiving security and privacy training was important for health professionals, the provided security contents were interesting, and having the enhanced security and privacy training in this program was beneficial for their future career. CONCLUSIONS The security and privacy education for health information professionals in this new security track has been significantly enhanced.

The public’s trust and information brokers in health care, public health and research

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 929-948 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jodyn Platt ◽  
Minakshi Raj ◽  
Sharon L.R. Kardia
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Health System ◽  
Information Sharing ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Information Brokers

Purpose Nations such as the USA are investing in technologies such as electronic health records in order to collect, store and transfer information across boundaries of health care, public health and research. Health information brokers such as health care providers, public health departments and university researchers function as “access points” to manage relationships between the public and the health system. The relationship between the public and health information brokers is influenced by trust; and this relationship may predict the trust that the public has in the health system as a whole, which has implications for public trust in the system, and consequently, legitimacy of involved institutions, under circumstances of health information data sharing in the future. This paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach In this study, the authors aimed to examine characteristics of trustors (i.e. the public) that predict trust in health information brokers; and further, to identify the factors that influence trust in brokers that also predict system trust. The authors developed a survey that was administered to US respondents in 2014 using GfK’s nationally representative sample, with a final sample of 1,011 participants and conducted ordinary least squares regression for data analyses. Findings Results suggest that health care providers are the most trusted information brokers of those examined. Beliefs about medical deceptive behavior were negatively associated with trust in each of the information brokers examined; however, psychosocial factors were significantly associated with trust in brokers, suggesting that individual attitudes and beliefs are influential on trust in brokers. Positive views of information sharing and the expectation of benefits of information sharing for health outcomes and health care quality are associated with system trust. Originality/value This study suggests that demonstrating the benefits and value of information sharing could be beneficial for building public trust in the health system; however, trust in brokers of information are variable across the public; that is, knowledge, attitudes and beliefs are associated with the level of trust different individuals have in various health information brokers – suggesting that the need for a personalized approach to building trust.

scholarly journals Viewpoint: Health literacy and patient portals

2015 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 172 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yulong Gu ◽  
Martin Orr ◽  
Jim Warren
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Patient Portal ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Portals ◽  
Health Consumer ◽  
Improve Patient

Health literacy has been described as the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Improving health literacy may serve to promote concordance with therapy, engage patients in their own health care, and improve health outcomes. Patient portal technology aims at enabling patients and families to have easy access to key information in their own medical records and to communicate with their health care providers electronically. However, there is a gap in our understanding of how portals will improve patient outcome. The authors believe patient portal technology presents an opportunity to improve patient concordance with prescribed therapy, if adequate support is provided to equip patients (and family/carers) with the knowledge needed to utilise the health information available via the portals. Research is needed to understand what a health consumer will use patient portals for and how to support a user to realise the technology?s potential.

scholarly journals Patient portals and personal health information online: perception, access, and use by US adults

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (e1) ◽  
pp. e173-e177 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sue Peacock ◽  
Ashok Reddy ◽  
Suzanne G Leveille ◽  
Jan Walker ◽  
Thomas H Payne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Race And Ethnicity ◽  
Personal Health Information ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Patient Portals ◽  
The Past ◽  
Patient Race

Background: Access to online patient portals is key to improving care, but we have limited understanding of patient perceptions of online portals and the characteristics of people who use them. Methods: Using a national survey of 3677 respondents, we describe perceptions and utilization of online personal health information (PHI) portals. Results: Most respondents (92%) considered online PHI access important, yet only 34% were offered access to online PHI by a health care provider, and just 28% accessed online PHI in the past year. While there were no differences across race or ethnicity in importance of access, black and Hispanic respondents were significantly less likely to be offered access (P = .006 and <.001, respectively) and less likely to access their online PHI (P = .041 and <.001, respectively) compared to white and non-Hispanic respondents. Conclusion: Health care providers are crucial to the adoption and use of online patient portals and should be encouraged to offer consistent access regardless of patient race and ethnicity.

scholarly journals A Needs Assessment of Latino Men’s Health Concerns

2008 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 22-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Terry Peak ◽  
Julie Gast ◽  
Denice Ahlstrom
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Latino Men ◽  
Health Concerns ◽  
Traditional Health ◽  
The Impact

Historically, Latino men are an understudied group. Researchers know little about the impact of culture or gender on health concerns. In this study, focus groups with Latino men were held that investigated their health concerns, barriers, motivators, and access to health information and health services. Additionally, the researchers wished to determine if a church-based design might help reach men who might not be responsive to more traditional health education or public health routes. Results included that the Latino male participants in this study wanted health information but wanted it to be more specific and in an accessible format. They also desired more Spanish-speaking health care providers and were acutely interested in low-cost health care. Prevention was not of much interest to these participants. Church-attending participants were interested in church-based health education.

Pediatric Health Care Providers’ Attitudes and Referral Predictors for Therapeutic Massage and Acupuncture

2005 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 119-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary C. McLellan ◽  
Ellen Silver Highfield ◽  
Alan D. Woolf
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Comfort Level ◽  
Pediatric Care ◽  
Health Providers ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Pediatric Health ◽  
Pediatric Health Care ◽  
Therapeutic Massage

The objective of this study was to assess pediatric health providers’ attitudes, experience, and referral patterns with respect to therapeutic massage and acupuncture (TM&A). A written survey of experience with and attitudes about TM&A was distributed to a convenience sample of pediatric health care providers attending a regional postgraduate course in April 2002. Bivariate analyses were performed using Fisher’s exact test and the chisquare statistic. Pediatric care providers’ practices of referring patients to TM&A were associated with their own familiarity with and prior use of TM&A as well as their professed comfort level in discussing these modalities. There were no significant differences by professional status, gender, or years in practice in 42% of the respondents who reported making TM&A referrals. Pediatric health care providers’practices in referring patients for TM&A are positively associated with their familiarity with and personal use of TM&A.

scholarly journals Review of Health Information Systems in Oman

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammed Elhadi ◽  
Ahmed Al-Hosni ◽  
Khaled Day ◽  
Adbullah Al-Hamadani ◽  
Abdulrahman Al-Toqi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Information Systems ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Quality Of Health Care ◽  
Health Information Systems ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Major Health ◽  
Global Quality

This paper is a review of Oman's major Health Information Systems (HISs) and their enabling technologies. The work assesses the scope, functionality, security, and interoperability of the used systems. The review aids in achieving the objectives of HIS systems of improving the global quality of health care, attaining increased coordination between health care providers and consumers, promoting the use of guidelines and policies, and improving the speed of simultaneous access and distribution of medicalrecords and other resources. This paper, which can be considered as a building block towards the development of a nation-wide health care system, studies existing systems and identifies their functions and structures.  

Health Literacy and Health/Risk Communication

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Mackert ◽  
Sara Champlin ◽  
Jisoo Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Outcomes ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
The United States ◽  
Care Providers

Health literacy—defined as the ability of an individual to obtain, process, understand, and communicate about health information—contributes significantly to health outcomes and costs to the U.S. health-care system. Approximately one-quarter to one-half of U.S. adults struggle with health information, which includes understanding patient education materials, reading medication labels, and communicating with health-care providers. Low health literacy is more common among the elderly, those who speak English as a second language, and those of lower socioeconomic status. In addition to conceptualizing health literacy as an individual-level skill, it can also be considered an organizational or community-level ability. Increased attention to the field of health literacy has resulted in debates about the definition and the best ways to assess health literacy; there is also a strong and growing movement within the field of health literacy research and practice to frame health literacy less as a deficit to overcome and more as an approach to empowering patients and improving outcomes. As health-care providers have recognized the importance of health literacy, workshops, and training programs have been developed and evaluated to improve the care of low-health-literate patients. Similarly, health promotion professionals have developed best practices for reaching low-health-literate audiences with traditional and new digital media, which can also increase access for patients with hearing or visual impairments. Additionally, recent policy changes in the United States, including those related to the Affordable Care Act, contribute to a greater focus and regulation of factors that impact health literacy. Researchers and practitioners together are advancing understanding of health literacy, its relationship to health outcomes and health-care costs, and improved strategies for improving the health of lower health literate patients. Development and review of health literacy pieces can aid in shared decision making and provide insights for patients on various health-care services.

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