Consumerism in online health information search and self‐tracking devices

2019 ◽  
Vol 43 (3) ◽  
pp. 245-252 ◽  
Author(s):  
Titiana Ertiö ◽  
Pekka Räsänen
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Tracking Devices

Online Health Information Consumers’ Learning across Health-Related Search Tasks from the Perspective of Retrieval Platform Switching (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yijing Chen ◽  
Hanming Lin ◽  
Jin Zhang ◽  
Yiming Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Information Retrieval ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Platform Switching ◽  
Information Consumers

BACKGROUND Online health information retrieval has been a top choice for acquiring health information and knowledge by millions worldwide. OBJECTIVE This study aims to investigate consumers’ modification of retrieval platform switch paths across health-related search tasks and learning via such a change. METHODS A lab user experiment was designed to obtain data on consumers’ health information search behavior. Participants accomplished health-related information search tasks. Screen movements were recorded by EV screen-recording software. The participants underwent in-depth interviews immediately after finishing the tasks. Screen recordings and interview data were both coded and analyzed. RESULTS Three types of learning, including the similar transfer learning, optimizing learning, and SERP-guided learning were identified based on five change patterns of retrieval platform switch paths adopted by health information consumers from task 1 to task 2. Health information consumers’ retrieval platform switch based on information usefulness evaluation. And they accessed different amounts and types of health knowledge from different retrieval platforms. CONCLUSIONS The results suggest that health information consumers exhibit learning both through retrieval platform switching and the knowledge they consume during the search process. This facilitates the assessment of a certain retrieval platform’s usefulness by measuring the amount and types of health knowledge in each search result. This study also contributes to the enhancement of consumers’ health information retrieval abilities, and to helping optimize health information retrieval platforms by increasing their exposure to consumers and increasing the matching degree between knowledge types and consumer needs.

An Empirical Note on Health Information Digital Divide

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 15-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajeya Jha ◽  
Jaya Rani Pandey
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Family Type ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
And Gender ◽  
E Mail

Availability of healthcare information on internet has made it possible for patients or their relatives to search for such information. This study was undertaken to find answers to such questions. In all 754 respondents participated in the survey. The variables selected from literature survey and exploratory study are Health Information Digital Divide, Income, Having E-mail id, access to internet, geographical location, Education, family-type, age and gender. As the data is categorical the significance of difference has been calculated using Chi-square test. Later discriminant analysis was conducted to predict patients who make online health information search and the ones who do not. The result show that Income, Having E-mail id, access to internet, geographical location, Education and gender are significant factors that determine the propensity of people for online healthcare search. Age and family-type, however, were found to have no impact on such a behavior. Using discriminant analysis 94.5 percent patients who make online health information search could be correctly predicted.

scholarly journals What Triggers Health Information Search: An Explorative Analysis on the Information Needs, Situations, Technologies, and Habits in Health Information Search Across the Lifespan

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 125-125
Author(s):  
Anoosheh Ghazanfari ◽  
Jessie Chin
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Age Difference ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Given the access to online health information is no longer a problem, continuous growth in health information seeking has been observed. The goal of the study was to explore the triggers, information needs, contemporary technologies and habits of health information search behavior across the lifespan. The population who seeks online health information has increased stably for two decades (Diaz et al., 2002, Tennant et al., 2015). In addition to its prevalence, online health information plays an important role in patient decision-making. Almost half of people who searched for health information online reported that it influenced the way they think about health factors, and more than one third of them said it influenced their decision to see a doctor, or how they managed chronic conditions (Pew Internet Research, 2013). While earlier studies have explored the triggers of online health information seeking (e.g., Flynn, Smith & Freese, 2006), health information seeking behavior may be evolved with the development of new technologies. To explore the triggers of health information seeking across the lifespan, 69 older (mean age = 63.94, 35 female) and 67 younger (mean age = 35.21, 31 female) adults were recruited to a survey study. We found that there was no age difference in the reliance on health information sources. Physicians and the Internet remained the dominant sources of health information, followed by family, friends and pharmacists. Regarding information seeking habits, there was no age difference in the overall frequencies of online health information search despite the fact that more older adults checked health information online daily. Checking medication information was the dominant reason to trigger both younger and older adults to go online, followed by searching online after doctors’ visits, and making treatment decisions. There was also a trend that older users were more likely to go online when they heard about a new or unknown health information compared to younger users. Further, we explored the information needs of online health information search. While older adults were more likely to search for learning new information than younger adults, more younger adults looked up online health information for confirming or clarifying known health information. Taking advantage of social health information, about one half of younger and older adults shared health information online with their family and friends, and went online for checking review comments of medications, healthcare providers, etc. from their peer patients. Further, while desktop computers remained the most used technology for online health information search, an age difference was found in the usage of tablets and smartphones. Older adults used the tablets to do online health information searches more than younger adults; while younger people used the smart phones to do online health information searches more than older people. Overall, we found increasing importance of online health information for adults across the lifespan, especially for older adults who tended to use online information for acquiring new knowledge about health topics. The triggers of online health information seeking were also not only bounded to doctors’ visits but also related to daily health information needs (such as checking medications). Interestingly, the use of tablets for online health information search among older adults could be associated with the perceived ease of use of tablets among older users (portability, bigger font size and the accessibility of interactions) (Jayroe & Wolfram, 2012). As Pew Internet (2017) suggested that over a third of seniors own tablets, when designing elderly-accessible health websites, tailoring the presentation of health information to different media (including tablets) needs to be considered.

Using the eye-tracking method to study consumer online health information search behaviour

2019 ◽  
Vol 71 (6) ◽  
pp. 739-754 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacek Gwizdka ◽  
Yan Zhang ◽  
Andrew Dillon
Keyword(s):  
Eye Tracking ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Knowledge Gain ◽  
Unique Contribution ◽  
Search Behaviour ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Behaviour ◽  
Information Research

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to introduce eye tracking as a method for capturing direct and indirect measures of online human information search behaviour. The unique contribution of eye-tracking data in studying information behaviour is examined in the context of health information research. Design/methodology/approach The need for multiple methods of data collection when examining human online health information behaviour is described and summarised. The nature of human eye movements in information use and reading is outlined and the emergence and application of contemporary eye-tracking technology are explained. Findings The paper summarises key contributions and insights that eye tracking has provided across multiple studies, with examples of both direct data on fixations and gaze durations as well as theoretical assessments of relevance and knowledge gain. Originality/value The paper provides a basic introduction to the application of a unique method for information research in general and online health information search in particular and provides readers with an awareness of how such data are captured and interpreted.

An Empirical Note on Health Vulnerability and Health Information Digital Divide

2020 ◽  
pp. 26-48
Author(s):  
Jaya Rani ◽  
Ajeya Jha ◽  
Jitendra Kumar ◽  
Samrat Kumar Mukherjee ◽  
Saibal Kumar Saha
Keyword(s):  
Discriminant Analysis ◽  
Digital Divide ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Healthcare Information ◽  
Information Searches ◽  
And Gender

Availability of healthcare information on the Internet has made it possible for patients or their relatives to search for such information. Considering the delicate nature of such information as well as its great need felt by the society, it is important to know who are these people who actively search for online healthcare information and also those who are unable to do so. In all, 754 respondents participated in the survey. The variables selected from literature survey and exploratory study are Health Information Digital Divide, Income, Having E-mail id, access to Internet, geographical location, Education, family-type, age, and gender. As the data is categorical, the significance of difference has been calculated using Chi-square test. Later discriminant analysis was conducted to predict patients who make online health information searches and the ones who do not. Using discriminant analysis, 94.5 percent of patients who make online health information searches could be correctly predicted. Prediction is 99.7% for the patients who do not indulge in online health information search.

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