Communicating to Improve Health

2016 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1276-1296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yue Zheng ◽  
Brooke Weberling McKeever
Keyword(s):  
Problem Solving ◽  
Communicative Action ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Nationwide Survey ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Consciousness ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Situational Theory ◽  
Media Channels ◽  
Improve Health

Using a nationwide survey of 1,539 respondents, this study uses variables from the situational theory of problem solving to examine communication related to three of the largest U.S.-based fundraising events benefiting three nonprofit health organizations. The findings extend the situational theory of problem solving by adding health consciousness as an antecedent and provide empirical support for its increased predictive power in explaining communicative action, which may lead to future participation in fundraising events. In addition, by investigating how health-related communicative action varies across demographics and by media use, this study contributes a range of practical implications in terms of how nonprofit and health communication practitioners might better segment publics and utilize different media channels to disseminate health-related information more effectively.

Understanding the Lived Experience of Patients with Melanoma: Real-World Evidence Generated through a European Social Media Listening Analysis (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jyoti Chauhan ◽  
Sathyaraj Aasaithambi ◽  
Iván Márquez-Rodas ◽  
Luigi Formisano ◽  
Sophie Papa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Lived Experience ◽  
Social Life ◽  
Patient Journey ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Stakeholder Perspectives ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Media Channels

BACKGROUND Cutaneous melanoma is an aggressive malignancy that is proposed to account for 90% of skin cancer-related mortality. Individuals with melanoma experience both physical and psychological impacts associated with their diagnosis and treatment. Health-related information is being increasingly accessed and shared by stakeholders on social media platforms. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to assess how individuals living with melanoma use social media to discuss their needs and provide their perceptions of the disease, from across 14 European countries. METHODS Social media sources including Twitter, forums, and blogs were searched using predefined search strings of keywords relating to melanoma. Manual and automated relevancy approaches filtered the extracted data for content that provided patient-centric insights. This contextualized data was then mined for insightful concepts around symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, impacts, and the lived experiences of melanoma. RESULTS A total of 182,000 posts related to melanoma were identified between November 2018‒November 2020. Following exclusion of irrelevant posts and using random sampling methodology, 864 posts were identified as relevant to the study objectives. Of the social media channels included, Twitter was the most commonly used, followed by forums and blogs. Most posts originated from the UK (38%) and Spain (16%). Sixty-two percent of relevant posts were categorized as originating from individuals with melanoma. The most frequently discussed melanoma-related topics were treatment (55%), diagnosis and tests (33%), and remission (24%). The majority of treatment discussions were about surgery (67%), followed by immunotherapy (12%). In total, 255 posts discussed the impacts of melanoma, which included emotional burden (70%), physical impacts (24%), effects on social life (17%), and financial impacts (4%). CONCLUSIONS Findings from this study highlight how melanoma stakeholders discuss key concepts associated with the condition on social media, adding to the conceptual model of the patient journey. This social media listening approach is a powerful tool in exploring melanoma stakeholder perspectives, providing insights that can be used to corroborate existing data and inform future studies.

Using Popular Mobile Devices in Voice Therapy

2013 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 82-87 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva van Leer
Keyword(s):  
Exercise Behavior ◽  
Voice Therapy ◽  
Pure Oxygen ◽  
Mobile Platforms ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Motivational Messages ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Tailored Approach

Mobile tools are increasingly available to help individuals monitor their progress toward health behavior goals. Commonly known commercial products for health and fitness self-monitoring include wearable devices such as the Fitbit© and Nike + Pedometer© that work independently or in conjunction with mobile platforms (e.g., smartphones, media players) as well as web-based interfaces. These tools track and graph exercise behavior, provide motivational messages, offer health-related information, and allow users to share their accomplishments via social media. Approximately 2 million software programs or “apps” have been designed for mobile platforms (Pure Oxygen Mobile, 2013), many of which are health-related. The development of mobile health devices and applications is advancing so quickly that the Food and Drug Administration issued a Guidance statement with the purpose of defining mobile medical applications and describing a tailored approach to their regulation.

Executive Dysfunction Mediates the Association Between Older Age and Online Health Information Search Performance

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Kordovski ◽  
Savanna M. Tierney ◽  
Samina Rahman ◽  
Luis D. Medina ◽  
Michelle A. Babicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Information Search ◽  
Search Task ◽  
Executive Dysfunction ◽  
Older Age ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Younger Adults ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related

Objective: Searching the Internet for health-related information is a complex and dynamic goal-oriented process that places demands on executive functions, which are higher-order cognitive abilities that are known to deteriorate with older age. This study aimed to examine the effects of older age on electronic health (eHealth) search behavior, and to determine whether executive functions played a mediating role in that regard. Method: Fifty younger adults (≤ 35 years) and 41 older adults (≥50 years) completed naturalistic eHealth search tasks involving fact-finding (Fact Search) and symptom diagnosis (Symptom Search), a neurocognitive battery, and a series of questionnaires. Results: Multiple regression models with relevant covariates revealed that older adults were slower and less accurate than younger adults on the eHealth Fact Search task, but not on the eHealth Symptom Search task. Nevertheless, executive functions mediated the relationship between older age and eHealth Fact Search and Symptom Search accuracy. Conclusions: Older adults can experience difficulty searching the Internet for some health-related information, which is at least partly attributable to executive dysfunction. Future studies are needed to determine the benefits of training in the organizational and strategic aspects of Internet search for older adults and whether these findings are applicable to clinical populations with executive dysfunction.

scholarly journals Understanding disadvantaged adolescents’ perception of health literacy through a systematic development of peer vignettes

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah R. Goss ◽  
Clare McDermott ◽  
Laura Hickey ◽  
Johann Issartel ◽  
Sarah Meegan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Research Methods ◽  
Health Behaviours ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Socially Disadvantaged ◽  
Unhealthy Behaviour ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Literacy Profiles ◽  
Improve Health

Abstract Background Adolescence represents a crucial phase of life where health behaviours, attitudes and social determinants can have lasting impacts on health quality across the life course. Unhealthy behaviour in young people is generally more common in low socioeconomic groups. Nevertheless, all adolescents should have a fair opportunity to attain their full health potential. Health literacy is positioned as a potential mediating factor to improve health, but research regarding health literacy in adolescents and socially disadvantaged populations is limited. As part of Phase one of the Ophelia (OPtimising HEalth LIterAcy) framework, The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of socially disadvantaged Irish adolescents in relation to health literacy and related behaviours, and utilise this data to develop relevant vignettes. Methods A convergent mixed method design was used to co-create the vignettes. Questionnaires were completed by 962 adolescents (males n = 553, females n = 409, Mean age = 13.97 ± 0.96 years) from five participating disadvantaged schools in Leinster, Ireland. Focus groups were also conducted in each school (n = 31). Results were synthesised using cluster and thematic analysis, to develop nine vignettes that represented typical male and female subgroups across the schools with varying health literacy profiles. These vignettes were then validated through triangular consensus with students, teachers, and researchers. Discussion The co-creation process was a participatory methodology which promoted the engagement and autonomy of the young people involved in the project. The vignettes themselves provide an authentic and tangible description of the health issues and health literacy profiles of adolescents in this context. Application of these vignettes in workshops involving students and teachers, will enable meaningful engagement in the discussion of health literacy and health-related behaviours in Irish young people, and the potential co-designing of strategies to address health literacy in youth. Conclusion As guided by the Ophelia framework, the use of authentic, interactive and participatory research methods, such as the co-creation of vignettes, is particularly important in groups that are underserved by traditional research methods. The approach used in this study could be adapted to other contexts to represent and understand stakeholders’ perceptions of health, with a view to explore, and ultimately improve, health literacy.

scholarly journals Using the Brief Health Literacy Screen in Chronic Care in French Hospital Settings: Content Validity of Patient and Healthcare Professional Reports

2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 96
Author(s):  
Adèle Perrin ◽  
Luiza Siqueira do Prado ◽  
Amélie Duché ◽  
Anne-Marie Schott ◽  
Alexandra L. Dima ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Literacy ◽  
Content Validity ◽  
Chronic Care ◽  
Routine Care ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Concept Of Health ◽  
Patient Reported ◽  
Centered Care ◽  
Health Related ◽  
French Hospital

Person-centered care has led healthcare professionals (HCPs) to be more attentive to patients’ ability to understand and apply health-related information, especially those with chronic conditions. The concept of health literacy (HL) is essential in understanding patients’ needs in routine care, but its measurement is still controversial, and few tools are validated in French. We therefore considered the brief health literacy screen (BHLS) for assessing patient-reported HL in chronic care settings, and also developed an HCP-reported version of the BHLS with the aim of using it as a research instrument to assess HCPs’ evaluation of patients’ HL levels. We assessed the content validity of the French translation of both the patient-reported and HCP-reported BHLS in chronic care within hospital settings, through cognitive interviews with patients and HCPs. We performed qualitative analysis on interview data using the survey response Tourangeau model. Our results show that the BHLS is easy and quick to administer, but some terms need to be adapted to the French chronic care settings. Health-related information was observed to be mainly communicated orally, hence a useful direction for future literacy measures would be to also address verbal HL.

scholarly journals Promotion of Elementary School Students’ Health Literacy

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (24) ◽  
pp. 9560
Author(s):  
Elke Knisel ◽  
Helge Rupprich ◽  
Annika Wunram ◽  
Markus Bremer ◽  
Christiane Desaive
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Elementary School ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Rank Test ◽  
School Students ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Signed Rank ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Signed Rank Test

Health literacy is an important outcome of the discussion of school-related health education and health promotion in the 21st century. Although the improvement of health literacy at an early age is increasingly recognized and few interventions show the development of children´s health literacy, still there is little research in this area. The purpose of the study was to examine the enhancement of health literacy among children in a physical activity-based program at elementary school. In total, 137 students aged 6–12 years participated in the program, which included health knowledge transfer in child-appropriate games and exercises. Participants´ health literacy was assessed using the HLS-Child-Q15-DE at the beginning and the end of the program. The instrument measures the access, understanding, appraisal and application of health-related information on a four-point Likert-type scale. As expected, the Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed significant increases in self-reported health literacy over time. The results show that the degree of change in health literacy was not associated with gender or age. The results suggest that the physical activity-based program has the potential to improve elementary school children´s health literacy, even though in a single group pilot study.

Cognitive Correlates of Obesity in a Nonclinical Population

1987 ◽  
Vol 60 (3_part_2) ◽  
pp. 1151-1156
Author(s):  
John M. Davis ◽  
R. Wade Wheeler ◽  
Eve Willy
Keyword(s):  
Locus Of Control ◽  
Large Class ◽  
Negative Correlation ◽  
Self Esteem ◽  
Normal Weight ◽  
Control Scale ◽  
Cognitive Correlates ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
Health Related

From a large class who had been pretested on the I-E Locus of Control Scale and a self-esteem measure, 30 overweight and 20 normal-weight students were selected and measured to determine their percentage of overweight. They were then asked to complete questionnaires measuring knowledge of health-related information and of specific obesity-related information. Results confirmed (a) a negative correlation between self-esteem and percentage overweight and (b) less knowledge of broad, health-related information among obese students. No relation was found between percentage of overweight and I-E scale scores.

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