Grabbing the Rice Straw: Health Information Seeking in Chinese Immigrants in the United States

2010 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 335-353 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chih-Ju Chen ◽  
Judith Kendall ◽  
Yea-Ing Lotus Shyu
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Rice Straw ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese Immigrants ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Information Seeking

scholarly journals A Cross-Cultural Comparison of an Extended Planned Risk Information Seeking Model on Mental Health Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study

10.2196/15817 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (5) ◽  
pp. e15817 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaomeng Niu ◽  
Jessica Fitts Willoughby ◽  
Jing Mei ◽  
Shaochun Li ◽  
Pengwei Hu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Media Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Mental Health Information

Background Approximately 42.5 million adults have been affected by mental illness in the United States in 2013, and 173 million people have been affected by a diagnosable psychiatric disorder in China. An increasing number of people tend to seek health information on the Web, and it is important to understand the factors associated with individuals’ mental health information seeking. Identifying factors associated with mental health information seeking may influence the disease progression of potential patients. Objective This study aimed to test the planned risk information seeking model (PRISM) in China and the United States with a chronic disease, mental illness, and two additional factors, ie, media use and cultural identity, among college students. Methods Data were collected in both countries using the same online survey through a survey management program (Qualtrics). In China, college instructors distributed the survey link among university students, and it was also posted on a leading social media site called Sina Weibo. In the United States, the data were collected in a college-wide survey pool in a large Northwestern university. Results The final sample size was 235 for the Chinese sample and 241 for the US sample. Media use was significantly associated with mental health information–seeking intentions in the Chinese sample (P<.001), and cultural identity was significantly associated with intentions in both samples (China: P=.02; United States: P<.001). The extended PRISM had a better model fit than the original PRISM. Conclusions Cultural identity and media use should be considered when evaluating the process of mental health information seeking or when designing interventions to address mental health information seeking.

scholarly journals Literacy, Numeracy, and Health Information Seeking Among Middle-Aged and Older Adults in the United States

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 33-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Yamashita ◽  
Anthony R. Bardo ◽  
Darren Liu ◽  
Phyllis A. Cummins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Nationally Representative

Objectives: Health literacy is often viewed as an essential skill set for successfully seeking health information to make health-related decisions. However, this general understanding has yet to be established with the use of nationally representative data. The objective of this study was to provide the first nationally representative empirical evidence that links health information seeking behaviors with health literacy among middle-age to older adults in the United States. Methods: Data were obtained from the 2012/2014 Program for the International Assessment of Adult Literacy (PIAAC). Our analytic sample is representative of adults age 45 to 74 years ( N = 2,989). Results: Distinct components of health literacy (i.e., literacy and numeracy) were uniquely associated with the use of different health information sources (e.g., health professionals, the Internet, television). Discussion: Findings should be useful for government agencies and health care providers interested in targeting health communications, as well as researchers who focus on health disparities.

scholarly journals A Cross-Cultural Comparison of an Extended Planned Risk Information Seeking Model on Mental Health Among College Students: Cross-Sectional Study (Preprint)

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhaomeng Niu ◽  
Jessica Fitts Willoughby ◽  
Jing Mei ◽  
Shaochun Li ◽  
Pengwei Hu
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Media Use ◽  
The United States ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Chinese Sample ◽  
Mental Health Information

BACKGROUND Approximately 42.5 million adults have been affected by mental illness in the United States in 2013, and 173 million people have been affected by a diagnosable psychiatric disorder in China. An increasing number of people tend to seek health information on the Web, and it is important to understand the factors associated with individuals’ mental health information seeking. Identifying factors associated with mental health information seeking may influence the disease progression of potential patients. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to test the planned risk information seeking model (PRISM) in China and the United States with a chronic disease, mental illness, and two additional factors, ie, media use and cultural identity, among college students. METHODS Data were collected in both countries using the same online survey through a survey management program (Qualtrics). In China, college instructors distributed the survey link among university students, and it was also posted on a leading social media site called Sina Weibo. In the United States, the data were collected in a college-wide survey pool in a large Northwestern university. RESULTS The final sample size was 235 for the Chinese sample and 241 for the US sample. Media use was significantly associated with mental health information–seeking intentions in the Chinese sample (<i>P</i>&lt;.001), and cultural identity was significantly associated with intentions in both samples (China: <i>P</i>=.02; United States: <i>P</i>&lt;.001). The extended PRISM had a better model fit than the original PRISM. CONCLUSIONS Cultural identity and media use should be considered when evaluating the process of mental health information seeking or when designing interventions to address mental health information seeking.

scholarly journals A Comparative Study of Internet Cancer Information Seeking among US and Chinese Publics: Perceived Needs versus Enabling Conditions (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Di Zhang ◽  
Hongchao Hu ◽  
Zhen Shi ◽  
Biao Li
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Behavioral Model ◽  
The United States ◽  
Cancer Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Services Use ◽  
Perceived Needs ◽  
Cancer Information Seeking

BACKGROUND Since the rise of the internet, online health information seeking has attracted worldwide scholarly attention. However, most scholars conducted such studies in single countries. Some scholars did design comparative studies across countries, but they were normally based on small non-probability college student samples. Data-driven multi-country comparison makes it possible to better understand how cultural factors moderate the association between individual-level determinants and online health information seeking, which further helps practitioners evaluate the desirability of experiences and lessons in a given country being transferred and promoted in other countries. The results of this study can contribute to the health communication literature, particularly in the field of online cancer information seeking, by generating more reliable insights on country differences in internet cancer information seeking. OBJECTIVE The objective of the study is to examine the similarities and differences in determinants of internet cancer information seeking of US and Chinese general public (excluding cancer patients and survivors) under the framework of behavioral model of health services use. METHODS This study used the HINTS 2017 (US data) and HINTS-China data collected in 2017 to answer the research question. This study was only interested in people without cancer history and with internet access. For HINTS 2017, the sample size was 2,153; for HINTS-China 2017, the sample size was 2,358. To compare China and the United States, the researchers selected as predictors the same set of study variables in HINTS and HINTS-China 2017. Under the framework of behavioral model of health services use, these predictors included predisposing, need and enabling factors. RESULTS This study found that enabling conditions are more important in China, while perceived needs are more significant in the United States. Chinese online cancer information seekers are employed, have lower annual family income, see or hear their family members diagnosed with cancer and do not trust their family and friends as health information sources, but none of them can be used to describe their US counterparts, who are instead more associated with their perceptions of personal health status and fear of cancer. CONCLUSIONS Overall, under the framework of the behavioral model of health services use, the results reveal clear patterns of cross-country/cultural differences. Perceived needs of individuals may play bigger roles in influencing internet cancer information seeking behaviors in more individualistic cultures such as the United States. The importance of enabling conditions outweighs perceived needs in predicting internet health information seeking behaviors in more collectivistic countries such as China.

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