scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking Behavior: A Systematic Review

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1740
Author(s):  
Xiaoyun Jia ◽  
Yan Pang ◽  
Liangni Sally Liu
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

The last five years have seen a leap in the development of information technology and social media. Seeking health information online has become popular. It has been widely accepted that online health information seeking behavior has a positive impact on health information consumers. Due to its importance, online health information seeking behavior has been investigated from different aspects. However, there is lacking a systematic review that can integrate the findings of the most recent research work in online health information seeking, and provide guidance to governments, health organizations, and social media platforms on how to support and promote this seeking behavior, and improve the services of online health information access and provision. We therefore conduct this systematic review. The Google Scholar database was searched for existing research on online health information seeking behavior between 2016 and 2021 to obtain the most recent findings. Within the 97 papers searched, 20 met our inclusion criteria. Through a systematic review, this paper identifies general behavioral patterns, and influencing factors such as age, gender, income, employment status, literacy (or education) level, country of origin and places of residence, and caregiving role. Facilitators (i.e., the existence of online communities, the privacy feature, real-time interaction, and archived health information format), and barriers (i.e., low health literacy, limited accessibility and information retrieval skills, low reliable, deficient and elusive health information, platform censorship, and lack of misinformation checks) to online health information seeking behavior are also discovered.

scholarly journals Exploring the Determinants of Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior Using a Meta-Analytic Approach

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (17) ◽  
pp. 4604 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wang ◽  
Xiu ◽  
Shahzad
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Ease Of Use ◽  
Perceived Usefulness ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Although key factors of online health information-seeking behavior (OHISB), such as self-efficacy, Internet experience, and perceived ease of use, are analyzed in many studies, the research results are controversial. The purpose of this meta-analysis, based on 27 related empirical studies, is to explore the determinants of OHISB. The determinants of OHISB are classified into four categories: demographic characteristic factors, cognitive factors, internal factors, and external factors. According to the results of the analysis using Stata13.0, our study found a weak effect of perceived cost and health anxiety on the OHISB, while subjective norm, perceived usefulness, and attitude have a strong positive effect on the OHISB. Understanding the determinants of OHISB is beneficial in order to know why users utilize online health applications. The findings of the study can contribute to developing and extending the existing theoretical concepts.

scholarly journals Predictors of online health information seeking behavior: Changes between 2002 and 2012

2016 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 804-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jinhui Li ◽  
Yin-Leng Theng ◽  
Schubert Foo
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Health Condition ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
The Impact

The Internet has become an important and preferred source of health information. Although the literature has highlighted several key predictors that influence an individual’s online health information seeking behavior, insufficient attention has been paid to the changes in the predictors’ roles and effects over time. This study explores and compares the effects that specific predictors had on online health information seeking behavior over a period of 10 years by integrating and analyzing two Pew datasets collected in 2002 and 2012. Hierarchical regression analyses indicate that socio-demographic factors and overall health condition are significant predictors that had an increasing impact on online health information seeking behavior. However, the impact of Internet usage decreased significantly from 2002 to 2012. A comparison across time contributes to a vertical understanding of the changes in online health information seeking behavior and its predictors and helps health professionals and researchers tailor their informational interventions to meet the up-to-date needs and preferences of users.

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