scholarly journals Students’ Trust Formation and Credibility Judgements in Online Health Information – A Review Article

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahmood Khosrowjerdi ◽  
Anneli Sundqvist
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Easy Access ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Related Factors ◽  
Trust Formation ◽  
The Usa

Health information is a frequent subject for online information seeking. Research on the phenomenon has to a certain extent included students. This review, based on an analysis of 61 articles, shows the current state of the art of research on students’ trust in online health information. The review covers methodological approaches and findings of previous previous empirical studies: research design; trustworthy health information sources; credibility assessment; and factors impacting on trust formation. The analysis of research designs reveals that the survey method was most frequent, but small qualitative studies were also occurring. More than half of the studies were administered in the USA, while only a smaller part concerned ‘non-Western’ countries. Female subjects were more frequent than male.The concept of trust was not always explicitly defined in the studies. The students' actual propensity to use internet was generally taken as an expression of trust. The antecedents of trust identified in the studies can be summarized as the perceived quality of the information, the perceived credibility of the source or source provider, the users’ general inclination to trust, the actual use of information, and the perceived intelligibility of the information. The findings show that Internet was among the main sources for health information, but parents or other family members, friends, schools, health professionals were also frequent sources of health information, and students were not immediately accepting online information as trustworthy. The students’ trust and credibility judgments were influenced by social and demographic, cultural, psychological, knowledge and skills-related, and source, system and content-related factors. Governmental and organizational websites were reported as the most trustful sources, although some issues regarding website features and presentation of content were reported as barriers. Easy access were of importance for using a particular resource, but there seemed to be a learning effect impacting on seeking behaviour and trust formation. 

scholarly journals Parental Online Information Access and Childhood Vaccination Decisions in North America: Scoping Review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Ashfield ◽  
Lorie Donelle
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Vaccine Information

BACKGROUND Immunizing children throughout their early years prevents the spread of communicable disease and decreases the morbidity and mortality associated with many vaccine-preventable diseases. Searching online allows individuals rapid access to health information. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review was to develop an understanding of the existing literature of parents’ online health information-seeking behaviors to inform their vaccination choices for their children and to identify gaps in the literature around parents’ use of online health information and their vaccination choices. METHODS A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature from Canada and the United States was performed. The following databases were utilized to perform the search: PubMed, CINAHL, Nursing & Allied Health Database, Scopus, and PsycINFO. The purpose of this review was to examine parents’ use of online information seeking related to vaccine information and to understand how parents utilize this information to inform decisions about vaccinating their children. Of the 34 papers included in the review, 4 relevant themes and subthemes were identified: information seeking, online information resources, online vaccine content, and trust in health care providers. RESULTS Examination of the literature revealed conflicting information regarding parents’ use of social media and online resources to inform decisions around vaccinating their children. There is evidence of significant misinformation regarding vaccine risks online. Parents’ digital health literacy levels are unknown and may affect their ability to appraise online vaccination information. CONCLUSIONS Parents are seeking vaccine information from online sources. However, the influence of online vaccine information on parental vaccine practices remains uncertain.

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking andInformation Quality: A Preliminary Contemplation

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 321-326
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Health Risks ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Quality System ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
System Quality ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

The healthcare industry has undergone a rapid change as the internet shows latent abilities to assist in information seeking and decision making regarding self-care and health-related issues. Therefore, it is essential to discern issues concerning the quality of the information and the system. Thus, this paper aims to explore the current issues in information quality, system quality and health risks within the context of online health information seeking. First, a literature review is conducted to gather information about the issues in detail. Second, a preliminary study is implemented to clarify the existence of the research problem in the real world. Relying on online survey method, the data were collected from doctors, health professionals, nurses, and consumers. The resultsfound that the main issue in information quality is the consumers' lack of ability to distinguish quality health information, whereas, the lack of system integration is the major problem associated with system quality. 88.6% of the respondents had underlined that health information could be misleading as a vital health risk. This study is a significant addition to the literature, in that it confirms the impacts of information quality, system quality and health risks on consumers’ behavior in health information seeking while using e-health websites.

scholarly journals Parental Online Information Access and Childhood Vaccination Decisions in North America: Scoping Review

10.2196/20002 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (10) ◽  
pp. e20002
Author(s):  
Sarah Ashfield ◽  
Lorie Donelle
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
The United States ◽  
Early Years ◽  
Childhood Vaccination ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Vaccine Information

Background Immunizing children throughout their early years prevents the spread of communicable disease and decreases the morbidity and mortality associated with many vaccine-preventable diseases. Searching online allows individuals rapid access to health information. Objective The purpose of this review was to develop an understanding of the existing literature of parents’ online health information-seeking behaviors to inform their vaccination choices for their children and to identify gaps in the literature around parents’ use of online health information and their vaccination choices. Methods A scoping review of peer-reviewed literature from Canada and the United States was performed. The following databases were utilized to perform the search: PubMed, CINAHL, Nursing & Allied Health Database, Scopus, and PsycINFO. The purpose of this review was to examine parents’ use of online information seeking related to vaccine information and to understand how parents utilize this information to inform decisions about vaccinating their children. Of the 34 papers included in the review, 4 relevant themes and subthemes were identified: information seeking, online information resources, online vaccine content, and trust in health care providers. Results Examination of the literature revealed conflicting information regarding parents’ use of social media and online resources to inform decisions around vaccinating their children. There is evidence of significant misinformation regarding vaccine risks online. Parents’ digital health literacy levels are unknown and may affect their ability to appraise online vaccination information. Conclusions Parents are seeking vaccine information from online sources. However, the influence of online vaccine information on parental vaccine practices remains uncertain.

scholarly journals Perceived Efficiency Outcomes, Sources and Awareness of Online Health Information among the Elderly during COVID-19

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (15) ◽  
pp. 8121
Author(s):  
Gizell Green ◽  
Riki Tesler ◽  
Cochava Sharon
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Health Information ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Safety Skills ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Information Efficiency ◽  
Online Sources

The Internet and social media are crucial platforms for health information. Factors such as the efficiency of online health information, the outcomes of seeking online health information and the awareness of reliable sources have become increasingly important for the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine differences between elderly individuals’ income above and below the average monthly wage in relation to their online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; to evaluate types of online information sources with online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; and to explore online health information efficiency as a mediator between health status and awareness of online sources. A cross-sectional study design was conducted with 336 elderly participants age 65 or older. The participants volunteered to complete a questionnaire. No differences were found between the two groups regarding efficiency in retrieving health information from official online health sites and Google. Perceived efficiency mediated health status and awareness of online sources. In these challenging times, it is important to provide a tailor-made education strategy plan for reliable sources of online health information for the elderly, in order to enhance their technology safety skills. It is also important to explore other mediating variables between health status and awareness of online sources.

scholarly journals Online health information-seeking behaviors and skills of Chinese college students

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dangui Zhang ◽  
Weixin Zhan ◽  
Chunwen Zheng ◽  
Jinsheng Zhang ◽  
Anqi Huang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Logistic Regression ◽  
Regression Analysis ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Chinese College Students ◽  
Link Type ◽  
Bivariate Logistic Regression ◽  
Information Seeking Behaviors

Abstract Background Seeking online health information (OHI) has become a common practice globally. The information seekers could face health risks if they are not proficient in OHI literacy. The OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of Chinese college students, the largest proportion of college students in the world, are understudied. This study was aimed to describe OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of college students in Guangdong, China. Methods College students in the Guangdong province with OHI-seeking experience were invited via WeChat, QQ, and Sina Weibo using QR code posters and flyers for participation in this online anonymized questionnaire-based study. Data on demographics, OHI literacy, information resources, search approaches, and behaviors were collected. The relationship between perceived OHI literacy and high-risk behaviors was investigated by bivariate logistic regression analysis. Results Respondents were 1203 college students with a mean age of 20.6 years, females (60.2%), and undergraduates (97.2%). They sought health information via websites (20.3%), WeChat (2.6%), or both (77.1%). Baidu was the main search engine, and baike.baidu.com (80.3%), Zhihu.com (48.4%), and Zhidao.baidu.com (35.8%) were top three among 20 searched websites for information about self-care (80.7%), general health (79.5%), disease prevention (77.7%), self-medication (61.2%), family treatment (40.9%), drugs (37.7%), western medications (26.6%), hospitals (22.7%), physicians (21.4%), and Traditional Chinese Medicine (15.6%). Despite most respondents (78%) lacked confidence in the evidence quality and satisfaction with the results, only 32.4% further consulted doctors. Many (> 50%) would recommend the retrieved information to others. About 20% experienced hacking/Internet fraud. Cronbach’s alpha for the internal consistency of OHI literacy was 0.786. Bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that students who believed they can judge the evidence level of OHI were more likely to self-diagnose (OR = 2.2, 95%CI, 1.6–3.1) and look for drug usage (OR = 3.1, 95%CI, 1.9–5.0). Conclusions This study reveals Chinese college students’ heavy reliance on OHI to manage their own and others’ health without sufficient knowledge/skills to identify misinformation and disinformation. The apparent risky information-seeking behaviors of Chinese college students warrant the provision of regulated, accurate, and actionable health information; assurance of cybersecurity; and health information literacy promotion in colleges by concerned authorities.

scholarly journals Reasons for and predictors of patients' online health information seeking following a medical appointment

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 550-556 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Li ◽  
S. Orrange ◽  
R. L. Kravitz ◽  
R. A. Bell
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Medical Appointment ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

A Tool for Quantifying the Quality of Online Health Information on Student Health Center Websites (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anagha Kulkarni ◽  
Mike Wong ◽  
Tejasvi Belsare ◽  
Risha Shah ◽  
Diana Yu Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Center ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Student Health ◽  
Online Information ◽  
Student Health Center

BACKGROUND The Internet has become a major source of health information especially for adolescents and young adults. Unfortunately, inaccurate, incomplete or outdated health information is widespread online. Often adolescents and young adults turn to authoritative websites such as the student health center (SHC) website of the university they are attending to obtain reliable health information. Although most on-campus SHC clinics comply with the American College Health Association (ACHA) standards, their websites are not subject to any standards or code of conduct. In the absence of quality standards or guidelines, the monitoring and compliance processes do not exist for SHC websites either. As such, there is no oversight on the health information published on the SHC websites by any central governing body. OBJECTIVE Our objective is to enable researchers to monitor online information quality at scale. We have created a tool that can efficiently quantify the quality of information posted on SHC websites about a health topic. Specifically, this quantitative tool provides information on quality, such as reading ease, coverage of the topic, and the degree of fact-based objective information. METHODS Our cross-functional team has designed and developed an open-source software, QMOHI: Quantitative Measures of Online Health Information, using the Agile software development methodology. The QMOHI tool finds the SHC website and gathers information on the specific health topic of interest from a prespecified list of university websites. Based on the retrieved text, the tool computes eight different quality metrics. The QMOHI tool is a fully automated tool that is designed to be scalable, generalizable, and robust. RESULTS The first empirical evaluation shows that the QMOHI tool is highly scalable and substantially more efficient than the manual approach of assessing online information quality. The second experimental results demonstrate QMOHI’s ability to work effectively with starkly different health topics (COVID, Cancer, LARC, and Condom) and with narrowly focused topics (hormonal IUD and copper IUD); thereby establishing the generalizability and versatility of the tool. The results from the last experiment demonstrate that QMOHI is not vulnerable to typical structural changes that SHC websites may undergo (e.g. URL changes) over a long period of time. QMOHI is able to support longitudinal studies by being robust to such website changes. CONCLUSIONS QMOHI allows public health researchers and practitioners to conduct large-scale studies of SHC websites that were previously too time intensive. The capability to generalize broadly or focus narrowly allows for wide applications of QMOHI, equipping researchers to study both mainstream and underexplored health topics. QMOHI’s ability to robustly analyze SHC websites periodically facilitates longitudinal investigations and monitor SHC progress. QMOHI serves as a launching pad for our future work that aims to develop a broadly applicable public health tool for online health information studies with potential applications far beyond SHC websites.

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