Contextual Health Information Behavior in the Daily Lives of People with Type 2 Diabetes: A Diary Study in Scotland

Abstract

Changes in lifestyle can have positive effects on treating type 2 diabetes (T2D), like sporting or healthy eating. Therefore, a person diagnosed with T2D is often advised to make healthy choices throughout the day, in addition to other interventions such as medication. To do this, he or she needs health information to support decision-making. Literature describes ample categorizations of types of (health) information behavior and theoretical models that explain the factors that drive people to search for, encounter or avoid information. However, there are few longitudinal studies about triggers and factors in daily life that affect health information behavior (HIB). This study was set up to identify triggers, actions and outcomes for active, passive and avoidant HIB situations in daily life among Scots with Type 2 diabetes (T2D) to identify points of attention for communication strategies. Twelve participants took part in a four-week diary study. Every day, participants received an online diary form to describe active, passive or avoidant HIB situations. Data collection resulted in 53 active, 120 passive and 25 avoidant diary entries. Seven active HIB contexts (e.g., experiencing symptoms, cooking dinner, sports training) and five passive HIB contexts (e.g., home, work, medical facility) were identified. Four motivations for avoidance were found (e.g., time constraints, no health trigger). These results can be used to supplement the theoretical models of health information behavior. Furthermore, health professionals can use these results to support their clients with T2D in the self-management of their health, by guiding them to trustworthy sources of health information and lowering barriers for searching health information.

Utility and usability evaluation of an information diary tool to measure health information access and exposure among patients with high cardiovascular risk

“…The diary tool can provide more detailed information about the health information that people access than is possible with traditional one-off administered questionnaires about media use ( 29 ). Traditional forms of media use diaries have been used in health research to collect both intentional searching and unintentional exposure to health information ( 30 , 31 ).…”

Avipedia: An electronic encyclopedia of bird diversity in Baluran National Park - Indonesia

“…In this case, student learning outcomes, especially in the cognitive aspect, can be increased by using encyclopedias (Noviar, 2016). Furthermore, the alignment between the learning design (Thuneberg et al, 2018;Tiantong & Teemuangsai, 2013) and the contextually of the material (Broekhuis et al, 2022;Petrie & McGee, 2012) developed in Avipedia is an advantage in improving student learning outcomes. Some researchers emphasize that the use of contextual issues is an important aspect of media development.…”

Participant Use of Digital Diaries in Qualitative Research: A Strong Structuration Analysis

“…This dynamic field is evident through the actions of participants (their continued use of the diaries as monitoring tools and to request health advice) and researchers (reminding participants of the intended usage for the diaries) within the meso-level external structure of the research study. The researchers valued the diaries as ways to generate research data, specifically data on longitudinal day-to-day experiences and perceptions missed in the limited time frame that tends to be captured in interviews or focus group discussions, a position reinforced by existing literature (see Bernays et al, 2014; Broekhuis et al, 2020; Chen, 2011; Elliott, 1997; Herron et al, 2019; Jacelon & Imperio, 2005). The procedures for managing the diaries were articulated through information sheets, consent forms and an infographic, discussion at the conclusion of the baseline interviews, and throughout the digital diary data collection phase of 12 months (in interacting with individual participants if they transgressed the rules).…”

“…Seeking to capture this nuance, we used digital diaries enabled via mobile phones to communicate with hypertensive patients in the Philippines over approximately 12 months. Such participant diaries offer an alternative method to capture longitudinal data (Chen, 2011) and have been used in research focused on chronic conditions such as diabetes (Broekhuis et al, 2020), dementia (Herron et al, 2019) and HIV (Bernays et al, 2014, 2019). They can accommodate different response modes (i.e.…”