The information needs of internet users and their requirements for online health information—A scoping review of qualitative and quantitative studies

Wollmann, Katharina; Keylen, Piet van der; Tomandl, Johanna; Meerpohl, Joerg J; Sofroniou, Mario; Maun, Andy; Voigt-Radloff, Sebastian

doi:10.1016/j.pec.2021.01.020

Cited by 19 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 121 publications

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“…Among them, health information needs refer to the needs of adolescents to know and express their health information. Users focus on “prevention” needs: seeking preventive measures and avoiding infection are health activity needs and emotional needs [ 13 ]. Physiological health, mental health, and social adaptation information needs are latent information needs.…”

Section: Research Hypothesis and Research Framework Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis on the Key Influence of Adolescent Health Information Literacy Using Big Data Analysis Technology under Social Network Environment

Huo

Zhu

2022

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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Purpose/Significance. This paper aims to explore the influence mechanism of adolescent health information literacy on health behavior. Method/Process. 13–19 year olds are taken as the survey objects to investigate their health information literacy through a questionnaire. Health information literacy mainly includes health information needs, acquisition, evaluation, use, and behaviors. A total of 252 adolescents’ data were collected in this study, and model testing was performed with the help of regression analysis and structural equation modeling. Conclusion/Results. The results of the study show that adolescents’ health information needs, acquisition, evaluation, and application abilities have a positive impact on health behaviors in the social network environment. Emotional responses and individual cognition as intermediate variables play important roles between health information literacy and health behaviors. Health information needs and health information assessments have the highest impact on mental health and social health, respectively. The society should pay special attention to the influence of adolescents’ health cognition and anxiety on health behavior in the context of social network.

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Section: Research Hypothesis and Research Framework Constructionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Analysis on the Key Influence of Adolescent Health Information Literacy Using Big Data Analysis Technology under Social Network Environment

Huo

Zhu

2022

Journal of Environmental and Public Health

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“…Finally, a recent scoping review revealed a wide variety of information needs among internet users [ 102 ], suggesting the requirement for better-tailored web-based health resources at the individual level. In addition to frequently examined relating factors on search success, such as credibility, trust, or information quality [ 103 , 104 ], other factors should also increasingly be included in theoretical considerations and tested experimentally, for example, contemporary features of social media and their effectiveness on knowledge transfer [ 105 , 106 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Online Health Information Seeking for Self and Child: An Experimental Study of Parental Symptom Search

Kubb¹,

Foran²

2022

JMIR Pediatr Parent

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Background Parents often search the web for health-related information for themselves or on behalf of their children, which may impact their health-related decision-making and behaviors. In particular, searching for somatic symptoms such as headaches, fever, or fatigue is common. However, little is known about how psychological and relational factors relate to the characteristics of successful symptom-related internet searches. To date, few studies have used experimental designs that connect participant subjective search evaluation with objective search behavior metrics. Objective This study aimed to examine the features of web-based health-related search behaviors based on video-coded observational data, to investigate which psychological and relational factors are related to successful symptom search appraisal, and to examine the differences in search-related outcomes among self-seekers and by-proxy seekers. Methods In a laboratory setting, parents living in Austria (N=46) with a child aged between 0 and 6 years were randomized to search their own (n=23, 50%) or their child’s (n=23, 50%) most recent somatic symptom on the web. Web-based activity was recorded and transcribed. Health anxiety, eHealth literacy, attitude toward web-based health information, relational variables, state of stress, participants’ search appraisals, and quantitative properties of the search session were assessed. Differences in search appraisals and search characteristics among parents who searched for themselves or their children were examined. Results Across both groups, searches were carried out for 17 different symptom clusters. Almost all parents started with Google (44/46, 96%), and a majority used initial elaborated key phrases with >1 search keyword (38/45, 84%) and performed on average 2.95 (SD 1.83) search queries per session. Search success was negatively associated with health anxiety (rs=−0.39, P=.01), stress after the search (rs=−0.33, P=.02), and the number of search queries (rs=−0.29, P=.04) but was not significantly associated with eHealth literacy (rs=0.22, P=.13). Of note, eHealth literacy was strongly and positively correlated with satisfaction during the search (rs=0.50, P<.001) but did not significantly correlate with search characteristics as measured by search duration (rs=0.08, P=.56), number of performed search queries (rs=0.20, P=.17), or total clicks (rs=0.14, P=.32). No differences were found between parents searching for their own symptoms and parents searching for their child’s symptoms. Conclusions This study provides exploratory findings regarding relevant dimensions of appraisals for symptom-based information seeking on the web. Consistent with previous literature, health anxiety was found to be associated with poorer search evaluation. Contrary to expectations, eHealth literacy was related neither to search success nor to search characteristics. Interestingly, we did not find significant differences between self-seekers and by-proxy seekers, suggesting similar search and evaluation patterns in our sample. Further research with larger samples is needed to identify and evaluate guidelines for enhanced web-based health information seeking among parents and the general public.

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“… 32 The overlapping results support the need to provide women with information about HPV, its connection with cervical cancer, and prevention strategies. A recent scoping review 33 identified a range of information needs among Internet users and underscored the importance of providing tailored web-based resources to match varying individual needs. The provision of accurate and non-judgmental information in a web-based resource and context can also address common stigmas associated with STDs 28 in a user-friendly, private, and approachable way.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring enablers and inhibitors of eHealth educational tools: The needs of women searching for HPV and cervical cancer information

Bitar

Alismail

2022

DIGITAL HEALTH

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Objective This study explored the information women want to know about HPV and cervical cancer, and the enablers or inhibitors that may contribute to, or prevent, seeking online health information. Methods Two focus groups were conducted with women from the general public, followed by interviews with 12 physicians practicing in Saudi Arabia. The data was analyzed by using a thematic analysis approach. Results Researchers of this study identified six topics of information that were need-related, ten that were enabling, and six inhibiting subthemes related to online information seeking about HPV and cervical cancer. Discussion and conclusion In accordance with the identified themes and sub-themes, we offer recommendations to optimize the health information-seeking task related to HPV and cervical cancer through eHealth educational solutions. User- and expert-based feedback can both strengthen and inform the design, development, and implementation of eHealth interventions.

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The information needs of internet users and their requirements for online health information—A scoping review of qualitative and quantitative studies

Cited by 19 publications

References 121 publications

Analysis on the Key Influence of Adolescent Health Information Literacy Using Big Data Analysis Technology under Social Network Environment

Analysis on the Key Influence of Adolescent Health Information Literacy Using Big Data Analysis Technology under Social Network Environment

Online Health Information Seeking for Self and Child: An Experimental Study of Parental Symptom Search

Exploring enablers and inhibitors of eHealth educational tools: The needs of women searching for HPV and cervical cancer information

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