Understanding Consumers' Health Information Preferences Development and Validation of a Brief Screening Instrument

Abstract

The impact of health communication is generally enhanced when it is targeted or tailored to the needs of a specific population or individual. In a segmentation analysis of the U.S adult population - using data from 2,636 respondents to a mail panel survey - we identified four segments of the adult population that vary significantly with regard to health information preferences based on their degree of engagement in health enhancement, and their degree of independence in health decision making. We also created a brief (10 item), easy-to-administer screening instrument that indicates into which segment people fall. The purpose of this article is to describe the segments, and the screening instrument, and to present initial tests of its validity. We believe this instrument offers a practical tool for differentiating motivationally coherent subgroups of the adult population with regard to their health information preferences, and therefore may have practical value in improving health communication and health services provision efforts. Additional research is needed to further validate the tool and test its utility in guiding the creation of targeted health messages and programs.

Older Adults' Health Information Wants in the Internet Age: Implications for Patient–Provider Relationships

“…Others fail to find connections between these two variables (Baker, Wagner, Singer, & Bundorf, 2003;Dickerson et al, 2004;Flynn, Smith, & Freese, 2006;Fox & Raine, 2000), however, thus duplicating the discrepancy between information-seeking and decision-making preferences as reported in studies that were done before Internet health information became so prevalent. Despite these gaps in the literature, one fact has been well established: age is negatively associated with both information-seeking and decision-making preferences (Benbassat et al, 1998;Hill & Laugharne, 2006;Maibach, Weber, Massett, Hancock, & Price, 2006). Age-related changes in cognition (Finucane, Mertz, Slovic, & Scholze Schmidt, 2005) and emotional processing and motivation (Lockenhoff & Carstensen, 2007) have been shown to have effects on older adults' decision-making.…”

An Instrument to Assess the Needs of Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus for Health-Promotion Activities

“…That more than onethird of patients selected 'no/other health activity' shows that HEPRODIA provides a tool to differentiate between patients who are open for a discussion about smoking cessation and dietary and/or physical behavior change, and patients who want to deal with other topics during diabetes counseling. According to Maibach et al, [27] four different segments of respondents can be discerned based on their degree of engagement in health enhancement ('active' or 'passive') and their degree of independence in health decision making ('doctor-dependent' or 'independent'). It is relevant to investigate the extent to which the 'independent active' or 'independent passive' patient is open to consultative health decision making.…”

Patient's need for choice and information across the interface between primary and secondary care: A survey

“…There is an obvious difference in the amount of information that different people desire [17]. Young people, older people, and those scoring low on the Stable scale, frequently only desire practical information.…”