Well Informed

by Ronna L. Del Rosario

Introduction

            Technological innovations have exponentially transformed our modern world adding to an overabundance of information. As such it has become increasingly complex, navigating and locating pertinent information among the vast seas of such an “information overload.” Thus, I believe it is highly relevant and beneficial to gain a better understanding of consumers’ attitudes, perceptions, and behavior when it comes to how they seek out information, particularly when it affects one’s overall well-being.

Background and Reason for Study

            As part of my Health Informatics coursework, I collected and analyzed the health information-seeking behavior of individuals aged 20-40 years old who by all intents and purposes will be referred to as “young professionals” in this context. As there did not appear to be much research regarding the health information-seeking behavior of this target group, the notion of conducting such research greatly appealed to me.

Research Method and Study Design

            My chosen research method involved designing, distributing, and analyzing a 13-question survey comprised of 2 screening questions and 11 questions inquiring about demographic information to those eliciting in-depth responses on specific behaviors.

             Since questions of a qualitative and quantitative nature were utilized, this comprehensive research method yielded an array of responses. Distribution of surveys entailed the following methods: informing individuals within my social sphere (in-person AND over messaging platforms), posting on several FaceBook group pages specifically designed for research survey recruiting, and posting a call for participants on various social media sites (LinkedIn, Slack, Discord, FaceBook, Instagram).

Discussion

            “Searching online” was the most popular search method that participants reported which seemed to correlate with the Pew Research Center’s report that, “59% of U.S. adults say they have looked online for information about a range of health topics in the past year (Fox, 2013).” All participants reported using their mobile devices to search for health information.

            In terms of hours devoted to health information searching on an average weekly basis, most participants (64.3%) spent an hour or less on their searches. Meanwhile, as an outlier, one respondent shared dedicating 5-7 hours weekly on average. While participants listed a variety of search topics, mental health was one topic area that 6 participants reported searching.

            Although various factors were reported by participants as methods of gauging the trustworthiness of information, the number of participants greatly varied when it came to reporting their tendency to cross-reference/double-check information – 35.7% verified information 100% of the time, 28.6% did so 75% of the time, and 35.7% did so 50% of the time. When asked whether they shared health information they deemed helpful with others, 57.1% said, “Yes,” 28.6% said, “No,” and 14.3% said, “Not Sure.”

            Out of 6 statements provided that dealt with perspectives on health information seeking, the 3 statements that seemed to resonate with participants the most were the following: “It is helpful to know more about any health issues I have and/or other health information (78.6%),” “I find that it takes a lot of time to find trustworthy information (71.4%),” and “There is so much inaccurate information circling around (64.3%).”

            The most fascinating insights in the study were the respondents’ suggestions on how to enhance the health information-seeking process. These responses ranged from “Not sure” to the following in-depth statement, “Perhaps a website that describes recommendations from credentialed medical personnel, Google isn’t a great option for this bc the SEO for health info tends to prioritize more popular, but less obviously reliable resources.”

Limitations

            Admittedly, there were some limitations to this study. Only a small sample size of 15 survey participants was recruited. Additionally, other sociodemographic indicators like asking questions related to one’s specific age, race and/or ethnicity, and economic background were not broached. It might have been worthwhile to design a question, inquiring whether someone is a healthcare professional or not which could yield some insight regarding whether being in the health profession has some bearing on someone’s health information-seeking process. Furthermore, interviewing individuals and including a brief timed search activity for an uncommon health condition would likely have resulted in a better idea of how exactly individuals go about the health information-seeking process as was seen in Eysenbach & Kohler’s qualitative study (2002).

Conclusion    

            In conclusion, the wealth of information in today’s world poses equal parts opportunity and risk. Accurate health information can equip and empower individuals with the knowledge to make well-informed decisions related to the health matters of themselves and those in their care. Meanwhile, inaccurate health information can lead to fearmongering or, worse, decreased utilization of health services when warranted. In the future, I hope that the innate human desire to discover, verify, and share sources of truth and fact will overcome unfounded and false information and also pave the way to ensuring that veritable sources are more plentiful, visible, and easily accessible.

References

Eysenbach, G., & Köhler, C. (2002). How do consumers search for and appraise health information on the world wide web? Qualitative study using focus groups, usability tests, and in-depth interviews. BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 324(7337), 573–577. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.324.7337.573

Fox, S. (2013, December 4). Health and technology in the U.S. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/12/04/health-and-technology-in-the-u-s/