How does patient-centered communication improve emotional health? An exploratory study in China

In China, people’s emotional health is concerning. The patient-centered communication during medical consultations may play an important role in improving people’s emotional well-being. However, the relationship between communication and health is one of the least developed areas in communication research. This study empirically tested a pathway linking communication to health. Based on survey data collected from 483 Chinese patients, the results showed that patient-centered communication directly improved emotional health. Also, patient-centered communication had an indirect effect on emotional health through uncertainty management skill. In addition, patient trust positively moderated the effects of patient-centered communication on uncertainty management skill and emotional health. Also, one’s Internet health information seeking positively moderated the effect of communication on health. The findings have significant theoretical and practical implications for health education and promotion in the context of China.     

Staying abreast of breast cancer: examining how communication and motivation relate to Singaporean women's breast cancer knowledge

Numerous health communication studies have highlighted the importance of factual knowledge as an antecedent to health behavior, but few have explored other dimensions of health knowledge, such as structural knowledge. This study seeks to fill this gap by investigating conceptual differences between these two kinds of knowledge in the context of breast cancer in Singapore, and find out how communication and motivational factors are related to them. Using a nationally representative random-digit-dialing survey of women aged 30–70 (N = 802), results showed that interpersonal communication and elaboration were associated with both knowledge types. Attention to online health news and the level of risk perception were positively associated with structural knowledge but not factual knowledge. Theoretical and practical implications for health communication were discussed.     

Facilitators and barriers to the use of a structured hand-off: a pediatric hospital exploratory case study

Competent communication practices among healthcare providers are a key factor in maintaining patient safety during transfers of patient care. Research shows that the majority of errors in patient care are related to communication problems, and a majority occur during patient hand-offs. This project is a qualitative study exploring the facilitators and barriers of structured hand-off at a pediatric hospital. Our data analysis indicates that while the hand-off process is facilitated by structure, clarity, and adequate time, it is hindered by lack of time, distractions, human factors, and a number of social and organizational factors that complicate physicians’ roles. Using structurating activity theory (SAT) to frame findings, analysis points to a structural tension between worker autonomy and organizational control as the primary cause of poor adherence to structured hand-off among pediatric residents. We draw on constructs of SAT to identify practical strategies for managing this contradiction at a system level.     

‘Health literacy for all’: exploring the feasibility of an intervention to reduce health disparities among rural children

ABSTRACT

Roughly one in five U.S. children live in rural areas and they are more likely than nonrural children to experience chronic illnesses, unfulfilled medical needs, and poverty – yet health literacy intervention research for rural children is lacking. Thus, this study explores a health literacy intervention in two rural public elementary schools that have very different socioeconomic levels, educational achievement rates, and initial health literacy scores. Findings show significant improvement in health literacy in the low-income school, such that the initial differences in health literacy between the two schools were no longer present at posttest (p?<?.001). There was a slight improvement in School 1 students' perceived confidence to communicate with healthcare providers, but School 2 students' communication confidence did not change from pre to post intervention. The hopeful outcomes suggest implications for future school-based interventions that teach young children about health communication, self-efficacy, and critical decision-making.     

个人健康信息管理技术促进用户健康行为的心理机制:基于智能可穿戴健康产品的实证研究

[目的/意义] 基于智能可穿戴健康产品,研究个人健康信息管理技术促进用户健康行为的心理机制。[方法/过程] 基于刺激-机体-反应理论框架,建立智能可穿戴健康产品的技术要素通过用户心理变量影响健康行为的路径模型。以智能手环用户为调查对象,通过问卷法收集数据,运用偏最小二乘法结构方程验证本研究提出的理论模型。[结果/结论] 智能可穿戴健康产品的数据管理和社交互动功能通过启发和赋能促进用户健康行为。此外,行为控制功能通过赋能促进用户健康行为。文章基于上述发现讨论了对个人健康信息管理领域,尤其是智能可穿戴健康产品研究的理论贡献和实践启示。     

Examining the quality of social support messages produced face-to-face and in computer-mediated communication: The effects of hyperpersonal communication

ABSTRACT

The hyperpersonal communication model was used to investigate the implications of the reduced social cues in computer-mediated communication (CMC) for the production of social support messages. Participants were randomly assigned to interact with a confederate seeking help about a problem for which the confederate was or was not responsible. The interactions took place either face-to-face or in one of two CMC conditions. The results were partially consistent with the intensification effect proposed in the hyperpersonal model. Participants evaluated the confederate most negatively, but produced the highest quality support messages, in the CMC condition with visual anonymity followed by the CMC condition and face-to-face condition. Participants’ evaluations of the confederate were also influenced by the confederate’s responsibility for their problem.     

网络健康社区知识共享的影响因素研究

[目的/意义] 探究网络健康社区知识共享的影响因素,对优化网络健康社区知识服务、促进健康知识的交流与传播具有重要意义。[方法/过程] 将网络健康社区中的知识划分为公共健康知识和个人健康知识,依据社会认知理论构建影响因素模型,并利用结构方程模型进行验证和分析。[结果/结论] 数据分析结果表明,自我效能、利他主义、社会信任、社会认同、感知有用性等变量与公共健康知识和个人健康知识共享行为都呈显著正相关,感知风险与公共健康知识共享行为无显著相关性,与个人健康知识共享行为呈显著负相关。     

Road to international publications: an empirical study of Chinese communication scholars

This paper examines factors motivating Chinese communication scholars to publish in international journals and how these factors shape their knowledge production. We also investigate these scholars’ treatment of particularity, which is central to debates on Asian approaches to communication scholarship. Based on in-depth interviews with 22 Chinese communication scholars, this study finds that Chinese scholars choose to publish overseas both as a result of institutional incentives and an attempt to relieve themselves from institutional and sociopolitical constraints in China. While promoting international publications, these institutional and sociopolitical factors also markedly influence the knowledge production process, leading to the segregation of international and local knowledge production; scholars’ active self-censorship; and their efforts to subject to perceived international biases. The study also demonstrates that while adopting an eclectic and pragmatic attitude toward particularity, Chinese communication scholars are generally cautious of advocating particularity. The attitudinal and behavioral eclecticism and institutional and sociopolitical constraints jointly result in a fragmented particularity in the international publication of Chinese communication scholars. The findings’ implications for Asian approaches to communication studies are discussed.     

Learn after reading: effects of news framing and responsibility attribution on Chinese college students’ perceived efficacy in identifying others and themselves with depression

Depression is now one of the most severe public health threats in China and among Chinese college students. To examine the effects of depression news coverage on Chinese college students’ mental health literacy, focusing on their perceived efficacy in recognizing depression symptoms, a 2 (news framing: episodic vs. thematic)?×?2 (responsibility attribution: individual vs. societal)?×?2 (gender: female vs. male) between-subjects experiment was conducted among 187 students at a large research university in China. The key findings, after controlling for depression issue involvement, include: (1) the main effects of attribution on perceived efficacy in identifying others (friends and family members) with depression; (2) the association between gender and perceived efficacy in identifying family members with depression; and (3) the three-way interactions on how framing, attribution, and gender jointly affect not only perceived efficacy in identifying others but also themselves with depression. These findings provide insights on how depression news coverage can help enhance mental health literacy and build stronger depression symptom resilience among Chinese college students. Implications for health journalists and public health communication professionals in China are discussed.     

大学生健康信息回避行为的驱动因素探析及理论模型建构

[目的/意义]探索大学生健康信息回避行为的驱动因素,构建相关理论模型,既能为社会深入理解大学生健康信息回避行为提供一定的理论支持,也能为优化大学生健康信息回避行为提供一定的参考。[方法/过程]采用半结构化访谈法收集28位在校大学生健康信息回避行为的相关数据,遵循扎根理论研究方法的步骤,借助质性分析软件NVivo 11对数据进行编码和分析,归纳出大学生健康信息回避行为的3个主要驱动因素,即心理因素、情境因素和信息因素,包括9个子驱动因素,分别为负面情绪、维持乐观、认知冲突、行为改变、社会规范、任务驱动、信息负效用、信息隐私和信息疲劳,并构建健康信息回避行为驱动因素理论模型。[结果/结论]对模型进行深入分析发现,心理因素是大学生健康信息回避行为的内部驱动因素,情境因素和信息因素是外部驱动因素。其中,心理因素是大学生健康信息回避行为最重要的驱动因素,情境因素是重要的驱动因素,信息因素是最为关键的驱动因素。     

Partnering with the Public Library for Health Care Education: An Evaluation of Affordable Care Act Messages

Despite implementation of most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) by 2014, the public still has questions about the health care law. To assess the potential of using the library as a hub for ACA education, we tested existing and new culturally relevant messages about the health care law with twenty-seven community members. Participants discussed the message prototypes, including the visual components and promotional content, and provided advice to modify content and design to best reach target audiences. Future research can follow this example to engage libraries and community members in developing and evaluating culturally relevant health messages.     

Contradictions in surgical work teams

Teamwork and communication are essential to effective work groups in health care. This project investigated how an impending technology change spurred the staff in an ophthalmological surgical department to improve their teamwork and communication processes. Data were gathered using focus groups, key informant interviews, and workplace observations involving 56 employees. Qualitative, interpretive analysis indicated that lack of communication impacted team processes and job satisfaction. Participants indicated that sharing knowledge and developing policy knowledge were problematic, especially as those processes concerned job duties. Results were interpreted using structurating activity theory. Analysis identified system-level and structural-level contradictions that hindered activity accomplishment. Several practical implications of findings are offered, including using the experience of work team contradictions as opportunities to transform practices, implementing ongoing inter-professional training for work teams, and providing opportunities for work team members to be reflective about their team experiences. Future research suggestions are offered for extending findings.     

移动终端视角下的老年用户在线健康信息搜寻行为影响因素研究

[目的/意义] 结合目前人口老龄化日渐严重的社会背景,探究我国老年用户在线健康信息搜寻的行为机理,丰富当前老年用户信息搜寻行为理论研究成果,引导老年用户有效搜寻健康信息,优化健康信息服务部门工作。[方法/过程] 采用半结构化访谈的方法收集24位老年用户的在线健康信息搜寻经历,运用扎根理论提炼出老年用户在线健康信息搜寻行为的内外5个影响因素,构建老年用户在线健康信息搜寻行为影响因素的理论模型。[结果/结论] 最终得到网络环境因素、个体特征因素、社会支持因素、移动终端客观因素和个体认知因素是影响老年用户在线健康信息搜寻行为的关键因素,深入阐释各因素与搜寻行为间的作用机理。并根据理论模型,对政府、医疗机构、APP类软件等健康信息提供方提出一些可行的建议。     

A Typological Examination of Communication Competence and Mental Health in Stepchildren

Despite continued interest in communication and family functioning, researchers have been challenged to adequately describe the complicated dynamics and complex configurations of stepfamilies. This study extends previous stepfamily research by classifying stepchildren according to their beliefs and experiences with key dimensions of stepfamily life, and by examining differences in perceptions of communication competence and mental health among different stepfamily types. Participants included 586 stepchildren from four different states who completed a series of survey measures. Results of cluster and discriminant analyses revealed five discrete types of stepfamilies, including bonded, functional, ambivalent, evasive, and conflictual stepfamilies. Estimates of validity for the typology revealed significant differences in self-reported communication competence and mental health among the five stepfamily types, as well as significant differences in perceptions of mothers’ and stepparents’ communication competence.     

重大突发公共卫生事件中公众信息搜寻行为影响因素探究

[目的/意义] 在重大突发公共卫生事件中,公众对于相关信息需求旺盛,信息搜寻成为公众了解和应对风险的重要途径。面对风险信息,公众对信息搜寻的态度如何塑造其行为？哪些因素会影响公众信息搜寻态度与行为？不同人群间是否具有差异性？解答这些问题有助于为公众提供针对性的信息服务、助力提升个体应对效能、开展有效防疫工作。[方法/过程] 以在线问卷形式调查国内719名受访者,探究重大突发公共卫生事件中影响公众信息搜寻态度与行为的因素。[结果/结论] 研究表明：不同地区、年龄、学历的公众信息搜寻态度与行为具有显著差异;感知风险、情感反应、信息充分性、信息主观规范与知觉行为控制正向影响公众信息搜寻态度与行为;信息搜寻态度在各因素与信息搜寻行为间起中介作用。基于研究结果,分别从信息发布渠道、信息传播过程与信息搜索平台等角度提出意见。     

跨源健康信息搜寻的动机、信息源选择及行为路径

本研究旨在探究用户面临多种健康信息源时的跨源健康信息搜寻行为,揭示这类信息搜寻行为的动机、信息源选择和行为路径。结合日记法和半结构化深度访谈法,收集并分析了26名参加者的健康信息搜寻日记及跟踪访谈数据,使用NVivo11分析数据。研究发现医生-用户交流障碍、信任缺失、用户自我调节和用户安全心理的需要是促使跨源健康信息搜寻行为产生的动机。相似病症用户的自我陈述、用户的路径依赖(习惯)、从众心理、信息源的权威性及可信度是影响用户跨源过程中信息源选择的主要因素。此外,用户跨源搜寻健康信息的过程中,其心理需求大于实际需求、凭“感觉”感知网络健康信息质量等特征较明显。本研究构建了跨源健康信息搜寻行为路径模型,研究的结果有助于提升用户健康信息搜寻行为认知,改善其跨源健康信息获取能力,提升其健康信息素养;同时,也为相关部门制定提升公民健康信息素养策略及支持跨源健康信息搜寻行为的信息系统的开发和设计提供了借鉴。     

公共卫生事件中的风险感知和风险传播模型研究——兼论疫情严重程度的调节作用

本文以新型冠状病毒肺炎健康危机为例,运用量化研究的方法,研究公众的风险感知、风险传播行为的特点,以及疫情严重程度对上述二者关系的调节作用。研究发现:(1)风险信息、疫情严重程度主要通过风险感知对公众的风险传播行为起作用,风险感知是该模型中多个因素对传播行为发挥作用的重要中介变量;(2)疫情严重程度对公众的风险感知和传播行为的调节作用部分被证实:疫情严重程度不同地域的公众对风险感知和参与风险传播的行为存在显著差异,且主要存在于疫情较严重和疫情最严重地域的公众之间。     

An Investigation of the Relationship between Implicit Personal Theories of Communication and Community Behavior

A waning sense of community has been well documented and widely accepted as among the most significant problems of our time. Both social capital (trust in others and civic participation) and interpersonal acts of assistance (or helping) are considered to be common indicators of community. The question of whether certain personally held beliefs about communication correspond to differences in individuals' community behavior is a timely and important one. This study investigated whether individuals' levels of social capital and prosocial behavior differed as a function of message design logic. Results indicated that individuals employing the rhetorical message design logic reported significantly greater levels of social capital and prosocial behavior than did those employing expressive or conventional message design logics. The implications of this difference for communication scholarship and community health are discussed.