The information needs of health care professionals and consumers in developing countries

The health information needs of health care professionals and consumers in less-developed countries, although somewhat similar to those of their U.S. counterparts, have a number of unique differences. Health care professionals in developing countries are more diverse in their backgrounds, training, experience, and work settings. These differences, combined with cultural variables, a lack of resources and trained information professionals, contribute to the complexity of health information delivery. Consumers in developing countries, due to a lower literacy rate and a higher rate of commercial health information, face different problems when attempting to make health-related decisions.     

Health literacy and health information-seeking behavior of immigrants in South Korea

Health disparities are a significant source of inequity between immigrants and native people in South Korea. The present study investigated how immigrants seek health information for their different purposes according to their health literacy ability and sociodemographic backgrounds. The study assessed immigrants' health literacy skills with the Rapid Estimate of Adult Literacy in Medicine (REALM) and conducted surveys (N = 310) in districts with high immigrant populations. Overall, there were significant associations between health literacy ability, sociodemographic characteristics, and health information-seeking behavior among participants. The findings of the study extend the literature by addressing the association between health literacy and health information-seeking behavior in diverse sociodemographic contexts. Understanding the dynamics between the three factors provides insights for developing effective health information services and public policies to mitigate health disparities experienced by immigrants, ensuring the critical roles of online health information and health professionals as preferred or credible sources.     

Health information seeking behaviour during exceptional times: A case study of Persian-speaking minorities in Finland

Literature on minorities' health-related information seeking shows that minorities, like non-minorities, require access to accurate and timely information, but they also need information in a range of languages and from a variety of sources. Health-related information seeking behaviour of Persian-speaking minorities living in Finland, explicitly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic situation, was investigated. Eighteen semi-structured interviews were conducted, and the extended Longo Health Information Model was used as a theoretical lens for analysing the data. The results point to several factors that can improve the outcome of minorities' health-related information seeking behaviours and activities, such as providing information related to their personal health, a deeper understanding of factors influencing the quality of health conditions at the individual or household level and broadcasting the latest health-related information in different languages and emphasize the needs for mental health-related information and services. The findings suggest that not only healthcare providers, immigration officials, and policymakers should be aware of the specific health-related information that minorities require, seek, and use during times of adversity, but also the extent to which how the identified factors influence the process of minorities' seeking health-related information.     

It Is Not Just a Matter of Ethics: A Survey of the Provision of Health Disclaimers,Caveats, and Other Health-related Alerts in Consumer Health Information on Eating Disorders on the Internet

Eating disorders affect millions of people, and their prevalence demonstrates that the condition exists across gender and cultural boundaries. The Internet is a major channel for publishing and disseminating electronic information, allowing worldwide access of massive health-related, lay- and professional-oriented information. However, much research has found that health-related information on the Internet can be overwhelming, incomplete, and/or inaccurate. The success of health promotion in the 21st century depends on whether available consumer health information (CHI) is adequate, accurate, and easy to use. Usually, health disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts are messages to notify users that the information provided is not intended nor implied to be a replacement or an alternative for professional health-related advice. These messages also serve as indicators to show that information providers take ethical responsibility for quality control in terms of providing valid and reliable consumer health information on the Internet. The study used content analysis¹to examine the provision and assess the quality of health disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts included in adult CHI on eating disorders published on the Internet in 1998. The researcher-generated instrument was based on evaluative criteria derived from Alexander and Tate;²Health On the Net Foundation;³Mitretek Systems;⁴and Silberg, Lundberg and Musacchio.⁵Web search engines (Northern Light, HotBot, and Excite) were used for data collection on Internet-based publications. The results indicated that the CHI on eating disorders on the Internet did not include disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts which demonstrates a lack of quality control and ethical responsibility on the part of the information providers and site administrators.     

It Is Not Just a Matter of Ethics: A Survey of the Provision of Health Disclaimers,Caveats, and Other Health-related Alerts in Consumer Health Information on Eating Disorders on the Internet

Eating disorders affect millions of people, and their prevalence demonstrates that the condition exists across gender and cultural boundaries. The Internet is a major channel for publishing and disseminating electronic information, allowing worldwide access of massive health-related, lay- and professional-oriented information. However, much research has found that health-related information on the Internet can be overwhelming, incomplete, and/or inaccurate. The success of health promotion in the 21st century depends on whether available consumer health information (CHI) is adequate, accurate, and easy to use. Usually, health disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts are messages to notify users that the information provided is not intended nor implied to be a replacement or an alternative for professional health-related advice. These messages also serve as indicators to show that information providers take ethical responsibility for quality control in terms of providing valid and reliable consumer health information on the Internet. The study used content analysis¹to examine the provision and assess the quality of health disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts included in adult CHI on eating disorders published on the Internet in 1998. The researcher-generated instrument was based on evaluative criteria derived from Alexander and Tate;²Health On the Net Foundation;³Mitretek Systems;⁴and Silberg, Lundberg and Musacchio.⁵Web search engines (Northern Light, HotBot, and Excite) were used for data collection on Internet-based publications. The results indicated that the CHI on eating disorders on the Internet did not include disclaimers, caveats, and other health-related alerts which demonstrates a lack of quality control and ethical responsibility on the part of the information providers and site administrators.     

The health periodicals database: full-text access to consumer and technical health information

The HEALTH PERIODICALS DATABASE, produced by the Information Access Company, is a unique online file which provides full-text access to both general interest health-related literature and key technical resources in the medical field. Available on DIALOG and CompuServe, the database is described as a useful tool for information on the health, fitness, and nutrition industries. Special features of the database are reviewed and comparisons are made with resources of similar scope.     

Information needs of rural health professionals: a review of the literature

This review analyzes the existing research on the information needs of rural health professionals and relates it to the broader information-needs literature to establish whether the information needs of rural health professionals differ from those of other health professionals. The analysis of these studies indicates that rural health practitioners appear to have the same basic needs for patient-care information as their urban counterparts, and that both groups rely on colleagues and personal libraries as their main sources of information. Rural practitioners, however, tend to make less use of journals and online databases and ask fewer clinical questions; a difference that correlates with geographic and demographic factors. Rural practitioners experience pronounced barriers to information access including lack of time, isolation, inadequate library access, lack of equipment, lack of skills, costs, and inadequate Internet infrastructure. Outreach efforts to this group of underserved health professionals must be sustained to achieve equity in information access and to change information-seeking behaviors.     

Characteristics, content, and significance of the popular health periodicals literature

An analysis of the content of sixty popular health periodicals covered in 1986 by the Consumer Health & Nutrition Index was made to identify the characteristics and concerns of popular health magazines and newsletters. The literature mirrors the health values and anxieties of the American public. While some of the literature diverges from mainstream allopathic medicine, most popular publications succeed in presenting coherent, reasoned, and documented viewpoints. Because there is no consensus on many medical problems, it is important that individuals have the freedom to read dissenting and alternative points of view and consider multiple options before making informed and reasoned health decisions. The popular literature is a valuable yet inexpensive source of reliable information on topics of current concern. The publications are not as well known as they deserve to be because they have not been adequately indexed, while they have not been indexed because they are not well known. The Consumer Health & Nutrition Index now provides expanded subject access to sixty health-related periodicals plus all health-related articles in sixteen general interest magazines.     

Towards better information services: A framework for immigrant information needs and library services

Immigrants are among the populations in modern society that libraries are striving to serve. This study aims to develop a framework on immigrants, their information needs, and library services. Using a systematic literature review based on the grounded theory approach, 28 related articles were reviewed to identify the causes, characteristics, and the content of the information needs of immigrants. Also explored were the possible sources to satisfy these information needs and the barriers to accessing needed information. Findings indicate that personal social networks, the Internet, media sources, and institutions are the main information sources for immigrants; language, cultural differences, the digital divide, unfamiliar information systems, and psychological factors are the five major challenges for immigrants obtaining information. Based on the findings, a unified framework about immigrants, their information needs, sources to satisfy those needs, and library information services is, therefore, proposed. This framework may provide guidance for libraries and other information service agencies to better develop services and information systems for immigrants.     

Dissemination of public health information: key tools utilised by the NECOBELAC network in Europe and Latin America

Background: Open Access (OA) to scientific information is an important step forward in communication patterns, yet we still need to reinforce OA principles to promote a cultural change of traditional publishing practices. The advantages of free access to scientific information are even more evident in public health where knowledge is directly associated with human wellbeing. Objectives: An OA ‘consolidation’ initiative in public health is presented to show how the involvement of people and institutions is fundamental to create awareness on OA and promote a cultural change. This initiative is developed within the project NEtwork of COllaboration Between Europe and Latin American Caribbean countries (NECOBELAC), financed by the European Commission. Methods: Three actions are envisaged: Capacity building through a flexible and sustainable training programme on scientific writing and OA publishing; creation of training tools based on semantic web technologies; development of a network of supporting institutions. Results: In 2010–2011, 23 training initiatives were performed involving 856 participants from 15 countries; topic maps on scientific publication and OA were produced; 195 institutions are included in the network. Conclusions: Cultural change in scientific dissemination practices is a long process requiring a flexible approach and strong commitment by all stakeholders.     

The health information seeking behaviour and needs of community health workers in Chandigarh in Northern India

This article represents two‐firsts for the feature – it is the first to report on a study outside the UK and the first to examine the health information needs of community health workers. Sonika Raj is pursuing PhD at the Centre for Public Health, Panjab University, Chandigarh, in India and she conducted her research in Chandigarh. The article outlines the important role that health workers at community level play in determining health outcomes in the developing world, including Chandigarh. It demonstrates that while those workers recognise their information needs, there are many issues affecting their ability to access health information effectively, not least their limited access to appropriate technology and training. AM     

Social media in public health care: Impact domain propositions

This paper investigates the impacts of social media use in Danish public health care with respect to capabilities, interactions, orientations, and value distribution. Taking an exploratory approach, the paper draws on an array of quantitative and qualitative data, and puts forward four propositions: social media transform the access to health-related information for patients and general practitioners, the uptake of social media can be a cost driver rather than a cost saver, social media provide empowerment to patients, and the uptake of social media is hindered by legal and privacy concerns.     

Health information programming in public libraries: a content analysis

ABSTRACT

Health information programs, defined as library programs focusing on health-related topics, are an essential way for public libraries to reach out to their user communities, raising awareness of and interest in healthy lifestyle, promoting access to quality health information, and ultimately enhancing health literacy of the citizenry. This study presents a content analysis of the health information programs provided by a large urban public library system in the past year, seeking to strengthen the professional understanding of how public libraries can contribute to health literacy improvement through effective programming, and help other libraries gain insights on health information program planning and implementation.     

Cultural influences on seeking quality health information: An exploratory study of the Korean community

Consumer health information-seeking behavior of members of a local Korean community in Tallahassee, Florida, was explored through semi-structured interviews. Questions explored how this community assessed the quality of health information, and what cultural values influenced their understanding of its quality. Accuracy and reliability were identified as the two most valuable quality characteristics. A commercial type of webpage was considered as a negative indicator for reliability, while information described in detail or displayed reiteratively was a positive indicator. In addition to functional quality criteria, nonfunctional characteristics such as sympathy were found. Above all, findings highlighted that cultural differences limited the use of health information. Quality based selection of information is an important part of a health information seeking process. Findings can give the designers of Web-based consumer health information systems important insights into how to support evaluation of the quality of health information by consumers, and how to reduce barriers to health information seeking and use caused by cultural differences.     

Deconstructing proxy health information-seeking behavior: A systematic review

Seeking health-related information on behalf of or because of others is a common activity in everyday life and a topic of constant interest across multiple disciplines. The research aims to characterize recent research progress and provide a comprehensive framework of proxy health information-seeking behavior (PHISB). A total of 47 studies published after 2003 were selected, followed by structural encoding. The main contributions include 1) a summary of the key characteristics of individuals who often access health information through proxy seekers; 2) types of health information surrogates sought and sources employed; 3) a classification scheme of factors influencing PHISB; 4) a synthesis of how health information used and its subsequent outcomes; 5) a theoretical framework for proxy health information-seeking. Results point to an intellectual benchmark for future exploring related issues. The findings can shed light on public health intervention and management, especially through guiding search strategies to help people obtain relevant, helpful, and credible health information.     

What your patient reads: creating a value-added tool for physicians

Through a number of media sources, today's consumers have unprecedented access to health information of varying reliability and authority. Empowered by this information, patients are more involved in their health care decisions and more willing to question physicians' advice. This poses a challenge for physicians who must now find time to read mass media health reports in addition to medical research. In order to help physicians with this task, librarians at the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries created What Your Patient Reads - one-page summaries of health-related media reports supplemented with references to evidence-based medical literature.     

Social inclusion of newcomers to Canada: An information problem?

This article examines how information service providers, particularly libraries, may assist effectively in meeting the information needs of immigrants. In order to understand information practices of immigrants and cater to their needs, a holistic approach is advocated that encompasses a closer examination of theories and principles of social inclusion and social capital in addition to information seeking behavior. Only through this holistic overview can one apprehend the role that information plays in the world of immigrants at various stages of their integration into their adopted society. The issues raised have implications for frontline information providers as well as for policy makers interested in programs, policies, and funding priorities concerning information provision and access strategies that enable social inclusion of newcomers and longer established immigrants into the social fabric of Canada.     

What Your Patient Reads: Creating a Value-Added Tool for Physicians

Through a number of media sources, today's consumers have unprecedented access to health information of varying reliability and authority. Empowered by this information, patients are more involved in their health care decisions and more willing to question physicians' advice. This poses a challenge for physicians who must now find time to read mass media health reports in addition to medical research. In order to help physicians with this task, librarians at the University of Manitoba Health Sciences Libraries created What Your Patient Reads – one-page summaries of health-related media reports supplemented with references to evidence-based medical literature.