scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research

10.2196/19985 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (8) ◽  
pp. e19985
Author(s):  
Christian Kubb ◽  
Heather M Foran
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
The Web

Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. Objective The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. Results A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. Conclusions This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Kubb ◽  
Heather M Foran
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Conceptual Model ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
The Web

BACKGROUND Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. METHODS We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. RESULTS A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. CONCLUSIONS This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

scholarly journals Online health information seeking by parents for their children. A systematic review

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (Supplement_4) ◽  
Author(s):  
C Kubb ◽  
H Foran
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Theoretical Models ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking ◽  
Search Behaviors

Abstract Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the importance of parental search behaviors, this area of research remains understudied and no comprehensive review of this research area has been conducted. Our aim is to summarize the existing findings on searched topics and search experience of online health information seeking among parents for their children with focus on building an agenda for further research and recommendations for public health. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of parental online health information seeking studies in the databases of PsycInfo, JMIR and PubMED. Studies from 1994 to June 2018 were considered. Results A total of 33 studies met the eligibility criteria, including 8665 parents. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. Parents report wishing for more guidance especially from their pediatrician on how to find online health information; however, studies found parents rarely report discussing online health information with their healthcare providers. Only five studies investigated health anxiety related to online health information and prevalences ranged from 14% and 52%, three examined theoretical models, and only three examined consequences of search behaviors more in-depth. Conclusions Results of this systematic review identify important gaps in theoretical models, risk factors to predict search behaviors, and health outcomes associated with parental search behaviors. An agenda for future research will be presented. Key messages Parents are heavy users of the health-related web, but more research is needed to support them in effective use. Tailored digital public health approaches could empower parents to make better use of online resources and improve health-related decision making.

scholarly journals Influencing Factors of Online Health Information Seeking in Selected European Countries

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-55
Author(s):  
Elena Link ◽  
Eva Baumann ◽  
Annemiek Linn ◽  
Andreas Fahr ◽  
Peter Schulz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
European Countries ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Personal Health ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Patients’ participation in healthcare requires comprehensive health knowledge and can benefit from online health information seeking behaviours (O-HISB). The internet is a particularly vital source for seeking health-related information in many regions of the world. Therefore, we take a European cross-country comparative perspective on O-HISB. We aim to compare the importance of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive determinants of using the internet for health-related purposes in four European countries. We conducted online surveys among the German, Swiss, Dutch, and Austrian public and described patterns of health information seeking online. The internet seemed to be a widely used source of health information in the four selected European countries. The explanation patterns of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive factors differ by country and between selecting the internet as a source of health information and the frequency of online use. Using online media appeared to be more common for women and for current health problems. Respondents’ willingness and competencies are essential for online health information seeking. To prevent the increase of social and health-related disparities, there is an urgent need to support underprivileged population groups and increase motivations and eHealth literacy to use the internet for health-related purposes.

The Correlation of Online Health Information Seeking Experience with the Health Related Quality of Life: A Cross-sectional Study among Iranian Female Students

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Kavosi ◽  
Sara Vahedian ◽  
Arefeh Dehghani tafti ◽  
Mohammad Amin Bahrami
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Abstract Background: Given the increasing availability of internet, it has become a common source of health information for all population including students. However, the actual effect of this increased access to information on the health status and its different aspects needs to be studied more. This study aimed to investigate the correlations between online health information seeking behavior and health related quality of life in a sample of high school students of Iran. Methods: A survey was conducted among secondary school girl students of Yazd province, Iran in 2019. A total of 295 students participated in the study. The required data were gathered using two valid questionnaires including eHIQ (Kelly et al., 2015) to measure the online health information seeking experience and validated Persian version of SF-36 to measure the health related quality of life. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS version 23. Results: The mean score of eHIQ was 2.71±0.71. Mean scores for physical component summary and mental component summary of SF-36 were 72.90±16.20 and 63.19±22.26, respectively. eHIQ score showed no statistical correlations with physical component summary (P=.46) and mental component summary (P=.53). Conclusion: The findings suggest that seeking online health information does not improve the health related quality of life. The possible causes are discussed but this finding should be studied more.

scholarly journals The Correlation of Online Health Information–Seeking Experience With Health-Related Quality of Life: Cross-Sectional Study Among Non–English-Speaking Female Students in a Religious Community

10.2196/23854 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. e23854
Author(s):  
Zahra Kavosi ◽  
Sara Vahedian ◽  
Razieh Montazeralfaraj ◽  
Arefeh Dehghani Tafti ◽  
Mohammad Amin Bahrami
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

Background Given the increasing availability of the internet, it has become a common source of health information. However, the effect of this increased access on health needs to be further studied. Objective This study aimed to investigate the correlation between online health information–seeking behavior and general health dimensions in a sample of high school students in Iran. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. A total of 295 female students participated in the study. The data were collected using two validated questionnaires: the e-Health Impact Questionnaire and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp). Results The participants moderately used online information in their health-related decisions, and they thought that the internet helped people in health-related decision making. They also thought that the internet could be used to share health experiences with others. Participants had moderate confidence in online health information and stated that the information provided by health websites was moderately understandable and reliable and moderately encouraged and motivated them to play an active role in their health promotion. Nevertheless, the results showed that online health information–seeking experience had no significant correlation with health-related quality of life. Conclusions This study provides insights into the effect of using internet information on the health of adolescents. It has important implications for researchers and policy makers to build appropriate policies to maximize the benefit of internet access for health.

scholarly journals The Correlation of Online Health Information–Seeking Experience With Health-Related Quality of Life: Cross-Sectional Study Among Non–English-Speaking Female Students in a Religious Community (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zahra Kavosi ◽  
Sara Vahedian ◽  
Razieh Montazeralfaraj ◽  
Arefeh Dehghani Tafti ◽  
Mohammad Amin Bahrami
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

BACKGROUND Given the increasing availability of the internet, it has become a common source of health information. However, the effect of this increased access on health needs to be further studied. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the correlation between online health information–seeking behavior and general health dimensions in a sample of high school students in Iran. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. A total of 295 female students participated in the study. The data were collected using two validated questionnaires: the e-Health Impact Questionnaire and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp). RESULTS The participants moderately used online information in their health-related decisions, and they thought that the internet helped people in health-related decision making. They also thought that the internet could be used to share health experiences with others. Participants had moderate confidence in online health information and stated that the information provided by health websites was moderately understandable and reliable and moderately encouraged and motivated them to play an active role in their health promotion. Nevertheless, the results showed that online health information–seeking experience had no significant correlation with health-related quality of life. CONCLUSIONS This study provides insights into the effect of using internet information on the health of adolescents. It has important implications for researchers and policy makers to build appropriate policies to maximize the benefit of internet access for health.

scholarly journals Online Health Information Seeking Behavior: A Systematic Review

Healthcare ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 1740
Author(s):  
Xiaoyun Jia ◽  
Yan Pang ◽  
Liangni Sally Liu
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Information Seeking ◽  
Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information ◽  
Health Information Seeking ◽  
Health Information Seeking Behavior ◽  
Seeking Behavior ◽  
Online Health Information Seeking

The last five years have seen a leap in the development of information technology and social media. Seeking health information online has become popular. It has been widely accepted that online health information seeking behavior has a positive impact on health information consumers. Due to its importance, online health information seeking behavior has been investigated from different aspects. However, there is lacking a systematic review that can integrate the findings of the most recent research work in online health information seeking, and provide guidance to governments, health organizations, and social media platforms on how to support and promote this seeking behavior, and improve the services of online health information access and provision. We therefore conduct this systematic review. The Google Scholar database was searched for existing research on online health information seeking behavior between 2016 and 2021 to obtain the most recent findings. Within the 97 papers searched, 20 met our inclusion criteria. Through a systematic review, this paper identifies general behavioral patterns, and influencing factors such as age, gender, income, employment status, literacy (or education) level, country of origin and places of residence, and caregiving role. Facilitators (i.e., the existence of online communities, the privacy feature, real-time interaction, and archived health information format), and barriers (i.e., low health literacy, limited accessibility and information retrieval skills, low reliable, deficient and elusive health information, platform censorship, and lack of misinformation checks) to online health information seeking behavior are also discovered.

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