Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Wenjing Pian, Laibao Lin, Baiyang Li, Chunxiu Qin, Huizhong Lin
Summary: This study aims to determine how patients judge the quality of online health information during the pandemic using different criteria. The results show that patients often base their judgements on familiarity, aesthetics, and expertise, while they attach more importance to the security, trustworthiness, and expertise of the information. Notably, criteria that are considered more important may not be used more frequently.
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Peiyi Li, Bo Chen, Genevieve Deveaux, Yunmei Luo, Wenjuan Tao, Weimin Li, Jin Wen, Yuan Zheng
Summary: As social media platforms have become significant sources of information during the pandemic, this study aimed to identify the characteristics of social media users who obtained COVID-19 information through unofficial accounts and were most likely to change their health behaviors according to web-based information. The results showed that certain characteristics, such as female sex, older age, higher knowledge about COVID-19, and higher trust in celebrity sources, were associated with a higher likelihood of behavior change and a lower likelihood of information cross-verification.
JMIR PUBLIC HEALTH AND SURVEILLANCE
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Lukas Lange-Drenth, Holger Schulz, Gero Endsin, Christiane Bleich
Summary: The study found that cancer patients encountered challenges in operating, navigating, evaluating, and using information when searching for cancer-related information online, leading to a substantial percentage of unsuccessful task completion. Many participants used incorrect search terms, did not control for information reliability, and failed to verify information from different websites.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Social Issues
Sigal Tifferet
Summary: The study developed and validated the Verifying Online Information (VOI) self-report scale, which assesses individual differences in online information verification, with high reliability and validity. The scale consists of two underlying factors: direct and indirect verification of online information. This will help researchers and educators evaluate behaviors associated with verifying online information.
TECHNOLOGY IN SOCIETY
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Arriel Benis, Anna Khodos, Sivan Ran, Eugene Levner, Shai Ashkenazi
Summary: This study investigates the association between social media engagement and influenza vaccination, highlighting a negative link between social media usage and compliance with seasonal influenza vaccination. It suggests that targeted communication campaigns based on sociodemographic factors and personalized social media usage could potentially increase vaccination rates and compliance.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Erin Willis, Kate Friedel, Mark Heisten, Melissa Pickett, Amrita Bhowmick
Summary: This study explored how patient influencers communicate health literacy on pharmaceutical medications on social media to their communities of followers. Three themes were identified: understanding disease through experience, staying informed on the science or field, and suggesting that physicians know best. Patient influencers actively exchange health information on social media channels and connect with other patients to help them learn about disease self-management and improve their quality of life.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Melody Taba, Tiffany B. Allen, Patrina H. Y. Caldwell, S. Rachel Skinner, Melissa Kang, Kirsten McCaffery, Karen M. Scott
Summary: Adolescents generally have high self-efficacy in using online health information, but perceive their digital health literacy to be higher than demonstrated. They access health information online via social media and search engines, but sometimes exhibit misplaced trust or diminished self-efficacy when appraising the trustworthiness and relevance of the information.
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Pauline Ducrot, Ilaria Montagni, Viet Nguyen Thanh, Anne-Juliette Serry, Jean-Baptiste Richard
Summary: The study revealed the changes in the evolution of internet as a source of health information and the characteristics, sources, and trustworthiness of online health information seekers from 2010 to 2017. The use of the internet for health information seeking continuously increased during this period but showed a decrease in 2017, along with a decline in trust in the quality and reliability of online information.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Psychology, Multidisciplinary
Siyue Li, Kexin Wang
Summary: This study examined the ways in which Chinese patients share online health information with physicians and the subsequent impact on the physician-patient relationship. The results indicated that patients with lower communication apprehension tend to share information more directly with their physicians, which can positively affect their perceived reactions and satisfaction. However, eHealth literacy was not found to be associated with patients' sharing of online information.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ning Qin, Shuangjiao Shi, Yinglong Duan, Guiyue Ma, Xiao Li, Zhiying Shen, Shuhua Zhang, Aijing Luo, Zhuqing Zhong
Summary: This study investigated the knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) toward COVID-19 vaccination among Chinese college students and explored the relationships between social media use, eHealth literacy, and KAP. The results showed that Chinese college students have excellent KAP toward COVID-19 vaccination.
FRONTIERS IN PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Henner Stege, Sara Schneider, Andrea Forschner, Thomas Eigentler, Dorothee Nashan, Svea Huening, Frank Meiss, Saskia Lehr, Martin Kaatz, Robert Kuchen, Katharina C. Kaehler, Maximilian Haist, Jutta Huebner, Carmen Loquai
Summary: The global incidence of skin cancer has been increasing steadily, with malignant melanoma having one of the highest incidence rates among all malignant tumors in the western world. Younger patients tend to rely on the Internet for health information, while those with higher education levels are more capable of understanding and obtaining medical knowledge. The use of eHealth services has become increasingly prevalent and web-based information access correlates with better eHealth literacy among cancer patients.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH
(2022)
Article
Computer Science, Information Systems
Chih-An Lin, Yu-Ming Hsu, Homin Chen
Summary: This study explores how information and interactions related to COVID-19 can provide learning opportunities for public health, specifically in terms of eHealth literacy and promotion. The findings suggest that social support, psychological distance, and social media usage all impact eHealth literacy, with different routes and purposes for utilizing social support. Timing of messages and eHealth literacy also affect people's social media approach.
ONLINE INFORMATION REVIEW
(2023)
Article
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
Ashley H. Ng, Yasser ElGhattis, Jessica R. Biesiekierski, George Moschonis
Summary: This study found that an online intervention delivered through social media effectively improved food literacy and fruit and vegetable consumption in Australian adults. Participants showed improved food literacy and increased daily servings of fruits and vegetables. Therefore, social media holds potential for promoting healthier diets in adults.
HEALTH & SOCIAL CARE IN THE COMMUNITY
(2022)
Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Xinyi Lu, Runtong Zhang
Summary: This study explored the association between eHealth literacy in online health communities (OHCs) and patient adherence through the mediations of physician-patient communication, internet health information-seeking behavior, and perceived quality of internet health information in OHCs. The results indicate that guiding patients' eHealth literacy in OHCs can significantly improve patient adherence.
JOURNAL OF MEDICAL INTERNET RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Gal Yavetz, Noa Aharony
Summary: This study examines how Israeli citizens acquire government information on social media. The findings show that users do not actively seek out government information on social networks and avoid direct inquiries to government bodies. However, social media platforms provide accidental exposure to government announcements and updates. Users with higher digital literacy and internal political efficacy are more likely to rely on digital media for data acquisition and exposure to new public information.