The Roles of Personal Health Information Use and Patient Attitudes in Driving Health Behavior

Abstract

In a momentous cultural shift, the health care industry has seen an increased emphasis in transparency across all domains of health care, transitioning from programs and payments that emphasize volume to those that emphasize value. One such facet of transparency is the idea that greater access to personal health information by patients will facilitate greater involvement in health care decision-making on the part of the patient, thereby promoting higher levels of engagement and better quality outcomes. Using multivariable path analysis and data from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), this study investigates whether the use of personal health information is associated with positive, engaged preventative health behaviors, and if this relationship is mediated by patient confidence in their ability to care for themselves and self-perceived health status. Our findings indicate that the use of health information, at low levels, is important for improving patient attitudes regarding their health status and care confidence. Perceived health-status and patient confidence, in turn, are associated with patient behaviors, but their effects vary by behavior.