Information-seeking Behavior Research Articles

A study of the impact of ChatGPT self-efficacy on the information seeking behaviors in ChatGPT: the mediating roles of ChatGPT characteristics and utility

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence the information seeking behaviors of ChatGPT users. Specifically, we investigated how ChatGPT self-efficacy, ChatGPT characteristics and ChatGPT utility affect the frequency and duration of information seeking via ChatGPT. We also tested the mediating roles of ChatGPT characteristics and utility in the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors.Design/methodology/approachThis study adopts a quantitative approach and collects data from 403 ChatGPT users using an online questionnaire. The data are analyzed using linear regression and structural equation modeling (SEM).FindingsThe linear regression analyses revealed that ChatGPT self-efficacy is positively and significantly related to the information seeking behaviors in ChatGPT. Second, mediation analyses also showed that ChatGPT characteristics and utility significantly mediate the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT independently and sequentially.Originality/valueThis study is the first to investigate the factors and mechanisms that influence information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT, a new phenomenon in the media landscape. The findings in this study suggest that ChatGPT self-efficacy acts as an important motivator for information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT and that ChatGPT characteristics and utility provide information regarding potential mechanisms in the relationship between ChatGPT self-efficacy and information-seeking behaviors in ChatGPT. The study contributes to the literature on information seeking, self-efficacy and generative AI.

Role of Live E-Commerce on Consumer Purchase Intentions

Purpose: One of the many ways that e-commerce allows shops to use live video to promote products in real time is live streaming. Theoretical structure: Perceived value and trust received are important factors of cognitive response showing interaction with external stimuli in the context of online purchasing study. Approach, methodology, and design: In the end, it influences the customers' information-seeking behaviour and helps the business create long-term profits by providing information and enabling synchronous information exchange between the online viewer (consumer) and the Internet celebrity. China has set the standard for innovation in internet commerce worldwide, from live broadcasting to cutting-edge purchasing. Results: For live commerce, social engagement, entertainment, and buy intent were found to be positively correlated. However, no relationship between purchase intent and professionalisation or visualisation was found. During live streaming, entertainment has the most influence on viewers' intention to purchase. Research, Practical, and Social Implications: With the quick advancement of contactless communication, it is projected that the live-streaming e-commerce sector will keep expanding. E-commerce that is live-streamed transcends the traditional notion of solely selling products or services. Originality/value: This study can be used as a standard by future academics and business experts to boost viewers' propensity to make a purchase while live streaming.

Adolescent mental health literacy and help-seeking behaviours. Cross-Sectional survey in Barcelona

Abstract Background Adolescents’ mental health information and help-seeking is critical for preventing the development of mental disorders. This study aims to examine the relationship between mental health literacy and information and help-seeking behaviours, as well as the effects of age and gender. Methods A cross-sectional online survey on a representative sample of 2,240 secondary school students in Barcelona from 11 randomly selected schools. Participants are evenly distributed by age (25% each course) and gender. Results Most adolescents show good recognition of mental disorders and knowledge of mental health (M = 6.39/10; SD = 1.97 and M = 7.75/10; SD = 1.21 respectively). They report having good literacy (M = 3.25/5; SD = 0.71) to search and manage online health information (eHealth literacy), and around half of them affirm having enough knowledge about mental health for them. Search engines (35.7%) and talking to family/friends (31.8%) are preferred for mental health information-seeking, but 19.8% chose not to engage in active information-seeking behaviour. When having mental health concerns, they prefer seeking help (“I would not ask for help” M = 2.4/7; SD = 1.93), and turning to family (M = 4.7/7; SD = 2.4) and friends (M = 4/7; SD = 2.1), instead of health professionals (M = 2.5/7; SD = 3.5). Chi-square test reveals that: lower recognition of mental disorders is associated with not help-seeking; lower mental health knowledge is associated with beliefs that information for mental health promotion, prevention, and care is unnecessary; and higher eHealth literacy is related to information searching in social media, but not to active searching. The ANOVA test reveals a significant gender-age interaction in certain variables, particularly in the recognition of mental disorders, which is higher in girls and increases with age. Conclusions Higher eHealth literacy is related to information-seeking on social media, but not to active search. Girls have a higher level of recognition of mental disorders. Key messages • Adolescents need a support network to seek mental health help, as they often avoid seeking professional help. • Mental health promotion activities would benefit from further exploration of gender differences.

Evolution of online health-related information seeking in France from 2010 to 2023

Abstract Background Given the rapid ongoing progression of the internet and increase in health information available online since 2010, it is important to understand how these changes impact online health information-seeking behaviour of the population and the way of managing one’s health. This study aims to describe the evolution of the use of internet to seek health-related information as well as the characteristics of online health information seekers. Methods We used data from the French nationally representative surveys Health Barometers. It is a cross-sectional repeated survey of random representative samples of the French population conducted by the French national public health agency since 1992 using computer-assisted telephone interviewing. It serves to measure the evolution of key indicators regarding health-related behaviors, attitudes, and opinions in the general population and includes individuals aged 18-75 years old selected through randomly generated phone numbers. In the 2010, 2014, 2017 and 2023 editions, the same question was asked about the internet use as a source of health information. Evolutions over time were assessed using chi-square tests. Associations with sociodemographic characteristics and health status were evaluated using logistic regression models. Results Although internet access increased steadily during this period, from 72.8% in 2010 to 95.2% in 2023, the use of the internet as a source of health information rose between 2010 and 2014 (from 37.3% to 67.9%), decreased significantly in 2017 (60.3%) and rose again in 2023 at 65.3 %. The study describes the characteristics of the online health information-seekers trough time. Conclusions The past decade was marked by a breakthrough of the use of internet in the general population and the use of internet to seek health information. The analysis of the digital health information-seekers serves the public health authorities in their mission to provide accessible information on public health. Key messages • This study aims to describe the evolution of Online Health-Related Information Seeking in France from 2010 to 2023 and the characteristics of digital health information-seekers. • The analysis of the digital health information-seekers serves the public health authorities in their mission to provide accessible information on public health.

Rural Alabamians' Unmet Medical Needs: Rethinking the Roles of Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviors.

Unmet medical needs in rural areas are of grave concern in the U.S. With the advent of digital technologies, the Internet has become a critical means for accessing essential health information. However, racial/ethnic minority rural communities experiencing scarcity in healthcare services and access to the Internet are underrepresented in digital health studies. This study examined the association between online health information-seeking behaviors and unmet medical needs in a sample of African/Black American adults living in a rural region of the U.S. Among a sample of 191 adults, we used descriptive analyses to document the level of unmet medical needs and online health information-seeking behaviors of this population and conducted logistic regressions to test the association between online health information-seeking behaviors and unmet medical needs. Most participants were older than 50years old (60.2%), female (68.1%), unemployed (57.6%), and had an annual income of less than $25,000 (60.2%). About 20% of participants experienced unmet medical needs. The mean score of online health information-seeking behaviors was 2.37 (range 0-12). Increasing online health information-seeking behaviors was associated with 5.95 increased odds of experiencing unmet medical needs (OR = 5.95, 95% CI 1.27-27.77). The finding highlights that it is necessary to develop targeted programs aimed at populations with high unmet medical needs, focusing on providing accessible health information and resources. Further research is warranted to investigate the motivations to engage in online health information-seeking behaviors to inform structural and workforce interventions to address unmet medical needs in this under-resourced region.

Promoting health information and healthy behaviors: Results from a qualitative study

Abstract Background and aim Healthy living behaviors can prevent many chronic diseases. This study aimed to explore qualitative perceptions and behaviors about healthy lifestyles in a district’s residents. Methods This qualitative research was conducted through in-depth interviews with 24 participants aged 28 to 63 in Türkiye. Results Of the 24 participants, six were men. The themes were daily routines; health information-seeking behavior, beliefs, motivation for healthy living, dietary habits, daily movement, psychological relaxation, unhealthy behaviors, facilitators, and barriers. Individuals’ daily routines were shaped by caregiving duties or work. Health information was preferred from professionals, TV, family health history, and the Internet. Male participants lacked the need to seek health information. Also, some participants believed that diseases are unavoidable and incurable. People with growing children or a family member with a serious illness like cancer often report practicing healthy behaviors. Participants have different healthy eating patterns, including organic eating, home cooking, regular meals, more fruits and vegetables, increased water intake, avoiding late-night eating, and steering clear of packaged foods, salt, and sugar. Many participants walked regularly for physical and mental health; they also expressed avoiding negative people and engaging in hobbies and social activities to maintain psychological well-being. Smoking participants had attempted to quit smoking. Some participants said that adding salt to their food before tasting. Factors cited as hindering healthy behaviors included lack of time, financial constraints, and cultural reasons. Conclusions Despite awareness of healthy living, many participants struggle to implement it due to lack of motivation, busy work schedules, social and physical environments, and economic factors. Multisectoral collaboration to create environments that support healthy behaviors can improve public health.

A cross-sectional study based on the Comprehensive Model of Information seeking: which factors influence health information-seeking behavior in patients with periodontitis

A cross-sectional study based on the Comprehensive Model of Information seeking: which factors influence health information-seeking behavior in patients with periodontitis

Modeling the predictors of health information avoidance behavior: Implications from the stimulus organism response (S-O-R) theory

The study aimed at modeling the factors that influence health information avoidance behavior, as well as measuring and validating the stimulus organism response (S-O-R) theory. A seven-factor (information overload, information sources exposure, risk perception, health information anxiety, cognitive dissonance, sadness, and health information avoidance) measurement model was used to estimate the health information avoidance behavior using the structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings show that risk perception had a significant positive influence on sadness (β = 0.492, CR = 7.445, p < 0.05), information overload exerts a significant positive impact on cognitive dissonance (β = 0.174, CR = 2.192, p < 0.05) and sadness significantly influence health information avoidance (β = 0.174, CR = 2.342, p < 0.05). Information overload exhibits a positive, but statistically non-significant influence on health information anxiety (β = 0.83, CR = 1.094, p > 0.05). The findings of SEM demonstrate acceptable model fit indices: χ2 = 1.493, DF = 732; p = 0.000; IFI = 0.931; and TLI = 0.925, CFI = 0.930, SRMR = 0.045, RMSEA = 0.044. The study concludes that risk perception, sadness, and information overload are the main predictors of health information avoidance behavior. Other factors such as health information anxiety, exposure to different information sources, and cognitive dissonance had a non-significant impact on information avoidance behavior. The findings hold significant global relevance, potentially contributing to improved information-seeking behavior research. Our study also contributes to the advancement of the S-O-R (Stimulus-Organism-Response) framework

The influence of spider news on online information-seeking.

Fear of spiders is a widespread condition often disproportionate to the actual danger spiders pose to humans. Likely rooted in evolutionary history, fear of spiders might also have a cultural component. Recent studies have shown that a significant fraction of spider-related media reports are misleading and sensationalistic. Information-seeking behaviours serve as common coping mechanisms for our fears and anxieties, yet the link between spider-related news stories and such behaviors remains unexplored.We hypothesize that media reports foster concern about spiders, resulting in an increased awareness of spiders and health issues associated with them. We extracted 1486 reports in English from a public database providing a content-analysis of spider-related online traditional media reports published between 2010-2020. We examined whether the volume of spider-related queries in Google Trends, Wikipedia, and iNaturalist increased in the week following the publication of each news story.Sensationalistic news stories were associated with a small, significant increase in search volumes, compared to non-sensationalistic ones. The search volume for "brown recluse" (Loxosceles reclusa), which are potentially dangerous spiders, was higher after the publication date of news related to human-spider encounters. There was a significant positive relationship between the number of spider-related news stories published in a given month and the traffic on target spider-related Wikipedia pages, especially so for the page on brown recluse spiders.Our results suggest that traditional media have a detectable impact on the behaviour of the general public towards spiders, supporting the hypothesis that the fear of spiders is perpetuated by culture. Additionally, our findings indicate that information-seeking behaviour is a common response to learn about spiders and potentially fact-check spurious claims found in sensationalised news. By recognizing the role of media in shaping attitudes towards spiders and acknowledging the benefits of accurate representation, we can lay the foundation for a more informed and harmonious relationship between humans and spiders.

Perceived Responses of International Tourists to Transportation and Tourism Services During Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis in Japan

There is a limited understanding on the information-seeking behavior of international tourists during disaster response scenarios due to the lack of empirical studies on crisis communication in Japan. This study clarifies the topics generated from both international tourists and official Twitter accounts by applying the embedding Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT) topic model and examines the temporal sentiment changes toward transportation and tourism using the sentiment scores obtained from topic-based Valence Aware Dictionary and sEntiment Reasoner (VADER) sentiment analysis during disasters. A case study was conducted using Twitter data on Typhoons Faxai and Hagibis, which struck Japan in 2019. This study found differences in the topics generated among international tourists and officials in response and a continuous negative sentiment toward specific transportation services. The managerial implications of these findings regarding the use of social media in crisis communication in tourism are also discussed.

Evaluating Age-Related Differences in Wayfinding in a Real-World Indoor Setting

Wayfinding is an important skill that is used in many essential daily activities. While some studies have found older adults to have reduced visuospatial functioning and wayfinding performance, the majority of this research has been conducted in laboratory settings and may suffer from threats to external validity. In the current article, we report an empirical study in which 33 participants, grouped into younger adults versus older adults, were asked to find multiple destinations within a complex real-world building. Multiple outcome measures were collected, including wayfinding performance, spatial learning, self-reported uncertainty, and information-seeking behavior. The results indicated that the older adult participants spent longer amounts of time and traveled longer distances to reach the destinations compared to younger adults, with medium-large effect sizes. Older adults also tended to check signs more frequently and to spend more time examining them, with large to very large effect sizes. Spatial learning outcomes and self-reported uncertainty levels in older and younger groups were not significantly different. We discuss recommendations for future studies in this area regarding experimental design, measurement, and interpretation.

Online Health Information Seeking, eHealth Literacy, and Health Behaviors Among Chinese Internet Users: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.

The internet has become an increasingly vital platform for health-related information, especially in upper-middle-income countries such as China. While previous research has suggested that online health information seeking (OHIS) can significantly impact individuals' engagement in health behaviors, most research focused on patient-centered health communication. This study aims to examine how OHIS influences health behavior engagement among Chinese internet users, focusing on the role of eHealth literacy and perceived information quality in influencing relationships. An online cross-sectional survey was conducted in November 2021 among 10,000 Chinese internet users, using quota sampling based on sex, age, and urban and rural residence, in line with the 48th Statistical Report on Internet Development of China. Nonparametric tests were used to examine the differences in eHealth literacy across sociodemographic groups. Partial correlation analysis and stepwise linear regression were conducted to test the associations between key variables. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were conducted to test the hypotheses. Our study identified significant disparities in functional and critical eHealth literacy between urban and rural residents across age groups, income levels, education backgrounds, and health conditions (all P<.001). In terms of sex and regional differences, we found higher functional literacy among female users than male users, and critical literacy varied significantly across different regions. The proposed structural model showed excellent fit (χ2404=4183.6, χ2404=10.4,P<.001; root mean square error of approximation value of 0.031, 95% CI 0.030-.031; standardized root mean square residual value of 0.029; and comparative fit index value of 0.955), highlighting reciprocal associations between 2 types of eHealth literacy and OHIS. Participants' functional eHealth literacy, critical eHealth literacy, and OHIS have positive impacts on their health behavioral engagement. Perceived information quality was found to mediate the influence of OHIS on health behavior (b=0.003, 95% CI 0.002-0.003; P<.001). The study revealed the pathways linking sociodemographic factors, eHealth literacy, OHIS, and perceived information quality and how they together influenced health outcomes. The findings underscore the significance of enhancing eHealth literacy and improving information quality to promote better health outcomes among Chinese internet users.

Everyday life information seeking: A systematic review with bibliometric analysis

This study presents the first comprehensive systematic review and bibliometric analysis of the Everyday Life Information Seeking (ELIS) research domain, spanning nearly three decades of academic contributions. Initiated by Savolainen’s groundbreaking study in 1995, ELIS research has significantly progressed; however, to date, no researchers have undertaken a thorough overview of this field. Employing a mixed-methods approach, this study combines systematic review techniques with bibliometric analysis, aiming to bridge this gap. The methodology includes rigorous data filtration from the Web of Science and Scopus databases, amassing a total of 345 articles published between 1995 and 2023. Findings indicate a marked increase in ELIS publications and citations, particularly after 2008, underscoring a growing interest in everyday life information seeking. Analysis identified significant contributions from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Finland, and Australia. Thematic analysis unveiled three main research directions: the influence of digital technology on ELIS, information seeking in health scenarios, and diverse information needs and sources among specific user groups. Furthermore this study also proposes an integrative framework, emphasizing the importance of understanding information-seeking behaviors within the complex and diverse context of everyday life. It recognizes the necessity of incorporating various sociocultural perspectives and adapting to the continuously evolving digital environment. This framework serves as a valuable resource for scholars and practitioners dedicated to improving information services and interventions in daily life. The limitations of this study include language and database restrictions, as well as the exclusion of gray literature. Additionally, given the significant potential of integrating information seeking with technology to improve daily life, future research should focus on the foundational theoretical issue of how artificial intelligence technology is reshaping users’ ELIS behaviors.

The Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviors of People Who Have Experienced Stroke: Qualitative Interview Study.

Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. As health resources become digitized, it is important to understand how people who have experienced stroke engage with online health information. This understanding will aid in guiding the development and dissemination of online resources to support people after stroke. This study aims to explore the online health information-seeking behaviors of people who have experienced stroke and any related barriers or navigational needs. Purposeful sampling was used to recruit participants via email between March and November 2022. The sampling was done from an existing cohort of Australian stroke survivors who had previously participated in a randomized controlled trial of an online secondary prevention program. The cohort consisted of people with low levels of disability. Semistructured one-on-one interviews were conducted via phone or video calls. These calls were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The data were analyzed by 2 independent coders using a combined inductive-deductive approach. In the deductive analysis, responses were mapped to an online health information-seeking behavior framework. Inductive thematic analysis was used to analyze the remaining raw data that did not fit within the deductive theoretical framework. A sample of 15 relatively independent, high-functioning people who had experienced stroke from 4 Australian states, aged between 29 and 80 years, completed the interview. A broad range of online health information-seeking behaviors were identified, with most relating to participants wanting to be more informed about medical conditions and symptoms of their own or of a family member or a friend. Barriers included limited eHealth literacy and too much generalization of online information. Online resources were described to be more appealing and more accessible if they were high-quality, trustworthy, easy to use, and suggested by health care providers or trusted family members and friends. Across the interviews, there was an underlying theme of disconnection that appeared to impact not only the participants' online health information seeking, but their overall experience after stroke. These responses were grouped into 3 interrelated subthemes: disconnection from conventional stroke narratives and resources, disconnection from the continuing significance of stroke, and disconnection from long-term supports. People who have experienced stroke actively engage with the internet to search for health information with varying levels of confidence. The underlying theme of disconnection identified in the interviews highlights the need for a more comprehensive and sustained framework for support after stroke beyond the initial recovery phase. Future research should explore the development of tailored and relatable internet-based resources, improved communication and education about the diversity of stroke experiences and ongoing risks, and increased opportunities for long-term support.

Assessing the Information Needs and Seeking Behavior of Women Faculty Members in PU Colleges of Kalaburagi District, Karnataka: A Gendered Perspective

This study explores the information needs and seeking behaviors of women faculty members working in pre-university (PU) colleges in the Kalaburagi district of Karnataka, India. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the research investigates the primary sources of information, satisfaction levels with library services, and the impact of socio-demographic factors on information-seeking behaviors. The study reveals significant disparities in access to and use of digital resources, influenced by factors such as age, marital status, and educational background. The findings highlight the critical need for enhanced library services, tailored training programs, and policy interventions to support women faculty in their academic and research activities. These insights contribute to the broader discourse on gender and technology in educational settings, emphasizing the importance of equitable information access in promoting gender equality in STEM fields.

A Qualitative Thematic Analysis Exploring Chinese Young Adults' Experiences in Decision Making on the Management of Low-Risk Papillary Thyroid Cancer.

Background: Thyroid cancer is the most common endocrine neoplasm in China. Questions regarding the extent of patient involvement in shared decision-making (SDM) processes persist; this is particularly pertinent to patients considering treatment options for low-risk papillary thyroid cancer (PTC). In this study, we aimed to explore Chinese young adults' experiences of SDM relating to the choice of treatment for low-risk PTC. Methods: The study used a qualitative descriptive design and semistructured interviews. Interviews were conducted with 24 patients (ages ranging from 18 to 38 years; 4 men and 20 women) diagnosed with low-risk (PTC) between March 2023 and May 2024. Twenty-two of 24 patients' tumor size measured 1 cm or smaller; the largest tumor size measured 1.47 cm. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to identify key themes from the transcribed interviews. Results: The analysis revealed that the SDM experiences of young patients with low-risk PTC involve four themes: challenges in information sharing; reasons for information seeking; factors influencing decision making; and self-positioning in treatment decision making. Three self-positions relating to treatment decision making were identified. These included dependent positioning, which reflects a "paternalistic" decision-making pattern; collaborative positioning, reflecting a "sharing" of decision making; and autonomous positioning, reflecting an increased sense of personal responsibility for both managing their health and engagement in decision making. Limited treatment options being offered, overuse of medical terminology, and communication gaps between clinicians and patients were the main challenges described during the information-sharing process. Information that needs persisting after physician-patient consultations resulted in active information-seeking behavior. The key variables identified in this study that potentially affected the decision-making process were future personal considerations, language used to discuss cancer, and negative emotions. Conclusions: These results highlight the necessity of adopting flexible strategies when supporting collaborative treatment decision making in the context of the doctor-patient interaction for low-risk PTC. Based on these findings, clinicians can take measures to enhance the quality of SDM by inquiring about patients' role preferences, providing details of the full range of treatment options, and encouraging patients to share their preferences and concerns relating to possible treatment options.

“What is all the damage the drugs are doing to my body?” A study of the effect of internalized stigma on harm reduction information-seeking behavior of people who use opioids in Kensington

The United States is in the midst of an opioid crisis. The rate of overdose deaths rose 30% from 2019 to 2020, numbers that represent an escalation theorized to have been brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 112,000 people died of drug overdoses, mainly from synthetic opioids, like fentanyl, in 2023 (CDC, 2024). This poster will display the results of a mixed-methods survey conducted with 101 people who use opioids in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia- commonly called the epicenter of the opioid crisis. Participants were asked about their experiences with getting harm reduction information and how those experiences interacted with their own feelings of stigma. They were asked about their harm reduction information needs, experiences looking for this information, and how best to provide it to them. This poster will display current unpublished results to-date. The data analysis has revealed a meaningful impact on information-seeking behavior for participants who have heightened internalized stigma- even to their known detriment. This study is meaningful to stakeholders, including librarians, who may provide public health information to the community of people addicted to opioids. And, to the conference theme, what is more ethical that providing harm-reduction information to the addicted?

How Data is Documented: An Analysis of Metadata Schemas for Research Data

The importance of metadata has long been understood by those in the fields of librarianship and research data management. Currently, there are many research data service providers that allow deposit of research data or gather metadata for research data housed elsewhere, following various metadata schemas to describe their collections. These schemas were designed to make their datasets organized, discoverable, and reusable. As data curators initially recognize the need for and begin working on metadata schemas for research data, most previous studies in this field were conducted from their perspectives. However, few of these studies discuss a schema from the perspective of data (re)users. This study aims to take a small step towards filling this gap by evaluating four influential metadata schemas in light of researchers' information-seeking behaviors for research data. This study explores the factors that affect researchers’ efforts in seeking, understanding, and evaluating (re)usable data, and examines how these factors are represented across various fields in the current metadata schemas for research data. The methodology for this study consists of three parts: a meta-analysis of relevant research on researcher’s seeking behaviors for (re)usable data, a crosswalk of the metadata schemas, and a comparison of findings from the previous stages. The findings from this study will offer insights into the development of research data metadata schema in the future, which will enhance the infrastructure for data sharing, ultimately facilitating more effective (re)use of existing data.

How Do Health Information Scanning and Seeking Influence Excessive Alcohol Drinking Among Chinese Hypertensive Drinkers? A Moderated Mediation Analysis.

China has a longstanding tradition of alcohol consumption, yet excessive drinking poses significant health risks, particularly for individuals with cardiovascular conditions such as hypertension. While existing literature indicates that both health information scanning and seeking behaviors can impact health beliefs and actions, their effects on alcohol prevention remain understudied. Utilizing data from a national survey in China, this study investigates the influence of health information scanning and seeking on alcohol risk knowledge and the frequency of excessive drinking among hypertensive drinkers. Results demonstrate that both health information scanning (b = -.018, p < .05) and seeking (b = -.030, p < .001) are negatively associated with excessive alcohol consumption indirectly through heightened awareness of alcohol as a risk factor for cancer. However, health information scanning is positively linked to excessive drinking directly (b = .203, p < .01). Additionally, cancer information overload positively moderates the relationship between awareness of alcohol as a cancer risk factor and excessive drinking (b = .148, p < .001). Hypertensive drinkers who experience lower levels of cancer information overload are more inclined to reduce excessive alcohol consumption. These findings underscore the different roles of health information scanning and seeking on alcohol control. It is important to implement interventions aimed at encouraging active information seeking and mitigating information overload. Educational programs should be promoted to help high-risk groups accurately understand the risk of excessive drinking.

Overcoming Barriers to Childhood and Adolescent Vaccination: Opportunities in Precision Health Promotion

Abstract Background Vaccination remains one of the greatest success stories in public health as cost-effective interventions to reduce morbidity and mortality from infectious diseases at the population level. However, the COVID-19 pandemic created unprecedented challenges to the immunization sector. Uptake of routine childhood and adolescent vaccinations was forestalled by challenges related to pandemic lockdowns/quarantine, reduced patient-provider interactions, parental reluctance to seek preventative services, poor access to health services, and loss of income and/or health insurance. Compared to pre-pandemic estimations, the pandemic era brought a consequential decline in coverage of all vaccines recommended by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This study sought to address suboptimal adolescent vaccine delivery systems and bolster uptake in the post-pandemic era with the introduction of precision health promotion strategies centered around the use of Personal Health Libraries (PHL). Methods Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI), and semantic web technologies to integrate contextual knowledge (i.e., clinical, biomedical, and SDoH data) with patient preferences, proposed PHL platforms could aid in generating personalized evidence-based recommendations useful to both care provider promotion of vaccination and mitigating patient and caregiver hesitancy. The proposed application stands to provide customized digital health interventions by 1) facilitating remote knowledge acquisition, exchange, and visualization of the benefits of on-time vaccination, 2) improving health information-seeking behaviors to reduce hesitancy, 3) bolstering patient reminder and recall systems for follow-up and series completion, and 4) learning usage patterns to incorporate end-user preferences to empower patients, promote best practices, and enable them to make informed health decisions. Results The proposed PHL would serve as an ecosystem to manage and deliver tailored vaccine-related information to inform health decision-making regarding ACIP-recommended immunizations. Such a resource could administer health education and promotion that addresses common misconceptions regarding vaccination, alleviate safety, efficacy, and side effect concerns, and deliver evidence-based support of vaccines as primary protective measures (i.e., cancer prevention). Conclusion The use of PHL would enable rapid and real-time collection and interpretation of patient data beyond the traditional clinical setting, supplying care providers with tools for optimal vaccination recommendation to bolster uptake in the post-pandemic era. Moreover, the application would enable patients and caregivers to readily access vital health information and play a crucial role in addressing the obstacles encountered when seeking accurate and dependable vaccine-related information.