Information-seeking Style Research Articles

Importance of information-seeking styles among patients with cancer pre- and post-treatment: A URCC NCORP Research Base study.

1527 Background: Understanding of information needs and information-seeking styles of patients with cancer is critical for shared decision-making and high quality care. Most patients with cancer want to be involved in the decision-making process but have unmet information needs regarding their disease and its treatment. The goal of this study is to 1) identify information needs and 2) investigate factors associated with information-seeking styles pre-and-post treatment among patients with cancer. Methods: This is a secondary data analysis of a longitudinal study of 1003 patients from nine community oncology practices across the United States that assessed information needs of patients with cancer. We recruited patients aged ≥18 years with a newly diagnosed cancer. Patients supplied demographic and clinical information at enrollment; information needs assessment including concerns (score ranging, 0-100) and anticipated side effects (0-60), questions on information-seeking styles (1-item), decision-making preferences (1-item), and resource usage (5-items) were obtained within two weeks pre-and-post treatment. We performed multinomial logistic regression to evaluate the association of information needs including concerns, anticipated side effects, and decision-making preferences with information-seeking styles (active vs. passive) at pre-and-post treatment. The analysis was adjusted for age, gender, race, marital status, education, overall health, and cancer and treatment types. Results: Mean age was 60.5 (SD=13.0) years. Most were White (93.0%), female (64.0%), had some college (54.3%), and were diagnosed with breast cancer (47.0%). The sources of health information included friends (52.7%), pamphlets (60.2%), and experts (75.6%). Of the total, 43.8% reported that they preferred shared decision making but had concerns about understanding the diagnosis (70.2%) and treatment plan (70.7%). On logistic regression, preference for shared decision making (vs. doctor making all decisions; Odds Ratio (OR) pre-treatment=1.87, p=.01; OR post-treatment =2.3, p<.001), taking notes while meeting with doctor (vs. not taking notes; OR pre-treatment =2.2, p<0.001; OR post-treatment =1.8, p=0.01), and information sought that could be useful later (vs. not useful; OR pre-treatment = 1.9, p=.03; OR post-treatment =1.3, p=0.38) were associated with greater odds of active information seeking. Education and cancer type (pre-treatment) and age, cancer, and treatment types (post-treatment) were significantly associated with active information seeking. Conclusions: Shared decision making and taking notes during doctor visits are crucial factors associated with active information seeking. Interventions tailored to meet information needs of these patients may help increase patient participation in healthcare decision making.

A qualitative study on patients’ and health care professionals’ perspectives regarding care delivered during CIED operation

BackgroundCardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) has proven to be an invaluable tool in the practice of cardiology. Patients who have undergone CIED surgery with local anesthesia may result in fear, insecurity and suffering. Some studies have put efforts on ways to improve intraoperative experience of patients with local anesthesia, but researches concerning experiences of CIED patients during surgery is in its infancy.MethodsBased on semi-structured and in-depth interviews, a qualitative design was conducted in a tertiary general hospital in China from May 2022 to July 2023.Purposeful sampling of 17 patients received CIED surgery and 20 medical staff were interviewed. Thematic analysis with an inductive approach was used to identify dominant themes.ResultsFour themes emerged from the data: (1) Safety and success is priority; (2) Humanistic Caring is a must yet be lacking; (3) Paradox of surgery information given; (4) Ways to improve surgery experiences in the operation.ConclusionsIntraoperative care is significant for CIED surgery. To improve care experience during surgery, healthcare professionals should pay attention to patients’ safety and the factors that affecting humanistic caring in clinical practice. In addition, information support should consider information-seeking styles and personal needs. Besides, the four approaches presented in this study are effective to improve the intraoperative care experience.

Information Seeking Behavior of Postgraduate Students of Agriculture of Bundelkhand University Jhansi

Agriculture field is very vast, traditional farming methods as well as new ICT based agriculture both equally important in present context. Information and communication technology has become essential part of 21st century’s lifestyle. ICT has made drastic change in the field of agriculture also, the faculty and students of agriculture field need to know about new developments, innovations and transformations form traditional agriculture to modern agriculture. For this purpose they need new information, skills and competencies to expand their knowledge. The study aimed to comprehend how agriculture students used information sources, why they visited the university library, how frequently they did so, and what kind of help they had received in utilising the library, how they used e-resources, and what kinds of issues they encountered there. What resources they used other than library resources. This study defines a survey based on an analysis of the information-seeking behaviour of postgraduate agriculture students at Bundelkhand University, Jhansi. The survey method was used in the study, with a self-created questionnaire. The study examines the students' information requirement, information seeking behaviour, information seeking style, level of satisfaction, and challenges experienced when seeking information, i.e., the attitudes that students adopt when seeking information. The study also describes the library services that are available. According to the research, 69% of respondents used the library to access electronic information resources, and most of students visited the library for academic purpose.

Effects of pre-operative education tailored to information-seeking styles on pre-operative anxiety and depression among patients undergoing percutaneous coronary intervention: A randomized controlled trial

ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the impact of pre-operative education tailored to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) patients’ information-seeking styles on pre-operative anxiety and depression. MethodsA single-blind randomized control trial was conducted. A total of 114 participants were recruited from the cardiology department in a tertiary hospital in Kunming, Southwest China from April to September 2020 and randomly allocated to the intervention group (n = 57) or control group (n = 57). All patients received oral pre-operative education as well as printed pre-operative education manuals and divided into monitors or blunters by the Chinese Version of the Monitoring Subscale of the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (C-MMBSS). The intervention group received pre-operative education tailored to information-seeking styles, while the control group received routine education. Anxiety and depression were measured at baseline and 1 h before the operation. Satisfaction with pre-operative education and length of stay were assessed at discharge. ResultsA total of 104 participants completed the study (52 participants in each group). Pre-operative education tailored to information-seeking styles was beneficial for reducing pre-operative anxiety (P < 0.01), reducing pre-operative depression (P < 0.01), and improving satisfaction with pre-operative education (P < 0.01) compared with routine education. There was no significant difference in length of stay between the intervention and control groups (P = 0.209). Conversely, pre-operative anxiety of patients was increased (P = 0.017) after pre-operative education in the control group. ConclusionThis study confirmed that pre-operative education tailored to information-seeking styles effectively reduces pre-operative anxiety and depression and improves satisfaction with preoperative education.

Trainee translators’ research styles: A taxonomy based on an observation study at the University of Silesia, Poland

This paper presents a typology of information-seeking styles exhibited by 52 students of the MA translation and interpreting programme at the University of Silesia, Poland. The typology emerged during the large-scale investigation into trainee translators’ research behaviour occurring during translation of a legal text from English into Polish (Sycz-Opoń 2019). The method of investigation combined observation of students’ recorded performances with a think-aloud protocol (TAP). The case-study analysis brought to light significant variation in student’s information-seeking behaviour, which had gone unnoticed in the aggregate statistical data. Individual differences included students’ source preference, search intensity, level of criticism towards sources, diligence, risk-taking, self-confidence, and source reliance. As a result of the analysis the six research styles emerged: traditionalist, innovator, minimalist, true detective, procrastinator, and habitual doubter. They are presented in this paper with special attention to each style’s strengths, weaknesses and recommended teaching approaches. The results suggest the need for information-seeking training geared towards the diverse needs of individual students.

Information seeking behaviour ofArab social science and humanities postgraduates: Adescriptive study

The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a study of information-seeking behavior among a group of Arab postgraduate students in social science and humanities disciplines. The paper also explores information-seeking styles and examines how information seeking is affected by external factors. The study employed a qualitative approach to explore informationseeking behavior in the sample and the sources of information used to obtain scholarly information. A sample of 33 participants was interviewed to elucidate the information-seeking behavior of the Arabic language speakers. The analysis of the interviews revealed that the participants use different methods to find information on the internet. These methods vary from using search engines to using sites that provide pirated scholarly papers. The data showed that most of the sample students use search engines and databases provided by their universities, but they should be trained in research ethics to avoid unacceptable research practices. The results also indicate that searching in other languages represents a challenge for Arab postgraduates in the social sciences and humanities. This study was conducted with social science and humanities postgraduates as part of a series of studies aiming to explore Arab language speakers' scholarly practices. The information-seeking behavior of science disciplines may differ, as the teaching language is mainly in English. This study contributes to the field by expanding our understanding of how non-English language speakers seek scholarly information and what sources are used to obtain the scholarly papers.

Cross-cultural adaptation, validity and reliability of the Chinese Version of Miller Behavioral Style Scale

BackgroundHealth education basing on patients’ information-seeking styles can improve the effectiveness of health education and patients’ health outcomes. The Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS) is widely used to identify individual’s information-seeking styles, but the Chinese version is lacking. The study aim was to translate and culturally adapt the MBSS into Chinese version and test the content validity, construct validity and internal consistency reliability of the Chinese version of MBSS (C-MBSS).MethodsThe forward-back-translation procedure was adopted in the translation of the MBSS. Content validity was assessed in a panel of experts. In a sample of 1343 individuals including patients, patients’ caregivers, university students, and medical staff, reliability and construct validity were assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient and factor analysis. The measurement invariance across samples was tested using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis (MGCFA). Floor and ceiling effects were checked.ResultsThe C-MBSS achieved conceptual and semantic equivalence with the original scale. The item-level content validity index (I-CVI) of each item ranged from 0.78 to 1, and the averaging scale-level content validity index (S-CVI/ Ave) was 0.95. The exploratory factor analysis resulted in 2-factor assumption for each hypothetical threat-evoking scenario. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated a good fit between theoretical model and data, which provided confirmatory evidence for the second-order factor structure of 2-factor solution (Monitoring and Blunting). The Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the Monitoring and Blunting sub-scales of the C-MBSS were 0.75 and 0.62 respectively. MGCFA results supported the measurement invariance for the Monitoring sub-scale of the C-MBSS across samples. No floor or ceiling effects occurred.ConclusionsThis study indicates that the C-MBSS has good content and construct validity. The Monitoring sub-scale of the C-MBSS had acceptable internal consistency reliability while the Blunting sub-scale had unsatisfactory one, which suggest that the Monitoring sub-scale of the C-MBSS can be used to identify individuals’ information-seeking styles in Chinese contexts across different populations.

User-driven efforts in creating knowledge graph information system

Purpose This paper presents the results of a qualitative study that involved students of an interdisciplinary PhD program. The study objective was to gather requirements to create a knowledge graph information system. The purpose of this study was to determine information-seeking practices and information needs of this community, to inform the functionalities of a proposed system, intended to help students with relevant resource discovery and decision-making. Design/methodology/approach The study design included semi-structured interviews with eight members of the community, followed by a website usability study with the same student participants. Findings Two main information-seeking styles are recognized and reported through user personas of international and domestic (USA) students. The findings show that the useful information resides within the community and not so much on the program website. Students rely on peer communication, although they report lack of opportunities to connect. Students’ information needs and information seeking are dependent on their progress through the program, as well as their motivation and the projected timeline. Practical implications Considering the current information needs and practices, a knowledge graph hosting both information on social networks and the knowledge produced by the activities of the community members would be useful. By recording data on their activities (for example, collaboration with professors and coursework), students would reveal further useful system functionalities and facilitate transfer of tacit knowledge. Originality/value Aside from the practical value of this research that is directly influencing the design of a system, it contributes to the body of knowledge on interdisciplinary PhD programs.

Evidence that perceptions of and tolerance for medical ambiguity are distinct constructs: An analysis of nationally representative US data.

BackgroundMedical information is often conflicting and consequently perceived as ambiguous. There are individual differences both in how much people perceive ambiguity and in their tolerance for such ambiguity. Little is known about how these constructs are related to each other and with other beliefs.ObjectiveTo examine the association between (a) perceived medical ambiguity, (b) tolerance for medical ambiguity and (c) their associations with various medical and cancer‐specific judgement and decision‐making correlates.Method and ParticipantsWe conducted secondary data analyses using the cross‐sectional, nationally representative Health Information National Trends Survey 4, Cycle 4 (n = 3,433, 51.0% female, Mage = 46.5). Analyses statistically controlled for age, sex, race, education and health‐care coverage. Main variables studiedPerceived medical ambiguity, tolerance for medical ambiguity, cancer perceptions, health‐care experiences and preferences, and information‐seeking styles and beliefs. ResultsPerceived medical ambiguity and tolerance for medical ambiguity were statistically independent. Higher perceived ambiguity was associated with lower perceived cancer preventability, lower reliance on doctors, lower perceived health and information‐seeking self‐efficacy, lower perceived quality of the cancer information‐seeking process, and greater cancer information avoidance. Lower tolerance for ambiguity was associated with lower cancer worry, lower trust in doctors, lower likelihood of seeking health information, and lower engagement in medical research.Discussion and ConclusionsPerceived medical ambiguity and tolerance for medical ambiguity seem to be distinct constructs. Findings have implications for how people make medical decisions when they perceive and prefer to avoid conflicting medical information.

Health information-seeking styles and health information literacy in relation to anticipated health-promoting behaviour - results from an online diabetes risk test survey

The paper presents results from a survey of users of an online diabetes risk test. We studied relationships between information-seeking styles and everyday health information literacy, as well as anticipated behaviours in case of risk for type 2 diabetes for 184 respondents who had taken the risk test prior to responding to the survey. We assessed active, moderate and passive health information-seeking styles, as well as low, basic and high everyday health information literacy and tested them against health-promoting information-related activities and health behaviour. Significant relationships occurred between information-seeking styles and four activities: 'check further information', 'make an appointment', 'increase the amount of physical activities' and 'do nothing'. Education level was significantly related to two health-promoting behaviours, whereas level of everyday health information literacy was related to only one. Despite limitations, the results of this exploratory study open up for further research about the role of information-seeking styles and health-promoting behaviour.

Health information-seeking styles and health information literacy in relation to anticipated health-promoting behaviour - results from an online diabetes risk test survey

Health information-seeking styles and health information literacy in relation to anticipated health-promoting behaviour - results from an online diabetes risk test survey

Does school-related Internet Information seeking improve academic self-efficacy? The moderating role of internet information seeking styles

This study investigated the association between school-related Internet information seeking and academic self-efficacy, as well as the moderating role of Internet information seeking styles, in Chinese children. A total of 517 elementary school students took part in this study. The results suggested that school-related Internet information seeking positively predicted academic self-efficacy. The styles of school-related information seeking were investigated within the framework of help seeking. The results of a cluster analysis identified four groups of children: instrumental Internet information seekers, executive Internet information seekers, multiple-styles Internet information seekers, and unclear-styles Internet information seekers. Furthermore, the information seeking styles moderated the associations between school-related Internet information seeking and academic self-efficacy. More school-related Internet information seeking predicted higher level of academic self-efficacy only for instrumental Internet information seekers and multiple-styles Internet information seekers.

Exploring engagement in a virtual community of practice in pediatric rehabilitation: who are non-users, lurkers, and posters?

Purpose: Communities of practice are increasingly recognized in rehabilitation as useful knowledge transfer tools; however, little is known about their users. This exploratory study describes the characteristics of participants and non-participants invited to engage in a pediatric rehabilitation virtual community of practice. In addition, we explored virtual community of practice utilization behaviors, engagement predictors, and the impact of strategies designed to foster engagement.Materials and methods: Participants' demographics including information-seeking style and organization e-readiness, as well as online platform frequency of use data were collected and analyzed using descriptive, comparative, and predictive statistics.Results: Seventy-four percent of those invited used the virtual community of practice. Users had less years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation than non-users. Among the users, 71% were classified as “lurkers,” who engaged through reading content only; while 29% were classified as “posters,” editing online content. Predictive factors were not uncovered, however an increased number of forum visits correlated with being a poster, a non-information seeker, an employee of an organization demonstrating e-readiness, and regularly working with children with the virtual community of practice specific condition. User-engagement strategies increased visits to the forum.Conclusions: These findings will assist rehabilitation leaders in leveraging rehabilitation-specific virtual community of practice to improve knowledge transfer and practice in pediatric rehabilitation and disability management.Implications for RehabilitationCommunities of practice are increasingly recognized as useful knowledge transfer tools for rehabilitation professionals and are made more accessible thanks to virtual technologies.Our virtual community of practice was found to be optimized in health care organizations with an electronic culture, when the topic area had daily relevance to its target audience, and was particularly beneficial for those who have limited years of experience in pediatric rehabilitation.A strongly committed, selected leadership team with the technological skills, content expertise, and designated time to maintain the site and to nurture discussion was deemed vital in fostering knowledge exchange in this context.User-focused engagement strategies showed promise in increasing visits to the virtual community of practice.Our study supports the importance of multi-pronged approaches in enhancing health care professional knowledge and skillsFindings from this study will assist rehabilitation leaders in optimally leveraging rehabilitation-specific virtual community of practice to improve knowledge transfer in pediatric rehabilitation and disability management.

A Tale of Three Cities: Fostering Intrinsic Motivation for Information Seeking in Children of Diverse Cultures

The purpose of the research was to increase understanding of the experiences in the lives of upper elementary-aged students that foster an intrinsic motivation to seek information, as well as to compare and contrast the experiences of intrinsically motivated students from an individualist culture (Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.), a collectivist culture (Kampala, Uganda) and a culture that is both individualistic and collectivist (Mysore, India). The principal results are that the informants from all three groups had an affinity for play, a tendency toward creativity, and that they enjoyed doing competence-building activities. A point of disparity in the findings was in the information seeking behavior of the collectivist Kampalan students with regard to their penchant for seeking information by asking other people as compared with the two less-collectivist groups. Interest/relevance was the dominant factor in all three groups of students’ favorite information seeking quests. Major conclusions are that social conditions supporting all three needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) that foster intrinsic motivation were evident in the lives of the students, though relatedness and autonomy needs were balanced differently depending on their cultures. Recommendations based on this research for elementary school teachers and librarians are: to allow choice when possible, to provide creative alternatives for students to present information, to be sensitive to the differing relational needs of children, and to be there as a stable influence when immigrant students find circumstances overwhelming. Findings on the information-seeking styles by media types of the three sets of informants are included.

Can a Community of Practice Improve Physical Therapists' Self-Perceived Practice in Developmental Coordination Disorder?

Communities of practice (CoPs) are useful knowledge translation (KT) strategies, but little is known about their impact on physical therapists' self-perceived practice. The impact of a CoP on physical therapists' self-perceived practice was evaluated, and factors influencing changes in self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice related to developmental coordination disorder (DCD) were explored. An explanatory sequential mixed-methods design was used, guided by the Theory of Reasoned Action and Theory of Planned Behavior. Physical therapists participated in a DCD physical therapist CoP, which included 2 full-day, face-to-face workshops, with access to a 5-month online forum between the workshops, and completed questionnaires at 3 time-points: before the first workshop, before accessing the online forum, and following the second workshop. Measures completed before and after the CoP included closed-ended questions providing global scores on therapists' self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice. Physical therapists' sociodemographic characteristics, information-seeking style, use of the online forum, and behavioral change goals were also collected. Paired t-tests, ANCOVAs, and linear regression models were used to analyze the data. Forty-one physical therapists completed all questionnaires. Their self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice change scores were significantly higher (+0.47, +1.23, and +2.61, respectively; P < .001) at the end of the CoP compared with the beginning. Few of the factors explored significantly influenced therapists' self-reported change scores. No observational data on practice change was collected. The small sample may have limited the ability to identify factors influencing self-perceived practice changes. The CoP increased physical therapists' self-perceived knowledge, skills, and practice. More research is needed to explore CoP impact on physical therapist practices and how behavioral changes influence patient outcomes.

Preliminary Identification of Coping Profiles Relevant to Surrogate Decision Making in the ICU

ObjectiveThe Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a stressful environment for families of critically ill patients and these individuals are at risk to develop persistent psychological morbidity. Our study objective was to identify individual differences in coping with stress and information presentation preferences of respondents exposed to a simulated ICU experience.MethodsParticipants were recruited from a university and two community populations. Participants completed questionnaires that measured demographic information and characteristics that may be relevant to an individual’s ICU experience. Quality of life was measured by the EQ-5D, personality dimensions were examined with the abbreviated Big Five inventory, coping with stress was assessed with Brief COPE. Shared decision making preferences were assessed by the Degner Control Preferences Scale (CPS) and information seeking style was assessed with the Miller Behavioral Style Scale (MBSS). Social support was examined using an abbreviated version of the Social Relationship Index. Participants also completed a vignette-based simulated ICU experience, in which they made a surrogate decision on behalf of a loved one in the ICU.ResultsThree hundred forty-three participants completed the study. Three distinct coping profiles were identified: adaptive copers, maladaptive copers, and disengaged copers. Profiles differed primarily on coping styles, personality, quality of their closest social relationship, and history of anxiety and depression. Responses to the simulated ICU decision making experience differed across profiles. Disengaged copers (15%) were more likely to elect to refuse dialysis on behalf of an adult sibling compared to adaptive copers (7%) or maladaptive copers (5%) (p = 0.03). Notably, the MBSS and the CPS did not differ by coping profile.ConclusionDistinct coping profiles are associated with differences in responses to a simulated ICU experience. Tailoring communication and support to specific coping profiles may represent an important pathway to improving ICU experience for patients and families.

Longitudinal qualitative exploration of cancer information-seeking experiences across the disease trajectory: the INFO-SEEK protocol

IntroductionΑ substantial corpus of literature has sought to describe the information-seeking behaviour of patients with cancer. Yet, available evidence comes mainly from cross-sectional studies, which provide ‘snapshots’ of patients’ information...

Values clarification in a decision aid about fertility preservation: does it add to information provision?

BackgroundWe aimed to evaluate the effect of a decision aid (DA) with information only compared to a DA with values clarification exercise (VCE), and to study the role of personality and information seeking style in DA-use, decisional conflict (DC) and knowledge.MethodsTwo scenario-based experiments were conducted with two different groups of healthy female participants. Dependent measures were: DC, knowledge, and DA-use (time spent, pages viewed, VCE used). Respondents were randomized between a DA with information only (VCE-) and a DA with information plus a VCE(VCE+) (experiment 1), or between information only (VCE-), information plus VCE without referral to VCE(VCE+), and information plus a VCE with specific referral to the VCE, requesting participants to use the VCE(VCE++) (experiment 2). In experiment 2 we additionally measured personality (neuroticism/conscientiousness) and information seeking style (monitoring/blunting).ResultsExperiment 1. There were no differences in DC, knowledge or DA-use between VCE- (n=70) and VCE+ (n=70). Both DAs lead to a mean gain in knowledge from 39% at baseline to 73% after viewing the DA. Within VCE+, VCE-users (n=32, 46%) reported less DC compared to non-users. Since there was no difference in DC between VCE- and VCE+, this is likely an effect of VCE-use in a self-selected group, and not of the VCE per se. Experiment 2. There were no differences in DC or knowledge between VCE- (n=65), VCE+ (n=66), VCE++ (n=66). In all groups, knowledge increased on average from 42% at baseline to 72% after viewing the DA. Blunters viewed fewer DA-pages (R=0.38, p<.001). More neurotic women were less certain (R=0.18, p<.01) and felt less supported in decision making (R=0.15, p<.05); conscientious women felt more certain (R=-0.15, p<.05) and had more knowledge after viewing the DA (R=0.15, p<.05).ConclusionsBoth DAs lead to increased knowledge in healthy populations making hypothetical decisions, and use of the VCE did not improve knowledge or DC. Personality characteristics were associated to some extent with DA-use, information seeking styles with aspects of DC. More research is needed to make clear recommendations regarding the need for tailoring of information provision to personality characteristics, and to assess the effect of VCE use in actual patients.

Japanese mothers' utterances about agents and actions during joint picture-book reading.

This study extended the research on the scaffolding provided by mothers while reading picture books with their children from a focus on conversational styles related to labeling to a focus on those related to agents and actions to clarify the process by which language develops from the one-word to the syntactic stage. We clarified whether mothers decreased the degree of scaffolding in their initiation of conversations, in the responses to their children’s utterances, and in the choice of referential ranges of their utterances. We also investigated whether maternal conversational styles contributed to the development of their children’s vocabularies. Eighteen pairs of Japanese mothers and their children were longitudinally observed when the children were 20 and 27 months of age. The pairs were given a picture book depicting 24 animals engaged in everyday behavior. The mothers shifted their approach in the initiation of conversation from providing to requesting information as a function of their children’s age. The proportion of maternal elaborative information-seeking responses was positively correlated with the size of their children’s productive vocabulary. In terms of referential choices, mothers broadened the range of their references as their children aged. In terms of the contribution of maternal conversational styles to children’s vocabulary development, the use of a maternal elaborative information-seeking style when the children were 20 months of age predicted the size of the children’s productive vocabulary at 27 months. These results indicate that mothers decrease the degree of scaffolding by introducing more complex information into the conversations and transferring the role of actively producing information to their children by requesting information as their children develop. The results also indicate that these conversational styles promote the development of children’s vocabularies during the transition from the one-word to the syntactic stage.

Abstract 4441: Informational needs of prostate cancer survivors: Findings from the Michigan Prostate Cancer Follow-Back Study

Abstract Introduction: Following diagnosis of prostate cancer, many patients are left to decipher complicated medical terminology in order to make informed decisions about their medical care. Little is known about demographic, diagnostic, treatment, and psychosocial factors associated with types of information sources sought by prostate cancer survivors, as well as the information-seeking styles of these individuals. Methods: 7,763 prostate cancer survivors diagnosed from 1985-2004 were identified through the Michigan Cancer Registry. The survey included questions on (i) demographics (ii) diagnostics and treatments (iii) quality of life, and (iv) informational needs. SPSS statistical software 19.0 was used in analysis. Descriptive statistics were tabulated to evaluate informational sources. Logistic and multivariate regression analyses were conducted using multiple covariates to (i) assess whether the informational needs of patients were addressed by providers, (ii) ascertain the significant predictors associated with seeking information about prostate cancer from any other source, and (iii) identify what factors influenced a person to actively seek out information and (iv) determine what factors guide which primary information source a survivor would use. Results: The survey mailing yielded a 36.8% response rate. 82.6% reported that a healthcare provider gave them information on prostate cancer, with 86.4% having information provided by their urologist, 45.4% by their primary care physician (PCP), and 29.2% by their oncologist. 37.9% responded that they had looked for such information on their own. 29.4% of the survivors reported that someone else had looked for information for them. The top five sources of information included ‘healthcare provider’ (59.2%), ‘someone with prostate cancer’ (39.4%), ‘brochures or pamphlets’ (37.5%), ‘National Cancer Institute (NCI)/American Cancer Society (ACS)’ (36.1%), and ‘internet’ (31.0%). 51.2% of the survivors would go to their healthcare provider first for information, with 18.8% resorting to the internet. Age and race were significant factors in assessing whether informational needs of survivors were addressed by providers. Age was a significant predictor in both survivors’ seeking information about prostate cancer and whether someone else had ever looked for information on their behalf. Education was the only significant factor predicting which primary source of information a survivor would seek. Conclusions: Over half of prostate cancer survivors identified their health care provider as a primary source of information on prostate cancer, highlighting the importance of the provider in guiding men through the informed decision-making process. More informational resources should be allocated to prostate cancer survivors to ensure that are well-educated about their prognoses. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 4441. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-4441