Personal Health Information Management Activities Research Articles

Personal Health Information Management Among Older Adults: Scoping Review.

BackgroundOlder adults face growing health care needs and could potentially benefit from personal health information management (PHIM) and PHIM technology. To ensure effective PHIM and to provide supportive tools, it is crucial to investigate the needs, challenges, processes, and tools used by this subpopulation. The literature on PHIM by older adults, however, remains scattered and has not provided a clear picture of what we know about the elements that play a role in older adults’ PHIM.ObjectiveThe goal of our review was to provide a comprehensive overview of extant knowledge on PHIM by older adults, establish the status quo of research on this topic, and identify research gaps.MethodsWe carried out a scoping review of the literature from 1998 to 2020, which followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) framework. First, we executed a broad and structured search. We then carried out a qualitative analysis of papers pertinent to the topic taking into consideration the five elements of the patient work system as follows: (1) personal-level factors, (2) PHIM tasks, (3) tools used, (4) physical settings of PHIM activities, and (5) socio-organizational aspects.ResultsThe review included 22 studies. Consolidated empirical evidence was related to all elements of the patient work system. Multiple personal factors affected PHIM. Various types of personal health information were managed (clinical, patient-generated, and general) and tools were used (electronic, paper-based, and others). Older adults’ PHIM was intertwined with their surroundings, and various individuals participated. The largest body of evidence concerned personal factors, while findings regarding the physical environment of PHIM were scarce. Most research has thus far examined older adults as a single group, and scant attention has been paid to age subgroups.ConclusionsOpportunities for further PHIM studies remain across all elements of the patient work system in terms of empirical, design science, or review work.

Personal health information management among healthy older adults: Varying needs and approaches.

With age, older adults experience a greater number of chronic diseases and medical visits, and an increased need to manage their health information. Technological advances in consumer health information technologies (HITs) help patients gather, track, and organize their health information within and outside of clinical settings. However, HITs have not focused on the needs of older adults and their caregivers. The goal of the SOARING (Studying Older Adults and Researching their Information Needs and Goals) Project was to understand older adult personal health information management (PHIM) needs and practices to inform the design of HITs that support older adults. Drawing on the Work System Model, we took an ecological approach to investigate PHIM needs and practices of older adults in different residential settings. We conducted in-depth interviews and surveys with adults 60 years of age and older. We performed on-site in-person interview sessions with 88 generally healthy older adults in various settings including independent housing, retirement communities, assisted living, and homelessness. Our analysis revealed 5 key PHIM activities that older adults engage in: seeking, tracking, organizing, sharing health information, and emergency planning. We identified 3 major themes influencing older adults' practice of PHIM: (1) older adults are most concerned with maintaining health and preventing illness, (2) older adults frequently involve others in PHIM activities, and (3) older adults' approach to PHIM is situational and context-dependent. Older adults' approaches to PHIM are dynamic and sensitive to changes in health, social networks, personal habits, motivations, and goals. PHIM tools that meet the needs of older adults should accommodate the dynamic nature of aging and variations in individual, organizational, and social contexts.

Home Care Nurses' Perspectives Regarding Health Information Management Among Older Adults.

Aging is associated with comorbidities and increased utilization of healthcare services, which results in a large amount of personal health information (PHI) to manage. Older adults often have difficulty managing this increased load of health information. Although many home healthcare nurses (HCNs) provide assistance to older adults after discharge from medical facilities, little is known about HCNs' experiences with older adults regarding the management and transfer of PHI in their homes. The purpose of this qualitative study was to 1) determine how HCNs obtain and provide health information, 2) describe the perspective of HCNs regarding older adult PHI, and 3) identify the potential role of technology in older adult health information transfer. We conducted and analyzed semistructured phone interviews with 17 HCNs from two home healthcare agencies. Five thematic areas emerged from interviews with HCNs: 1) common practices of obtaining health information; 2) barriers to obtaining health information; 3) ideal ways to obtain and provide health information; 4) use of patient portals; and 5) HCNs' use of technology for health information exchange. Most HCNs reported that it would be difficult for older adult patients to update their PHI without assistance, but HCNs lack the time and resources to assist older adults in PHI management activities.

From health to performance

PurposeBuilding on theoretical foundation of personal information management (PIM) in information science, this paper seeks to understand how activity tracker users manage their personal health information generated by their devices and to elucidate future activity tracking technology in support of personal health information management (PHIM). This paper aims to discuss this issue.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted a web survey study with a specific group of activity tracker users – amateur runners. This survey collected both quantitative and qualitative data on participants’ engagement with activity tracking technology, their PHIM practices with the information generated by the technology and how their needs were being met by their activity tracking technology use and PHIM practices.FindingsAmateur runners surveyed in this study exhibit long-term engagement and frequent interaction with activity tracking technology. They also engage in PHIM practices by using a range of PHIM tools and performing various PHIM activities. Furthermore, they use activity tracking technology and engage in PHIM practices to meet various health/fitness-related needs and information needs, while some of these needs such as performance needs and overarching needs are only partially met or unmet.Originality/valueThis research discusses amateur runners as power users of activity tracking technology, provides timely updates to PIM and PHIM research in light of a new type of personal health information, and generates design considerations for future activity tracking technology in support of PHIM. It also brings together previously disparate research regarding everyday life PHIM in information science, human–computer interaction and health informatics.

Analysis of College Students' Personal Health Information Activities: Online Survey.

BackgroundWith abundant personal health information at hand, individuals are faced with a critical challenge in evaluating the informational value of health care records to keep useful information and discard that which is determined useless. Young, healthy college students who were previously dependents of adult parents or caregivers are less likely to be concerned with disease management. Personal health information management (PHIM) is a special case of personal information management (PIM) that is associated with multiple interactions among varying stakeholders and systems. However, there has been limited evidence to understand informational or behavioral underpinning of the college students’ PHIM activities, which can influence their health in general throughout their lifetime.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate demographic and academic profiles of college students with relevance to PHIM activities. Next, we sought to construct major PHIM-related activity components and perceptions among college students. Finally, we sought to discover major factors predicting core PHIM activities among college students we sampled.MethodsA Web survey was administered to collect responses about PHIM behaviors and perceptions among college students from the University of Kentucky from January through March 2017. A total of 1408 college students were included in the analysis. PHIM perceptions, demographics, and academic variations were used as independent variables to predict diverse PHIM activities using a principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical regression analyses (SPSS v.24, IBM Corp, Armonk, NY, USA).ResultsMajority of the participants were female (956/1408, 67.90%), and the age distribution of this population included an adequate representation of college students of all ages. The most preferred health information resources were family (612/1408, 43.47%), health care professionals (366/1408, 26.00%), friends (27/1408, 1.91%), and the internet (157/1408, 11.15%). Organizational or curatorial activities such as Arranging, Labeling, Categorizing, and Discarding were rated low (average=3.21, average=3.02, average=2.52, and average=2.42, respectively). The PCA results suggested 3 components from perception factors labeled as follows: Assistance (alpha=.85), Awareness (alpha=.716), and Difficulty (alpha=.558). Overall, the Demographics and Academics variables were not significant in predicting dependent variables such as Labeling, Categorizing, Health Education Materials, and Discarding, whereas they were significant for other outcome variables such as Sharing, Collecting, Knowing, Insurance Information, Using, and Owning.ConclusionsCollege years are a significant time for students to learn decision-making skills for maintaining information, a key aspect of health records, as well as for educators to provide appropriate educational and decision aids in the environment of learning as independent adults. Our study will contribute to better understand knowledge about specific skills and perceptions for college students’ practice of effective PHIM throughout their lives.

Exploratory study of personal health information management using health literacy model

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to empirically test whether individuals’ internal factors (prior knowledge, resources, and capability) and environmental factors (stimuli, limitation) have any influence on the development of personal health information management (PHIM) literacy skills and which constructs are statistically associated with general health-related outcomes.Design/methodology/approachSurvey responses were collected from Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (mTurk), a crowdsourcing internet service, in December 2013. A total of 578 responses were analyzed using partial-least squares structural equation modeling technique.FindingsThe model as a whole exhibited 62.8 percent of variance in health-related outcomes. The findings suggest that prior knowledge has a direct effect on health literacy (HL) skills (H3: β=0.212, p<0.001). The PHIM stimuli (H4: β=0.475, p<0.001) have a direct impact on HL skills, and they have an indirect effect on the comprehension of stimuli (H6: β=0.526, p<0.001) through the mediator of stimuli and the knowledge variable.Research limitations/implicationsOne possible limitation of this study is that the study may include a highly technology literate group, as survey respondents were recruited from the online service mTurk.Practical implicationsThe study poses implications for further research and practice. This research was an exploratory work for further model development so future studies should investigate deeper into real personal health record (PHR) user groups (e.g. patients and caregivers). For example, studies by White and Horvitz (2009a, b) conducted real-time user studies that the authors could apply to the authors’ future PHR studies. Since the findings cannot be generalizable to these specific groups, similar research may be conducted. Using caregiver groups of PHR users in comparison to patient groups could determine the similarities and differences of their PHIM activities and related outcomes for optimal design of self-care management.Social implicationsFurther, it is suggested to conduct large scale, real-time-based studies using a PHR transaction log analysis to achieve conclusiveness and generalizability. Additionally, future studies should address not only diverse real-time user groups, but also various PHR data sources and their presentation issues.Originality/valueThis study model offers an important perspective on PHIM and its causal pathway for use not only by patient educators and healthcare providers but also information providers, personal health record (PHR) system developers, and PHR users.

Characteristics of personal health information management groups: findings from an online survey using Amazon's mTurk.

Objective:The study characterized three groups with different levels of familiarity with personal health information management (PHIM) in terms of their demographics, health knowledge, technological competency, and information sources and barriers. In addition, the authors examined differences among PHIM groups in subjective self-ratings and objective test scores for health literacy.Methods:A total of 202 survey participants were recruited using Amazon’s Mechanical Turk (mTurk) service, a crowdsourcing Internet service. Using K-means clustering, three groups with differing levels of familiarity with PHIM were formed: Advanced, Intermediate, and Basic.Results:The Advanced group was the youngest, and the Basic group contained the highest proportion of males, whereas the Intermediate group was the oldest and contained the fewest males. The Advanced group was significantly more likely to engage in provider- or hospital-initiated PHIM activities such as emailing with providers, viewing test results online, and receiving summaries of hospital visits via email or websites than the other groups. The Basic group had significantly lower information management skills and Internet use than the other groups. Advanced and Basic groups reported significant differences in several information barriers. While the Advanced group self-reported the highest general literacy, they scored lowest on an objective health literacy test.Conclusions:For effective personal health records management, it is critical to understand individual differences in PHIM using a comprehensive measure designed to assess personal health records–specific activities. Because they are trained to perform an array of information management activities, medical librarians or patient educators are well positioned to promote the effective use of personal health records by health consumers.

Factors that impact Patient Web Portal Readiness (PWPR) among the underserved

ObjectiveHealthcare organizations in the US are increasingly using Patient Portals as a means to provide patients with partial access to their health records and thereby comply with the ‘meaningful use’ of Health Information Technology policy issued by the US federal government. Patient portals are used to not only provide access to parts of the health records such as lab results but also offer services such as customized educational materials and appointment scheduling. While prior studies examining the adoption rates of these patient portals have not offered consistent findings, many of the studies have reported limited adoption and use [1] of patient portals, especially among the underserved population. This study explores the factors behind the reduced adoption rate of patient portals among the underserved by focusing on their Patient Web Portal Readiness (PWPR). DesignThe study empirically evaluates the impact of three important variables on PWPR among the underserved: (a) Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) activities, (b) patient attitude toward personal health record keeping; and (c) use of Internet for health information seeking. The study also incorporates three other factors: (d) access to Internet; (e) demographics; and (f) presence of chronic illness. MeasurementsData were collected through a survey from 132 patients from the underserved population who visited 5 free clinics in the Northern Virginia area in the US. The paper-based survey was administered to the patients who visited these free clinics for care. ResultsThe study findings show support for the hypotheses related to the impact of the two key factors – Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) activities and attitude toward personal health record keeping – on PWPR. The findings also indicate that the use of Internet for health information seeking has relatively more impact than patient's Internet access on PWPR. Overall, the findings imply the critical importance of complementary activities – e.g., PHIM activities, Internet-based health information seeking – to enhance PWPR among the underserved population.

Exploring Patients’ Use Intention of Personal Health Record Systems: Implications for Design

Personal health record (PHR) systems offer a technology for personal health information management (PHIM) activities. Despite efforts to increase the use of PHR systems as a mechanism to support better patient-centered care and improve information management across the continuum of care, PHR adoption remains low. The purpose of this study was to explore how to design a PHR system that can adequately support personal health information management activities. Using a mixed-methods approach (questionnaires and interviews), we identified the factors affecting a person’s intention to use PHRs and also described the personal health information management activities among people from a wide age range in the United States. Results indicated that the intention to use PHR systems was affected by system-related factors, such as perceived usefulness, health information understandability, personalization, and patient–clinician communication support, and user-related factors, such as social influence, self-efficacy, and willingness to share. Furthermore, five types of personal health information management activities were found, including storage, organization, maintenance, retrieval, and sharing. Informed by the study findings, we developed seven design recommendations to improve PHR systems. Future studies can focus on further validating these findings using other methods and be based on larger and more representative PHR users.

Information attribute motivators of personal health information management activities

ABSTRACTUnderstanding the motivating factors for personal health information management (PHIM) activities can inform the design of interventions to help people engage in healthful PHIM activities. This paper examines the attributes of health information that can motivate people's PHIM activities. We explored this topic through a qualitative study using semi‐structured one‐on‐one interviews with 47 American and Chinese patients living with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. We found 10 information attribute motivators, including the availability, abundance, credibility, accuracy, consistency, timeliness, usefulness, process level, and presentation style of, as well as the emotions elicited by, health information objects. Those motivators tell rich and complex stories of how health information is appreciated and handled on a daily basis by patients living with different health conditions or from different social contexts. Many of the motivators have not been examined in detail in the literature, pointing to the importance and necessity of involving them when designing interventions to improve health care outcomes through motivating PHIM activities.

Artifact Usage, Context, and Privacy Management in Logging and Tracking Personal Health Information in Older Adults

Consumer health information technology (CHIT) applications have the potential to improve overall care quality for older adults. The design and development of CHIT applications requires an understanding of the current and future personal health information management (PHIM) activities occurring in home and community settings. Building a better understanding of critical PHIM activities, such as how older adults track and log health information, is essential in the design of technologies that support these activities. This paper presents findings from a contextual inquiry of how older adults currently use artifacts in logging and tracking personal health information (PHI). Context and privacy management emerged as key themes in data analysis. Design implications for future CHIT applications are discussed.

5093619 Method for the simultaneous measurement of NMR signals, in particular for determining flow rates in nuclear spin tomography by means of the multiple slice fourier flow (MUFF) method

Healthcare organizations in the US are increasingly using Patient Portals as a means to provide patients with partial access to their health records and thereby comply with the ‘meaningful use’ of Health Information Technology policy issued by the US federal government. Patient portals are used to not only provide access to parts of the health records such as lab results but also offer services such as customized educational materials and appointment scheduling. While prior studies examining the adoption rates of these patient portals have not offered consistent findings, many of the studies have reported limited adoption and use [1] of patient portals, especially among the underserved population. This study explores the factors behind the reduced adoption rate of patient portals among the underserved by focusing on their Patient Web Portal Readiness (PWPR).The study empirically evaluates the impact of three important variables on PWPR among the underserved: (a) Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) activities, (b) patient attitude toward personal health record keeping; and (c) use of Internet for health information seeking. The study also incorporates three other factors: (d) access to Internet; (e) demographics; and (f) presence of chronic illness.Data were collected through a survey from 132 patients from the underserved population who visited 5 free clinics in the Northern Virginia area in the US. The paper-based survey was administered to the patients who visited these free clinics for care.The study findings show support for the hypotheses related to the impact of the two key factors – Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) activities and attitude toward personal health record keeping – on PWPR. The findings also indicate that the use of Internet for health information seeking has relatively more impact than patient's Internet access on PWPR. Overall, the findings imply the critical importance of complementary activities – e.g., PHIM activities, Internet-based health information seeking – to enhance PWPR among the underserved population.