Tian Yan, Robinson James D
Department of Communication, University of Missouri-St.Louis, USA.
Health Commun. 2009 Jan;24(1):41-9. doi: 10.1080/10410230802606984.
This study investigates the correlates of incidental or nonpurposive health information use on the Internet. Through a secondary analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey II data, this study reveals that incidental health information use on the Internet is positively associated with overall Internet use, active health information seeking on the Internet, and incidental health information use from traditional media. Thus, this study extends the notion of media complementarity to incidental media usage in a health communication context. This study also reveals that adults who have been diagnosed with cancer are more likely to have incidental health information use from traditional media but not the Internet. More important, this study suggests that incidental health information use on the Internet is positively associated with health knowledge. The findings have important implications for health information campaigns on the Internet.
本研究调查了互联网上偶然或非目的性健康信息使用的相关因素。通过对《健康信息国家趋势调查II》数据的二次分析，本研究发现，互联网上偶然的健康信息使用与整体互联网使用、互联网上主动寻求健康信息以及传统媒体的偶然健康信息使用呈正相关。因此，本研究将媒体互补性的概念扩展到了健康传播背景下的偶然媒体使用。本研究还发现，被诊断患有癌症的成年人更有可能从传统媒体而非互联网上偶然获取健康信息。更重要的是，本研究表明，互联网上偶然的健康信息使用与健康知识呈正相关。这些发现对互联网上的健康信息宣传活动具有重要意义。
