College of Nursing Science, Kyung Hee University , Seoul, South Korea .
Telemed J E Health. 2011 Jun;17(5):341-7. doi: 10.1089/tmj.2010.0170. Epub 2011 Apr 14.
This study was conducted to explore the profiles of online health information users in terms of certain psychological characteristics and to suggest guidelines for the provision of better user-oriented health information service. The cross-sectional study design was used with convenient sampling by Web-based questionnaire survey in Korea. To analyze health information user profiles on the Internet, a two-step cluster analysis was conducted. The results reveal that online health information users can be classified into four groups according to their level of subjective knowledge and health concern. The findings also suggest that four clusters that exhibit distinct profile patterns exist. The findings of this study would be useful for health portal developers who would like to understand users' characteristics and behaviors and to provide more user-oriented service in a satisfactory manner. It is suggested that to develop a full understanding of users' behaviors regarding Internet health information service, further research would be needed to explore users' various needs, their preferences, and relevant factors among users across a variety of health problem-addressing Web sites at different professional levels.
本研究旨在探讨在线健康信息用户的某些心理特征，并为提供更好的以用户为导向的健康信息服务提供指导方针。本研究采用横断面研究设计，通过网络问卷调查在韩国进行方便抽样。为了分析互联网上健康信息用户的特征，进行了两步聚类分析。结果表明，根据主观知识和健康关注度的不同，在线健康信息用户可分为四组。研究结果还表明，存在四个具有明显特征模式的聚类。本研究的结果对于希望了解用户特征和行为并以满意的方式提供更以用户为导向的服务的健康门户网站开发者将非常有用。建议为了充分了解用户对互联网健康信息服务的行为，需要进一步研究探索用户在不同专业水平的各种健康问题解决网站上的各种需求、偏好和相关因素。
