Department of Advertising, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8400, USA.
Health Info Libr J. 2011 Sep;28(3):188-99. doi: 10.1111/j.1471-1842.2011.00948.x. Epub 2011 Jul 1.
While the Internet is a popular source of health information, health seekers' inadequate skills to locate and discern quality information pose a potential threat to their healthcare decision-making.
We aimed to examine health information search and appraisal behaviours among young, heavy users of the Internet.
In study 1, we observed and interviewed 11 college students about their search strategies and evaluation of websites. In study 2, three health experts evaluated two websites selected as the best information sources in study 1.
Familiarity with health websites and confidence in search strategies were major factors affecting search and evaluation behaviours. Website quality was mostly judged by aesthetics and peripheral cues of source credibility and message credibility. In contrast to users' favourable website evaluation, the experts judged the websites to be inappropriate and untrustworthy.
Our results highlight a critical need to provide young health seekers with resources and training that are specifically geared toward health information search and appraisal. The role of health seekers' knowledge and involvement with the health issue in search effort and success warrants future research.
虽然互联网是一个受欢迎的健康信息来源，但健康寻求者寻找和辨别高质量信息的能力不足，这对他们的医疗决策构成了潜在威胁。
我们旨在研究互联网重度使用者的健康信息搜索和评估行为。
在研究 1 中，我们观察并采访了 11 名大学生，了解他们的搜索策略和网站评估情况。在研究 2 中，三位健康专家评估了在研究 1 中被选为最佳信息来源的两个网站。
对健康网站的熟悉程度和对搜索策略的信心是影响搜索和评估行为的主要因素。网站质量主要通过来源可信度和信息可信度的美学和外围线索来判断。与用户对网站的有利评价相反，专家认为这些网站不合适且不可信。
我们的研究结果强调了为年轻的健康寻求者提供专门针对健康信息搜索和评估的资源和培训的迫切需要。健康问题的知识和参与程度在搜索努力和成功中的作用值得未来的研究。
