DO YOU FIND HEALTH ADVICE ON MICROBLOGGING PLATFORMS CREDIBLE? ROLE OF SELF-EFFICACY AND HEALTH THREAT IN CREDIBILITY ASSESSMENT

Despite the increasing prevalence, microblogging users are likely to face great challenges in assessing the credibility of health information due to the user-generated nature of content and length restriction on each microblog post. In this study we aim to explore how microblog users assess the credibility of health advice in terms of microblog posts. By incorporating the Elaboration Likelihood Model and Protection Motivation Theory, we theorize that users’ self-efficacy expectation of health actions recommended in a microblog post and their perception of health threat induced by the post can influence their elaboration processes of credibility assessment. As a study in progress, specific design of a controlled laboratory experiment to test the proposed hypotheses is included. Upon completion, this study can potentially provide important theoretical implications in the areas of online health information, microblogging and credibility literature

Internet health information seeking and the patient-physician relationship: A systematic review

BACKGROUND: With online health information becoming increasingly popular among patients, concerns have been raised about the impact of patients’ Internet health information-seeking behavior on their relationship with physicians. Therefore, it is pertinent to understand the influence of online health information on the patient-physician relationship. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to systematically review existing research on patients’ Internet health information seeking and its influence on the patient-physician relationship. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed and key medical informatics, information systems, and communication science journals covering the period of 2000 to 2015. Empirical articles that were in English were included. We analyzed the content covering themes in 2 broad categories: factors affecting patients’ discussion of online findings during consultations and implications for the patient-physician relationship. RESULTS: We identified 18 articles that met the inclusion criteria and the quality requirement for the review. The articles revealed barriers, facilitators, and demographic factors that influence patients’ disclosure of online health information during consultations and the different mechanisms patients use to reveal these findings. Our review also showed the mechanisms in which online information could influence patients’ relationship with their physicians. CONCLUSIONS: Results of this review contribute to the understanding of the patient-physician relationship of Internet-informed patients. Our main findings show that Internet health information seeking can improve the patient-physician relationship depending on whether the patient discusses the information with the physician and on their prior relationship. As patients have better access to health information through the Internet and expect to be more engaged in health decision making, traditional models of the patient-provider relationship and communication strategies must be revisited to adapt to this changing demographic

Online Health Information Seeking and Adolescents’ Intention Towards Health Self-Management

The widespread availability of healthcare websites has changed the traditional healthcare system by enabling patients to play an active role in health management. The emerging field of Health 2.0 has enabled both professionals and patients to engage in content generation; changing the traditionally accepted professional healthcare to a new dimension of patient-centric healthcare. With the easy access to health information online, patients are turning to the Internet to look up for symptoms, diagnose health problems, or determine treatment procedures. Anecdotal evidence suggests that individuals’ health management practices can be highly influenced by online health information. Considering the psychological characteristics of adolescents and their high exposure to the Internet, this study investigates the mechanisms of how online health information can motivate adolescents’ behavioral intention towards self-management of their health issues. Our results showed that empowerment, attitude towards the website and privacy concerns significantly predict adolescents’ health self-management behavior. Our findings also revealed that perceived health threat is not directly influencing the intention to self-managed health but instead interacts with other factors to influence intention. The findings provide important implications for theory and practice, by providing a better understanding of an emerging field of health care

Unobtrusive detection of frailty in older adults

Singapore National Research Foundation; Singapore Ministry of National Developmen

Patients\u27 Adherence to Health Advice on Patientdriven Virtual Communities: Identity and Bond Theory Perspective

With the worldwide explosion of social media, the use of online communities in the healthcare landscape has grown dramatically in recent years. Although healthcare communities already existed in the era before the WorldWideWeb, the primary medium for communities today is the Internet. Online healthcare communities can be seen as social support groups, whereby patients with similar interests gather virtually to collectively conduct activities related to healthcare and education. The recent proliferation of online health communities has directed researches to investigate the actual impact of such communities on patients. In this thesis we are interested in studying how online communities could influence consumers’ healthcare behaviors. Specifically in this study, we seek to study the extent to which patients are actually willing to follow the health advice they receive online and whether this information can make significant health behavior changes in individuals. Through conducting a survey at two leading healthcare social networks, we are empirically testing a model to understand ‘how different features of online health communities can increase its members’ acceptance and adherence to health management advice they receive online.’ This thesis provides several theoretical and practical implications in the areas of online communities, healthcare IS and selfregulatory healthcare behaviors

Patients’ Adherence to Health Advice on Virtual Communities: Identity and Bond Theory Perspective

The Internet is becoming increasingly popular and powerful as a healthcare delivery tool. Health community websites in particular have enabled patients to collectively conduct healthcare related activities. Considering the enormous benefits, physicians and organizations can effectively use online community based websites to deliver healthcare and promote health management practices. Using identity and bond theories as main theoretical lenses and synthesizing literature from social-psychology, we study how different features of online health communities can increase its members’ acceptance and adherence to health advice they receive online. With the collaboration of a leading healthcare institution, a field experiment will be conducted to test the hypotheses. Our study is one of the first studies in IS to investigate the actual impact of an online health community based intervention. This study provides several theoretical and practical implications in the areas of online communities, health behaviors and attachment literature

Practitioner-driven Virtual Communities: An Attachment Theory Perspective to Patients’ Adherence to Online Health Advice

With the rapid growth of social networks and the increased rate of adoption by patients, healthcare organizations are progressively adopting online community-based initiatives to conduct healthcare activities. Considering the enormous potential online communities hold, for practitioners to get closer to their patients, online communities could be effectively utilized to conduct health management programs. Based upon the literature on attachment and social presence theory, we propose a research framework to examine the effectiveness of an online community-based health management intervention. Specifically, we study how different online community characteristics would influence how members become attached to the community and their adherence to health advice disseminated through the community. A field experiment will be carried out in collaboration with a leading hospital in a South-east Asian country to test the hypotheses. This study provides several theoretical and practical implications in the areas of online health communities, healthcare interventions and attachment literature