Cell Phone Information Seeking Explains Blood Pressure in African American Women

Although cell phone use and Internet access via cell phone is not marked by racial disparities, little is known about how cell phone use relates to blood pressure and health information seeking behaviors. The purposes of this study were to (a) describe Internet activities, cell phone use, and information seeking; (b) determine differences in blood pressure and information seeking between cell phone information seekers and nonseekers; and (c) examine cell phone information seeking as a predictor of blood pressure in African American women. Participants ( N = 147) completed a survey and had their blood pressure measured. Independent-sample t tests showed a significant difference in systolic blood pressure in cell phone information seekers and nonseekers. Linear regression revealed cell phone information seeking as an independent predictor of systolic blood pressure, despite confounders. It is possible that cell phone information seekers were using health information to make decisions about self-management of blood pressure

Alien Registration- Veinot, Richard S. (Lewiston, Androscoggin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/27145/thumbnail.jp

Alien Registration- Veinot, Louise C. (Newburgh, Penobscot County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/8218/thumbnail.jp

“A lot of people didn't have a chance to support us because we never told them” Stigma management, information poverty and HIV/AIDS information/help networks

Because of fears of stigmatization, people with HIV/AIDS (PHAs) may avoid health care and refuse illness-related information and support. However, HIV/AIDS-related information, especially that which is provided by other people, has also been shown to a vital resource for PHAs and their loved ones. This research examines the role of stigmatization in PHAs' and their friends/family members' efforts to establish personal networks for HIV/AIDS-related information and help ("information/help networks"). To investigate this question, I draw upon Goffman's ( 1963 ) stigma management theory and Chatman's ( 1996 ) theory of information poverty. Semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with 114 PHAs, their friends/family members, health care and service providers in three rural regions of Canada. Results revealed that the majority of PHAs and friends/family members had relatively small networks for HIV/AIDS information/help. For many participants, the challenges of living with HIV/AIDS led to changes in their personal networks, and stigmatization playing a significant part in such changes. Participants developed information/help networks in a manner consistent with stigma management theory in their decisions to disclose selectively to others, to avoid the topic in conversation, to obtain information/help at a distance or to acquire information/help without disclosing their HIV status. However, in contrast to Chatman's theory, participants did not wholly avoid information from interpersonal sources nor believe that no one was available to help them. These findings suggest that information behaviour theory may need to evolve in order to account for the complexity of self-protective behaviour.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/78326/1/1450460273_ftp.pd

Resilience to health shocks: How do family information and support networks respond to unexpected negative health events?

Social networks can respond to outside shocks by 'turtling up' (clus-ering around strong ties) instead of adapting by activating more weak ties to obtain new information, however this has not been shown in smaller, personal information and support networks. Therefore, the goal of this study was to explore whether these networks respond to shocks similarly. To do this, we evaluated the impacts of health shocks, unforeseen and disruptive health events, on the structure (e.g. network size/transitivity and tie strength/type) and function, i.e. ability to provide resources like information and social support, of information and support networks for families managing chronic illness. Using clustered sampling methods, families managing HIV/AIDS or type 2 diabetes were recruited. Longitudinal interview, survey and network data were collected from 28 families over a period of 2.5 years, with up to five contacts per family. We report descriptive statistics and random effects models using family-level data for network change in relation to health shocks. Health shocks were not significantly associated with changes in structure or function of family networks. Some change, however, was observed, with most measures trending down from one time to the next including proportions of weak ties and informational support ties, indicating these networks are not adapting by accessing novel information channels. Although further work is needed, the patterns of change observed did not match network responses to shocks found in prior work implying a possible difference in the ways that these networks respond to shocks and in what is actually driving observed changes

Coming Out to Doctors, Coming Out to ‘‘Everyone’’: Understanding the Average Sequence of Transgender Identity Disclosures Using Social Media Data

Purpose: Gender transition is a complex life change, and transgender identity disclosures are pivotal moments that delineate the gender transition process. The purpose of this study was to quantify the average sequence in which transgender people disclose their transgender identity to different people in their lives, such as medical professionals, family members, and online networks, and to understand the emotional implications of these disclosures. Methods: We used mixed methods to identify 362 transgender identity disclosure social media posts within 41,066 total posts from 240 Tumblr transition blogs (online spaces in which transgender people document gender transitions). We manually assigned each disclosure post an audience category, and then calculated the average sequence in which people in this sample disclosed their transgender identity to different audiences. Results: Health professionals, such as physicians and therapists, were on average some of the very first people to whom transgender Tumblr bloggers disclosed their transgender identity. Such disclosures were often anxiety provoking and emotionally difficult, whether intentional or involuntary. Next, they often disclosed to friends, followed by close family (e.g., parents and siblings) and then extended family (e.g., grandparents). Mass disclosures to large portions of a person's network, such as on one's Facebook profile, usually came late in the disclosure process. Conclusion: Gender transition is a staged process that includes a series of disclosures to different audiences that follows an average sequence. Because health care providers (e.g., physicians and therapists) who work with transgender patients are often some of the very first people to whom transgender people in our sample disclosed, providers must practice extra sensitivity when responding to such disclosures.National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowships Program Grant No. DGE-1321846University of California, Irvine, James Harvey Scholar AwardPeer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/155363/1/trgh.2019.0045.pdfDescription of trgh.2019.0045.pdf : Main articl

A spectrum of approaches to health information interaction: From avoidance to verification

People respond to illness in a range of ways, and take different approaches to engaging with health information throughout the course of their illness. This study describes and explains the variety of approaches to health information interactions made by patients on hemodialysis. Ethnographic observations (156 hours) were conducted in three hemodialysis clinics, and semistructured interviews about health information were held with 28 patients. Demographic data were collected. Data were analyzed qualitatively. We found a spectrum of five approaches to health information: avoiders, who close themselves off from health information; receivers, who encounter information in the dialysis clinic but do not seek it out; askers, who only pose questions about health to their healthcare providers but otherwise do not seek; seekers, who actively look for health information both in and out of the clinic; and verifiers, who seek information and triangulate it among multiple sources. Trust in healthcare providers and coping sociality differed across approaches. The findings indicate that health information should be provided to patients using strategies tailored to their preferences and existing approaches to information interaction.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156165/2/asi24310_am.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/156165/1/asi24310.pd

Information, interaction and innovation in consumer health: New directions at the intersection of information science and informatics: Interaction track sponsored by SIGHEALTH

ABSTRACT Longstanding approaches to health and health care are failing us: costs have skyrocketed while care quality remains highly uneven; the majority of health care in North America takes place in homes and communities rather than hospitals and doctor's offices; and institutionalized health care often does little to support people psychosocially or prevent people from becoming ill in the first place. Enthusiasm for the potential of consumer participation in health and health care has found advocates among health systems and insurers keen to reduce costs and patient organizations agitating for improved recognition and care. Alongside these trends, we find an increased focus on consumer health in the disciplines of information science and informatics. Health information science studies examine information behavior, information policy, terminology and information retrieval systems. Health informaticians focus on the design and evaluation of consumer-facing technologies such as personal health records and health behavior tracking systems. Scholars in both fields pursue research concerning social media, including online patient communities. However, despite the growing momentum of scholarly activity in both fields, as well as their topical overlap, the fields remain largely separate, with differing research traditions and scholarly communities. In this panel, we find synergy and common ground between the two fields through an exploration of the conference themes of information, interaction and innovation. In a lightning talk format, eight panelists representing diverse research areas will share their perspectives upon key insights that each field can bring to the other. Building on the arguments presented, panelists and the audience will reflect on the state of consumer health research, and brainstorm regarding future scholarly directions that will leverage the strengths of both fields

Preparation of small silicon carbide quantum dots by wet chemical etching

Fabrication of nanosized silicon carbide (SiC) crystals is a crucial step in many biomedical applications. Here we report an effective fabrication method of SiC nanocrystals based on simple electroless wet chemical etching of crystalline cubic SiC. Comparing an open reaction system with a closed reaction chamber, we found that the latter produces smaller nanoparticles (less than 8 nm diameter) with higher yield. Our samples show strong violet-blue emission in the 410–450 nm region depending on the solvents used and the size. Infrared measurements unraveled that the surface of the fabricated nanoparticles is rich in oxidized carbon. This may open an opportunity to use standard chemistry methods for further biological functionalization of such nanoparticles