This study investigates the prevalence of source-specific information avoidance among German consumers and predictors of information-avoidance behavior in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Guided by the Risk Information Seeking and Processing Model (RISP), we propose that the perceived social norms, information insufficiency, risk perception, affective risk response, and attitudes toward seeking predict information avoidance. We supplement the RISP model by considering information overload as the vast volume and the incredulous quality of information in the COVID-19 pandemic challenge individuals’ information acquisition and processing. Using a stratified demographic sample of news consumers of a federal German state (N = 1,000), we empirically examined the proposed model, answered the research question, and tested our hypotheses using structural equation modeling. The results reveal information avoidance among one-third of the respondents. They avoided online sources, including online-mediated interpersonal sources, more often than interpersonal sources and traditional mass media. Information avoidance was linked to more negative attitudes toward seeking and negative affective risk responses, more pronounced descriptive and injunctive avoidance norms, and perceived information overload. Attitudes and information overload were the most influential predictors of avoidance. In contrast, risk perception and information insufficiency were not associated with information avoidance. This study provides insights into theory development, contributes to the information behavior literature, and identifies barriers to communication during health crises.

Patients’ participation in healthcare requires comprehensive health knowledge and can benefit from online health information seeking behaviours (O-HISB). The internet is a particularly vital source for seeking health-related information in many regions of the world. Therefore, we take a European cross-country comparative perspective on O-HISB. We aim to compare the importance of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive determinants of using the internet for health-related purposes in four European countries. We conducted online surveys among the German, Swiss, Dutch, and Austrian public and described patterns of health information seeking online. The internet seemed to be a widely used source of health information in the four selected European countries. The explanation patterns of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive factors differ by country and between selecting the internet as a source of health information and the frequency of online use. Using online media appeared to be more common for women and for current health problems. Respondents’ willingness and competencies are essential for online health information seeking. To prevent the increase of social and health-related disparities, there is an urgent need to support underprivileged population groups and increase motivations and eHealth literacy to use the internet for health-related purposes.

Background Worldwide, the internet is an increasingly important channel for health information. Many theories have been applied in research on online health information seeking behaviors (HISBs), with each model integrating a different set of predictors; thus, a common understanding of the predictors of (online) HISB is still missing. Another shortcoming of the theories explaining (online) HISB is that most existing models, so far, focus on very specific health contexts such as cancer. Therefore, the assumptions of the Planned Risk Information Seeking Model (PRISM) as the latest integrative model are applied to study online HISB, because this model identifies the general cognitive and sociopsychological factors that explain health information seeking intention. We shift away from single diseases and explore cross-thematic patterns of online HISB intention and compare predictors concerning different health statuses as it can be assumed that groups of people perceiving themselves as ill or healthy will differ concerning their drivers of online HISB. Considering the specifics of online HISB and variation in individual context factors is key for the development of generalizable theories. Objective The objective of our study was to contribute to the development of the concept of online HISB in 2 areas. First, this study aimed to explore individual-level predictors of individuals’ online HISB intention by applying the postulates of PRISM. Second, we compared relevant predictors of online HISB in groups of people with different health statuses to identify cross-thematic central patterns of online HISB. Methods Data from a representative sample of German internet users (n=822) served to explain online HISB intentions and influencing patterns in different groups of people. The applicability of the PRISM to online HISB intention was tested by structural equation modeling and multigroup comparison. Results Our results revealed PRISM to be an effective framework for explaining online HISB intention. For online HISB, attitudes toward seeking health information online provided the most important explanatory power followed by risk perceptions and affective risk responses. The multigroup comparison revealed differences both regarding the explanatory power of the model and the relevance of predictors of online HISB. The online HISB intention could be better explained for people facing a health threat, suggesting that the predictors adopted from PRISM were more suitable to explain a problem-driven type of information-seeking behavior. Conclusions Our findings indicate that attitudes toward seeking health information online and risk perceptions are of central importance for online HISB across different health-conditional contexts. Predictors such as self-efficacy and perceived knowledge insufficiency play a context-dependent role—they are more influential when individuals are facing health threats and the search for health information is of higher personal relevance and urgency. These findings can be understood as the first step to develop a generalized theory of online HISB.

Zusammenfassung Hintergrund und Ziele Die Übernahme einer aktiven Patient*innen-Rolle kann nur auf einer entsprechenden Informationsgrundlage gelingen. Die eigene Suche nach Gesundheitsinformationen im Internet kann zu einer solchen adäquaten Wissensbasis beitragen. Daher erscheint es zentral zu fragen, was die derzeitige Nutzung von Onlineangeboten und Gesundheits-Apps in Deutschland auszeichnet und welche personenbezogenen und motivationalen Einflussfaktoren beeinflussen, ob und wie häufig die Bürger*innen online nach Gesundheitsinformationen suchen oder Gesundheits-Apps nutzen. Methoden Zur Beantwortung der Fragestellungen wurde eine an der deutschen Gesamtbevölkerung stratifizierte Onlinebefragung (N = 3000) durchgeführt. Der Fragebogen erfasste die gesundheitsbezogene Nutzung des Internets und von Apps sowie mögliche personenbezogene und motivationale Einflussfaktoren. Die Bedeutung dieser Faktoren für die Internetnutzung wurde mittels Regressionsanalysen ermittelt. Ergebnisse Die gesundheitsbezogene Informationssuche mittels Internet ist in Deutschland weitverbreitet, während Gesundheits-Apps noch deutlich seltener genutzt werden. Am häufigsten werden auf Gesundheitsportalen Informationen zu Krankheitssymptomen gesucht. Die Zuwendung zum Internet wird besonders durch motivationale Faktoren geprägt. Akute Betroffenheit von körperlichen Beschwerden und entsprechende Informationskompetenzen sind die einflussreichsten Faktoren für die Internetnutzung. Diskussion Um die mit der Informationssuche im Internet verbundenen Potenziale zu entfalten, ist es notwendig, dass sich Bürger*innen zur eigenen Suche motiviert und befähigt fühlen. Besonders entsprechende Fähigkeiten gilt es zu fördern, um das Risiko der Verstärkung informationaler, gesundheitlicher und sozialer Unterschiede zu reduzieren.

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