Characteristics of the Measurement Tools for Assessing Health Information–Seeking Behaviors in Nationally Representative Surveys: Systematic Review

Abstract

Background The coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has also emerged as an infodemic, thereby worsening the harm of the pandemic. This situation has highlighted the need for a deeply rooted understanding of the health information–seeking behaviors (HISBs) of people. Objective The aim of this paper was to review and provide insight regarding methodologies and the construct of content in HISB surveys by answering the following research question: what are the characteristics of the measurement tools for assessing HISBs in nationally representative surveys around the world? Methods The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses was used as the framework for this study. A data search was performed through 5 international and 2 Korean databases covering the years between 2008 and 2020. Initially, studies performed among nationally representative samples were included to discover HISB survey instruments. The methodologies of the studies using HISB surveys were analyzed. For content analysis, 2 researchers reached a consensus through discussion by scrutinizing the contents of each survey questionnaire. Results A total of 13 survey tools from 8 countries were identified after a review of 2333 records from the search results. Five survey tools (Health Information National Trends Survey, Health Tracking Survey, Annenberg National Health Communication Survey, National Health Interview Survey, and Health Tracking Household Survey) from the United States, 2 instruments from Germany, and 1 tool from each of the countries of the European Union, France, Israel, Poland, South Korea, and Taiwan were identified. Telephone or web-based surveys were commonly used targeting the adult population (≥15 years of age). From the content analysis, the domains of the survey items were categorized as follows: information (information about health and patient medical records), channel (offline and online), and health (overall health, lifestyle, and cancer). All categories encompassed behavioral and attitude dimensions. A theoretical framework, that is, an information-channel-health structure for HISBs was proposed. Conclusions The results of our study can contribute to the development and implementation of the survey tools for HISB with integrated questionnaire items. This will help in understanding HISB trends in national health care.

A Remote Assessment of Anxiety on Young People: Towards Their Views and Their Different Pet Interaction

“…This tool has been continuously adapted to the phases of the pandemic [ 53 ]. A recent review highlights how these tools have gradually been used in different countries during the pandemic [ 54 ].…”

“…These studies have shown how the restrictions could cause psychological problems, including anxiety. In line with the solutions proposed in [ 53 , 54 ], we developed an electronic survey to investigate this. The part of the survey dedicated to the anxiety test made it possible to highlight, as a first important and troubling result, the very high anxiety prevalence rate (23.1%) among the youths during the COVID-19 outbreak in line with other studies [ 33 , 35 , 55 , 56 ].…”

The COVID-19 Infodemic: Mechanism, Impact, and Counter-Measures—A Review of Reviews

“…The infodemic worsened the impact of the pandemic and led to damage and harm [33,42]. Fake news, conspiracy theories, and racist news might even lead to loss of life [32,42]. Likewise, unscientific and unproven cures were harmful [21].…”

“…Capturing the risk perception and risk competence can identify gaps in the population and support crisis preparation [20]. A good understanding of health information seeking behavior of the population can help mitigating and preparing for an infodemic [42]. Scientists play a significant role in the context of an infodemic because of their expertise and their societal standing; they should be conscious about this and be prepared to respond to families, friends, and the community [17].…”

“…Cooperation, participation, proportionality, and a good understanding of risk perception and risk competency are additionally important elements to confront the infodemic [20,40]. Awareness of both behavior as well as attitudes is important to understand the affected population [42]. Due to the complexity of an infodemic, the overall approach does not focus on a single item, but rather a synergistic mix of various tactical elements [30].…”