How older adults in the USA and India seek information during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative study of information behavior

Lund, Brady; Maurya, Sanjay Kumar

doi:10.1177/03400352211024675

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The impact of the information uncertainty and infodemic on the public is significantly reduced. Different from the current study, research during the subsequent stages has paid more attention to the universal information needs and influencing factors, and then improve the information service (Zhao and Basnyat, 2022;Li et al, 2022;Lund and Maurya, 2022).…”

Section: Formation Of the Public's Information Needsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Modeling the formation of the public's information needs in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak

Xie

Cheng

et al. 2022

AJIM

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PurposeThis study aims to investigate how the public formed their need for information in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak. Exploring the formation of information needs can reveal why the public's information needs differ and provide insights on targeted information service during health crises at an essential level.Design/methodology/approachThe data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 46 participants and analyzed using the grounded theory approach. Concepts, sub-categories and categories were developed, and a model was built to examine how the public formed the need for information about the pandemic.FindingsThe authors found that participants were stimulated by information asymmetry, severity of the pandemic and regulations to control the pandemic, which triggered their perceptions of information credibility, threat and social approval. After the participants perceived that there was a threat, it activated their basic needs and they actively formed the need for information based on cognitive activities. Moreover, information delivered by different senders resulted in a passive need for information. Participants' individual traits also influenced their perceptions after being stimulated.Research limitations/implicationsLong-term follow-up research is needed to help researchers identify more detailed perspectives and do comparative studies. Besides, this study conducted interviews through WeChat voice calls and telephone calls, and might be limited compared with face-to-face interviews.Practical implicationsThe findings of this study provide theoretical contributions to the information needs research and practical implications for information services and public health management.Originality/valueThere is little systematic research on how the public formed information needs in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Section: Formation Of the Public's Information Needsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Modeling the formation of the public's information needs in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak

Xie

Cheng

et al. 2022

AJIM

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“…Specifically, COVID-19 has shown that family work around health information search has extended to nonimmigrant population, in which children act as online searchers for their families (Drouin et al , 2020). As the geriatric population grows, senior citizens are also asking their adult children to act as online health search and brokers (Lund and Maurya, 2021). Therefore, we believe our model for OSB has utility for many kinds of online searching as family work.…”

Section: Limitations and Conclusionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Youth invisible work: the sociocultural and collaborative processes of online search and brokering between adolescents and English-language learning families

Yip

Roldan

González

et al. 2022

ILS

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Purpose This study aims to investigate the collaboration processes of immigrant families as they search for online information together. Immigrant English-language learning adults of lower socioeconomic status often work collaboratively with their children to search the internet. Family members rely on each other’s language and digital literacy skills in this collaborative process known as online search and brokering (OSB). While previous work has identified ecological factors that impact OSB, research has not yet distilled the specific learning processes behind such collaborations. Design/methodology/approach For this study, the authors adhere to practices of a case study examination. This study’s participants included parents, grandparents and children aged 10–17 years. Most adults were born in Mexico, did not have a college-degree, worked in service industries and represented a lower-SES population. This study conducted two to three separate in-home family visits per family with interviews and online search tasks. Findings From a case study analysis of three families, this paper explores the funds of knowledge, resilience, ecological support and challenges that children and parents face, as they engage in collaborative OSB experiences. This study demonstrates how in-home computer-supported collaborative processes are often informal, social, emotional and highly relevant to solving information challenges. Research limitations/implications An intergenerational OSB process is different from collaborative online information problem-solving that happens between classroom peers or coworkers. This study’s research shows how both parents and children draw on their funds of knowledge, resilience and ecological support systems when they search collaboratively, with and for their family members, to problem solve. This is a case study of three families working in collaboration with each other. This case study informs analytical generalizations and theory-building rather than statistical generalizations about families. Practical implications Designers need to recognize that children and youth are using the same tools as adults to seek high-level critical information. This study’s model suggests that if parents and children are negotiating information seeking with the same technology tools but different funds of knowledge, experience levels and skills, the presentation of information (e.g. online search results, information visualizations) needs to accommodate different levels of understanding. This study recommends designers work closely with marginalized communities through participatory design methods to better understand how interfaces and visuals can help accommodate youth invisible work. Social implications The authors have demonstrated in this study that learning and engaging in family online searching is not only vital to the development of individual and digital literacy skills, it is a part of family learning. While community services, libraries and schools have a responsibility to support individual digital and information literacy development, this study’s model highlights the need to recognize funds of knowledge, family resiliency and asset-based learning. Schools and teachers should identify and harness youth invisible work as a form of learning at home. The authors believe educators can do this by highlighting the importance of information problem solving in homes and youth in their families. Libraries and community centers also play a critical role in supporting parents and adults for technical assistance (e.g. WiFi access) and information resources. Originality/value This study’s work indicates new conditions fostering productive joint media engagement (JME) around OSB. This study contributes a generative understanding that promotes studying and designing for JME, where family responsibility is the focus.

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“…Several studies have applied the sense-making theory to investigate an individual's information-seeking behavior during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most people, particularly the vulnerable (for example, older persons in remote regions), experience unmet "needs" and "barriers" to accessing information during the COVID-19 pandemic [13]. In addition, young individuals are concerned for their vulnerable elderly parents or relatives [14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, young individuals are concerned for their vulnerable elderly parents or relatives [14]. According to a study comparing information-seeking among older adults in the U.S. and India, the national context may be important in information-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic [13]. This study discovered differences in information needs and utilization of information sources between these two groups, implying that the national context may be important in information-seeking during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disparities in COVID-19 Information Sources and Knowledge in South Korea

Jang

2022

IJERPH

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Applying Dervin’s sense-making theory, this study aims to examine the factors associated with the numbers and types of COVID-19 information sources, and the association between information sources and knowledge during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. An online survey was conducted among adults (19–69 years old) in December 2020. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression were conducted to examine (1) the associated factors with the numbers and types of COVID-19 information sources, and (2) whether the number and types of COVID-19 information sources predict the correct COVID-19 knowledge. On average, the participants utilized five different sources to find COVID-19 information. The information need was related to the number and type of information sources, while the information barrier was only related to the number of sources. Participants who utilized more sources and who utilized online sources were more likely to possess the correct knowledge regarding COVID-19 while utilizing the government website; however, doctors, as a source, were negatively related to COVID-19 knowledge. There should be more support for individuals with lower socioeconomic status, as they tend to look for fewer sources, while finding more sources is positively related to better COVID-19 knowledge.

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How older adults in the USA and India seek information during the COVID-19 pandemic: A comparative study of information behavior

Cited by 12 publications

References 25 publications

Modeling the formation of the public's information needs in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak

Modeling the formation of the public's information needs in the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak

Youth invisible work: the sociocultural and collaborative processes of online search and brokering between adolescents and English-language learning families

Disparities in COVID-19 Information Sources and Knowledge in South Korea

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