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Information seeking behavior about obesity among South Koreans: applying the risk information seeking and processing model
Abstract
Using national online panel survey data (N = 1,000) in South Korea, this study applied the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model to examine how people are motivated to seek information about obesity. We added autonomous motivation and health consciousness to the RISP model to investigate their association with health information seeking behavior about obesity. We proposed that information seeking is influenced by information insufficiency, autonomous motivation that is associated with health consciousness, and negative affective response that is related to subjective norm and risk perception. Using structural equation modeling analysis, this study largely supported our hypotheses. The results revealed associations among the socio-psychological variables that predict information seeking behavior on obesity. We found that information insufficiency, autonomous motivation, and negative affective responses appeared to be strong predictors in seeking obesity-related information. These findings have practical implications for health communication efforts in an emerging obesity risk country.
... However, relevant studies on this effect remain scarce. The heightened risk perception of obesity influences the extent of preventive behaviors that individuals engage in, as numerous empirical studies have identified, such as those related to health information seeking and physical activity [41,42]. Consequently, the second hypothesis proposed in this study was: ...
... Risk perception of obesity, an individual's subjective assessment of a health concern, is crucial in determining the disease severity [62]. Therefore, the risk perception of obesity was measured using two questions about the perceived contribution of being overweight or obese and adult weight gain to cancer [41]. Responses were given on a 4-point scale: "1 = Not at all", "2 = Don't know", "3 = A little", and "4 = A lot". ...
Background
The global epidemic of overweight and obesity appears alongside numerous diseases. As electronic personal health information (ePHI) technology becomes more prevalent, understanding its relationship with health behaviors and how this relationship may differ across physical groups becomes increasingly relevant.
Methods
Using secondary data from the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 2020, this study examined the relationships between ePHI technology use, obesity preventive behaviors (e.g., physical activity, alcohol consumption, and diet control), and risk perception of obesity, considering body weight as a potential moderator.
Results
The patterns between ePHI technology use and obesity preventive behaviors differed across behavior types and body weight groups. Higher ePHI technology use was associated with increased physical activity (b = 5.98, bp = 0.44, p < .01) and diet control (b = 0.03, bp = 0.28, OR = 1.11, p < .001), while no significant relationship was observed with alcohol consumption. The relationship between ePHI technology use and risk perception of obesity was weaker among the obese group (b = -0.03, bp = -0.11, p < .05). The indirect relationship between ePHI technology use and physical activity varied by body weight, showing stronger associations in the underweight group (95% CI [0.03, 2.77]) and weaker associations in the obese group (95% CI [-1.14, -0.04]).
Conclusion
The findings suggest more limited relationships between ePHI technology and health behaviors than previously anticipated. Physical activity and dietary regulation showed modest associations with ePHI technology use, while alcohol consumption showed no significant relationship. Overweight and obese individuals did not show a higher risk perception of obesity or greater engagement in preventive behaviors compared to those of healthy weight. These findings highlight the importance of developing a more nuanced understanding of ePHI technology's role in health-related contexts.
... This finding indicates that participation in clinical trials may evoke negative feelings among cancer patients and their caregivers, who perceive such trials as a risky treatment option [52]. Additionally, patient-centered communication, which occurs through various channels, including entertainment media, search engines, social media, and mobile health applications, mediates the effect of health information seeking behavior (HISB) on adopting healthy lifestyles [49]. ...
... Furthermore, health-related variables are common control variables to examine general media usage and account for health-related factors. These variables may include physical health status, chronic diseases, health insurance coverage, frequency of medical diagnoses, and other relevant health indicators [49]. ...
Over the past few decades, the application of the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model has substantially increased within health and risk communication research. This model provides insights into how individuals respond to information scarcity through seeking, processing, or avoidance behaviors. In an era of burgeoning digital media, individuals often rely on multiple channels for health information; however, systematic reviews focusing on RISP within the digital media context remain limited. This study addresses that gap with a comprehensive analysis of existing literature using the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses method, with papers (n = 26) included from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar. This review outlines study contexts, sample characteristics, and data collection modes, offering a critical assessment of the model’s evolution, especially conceptualizing relevant channel beliefs. The analysis categorizes variables into exogenous, regulatory, mediation, control, and endogenous, constructing a comprehensive causality framework. Findings indicated future RISP research should emphasize multi-channel information seeking, reflecting the complexities of the current media environment, and advocating for mixed research methods to enhance the depth of risk communication studies.
... Los adolescentes suelen tener una percepción negativa de los cuerpos con obesidad al asociarlos con la exclusión social (Catalán et al., 2020). Sin embargo, tener una percepción de riesgo de obesidad adecuada puede ayudar a disminuir estereotipos negativos sobre la obesidad y motivar las conductas saludables (Choi y Noh, 2021). ...
... Un estudiante de ps aumentó sus niveles de distrés, lo que parece que afectó sus niveles de autoeficacia para la actividad física. Por otro lado, una de las implicaciones teóricas fue el término percepción de riesgo de obesidad, el cual ha sido utilizado poco para evaluar el posible riesgo de conductas poco saludables relacionadas al peso e imagen corporal (Choi y Noh, 2021). Una de las limitaciones del estudio fue la pandemia por covid-19. ...
El consumo excesivo de alcohol es un comportamiento de riesgo en el que las personas buscan efectos placenteros a pesar de las consecuencias negativas. La investigación sugiere que el consumo excesivo puede estar asociado con una variedad de comportamientos de riesgo dañinos, incluidos la agresión, accidentes automovilísticos y conducta sexual de riesgo. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la toma de decisiones de riesgo y la impulsividad para definir el mejor predictor para el consumo excesivo. Los participantes fueron 68 adultos jóvenes, se utilizaron las tareas: bart y descuento por demora. Se encontró que solo la tarea de bart presenta diferencias significativas en el consumo de alcohol, esto fue consistente con otros estudios, los modelos de regresión no fueron significativos. Se concluye que una medida de asunción de riesgos podría ser un mejor predictor para el consumo de alcohol frente a una medida de impulsividad.
... One key conceptual framework is the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model (Griffin et al., 1999(Griffin et al., , 2013 which aims to explain how individuals seek and process risk information. The RISP model has been applied across different health-related topics including the use of antibiotics (Zhou et al., 2020), the COVID-19 pandemic (Zhou et al., 2023), clinical trial enrollment (Yang et al., 2010), and obesity (Choi and Noh, 2021). In the RISP model, information-seeking behavior is conceptualized as the deliberate, intentional pursuit of further knowledge, as well as the more casual skimming of messages and accidental observations and encounters (Griffin et al., 2013). ...
... Several studies showed that when individuals experience a heightened level of information insufficiency, they tend to actively seek more information and at the same time, are less likely to avoid information about the topic. For instance, in two South Korean online panel surveys, one concentrated on smoking cessation (Noh et al., 2016) and the other on obesity (Choi and Noh, 2021), along with a study involving Chinese adults examining COVID-19 (Li and Zheng, 2022), a consistent finding was the positive correlation between information insufficiency and the intention to actively seek more information. This correlation was identified through self-reported scales in these studies. ...
Previous research on health information seeking has primarily focused on individuals’ intentions to seek or avoid information. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the actual behavioral patterns of information-seeking and non-seeking. To address this, we conducted a survey experiment manipulating cognitive load with mostly Belgian participants ( N = 359). By integrating self-report and behavioral data, we investigated motivations and conditions associated with information (non)-seeking behaviors on a healthy diet. Guided by the risk information seeking and processing (RISP) model, we examined the roles of informational subjective norms and information insufficiency, as well as the moderating role of cognitive capacity. Neither informational subjective norms nor information insufficiency significantly correlated with information-seeking behaviors. However, a significant interaction between the predictors and cognitive capacity in predicting non-seeking behaviors was observed. These findings underscore the intricate nature of individuals’ behavioral patterns in seeking or not seeking information about healthy eating.
... Los adolescentes suelen tener una percepción negativa de los cuerpos con obesidad al asociarlos con la exclusión social (Catalán et al., 2020). Sin embargo, tener una percepción de riesgo de obesidad adecuada puede ayudar a disminuir estereotipos negativos sobre la obesidad y motivar las conductas saludables (Choi y Noh, 2021). ...
... Un estudiante de ps aumentó sus niveles de distrés, lo que parece que afectó sus niveles de autoeficacia para la actividad física. Por otro lado, una de las implicaciones teóricas fue el término percepción de riesgo de obesidad, el cual ha sido utilizado poco para evaluar el posible riesgo de conductas poco saludables relacionadas al peso e imagen corporal (Choi y Noh, 2021). Una de las limitaciones del estudio fue la pandemia por covid-19. ...
Investigación con perspectiva de Género que identifica posibles sesgos de género en la atención psicológica, así como datos sobre la percepción de la relación consultante/profesional de la psicología
... This finding justifies treating these constructs independently, as the two constructs are components of many health behavior theories and are often grouped together as perceived threat or perceived risk, such as the risk perception attitude framework and RISP. 104,105 Additionally, focal constructs within CMIS-such as CISB on WeChat, perceived credibility, and utility-were conceptualized and operationalized in alignment with the platform's unique characteristics. The conceptualizations and operationalizations of perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived utility, and CISB maintained conceptual isomorphism, focusing on general cancer. ...
Objective
Given the increasing incidence of cancer among younger populations and the prominent role of WeChat in health information acquisition, young Chinese adults are more likely to encounter and engage with cancer-related information on WeChat. However, limited empirical research has examined the motivations behind young adults’-cancer information-scanning behavior (CISB) on this platform. This study aims to address this gap by applying the Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS) to identify the key predictors of CISB among young Chinese adults.
Methods
An online cross-sectional survey was conducted on WeChat from October 14 to October 24, 2023, targeting young Chinese adults ages 18–44. Using convenience and snowball sampling methods, a total of 1484 valid responses were collected.
Results
Structural equation modeling (SEM) indicated that perceived susceptibility, WeChat self-efficacy, and perceived credibility directly predicted perceived utility, whereas perceived severity did not. Additionally, both perceived credibility and perceived utility significantly predicted CISB on WeChat. Mediation analysis employing PROCESS Macro revealed that perceived utility mediated the relationships between health-related factors (i.e., perceived susceptibility, severity, and WeChat self-efficacy) and CISB on WeChat.
Conclusions
The findings highlight the mediating and enhancing role of perceived utility and extend CMIS applicability in the context of CISB on WeChat. These findings provide practical implications for policymakers and health professionals to create more effective cancer communication strategies.
This meta-analysis synthesizes research findings from 50 studies to assess the explanatory power of the reduced risk information seeking model (RISK). The results show that informational subjective norms have the largest effect size, followed by sufficiency threshold and current knowledge. This finding suggests that risk information seeking behavior is largely determined by social motivations. In addition, the relationships between current knowledge and seeking, as well as between sufficiency threshold and seeking, are stronger when a risk is viewed as personally relevant. Moreover, the relationship between current knowledge and seeking is stronger in studies where participants report higher risk perception.
Contact tracing has emerged as one tool to communicate infection risks with the public during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study uses source credibility and the risk perception attitude framework to interpret how Americans responded to contact tracing messages from a technology company, employer, physician, or state government. Survey participants (n = 245) were generally positive towards a contact tracing message regardless of source. Participants with high risk perceptions and low efficacy beliefs responded more strongly to appeals from their company and their physician while the low risk-low efficacy group found the state government appeal more compelling. The results suggest that several sources delivering the same health message could engage people with different risk perceptions and efficacy beliefs.
The risk information seeking and processing model predicts information-seeking behavior based on a number of factors, including information insufficiency. Using the risk information seeking and processing model, the present study experimentally manipulated the two components of information insufficiency (i.e., sufficiency threshold and current knowledge). Sufficiency threshold was manipulated using information about radon risk with varying levels of social distance, whereas current knowledge was manipulated using information about radon coping strategies. Results showed that the high sufficiency threshold condition resulted in greater information seeking intention. On the other hand, the current knowledge manipulation did not affect information seeking intention.
Background:
Health information is increasingly being disseminated online, but there is a knowledge gap between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites, particularly those whose English language proficiency is poor, in terms both of online health information-seeking behavior and computer literacy skills. This knowledge gap may also exist between US- and foreign-born Latinos.
Objective:
The specific aim of this study was to examine Internet use, online health information-seeking behavior, and confidence in filling out online forms among Latinos, particularly as it relates to health-risk behaviors. We then stratified our sample by nativity.
Methods:
We used the adult population file of the 2011-2012 California Health Interview Survey, analyzing Internet use, online health information-seeking behavior, and confidence in filling out online forms using binary logistic regression among Latinos and whites (N=27,289), Latinos (n=9506), and Latinos who use the Internet (n=6037).
Results:
Foreign-born Latinos (OR 0.71, 95% CI 0.58-0.88, P=.002) have lower odds of engaging in online health information-seeking behavior, and higher odds (OR 2.90, 95% CI 2.07-4.06, P<.001) of reporting a lack of confidence in filling out online forms compared to US-born Latinos. Correlates of online health information-seeking behavior and form confidence varied by nativity.
Conclusions:
Latinos, particularly foreign-born individuals, are at an increased risk of being left behind as the move to increase online content delivery and care expands. As online health information dissemination and online health portals become more popular, the impact of these sites on Latino gaps in coverage and care should be considered.
Objectives. To identify the extent to which (1) beliefs about obesity and obesity-related behaviors distinguish individuals based on weight perception (WP) and (2) beliefs about obesity predict perceived health status and WP and how these in turn predict decisions to try to lose weight. Method. 7456 noninstitutionalized US adults (
M
age
=
54.13
,
SD
age
=
16.93
; 61.2% female; 75.9% White) completed the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey. Multinomial logistic regressions and structural equation modeling were used to accomplish study objectives. Results. Age, gender, information-seeking, health status, belief that obesity is inherited, and knowledge of fruits and vegetables recommendations distinguished participants based on WP. Beliefs about obesity predicted health status, WP, and trying to lose weight in the general model. The models varied based on gender, race/ethnicity, education, and weight misperception. Conclusion. This study supports the role of beliefs about obesity, WP, and health perceptions in individuals’ decisions and actions regarding weight management. This study increases our understanding of gender, race/ethnicity, education, and weight misperceptions differences in decisions to lose weight. This knowledge may lead to targeted interventions, rather than “one size fits all” interventions, to promote health and prevent obesity.
The present study offers exploratory insights about the importance of health-consciousness for an adequate frequency of visits to a family doctor or specialist. The main purpose was to empirically investigate the relationship between the conceptsbearing in mind the cultural background of Bosnia and Herzegovina. A total of 114 cases were used to assess the overall fit of the proposed model and to test the hypotheses using covariance-based structural equation modeling. The results support the proposed conceptual model. Therefore, the study contributes to the existing literature by offering exploratory insights that could be especially valuable for policy makers and the pharmaceutical industry.The implications and limitations of the results are discussed, and recommendations for future research are made.
Studies of risk perception examine the judgements people make when they are asked to characterize and evaluate hazardous activities
and technologies. This research aims to aid risk analysis and policy-making by providing a basis for understanding and anticipating
public responses to hazards and improving the communication of risk information among lay people, technical experts, and decision-makers.
This work assumes that those who promote and regulate health and safety need to understand how people think about and respond
to risk. Without such understanding, well-intended policies may be ineffective.
This study attempted to examine what factors might motivate Chinese international students, the fastest growing ethnic student group in the United States, to seek and process information about potential health risks from eating American-style food. This goal was accomplished by applying the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model to this study. An online 2 (severity: high vs. low) × 2 (coping strategies: present vs. absent) between-subjects experiment was conducted via Qualtrics to evaluate the effects of the manipulated variables on the dependent variables of interest as well as various relationships proposed in the RISP model. A convenience sample of 635 participants was recruited online. Data were analyzed primarily using structural equation modeling (SEM) in AMOS 21.0 with maximum likelihood estimation. The final conceptual model has a good model fit to the data given the sample size. The results showed that although the experimentally manipulated variables failed to cause any significant differences in individuals' perceived severity and self-efficacy, this study largely supported the RISP model's propositions about the sociopsychological factors that explain individual variations in information seeking and processing. More specifically, the findings indicated a prominent role of informational subjective norms and affective responses (both negative and positive emotions) in predicting individuals' information seeking and processing. Future implications and limitations are also discussed.
Childhood obesity has become a serious public health threat worldwide due to its many short- and long-term adverse health effects. We assessed the association between weight status and metabolic co-morbidities among South Korean children using nationally representative data.
Data from the 2007-2008 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys for 1,526 children aged 10-19 years were used. Logistic regression models were fit to examine the association between weight status [overweight, 85th percentile <= BMI <95th percentile; obese, BMI >=95th percentile; and central obesity, waist circumference >=90th percentile, based on 2007 Korean National Growth Charts] and metabolic outcomes.
More obese children had metabolic co-morbidities than normal-weight children (P < 0.05). Boys had higher means BMI than girls, WC, and BP, while girls had higher means of total blood cholesterol and HDL-cholesterol (P < 0.05). Attributable risk of metabolic syndrome was high due to overweight and obesity: 91.1% for central obesity and 29.6% for high TG. Obese children had increased risk of having high BP (adjusted odds ratio (OR): 1.90; 95% CI: 1.05-3.45), dyslipidemia (OR: 6.21; 95% CI: 3.59-10.75), high TG (OR: 6.87; 95% CI: 4.05-11.64), low HDL (OR: 4.46; 95% CI: 2.23-8.89), and >=2 co-morbidities (OR: 26.97; 95% CI: 14.95-48.65) compared to normal-weight subjects, while the associations between weight status and metabolic outcomes were stronger in boys.
Obesity was strongly associated with metabolic co-morbidities in South Korean children.
This study relies on state‐of‐the‐art meta‐analytical techniques to assess overall effects of the Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model. The results support the utility of the RISP model in predicting risk information seeking and systematic processing. However, the model demonstrated limited explanatory power for heuristic processing. A reduced model composed of only 2 variables—current knowledge and informational subjective norms—accounted for a substantial proportion of variance in the outcome variables. This more parsimonious explanation of information seeking and systematic processing might extend the utility of the RISP model to other communication settings not related to risk. Theoretical boundaries of the RISP model and implications for future research are discussed.
This study retested PRISM, a model of risk information seeking, and found that it is applicable to the context of cancer risk communication. The study, which used an online sample of 928 U.S. adults, also tested the effect of additional variables on that model and found that the original model better fit the data. Among the strongest predictors of cancer information seeking were seeking-related subjective norms, attitude toward seeking, perceived knowledge insufficiency, and affective risk response. Furthermore, risk perception was a strong predictor of an affective risk response. The authors suggest that, given the robustness across studies, the path between seeking-related subjective norms and seeking intention is ready to be implemented in communication practice.
Guided by the risk information-seeking and processing model, this study examines positive and negative affect separately in their influence on information-seeking intentions and avoidance through structural equation analyses. The highlight is that information avoidance seems to be driven by positive affect, while information seeking seems to be more heavily influenced by negative affect. Another interesting finding is that informational subjective norms are positively related to both seeking and avoidance, which suggests that one’s social environment has the potential to strongly influence the way he or she handles climate change information. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Public health campaign success is conceptualized in terms of improvements in three cardiovascular disease-related behaviors (diet, exercise, and smoking) and their precursors, including knowledge and self-efficacy. Two cross-sectional data waves (baseline and sixth year, N = 4,214) from the Stanford Five-City Project (FCP) are analyzed to test a model of campaign influences. Exposure to FCP campaign messages is correlated with health information seeking and interpersonal communication, which in turn are correlated with health behaviors. The central premise of the model is then tested on a longitudinal sample (N = 1,225) over a 3-year period with similar results. An overall health orientation index is introduced and recommendations are made for enhancing public health campaign effectiveness.
In an effort to understand what motivates people to attend to information about flood risks, this study applies the Risk Information Seeking and Processing model to explore how local residents responded to damaging river flooding in the Milwaukee area. The results indicate that anger at managing agencies was associated with the desire for information and active information seeking and processing, as well as with greater risk judgment of harm from future flooding, greater sense of personal efficacy, lower institutional trust, and causal attributions for flood losses as being due to poor government management.
The purpose of this study was to test a model of the regulation of eating behaviors that could help to better understand the processes by which body dissatisfaction could be either associated with dysfunctional eating behaviors or with healthy eat- ing behaviors. Based on Self-Determination Theory (Deci & Ryan, 1985; Ryan & Deci, 2000, it appears that women's general level of self-determination in life may help protect against pressures about body image and endorsement of society's be- liefs about thinness and obesity. Findings also suggest that women's general level of self-determination is positively associated with an autonomous regulation of eating behaviors (AREB) and negatively associated with a controlled regulation of eating behaviors (CREB). In turn, the AREB is positively associated with healthy eat- ing while CREB is positively associated with dysfunctional eating. Overall, it ap- pears that body dissatisfaction resulting from pressures about body image and endorsement of society's beliefs about thinness and obesity may be more closely associated with a controlled regulation of eating behaviors, which may explain its relation with eating pathology.
In an effort to better understand individuals' use of information in risky situations, in this article we propose a new variable, information sufficiency, as an important component of people's information-seeking behaviors. We surveyed residents of 2 Great Lakes cities to test the ability of a group of factors often employed in risk communication studies to predict information sufficiency, defined as a person's sense of how much information he or she needs to cope with a risk. We found that 2 predictors of this perceived gap in information were an individual's worry about the risk and the perception that others would expect one to keep abreast of information about the risk.
This effort argues for an augmented version of the relatively new Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) Model, and subsequently applies this augmented RISP model specifically to environmental risk information seeking. Nearly 830 randomly selected members of a national panel were surveyed about their attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors regarding seeking information about an environmental risk—global warming. Path analysis suggests the promise of applying an augmented RISP model to environmental risk information seeking (R2 = .72 for information seeking intent) and reinforces prior research, which indicated the notable contribution that perceived social pressures may have when individuals seek such information (β = .68, p < .001).
Self determination theory proposes that behavior change will occur and persist if it is autonomously motivated. Autonomous motivation for a behavior is theorized to be a function both of individual differences in the autonomy orientation from the General Causality Orientations Scale and of the degree of autonomy supportiveness of relevant social contexts. We tested the theory with 128 patients in a 6-month, very-low-calorie weight-loss program with a 23-month follow-up. Analyses confirmed the predictions that (a) participants whose motivation for weight loss was more autonomous would attend the program more regularly, lose more weight during the program, and evidence greater maintained weight loss at follow-up, and (b) participants' autonomous motivation for weight loss would be predicted both by their autonomy orientation and by the perceived autonomy supportiveness of the interpersonal climate created by the health-care staff. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Given increasing trends of obesity being noted from early in life and that active lifestyles track across time, it is important that children at a very young age be active to combat a foundation of unhealthy behaviours forming. This study investigated, within a theory of planned behaviour (TPB) framework, factors which influence mothers' decisions about their child's (1) adequate physical activity (PA) and (2) limited screen time behaviours. Mothers (N = 162) completed a main questionnaire, via on-line or paper-based administration, which comprised standard TPB items in addition to measures of planning and background demographic variables. One week later, consenting mothers completed a follow-up telephone questionnaire which assessed the decisions they had made regarding their child's PA and screen time behaviours during the previous week. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses revealed support for the predictive model, explaining an overall 73 and 78 % of the variance in mothers' intention and 38 and 53 % of the variance in mothers' decisions to ensure their child engages in adequate PA and limited screen time, respectively. Attitude and subjective norms predicted intention in both target behaviours, as did intentions with behaviour. Contrary to predictions, perceived behavioural control (PBC) in PA behaviour and planning in screen time behaviour were not significant predictors of intention, neither was PBC a predictor of either behaviour. The findings illustrate the various roles that psycho-social factors play in mothers' decisions to ensure their child engages in active lifestyle behaviours which can help to inform future intervention programs aimed at combating very young children's inactivity.
This chapter outlines recent developments in the consumer psychology literature examining people's health-related risk perceptions. We first define risk, and discuss the importance of studying risk perceptions in the health domain. We integrate extant models proposed in social and health psychology and build a theoretical model for examining risk perceptions. We then describe the model in terms of the antecedents of health risk perceptions (e.g., motivational, cognitive, affective, contextual, and individual differences), their consequences (e.g., awareness and interest in the health hazard, trial and adoption of precautions or medical treatments, and subsequent behavior in terms of continued adoption or repetition, and word-of-mouth/recommendations of precautionary steps or treatments), and the factors that moderate the link between these two (e.g., financial, performance, psycho-social, and physiological risk). A primary contribution of our approach is to suggest that eliciting risk perceptions serves a persuasive role besides a measurement role, leading to the provocative question as to whether marketers should knowingly leverage their knowledge of how consumers assess risk to encourage behaviors leading to a healthier lifestyle. Implications for public policy makers, consumer welfare advocates, and commercial marketing companies are also discussed.
Though the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices are well-established among the general population, less is known about how developing and adhering to healthy lifestyle habits benefits obese versus normal weight or overweight individuals. The purpose of this study was to determine the association between healthy lifestyle habits (eating 5 or more fruits and vegetables daily, exercising regularly, consuming alcohol in moderation, and not smoking) and mortality in a large, population-based sample stratified by body mass index (BMI).
We examined the association between healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in a sample of 11,761 men and women from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey III; subjects were ages 21 and older and fell at various points along the BMI scale, from normal weight to obese. Subjects were enrolled between October 1988 and October 1994 and were followed for an average of 170 months.
After multivariable adjustment for age, sex, race, education, and marital status, the hazard ratios (95% CIs) for all-cause mortality for individuals who adhered to 0, 1, 2, or 3 healthy habits were 3.27 (2.36-4.54), 2.59 (2.06-3.25), 1.74 (1.51-2.02), and 1.29 (1.09-1.53), respectively, relative to individuals who adhered to all 4 healthy habits. When stratified into normal weight, overweight, and obese groups, all groups benefited from the adoption of healthy habits, with the greatest benefit seen within the obese group.
Healthy lifestyle habits are associated with a significant decrease in mortality regardless of baseline body mass index.
Overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome are increasing in South Korea dramatically. This review of the literature summarizes published studies on the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and metabolic syndrome in South Korean adults and children; summarizes studies related to obesity management and prevention in South Korean adults and children; and identifies gaps in the literature for further research. A PubMed, CINAHL, and Google Scholar search identified articles published between January 1, 2000, and June 30, 2010, using the following key search terms: overweight, obesity, adult, children, adolescent, metabolic syndrome, prevention, and South Korea. Inclusion criteria included articles published in English or Korean, and primary or secondary research that measured the prevalence and characteristics of overweight and obesity or described a management or prevention program. Twelve articles met the inclusion criteria and were categorized into either adult or child studies. In adults, the prevalence of overweight and obesity has increased as South Korea has moved from an agricultural to a modern society. In children, there were associations between infant feeding patterns, familial relationships, and dietary and physical activity patterns. There were few programs to manage or prevent overweight. Further research is needed to develop effective strategies to prevent and manage overweight and obesity in adults and children, using family-based interventions that include multigenerational family members.
Previous studies have relied predominantly on the body-mass index (BMI, the weight in kilograms divided by the square of the height in meters) to assess the association of adiposity with the risk of death, but few have examined whether the distribution of body fat contributes to the prediction of death.
We examined the association of BMI, waist circumference, and waist-to-hip ratio with the risk of death among 359,387 participants from nine countries in the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). We used a Cox regression analysis, with age as the time variable, and stratified the models according to study center and age at recruitment, with further adjustment for educational level, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity, and height.
During a mean follow-up of 9.7 years, 14,723 participants died. The lowest risks of death related to BMI were observed at a BMI of 25.3 for men and 24.3 for women. After adjustment for BMI, waist circumference and waist-to-hip ratio were strongly associated with the risk of death. Relative risks among men and women in the highest quintile of waist circumference were 2.05 (95% confidence interval [CI], 1.80 to 2.33) and 1.78 (95% CI, 1.56 to 2.04), respectively, and in the highest quintile of waist-to-hip ratio, the relative risks were 1.68 (95% CI, 1.53 to 1.84) and 1.51 (95% CI, 1.37 to 1.66), respectively. BMI remained significantly associated with the risk of death in models that included waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio (P<0.001).
These data suggest that both general adiposity and abdominal adiposity are associated with the risk of death and support the use of waist circumference or waist-to-hip ratio in addition to BMI in assessing the risk of death.
Human beings can be proactive and engaged or, alternatively, passive and alienated, largely as a function of the social conditions in which they develop and function. Accordingly, research guided by self-determination theory has focused on the social-contextual conditions that facilitate versus forestall the natural processes of self-motivation and healthy psychological development. Specifically, factors have been examined that enhance versus undermine intrinsic motivation, self-regulation, and well-being. The findings have led to the postulate of three innate psychological needs--competence, autonomy, and relatedness--which when satisfied yield enhanced self-motivation and mental health and when thwarted lead to diminished motivation and well-being. Also considered is the significance of these psychological needs and processes within domains such as health care, education, work, sport, religion, and psychotherapy.
This paper concerns the use of the Internet in the research process, from identifying research issues through qualitative research, through using the Web for surveys and clinical trials, to pre-publishing and publishing research results. Material published on the Internet may be a valuable resource for researchers desiring to understand people and the social and cultural contexts within which they live outside of experimental settings, with due emphasis on the interpretations, experiences, and views of 'real world' people. Reviews of information posted by consumers on the Internet may help to identify health beliefs, common topics, motives, information, and emotional needs of patients, and point to areas where research is needed. The Internet can further be used for survey research. Internet-based surveys may be conducted by means of interactive interviews or by questionnaires designed for self-completion. Electronic one-to-one interviews can be conducted via e-mail or using chat rooms. Questionnaires can be administered by e-mail (e.g. using mailing lists), by posting to newsgroups, and on the Web using fill-in forms. In "open" web-based surveys, selection bias occurs due to the non-representative nature of the Internet population, and (more importantly) through self-selection of participants, i.e. the non-representative nature of respondents, also called the 'volunteer effect'. A synopsis of important techniques and tips for implementing Web-based surveys is given. Ethical issues involved in any type of online research are discussed. Internet addresses for finding methods and protocols are provided. The Web is also being used to assist in the identification and conduction of clinical trials. For example, the web can be used by researchers doing a systematic review who are looking for unpublished trials. Finally, the web is used for two distinct types of electronic publication. Type 1 publication is unrefereed publication of protocols or work in progress (a 'post-publication' peer review process may take place), whereas Type 2 publication is peer-reviewed and will ordinarily take place in online journals.
A longitudinal randomized trial tested the self-determination theory (SDT) intervention and process model of health behavior change for tobacco cessation (N = 1006). Adult smokers were recruited for a study of smokers' health and were assigned to intensive treatment or community care. Participants were relatively poor and undereducated. Intervention patients perceived greater autonomy support and reported greater autonomous and competence motivations than did control patients. They also reported greater medication use and significantly greater abstinence. Structural equation modeling analyses confirmed the SDT process model in which perceived autonomy support led to increases in autonomous and competence motivations, which in turn led to greater cessation. The causal role of autonomy support in the internalization of autonomous motivation, perceived competence, and smoking cessation was supported.
Objective: To test the hypothesis that a Self-Determination Theory (SDT) intervention designed to promote oral health care competence in an autonomy-supportive way would predict change in caries competence relative to standard care. Further, to test the SDT process path-model hypotheses with: (1) the intervention and individual differences in Relative Autonomous Locus of Causality (RALOC) predicting increases in caries competence, which in turn would positively predict dental attendance; (2) RALOC negatively predicting dental anxiety, which would negatively predict dental attendance; (3) RALOC and caries disease referred to the dentist after an autonomy-supportive clinical exam directly positively predicting dental attendance; and (4) the intervention moderating the link between RALOC and dental attendance.
Design: A randomized two-group experiment was conducted at a dental clinic with 138 patients (Mage = 23.31 yr., SD = 3.5), with pre- and post-measures in a period of 5.5 months.
Results: The experimental model was supported. The SDT path model fit the data well and supported the hypotheses explaining 63% of the variance in dental attendance.
Conclusions: Patients personality (RALOC) and hygienists promoting oral health care competence in an autonomy-supportive way, performance of autonomy-supportive clinical exams, and reductions of anxiety for dental treatment have important practical implications for patients’ dental attendance.
Physical activity is necessary for college students as only 20%–40% engage in the recommended amounts (Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, 2010). This article qualitatively examines college-student motivators and hindrances for physical activity in order to develop effective interventions. Although a primary theory in psychology, Self-Determination Theory relies heavily upon social contexts as catalysts for motivation. Communication can cause both within- and between-person differences in motivation. Findings suggest that college-student motivation is greatly influenced by the communication between themselves, their important relationships (e.g., friends, family, and significant other), and societal pressures. Moreover, findings reveal that college students seem to be more motivated through extrinsic means rather than more autonomous forms of motivation.
Objectives:
To review the contribution of the Nurses' Health Studies (NHS and NHS II) in addressing hypotheses regarding risk factors for and consequences of obesity.
Methods:
Narrative review of the publications of the NHS and NHS II between 1976 and 2016.
Results:
Long-term NHS research has shown that weight gain and being overweight or obese are important risk factors for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, certain types of cancers, and premature death. The cohorts have elucidated the role of dietary and lifestyle factors in obesity, especially sugar-sweetened beverages, poor diet quality, physical inactivity, prolonged screen time, short sleep duration or shift work, and built environment characteristics. Genome-wide association and gene-lifestyle interaction studies have shown that genetic factors predispose individuals to obesity but that such susceptibility can be attenuated by healthy lifestyle choices. This research has contributed to evolving clinical and public health guidelines on the importance of limiting weight gain through healthy dietary and lifestyle behaviors.
Conclusions:
The NHS cohorts have contributed to our understanding of the risk factors for and consequences of obesity and made a lasting impact on clinical and public health guidelines on obesity prevention. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print July 26, 2016: e1-e7. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2016.303326).
This study addressed the factors influencing smokers' information seeking pertaining to the health risks of smoking. In particular, this study aimed to extend the risk information seeking and processing model by taking into account the role of autonomous motivations used to stimulate smokers' information-seeking behavior. The results of a Web-based survey indicated that information insufficiency was positively associated with health information-seeking behavior and that negative affective responses were positively associated with information insufficiency and health information-seeking behavior. In addition, autonomous motivations were positively associated with information insufficiency and information-seeking behavior. The results indicated that risk perception was positively related to autonomous motivations and negative affective response. Finally, informational subjective norm was positively related to autonomous motivations and negative affective responses. The implications of this study for future research are discussed.
Research indicates that when people seek health information, they typically look for information about a specific symptom, preventive measure, disease, or treatment. It is unclear, however, whether general or disease-specific theoretical models best predict how people search for health information. We surveyed undergraduates (N = 963) at a large public southeastern university to examine health information seeking in two incongruent health contexts (sexual health and cancer) to test whether a general model would hold for specific topics that differed in their immediate personal relevance for the target population. We found that the planned risk information seeking model was statistically a good fit for the data. Yet multiple predicted paths were not supported in either data set. Certain variables, such as attitudes, norms, and affect, appear to be strong predictors of intentions to seek information across health contexts. Implications for theory building, research methodology, and applied work in health-related risk information seeking are discussed.
This study examined the impact of U.S. chain restaurant food consumption in China and South Korea from an ecological perspective. Specifically, it explored the relationships among several environmental and individual variables that have been found to affect obesity/weight management in previous research, including the prevalence/popularity of U.S. chain restaurants in these countries, frequency of U.S. chain restaurant food consumption, self-efficacy in weight management, willingness to communicate about weight/diet, self-perceptions of weight/obesity stigma, body mass index (BMI), and depression. The results indicated that willingness to communicate about weight/diet predicted increased self-efficacy in weight management. Higher BMI scores were found to predict increased weight/obesity stigma, and increased frequency of U.S. restaurant food consumption, weight/obesity stigma, and reduced self-efficacy in weight management were found to predict increased levels of depression. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed, along with limitations and directions for future research.
Despite their understanding of the links between (a) information seeking and scanning and (b) health outcomes, researchers still know relatively little about the impact of information behaviors on people's disease-related beliefs and attitudes. The goal of this study was to validate findings linking information and health behaviors and to assess whether information seeking and scanning are associated with beliefs about the effectiveness of heart disease and colon cancer risk prevention behaviors (in regard to exercise, controlling one's diet to prevent overweight/obesity, and daily fruit and vegetable intake), as well as determine whether the effects of seeking versus scanning on these beliefs differ. Data from the Annenberg National Health Communication Survey were analyzed (N = 3,212). For colon cancer, significant main effects were detected for information scanning for each of the 3 beliefs assessed (p < .05). For heart disease, both information scanning and heart disease media exposure (p < .05) were associated with stronger beliefs. Information seeking was not associated with beliefs for either disease (p > .05). Our results suggest that disease-related cognitions and beliefs, which ultimately impact decisions to engage in prevention behaviors, may be influenced most by less purposeful forms of information acquisition.
The goal conflict between short-term indulgence and long-term health considerations is at the heart of unhealthy food choices, and thus, a key contributor to growing adiposity prevalence. Policy makers often attempt to promote healthy eating behaviors by raising consumers’ health consciousness. Given that previous health campaigns have fallen short of expectations, this article examines the potential of health consciousness to resolve the so-called unhealthy = tasty intuition (UTI). Study 1 explores whether health consciousness attenuates belief in the UTI and its detrimental consequences for food choice and body mass. Study 2 applies the Implicit Association Test to disentangle the intuition’s implicit and explicit processes. Results show that health consciousness operates only via cognitively controlled processes. Using real food products, Study 3 analyzes how health consciousness colors the influence of composition and labeling on tastiness and healthiness perceptions. The studies jointly demonstrate that the UTI partly works implicitly and independently of health consciousness. Hence, the obesity epidemic should be addressed through concerted actions that include policy makers’ health communication and the food industry’s product development.
Objectives
The present study used self-determination theory to examine adolescents’ motivations to engage in charitable donating and community volunteering and to abstain from sexual intercourse and marijuana use.Method
The sample consisted of 419 late adolescents recruited from across the country through an online survey panel. Participants completed online measures of motivations to engage in donating and volunteering, motivations to abstain from sex and marijuana, and single-item indexes of the four behaviors.ResultsVariable-centered analyses (correlation and regression) found evidence for a general motivational factor, motivational specificity by behavioral domain (positive and negative behaviors), motivational specificity by particular behavior (charitable donating, volunteering, sexual risk-taking, and marijuana use), and a stronger relative role for autonomous motivations than controlled motivations. Person-centered analyses (cluster analysis) found four motivation profiles (low motivation, medium motivation, high motivation, and mixed motivation) for all four behaviors, and suggested that level of autonomous motivation was a key factor differentiating the groups on levels of behavior.Conclusions
The finding suggest different levels of motivational specificity, and highlight the importance of autonomous motivations in predicting behaviors as compared to controlled motivations. Further, similar patterns were found for motivations to engage and to abstain.
Young adults 19 through 24 years of age were among the populations that had the highest frequency of infection from the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. However, over the 2009-2010 flu season, H1N1 vaccine uptake among college students nationwide was around 8%. To explore the social cognitive factors that influenced their intentions to get the H1N1 vaccine, this study compares the predictive power of the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the health belief model (HBM), and an integrated model. The final model shows that several HBM variables influenced behavioral intentions through the TPB variables. The results suggest that even though the TPB seemed a superior model for behavior prediction, the addition of the HBM variables could inform future theory development by offering health-specific constructs that potentially enhance the predictive validity of TPB variables.
The relationship between need satisfaction and motivation is well established within self‐determination theory ( SDT ). However, less is known about the affective mechanism that underlies this relationship. In this study, we extend SDT by focusing on the exact role of affect in the need satisfaction–motivation relationship. To this end, we conducted a daily diary study ( N = 72) and an experience sampling study ( N = 37) in which we tested the mediating role of positive and negative affect in the relationship between satisfaction of the autonomy, competence, and relatedness need on the one hand and autonomous motivation on the other hand. Moreover, alternative models were tested. The results of both studies demonstrated that affect did mediate the need satisfaction–intrinsic motivation relationship. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Practitioner points
Organizations can influence the intrinsic motivation of employees by changing working conditions to fulfil employees' needs.
Organizations can influence intrinsic motivation by changing the appraisals of working conditions.
Despite the importance of health information seeking, not all people engage in such behaviors, especially when thinking about the disease is distressing. The focus of this paper is to examine the antecedents of information seeking and retention. Based on individuals’ risk perception and efficacy beliefs, the risk perception attitude framework is used to formulate four groups: responsive (high risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high risk, low efficacy), proactive (low risk, high efficacy), and indifference (low risk, low efficacy). In Study 1, a 2 (risk) × 2 (efficacy) between-subjects experiment, participants’ perceived risk to skin cancer and skin cancer–related efficacy beliefs were induced to determine their information seeking, retention, and intentions to engage in future seeking. The responsive group, as predicted, was associated with the most information-seeking behaviors and information-seeking intentions. The avoidance group, however, sought information but exhibited the lowest retention scores. These results were used to derive two predictions—the incredulity hypothesis and the anxiety-reduction hypothesis—that were then tested in Study 2. Study 2, also a 2 (risk) × 2 (efficacy) between-subjects experiment dealing with diabetes, found support for the anxiety-reduction hypothesis, which argues that the high-risk, low-efficacy group experiences more anxiety, which leads to high motivations to seek, but lower ability to retain information.
This article examines a comprehensive model of information seeking (CMIS) resulting from the synthesis of three theoretical research streams: the health belief model, uses and gratifications research, and a model of media exposure and appraisal. The model postulates that four health-related factors—demographics, direct experience, salience, and beliefs—determine two information carrier factors—perceptions of information carrier characteristics and utility—which, in turn, determine information-seeking actions. A sample of 366 adult women drawn from a medium-size midwestern city was surveyed by telephone on the issue of mammography use and cancer-related information seeking. The model resulted in an excellent fit to the data received. However, the values of the paths associated with the health-related factors were extremely low, suggesting that models of information seeking from mass media, such as magazines, should focus on purely communicative factors. These results are discussed in terms of future research and the pragmatic benefits of this theoretical framework.
A conceptual model of preventive health care behavior is proposed and tested. Results suggest that preventive health care
behaviors are strongly influenced by the value consumers perceive in engaging in such actions. This value is greatly affected
by response efficacy, or the person’s belief that a specific action will mitigate the health threat. A separate consideration
affecting adherence to a prescribed preventive health care behavior is self-efficacy, or the person’s belief that the target
behaviors can be enacted. Additionally, health motivation and health consciousness are also shown to influence preventive
health care behaviors. Future research directions and managerial implications of the findings are outlined.
Although college students were among the populations that had the highest frequency of infection for H1N1 influenza, only 8% of them received H1N1 vaccine this past flu season nationwide. During the peak of this pandemic, information about H1N1 vaccine was widely available. However, knowledge test and behavioral data indicated that most college students were not equipped with basic facts about H1N1 and the H1N1 vaccine. To investigate socio-psychological factors that might have deterred this high-risk population from learning about and getting the H1N1 vaccine, this study tested the utility of a risk information seeking model in addressing this health communication problem. Data collected from an online survey of 371 college students showed that respondents seemed to overestimate how much they knew about the vaccine. Risk information seeking, however, positively influenced their intentions to get the vaccine. Results suggested that to communicate effectively to this population, it is important to emphasize the difference between perceived knowledge and actual knowledge, monitor emotional responses to potential risks, and promote getting flu vaccination as a socially desirable behavior.
Research over the past decade has conveyed a dramatic rise in health information seeking via the Internet and articulated various profiles and outcomes of health information seeking. In building upon this research, the current study is innovative in considering predictors of health information seeking by medium, as well as outcomes of health information seeking by medium and by critical demographics.
OLS regression and logistic regression are conducted on data from a telephone survey of American adults in 2007 (N=700).
Profiles of health information seekers vary dramatically by medium (Internet versus newspapers versus television). In terms of outcomes, newspaper health information seeking is associated with fruit and vegetable consumption, while television health information seeking is associated with sweetened soft drink consumption. There are four significant interaction terms between these two health information seeking variables and unhealthy snack consumption. Internet health information seeking has no significant effects.
In comparison to the Internet, newspaper and television media have more favorable associations with recommended levels of lifestyle behaviors that may be critical in efforts to decrease obesity in the United States.
The purpose of this study is to examine the role of health consciousness in processing TV news that contains potential health threats and preventive recommendations. Based on the extended parallel process model (Witte, 1992), relationships among health consciousness, perceived severity, perceived susceptibility, perceived response efficacy, perceived self-efficacy, and message acceptance/rejection were hypothesized. Responses collected from 175 participants after viewing four TV health news stories were analyzed using the bootstrapping analysis (Preacher & Hayes, 2008). Results confirmed three mediators (i.e., perceived severity, response efficacy, self-efficacy) in the influence of health consciousness on message acceptance. A negative association found between health consciousness and perceived susceptibility is discussed in relation to characteristics of health conscious individuals and optimistic bias of health risks.
Childhood obesity has increased dramatically during the past two decades. The growing incidence of childhood obesity is alarming, given the significant short- and long-term health consequences associated with obesity and the strong tracking of obesity from childhood to adulthood. Lifestyle plays an important role in the development and maintenance of obesity. Behavior modification programs targeting eating, exercise, and diet behaviors continue to be the mainstay for treating obese children. Although family-based behavioral weight management programs have resulted in significant improvements in weight status, maintaining improvements in weight status continues to be a challenge, with many interventions resulting in considerable relapse. Motivational interviewing is one innovative approach, used alone or in conjunction with standard behavioral modification programs, which has been proposed to have the potential to enhance motivation for change and therefore improve long-term treatment outcomes for obese children. A broad literature search using two electronic databases, Medline and PsycINFO, to identify studies that used an intervention with a motivational interviewing component to modify diet and/or physical activity in the prevention or treatment of childhood obesity identified two studies that targeted weight as a primary outcome. The studies reviewed indicate that, although initial findings are encouraging, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of motivational interviewing for prevention and treatment of childhood obesity. Concerted efforts are clearly needed to elucidate the mechanisms for maintenance of initial treatment gains, as well as the ultimate achievement of more ideal weight once formal treatment ceases.
It has been suggested that autonomy promotes enhanced reflection on novel information and reduces defensive or biased information processing. This study investigated how autonomy affected people's reactions to known versus novel health-risk information in relation to three behaviours: sun exposure, alcohol consumption and salt intake. Participants (N=321) completed a measure of autonomy, read either known or novel health-risk information and reported their relative autonomous motivation, attitudes, perceived behavioural control, subjective norm and intentions towards reducing the health-risk behaviour concerned. In line with our hypotheses, the results showed that higher autonomy participants reported greater relative autonomous motivation towards reducing health-risk behaviours than did lower autonomy participants; this effect was mediated by perceptions of the information as less freedom-threatening. The expected interaction between Autonomy and Information Type was not observed. The results indicate that autonomy is associated with greater relative autonomous motivation to engage in health behaviours, and that autonomous motivation may subsequently influence intentions to reduce health-risk behaviour following exposure to health-risk information.
To investigate cancer patients' motivations for clinical trial enrollment, this study tests the proposition that a model of Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) could serve as an antecedent to the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB).
With data from a telephone survey, we examined whether components of the RISP model had significant impact on belief-based attitudes and behavioral intentions.
Risk judgment and affective responses, especially optimistic feelings, consistently related to attitudes and behavioral intentions. Trust in doctors also significantly related to our respondents' positive attitudes toward clinical trials.
The RISP model might have more constrained applicability as compared to the TPB in explaining cancer patients' motivations for clinical trial enrollment. However, certain components of the RISP model seemed to contribute to our respondents' attitude formation as interesting additions to the TPB.
Communication about clinical trials is a balance act between providing sufficient information about the potential risks and benefits involved in a clinical trial and managing emotional responses that cancer patients associate with participation. Both acts contribute to the formation of positive attitudes toward clinical trials among cancer patients, which is the driving force behind their intentions for clinical trial enrollment.
Elaborating on a recently developed perspective, it is predicted that interest in the use of smoking cessation treatments (SCTs) is typical of 'dissonant smokers,' that is, smokers who dearly want to quit but feel unable to do so. Further, it is assumed that the interest in the use of SCTs is more prevalent among subjects who believe in the efficacy of these treatments. Finally, it is assumed that past behavior has an important influence on the interest in the use of SCTs. The theory was tested using analysis of linear-structural relations (LISREL) on a Dutch national probability sample of 763 adults, all smoking cigarettes and/or cigars. Results show that interest in the use of SCTs was positively influenced by being old, information seeking about smoking cessation in the past, nicotine dependency, having undergone a SCT in the past, experiencing social stimulation for abstinence, seeing many advantages and or many disadvantages with regards to abstinence, and having a positive attitude towards SCTs.
The recent growth in consumer autonomy in health care accompanied by the surge in the use of new media for health information gathering has led to an increasing scholarly interest in understanding the consumer health information search construct. This article explores consumer health information seeking in the realm of the primary sources of health information used by consumers. Based on an analysis of the 1999 HealthStyles data, the paper demonstrates that active communication channels such as interpersonal communication, print readership, and Internet communication serve as primary health information sources for health-conscious, health-information oriented individuals with strong health beliefs, and commitment to healthy activities. On the other hand, passive consumption channels such as television and radio serve as primary health information resources for individuals who are not health-oriented. Media planning implications are drawn from the results, suggesting that broadcast outlets with an entertainment orientation are better suited for prevention campaigns. Such channels provide suitable sites for entertainment-education. On the other hand, print media, interpersonal networks, and the Internet are better suited for communicating about health issues to the health-active consumer segment.
Current reports in the medical literature demonstrate increasing acknowledgment of consumer involvement in autonomous health and medical information search beyond the doctor. Although multiple studies have segmented consumers into different groups based on the different levels of patient autonomy, the literature review revealed the lack of systematic attempts at elucidating the antecedents of autonomous consumer health information search. In this article, I examine the role of health consciousness as a mediator of the relation between communicative (interpersonal, community, print, television, and Internet) factors and health information seeking.