Surrogate health information seeking in Europe: Influence of source type and social network variables. (July 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Reifegerste, Doreen; Bachl, Marko; Baumann, Eva
• Is Part Of: International journal of medical informatics. Volume 103(2017)
• Page Start: 7
• Page End: 14
• Publication Date: 2017-07
• Subjects: Internet -- Health information seeking -- Social network theory -- Surrogate seeking; Medical informatics -- Periodicals; Information science -- Periodicals; Computers -- Periodicals; Medical technology -- Periodicals; Medical Informatics -- Periodicals; Technology, Medical -- Periodicals; Computers; Information science; Medical informatics; Medical technology; Electronic journals; Periodicals; Electronic journals; 610.285
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2017.04.006
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1386-5056

Abstract

Highlights: Surrogate seeking is analyzed with representative data from 28 EU member states. Country differences were low compared to influence of individual-level predictors. Health information seeking on behalf of others also occurs in offline sources. Surrogate seekers primarily searched for health information for family members. Living together with someone was by far the most relevant determinant. Abstract: Objectives: Health information seeking on behalf of others is an important form of social support by which laypeople provide important sources of information for patients. Based on social network theory, we analyze whether this phenomenon also occurs in offline sources. We also seek to learn more about the type of relationships between information seekers and patients, as research to date indicates that surrogate seeking mostly occurs in close relationships between the seeker and the patient. Methods: Using a large-scale representative survey from the 28 member states of the European Union ( N = 26, 566), our data comprise all respondents who reported seeking health information online or offline ( n = 18, 750; 70.6%). Results: Within the past year, 61.0% of the online health information seekers and 61.1% of the offline health information seekers had searched on behalf of someone else. Independent of the information channel, surrogate seekers primarily searched for health information for family members (online: 89.8%; offline: 92.8%); they were significantly less likely to search for information on behalf of someone with whom they had weaker ties, such as colleagues (online: 25.1%; offline: 24.4%). In a multilevel generalized linear model, living together with someone was by far the most relevant determinant for surrogate seeking, with differences between countries or Internet activity being less important. Conclusion: These results support the assumptions of social network theory. Implications are discussed, especially with regard to the provision of adequate health information.