Regional HIV/AIDS Information Environments and Information Acquisition Success

Abstract

Although health information is widely available, information acquisition patterns may vary according to where one lives. Using Lievrouw's (2001) information environments (IE) theory, this mixed methods study compares three regional HIV/AIDS information environments in rural Canada. In accordance with IE theory, findings showed regional variation in institutional aspects of HIV/AIDS information environments: health institution service models; resource munificence and technology use; and some measures of social engagement and source availability. Differences were also present in the personal/relational aspects of environments: information network characteristics and levels of interpersonal interaction. However, in divergence from IE theory, regional success rates for answering HIV/AIDS-related questions were similar (86.26–89.34 percent). Furthermore, individual-level factors were more important than network position in predicting participants’ success rates. Yet, in line with IE theory, there were regional differences in the barriers that people affected by HIV/AIDS faced when seeking answers to their questions. These unaddressed barriers suggest that further development of IE theory requires incorporation of institutional capacity: provider knowledge, responsiveness, and service availability.

Keywords:

• access to information
• community informatics
• health informatics
• HIV/AIDS
• information behavior
• information environments
• rural communities
• social networks

Notes

1. Although not described here, the survey also included 742 participants from matched urban areas, for a total of 1,975 participants, or a 22 percent response rate overall.

2. Because some participants had been diagnosed less than 5 years earlier, and participants had lived in the study region for different lengths of time, the time period covered varied by participant—especially among PHAs. However, PHAs’ questions were included for a similar distribution of time periods across regions. Questions referred to the previous 0–2 years for three PHAs in BC (38 percent), three PHAs in Newfoundland (30 percent), and four PHAs in Ontario (25 percent). And questions were drawn from the previous 3–5 years for six PHAs in BC (63 percent), seven PHAs in Newfoundland (70 percent), and 12 PHAs in Ontario (75 percent).

3. For visual clarity, actors who did not belong to any 2-plexes have been deleted from all figures.