Taking the Pulse of Health Information Seeking

Abstract

When planning the purchase, management, delivery, and evaluation of electronic resources in a health sciences setting, it is useful to consider the broader landscape of how users seek and understand health information. To that end, the author examined reports that provide useful insights related to information-seeking behavior and health literacy. This column summarizes salient points of some Pew Research Center and Institute of Medicine publications and makes suggestions for incorporating some of these ideas into academic health center and hospital library operations and outreach efforts.

KEYWORDS:

• consumer health outreach
• forecasting
• health literacy
• information-seeking behavior
• Institute of Medicine
• Pew Internet Project
• Pew Research Center
• social networking

Notes

Note. Excerpted from Fox, Susannah, and Jones, Sydney. “The Social Life of Health Information.” Pew Internet & American Life Project: 11, 22. Available: <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information.aspx>. Accessed: July 3, 2009.

Note. Excerpted from Fox, Susannah, and Jones, Sydney. “The Social Life of Health Information.” Pew Internet & American Life Project: 3. Available: <http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2009/8-The-Social-Life-of-Health-Information.aspx>. Accessed: July 3, 2009.

Note. Excerpted from Institute of Medicine. Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion: 10. Available: <http://books.nap.edu/catalog/10883.html>. Accessed: July 3, 2009.