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Objective Health literacy and communication skills are necessary for family caregivers who often work in pairs, known as collective caregiving. Health literacy management is a relational process where communication between caregivers can be a barrier or pathway to improving or co-creating health literacy. The purpose of this study was to examine how collective caregivers manage health literacy. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted separately for 42 caregiving pairs (n = 84). The interview guide was developed using a cancer caregiver health literacy framework. Caregiving pairs were placed into one of three collective caregiving communication patterns (absolute concordant, semi-concordant, absolute discordant). Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and a thematic analysis was performed by independent coders. Results The analysis revealed three different health literacy management approaches: a defined approach where caregiver roles were clearly designated (absolute concordant pairs); a contrasting approach where one caregiver was the health literacy expert (semi-concordant pairs); an independent approach characterized by individual information seeking, processing, and patient/provider engagement (absolute discordant pairs). Conclusions Health literacy support should address aspects of the family system such as caregiver-caregiver communication which influence variance in health literacy management. Practice implications Our study can inform provider communication and healthcare interventions aimed at supporting health literacy for caregivers.

Studies have shown differences in how parents respond to children's questions across diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. Differences in these interaction patterns have the potential to set the stage for a mismatch between children's approach to asking questions and behaviors privileged in formal school settings. In the current study, we explored question, response follow-up language interactions in socioeconomically diverse preschools. We compared interaction patterns across 20 preschool classrooms (10 low-SES; 10 mid-SES). Results indicated that children across both settings asked a similar proportion of information seeking questions. There were no differences in the number of explanatory responses children received, however, teachers from low-SES classrooms were significantly less likely to turn the question back than teachers serving children from mid-SES background — resulting in differences in children's follow-up. Children from low-SES classrooms were more likely to repeat their original question than any other type of follow up; whereas children from mid-SES classrooms were more likely to generate their own explanation. These findings have important implications for understanding how children across diverse preschool settings navigate the types of interactions they will likely be expected to engage in and learn from during formal schooling.

Background The radiology trainee on-call experience has undergone many changes in the past decade. The development of numerous online information sources has changed the landscape of opportunities for trainees seeking information while on-call. In this study, we sought to understand the current on-call information seeking behaviors of radiology trainees. Methods We surveyed radiology fellows and residents at three major metropolitan area academic institutions. Survey topics included demographic information, on-call volumes, on-call resource seeking behaviors, preferred first and second line on-call resources and rationale for particular resource usage. Results A total of 78 responses from trainees were recorded, 30.5% of the entire surveyed population. 70.5% of trainees preferred Radiopaedia as their first line resource. 26.9% of trainees preferred StatDx as their second line resource. 75.6% of respondents preferred their first line resource because it was easiest and fastest to access. 70.3% of respondents assigned a rating of 4 out of 5 when asked how often information they look for is found while on-call. There was a statistically significant difference according to gender (p = 0.002) with a higher percentage of males listing Radiopaedia as their first line resource compared to females. Discussion The radiology trainee on-call experience is influenced by various factors. Over the past decade, online resources, particularly the open access resource Radiopaedia and the paid service StatDx, have overwhelmingly become the preferred first and second line options, as demonstrated by our study results.

Objective Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a global public health problem, causing long-term burden to patients and caregivers. Patients and their families often resort to seeking online information regarding TBI management while awaiting formal health care consultations. Although this information is accessible and immediately available, little is known about the quality of online resources. We evaluated the accessibility, relevance, and readability of information regarding TBI from major online search engines. Methods TBI-related search terms were entered into 2 online search engines (Google and Yahoo), and the first 30 websites per search were assessed for eligibility. Quality (DISCERN score, JAMA Benchmark score) and readability (Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease Score) were assessed. Associations between search ranking, quality, and readability were evaluated. Results In total, 202 websites were evaluated with mean DISCERN score 36.5 ± 9.9/80, signifying poor global quality, and mean JAMA Benchmark score 2.8 ± 1.1/4. The majority required 9–12 years of education (113/202; 55.9%) according to Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level and categorized as “Difficult” on Flesch Reading Ease Score (94/202; 46.5%). Website quality was not associated with search ranking or readability. Conclusions There is a paucity of high-quality online resources for patients with TBI. Herein, we highlight: 1) the importance of guidance from healthcare professionals regarding online-information seeking; and 2) recommendations for the most useful online resources available.

Purpose Information seeking has been observed to be important for the coping and empowerment of parents of children with rare diseases. This study was conducted to understand the education needs of families of children with pediatric intestinal failure (IF) and how technology might be effectively leveraged to address these needs. Design and methods A qualitative methodology using thematic analysis was utilized. Purposeful sampling was adopted to recruit 10 parents/caregivers of children with IF. Participants participated in a 1:1 semi-structured interview. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and themes identified through open and focused coding. Results Four themes emerged: (1) reliable electronic or printed information resources relevant to their child's unique needs were lacking; (2) an educational program with in-person and hands-on learning was preferred for transition to home; (3) practical and relatable information was valued over medical knowledge as children's needs evolved; and (4) creation of electronic resources would be useful for information seeking and sharing. Conclusion To cope with the responsibilities of caring for a child with IF, participants sought information beyond what they received. Participants preferred a blended approach of care team discussions and electronic tools for receiving knowledge and skills. Parents' connections with other caregivers was important for practical day-to-day management information, as well as supporting their well-being. Practice implications Development and implementation of accessible digital resources with emphasis on practical information is required. Beyond medical and practical informational needs, building resilience and supporting psychologic needs for parents/caregivers of children with IF emerged as important needs to address.

Objective Despite being key to reducing the occurrence of pre-eclampsia in high-risk women, adherence to aspirin prophylaxis is low, reflecting multifactorial challenges faced by pregnant women. It is therefore important to understand the barriers and facilitators of aspirin adherence in pregnancy. This sub-analysis of a qualitative study conducted to better understand barriers and facilitators of aspirin adherence was set to describe informational needs related to aspirin use in pregnancy. Study design A qualitative study was conducted with 14 postnatal women from North-East of England, who declared various levels of non-adherence to aspirin (0–5/7 prescribed). A thematic framework analysis of semi-structured interviews was used. Outcome measures Emerging themes associated with informational needs about aspirin use in pregnancy. Results Main themes identified a) Informational needs, b) Nature of the information seeking behaviour (active vs passive), c) Sources of information, d) Preferred format of information, e) Partners seeking knowledge. Not all women actively seek information; some choose not to pursue it as they find thinking of hypothetical risks disturbing. When information is accessed, women use a wide range of informational resources from scientific articles and National Health Services website to social media sources and word-of-mouth. Women admit that reading leaflets can be difficult, preferring to receive information in interactive ways. Although partners seek information about risks and risk reduction strategies, they are often not included in conversations with health care professionals. Conclusion New interactive and accessible informational resources are needed to engage pregnant women and their partners in aspirin prophylactic therapy.

Despite potential benefits emerging energy technologies usually promise, the public often meets them with skepticism, resistance, or even outright rejection. In this study, we investigated the potential role communication plays in the early stages of opinion formation. In particular, we examined the relationships among message framing, information processing, communication motivation, and information seeking. Building on work examining uncertainty reduction, fairness, risk communication, and the theory of planned behaviors, we conducted an experiment in which a sample of U.S. adults (N = 1042) were led to believe that enhanced geothermal systems (EGS) would be developed in their local community. Participants received initial information varying in degrees of uncertainty and procedural fairness about the EGS development. Subsequently, we offered them an opportunity to read additional articles about EGS, which was operationalized as actual information seeking behaviors. We found that predictors, such as affect, norm, current knowledge, and information need, explained information engagement intentions, which further predicted actual information seeking behaviors. In addition, systematic processing of the initial EGS information, perceived uncertainty, and perceived fairness had direct relations with actual information seeking. The discussion provides theoretical and practical implications.

Few could have anticipated the sudden and dramatic impact of COVID-19 on all aspects of life, including online academic help-seeking of institutional education. Academic help-seeking is a quite prevalent phenomenon that supports students to learn knowledge and improve academic performance. This study is aiming to understand learners and associate their performances via exploiting academic help-seeking moods with online learning of institutional education setting. Adopting the relevant theories, we propose a novel research model and identify three different online help-seeking moods, which are namely goal-directed seeker, exploratory seeker and avoidant seeker. Goal-directed seekers are described with preference for more challenging assignments and more posting on the platform discussion board frequently. Exploratory seekers hold the highest achievements during all help-seeking moods. Avoidant seekers are well-distinguished by holding the lowest frequency of posting among all moods and the most average time spent on the platform. Students have collective preferences for assignment submission in each help-seeking mood, and deviation from those preferences increases their probability of dropping academic grade significantly. To the best of our knowledge, this research is the first work that characterizes the help-seeking moods and associates moods with the enrollment performance for online education of institutional student.

Context Advanced colorectal cancer and its treatment can bring about challenges associated with psychological distress. Objectives The primary aims of this study were to examine the feasibility and acceptability of a cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)-based intervention to improve coping with the disease. The secondary aim is to evaluate preliminary intervention efficacy. Methods Patients with advanced colorectal cancer in Singapore (N = 60) were randomized to either receive a four-session CBT intervention immediately or be waitlisted. Intervention feasibility (i.e., recruitment and intervention adherence) and acceptability (i.e., participant satisfaction and cultural sensitivity) were assessed. Changes in psychological distress and self-efficacy were examined. Results The study successfully recruited the intended sample (mean age 61; 62% men). A proportion (12%) reported Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale scores indicative of distress at baseline. Most (88%) completed all sessions. Participants reported high rates of satisfaction (97%), helpfulness (96%), and cultural sensitivity (95%) of the intervention. The intervention group did not show decrease in psychological distress; however, self-efficacy in cancer-related coping (information seeking: effect size [ES] = 0.64; 95% CI = 0.17, 0.85; coping with side effects: ES = 0.69; 95% CI = 0.33, 0.82; and maintaining positive attitude: ES = 0.45; 95% CI = 0.19, 0.79) increased in the intervention group compared with the waitlisted group. Conclusion The CBT-based intervention was feasible and acceptable to patients in Singapore. There is no sufficient evidence to warrant a larger trial in this sample with low baseline distress. Future work should identify and target those who are most in need of support.

Current research marks the first attempt to investigate the precursors and consequences of brand love in the process of service co-creation in the hospitality sector by taking diners' participation and perceived value as antecedents and three types of diners' well-being as the outcomes of brand love in a realistic co-creation setting (a Chinese hotpot cuisine restaurant). Using 500 responses, this study finds that information-seeking, responsible behavior and personal interaction increase perceived value, whereas information-seeking, personal interaction, and perceived value increase brand love. Perceived value mediates the relationships of information seeking, responsible behavior and personal interaction with brand love. Brand love directly effects all dimensions of diners’ well-being, whereas, information-seeking, responsible behavior and personal interaction indirectly impact all dimensions of well-being. Furthermore, self-perceived mastering negatively moderates the participation—perceived value, and participation—brand love relationships.

Family caregivers provide the majority of care for people with dementia, often balancing multiple caregiving roles. Technology-based interventions have demonstrated strong potential for supporting family caregivers in navigating these roles, yet translational uptake of these interventions remains limited. A comprehensive understanding of how caregivers engage and evaluate everyday technological supports is necessary to foster broader adoption. Through semi-structured interviews with 20 caregivers, the present study aimed to explore caregivers’ everyday use and appraisal of technological supports. We found that caregivers use specific technological supports to meet specific caregiving needs (e.g. coordination, information seeking, direct care), and exhibit unique technology use patterns (e.g. trial-and-error) shaped by the caregiving need. Caregivers shared positive appraisals of technological supports for caregiving, citing the role of perceived utility, existing familiarity, and social resources in their acceptance and uptake. These findings illustrate important perspectives regarding everyday technology with immediate relevance for intervention design and functionality.

In 2017, the Estonian government performed an administrative reform with the promise to keep vital services available for people. In March 2018, the closure of two smaller obstetrics units (OU) was announced, thereby raising resistance by community members. The aim of the research is to identify public perceptions and information needs during the closure process of smaller maternity units, and examine it in the context of recently performed administrative reform. Data was collected from 226 respondents via a web-based questionnaire. To evaluate the level of information seeking activity for pregnancy- and birth-giving-related information, new aggregated index variables were constructed. For authorities and lay-people "near home" and "safety" had different meanings in the context of childbirth. Findings revealed strong correlations between perceived information availability and sufficiency (for pregnancy, birth-giving and transfer to the hospital). The subjective lack of information appeared in recognition of the start of the labour and how, when, and where to go. Respondents considered both the medical capability and personal aspects to be equally important. Considering the lack of knowledge and hesitancy among Estonians, the arguments of civic activists presented in the debate were well-grounded. To conclude, public communication must be consistent and people need clearer instructions for activities related to labour-period and security that necessary features of medical help and personal approach to be both available.

Humans and animals navigate uncertain environments by seeking information about the future. Remarkably, we often seek information even when it has no instrumental value for aiding our decisions – as if the information is a source of value in its own right. In recent years, there has been a flourishing of research into these non-instrumental information preferences and their implementation in the brain. Individuals value information about uncertain future rewards, and do so for multiple reasons, including valuing resolution of uncertainty and overweighting desirable information. The brain motivates this information seeking by tapping into some of the same circuitry as primary rewards like food and water. However, it also employs cortex and basal ganglia circuitry that predicts and values information as distinct from primary reward. Uncovering how these circuits cooperate will be fundamental to understanding information seeking and motivated behavior as a whole, in our increasingly complex and information-rich world.

Animals and humans evolved sophisticated nervous systems which endowed them with the ability to form internal-models or beliefs, and make predictions about the future to survive and flourish in a world in which future outcomes are often uncertain. Crucial to this capacity is the ability to adjust behavioral and learning policies in response to the level of uncertainty. Until recently, the neuronal mechanisms that could underlie such uncertainty-guided control have been largely unknown. In this review, I discuss newly discovered neuronal circuits in primates that represent uncertainty about future rewards, and propose how they guide information-seeking, attention, decision-making, and learning to help us survive in an uncertain world. Lastly, I discuss the possible relevance of these findings to learning in artificial systems.

Dietary supplements, including multivitamins/minerals, are commonly reported by adults, yet little is known about multivitamin/mineral use in relation to information seeking, cancer-specific outcome expectancies, and cancer beliefs.To examine the relationship of heath information seeking, beliefs about cancer, and outcome expectancies with multivitamin/mineral use within a national sample.A secondary analysis of data collected by The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (HINTS-FDA 2015) was conducted. HINTS-FDA 2015 evaluated information seeking, beliefs about cancer, and health behaviors and was a self-administered, two-stage mail survey sent to a random sample of US postal addresses stratified by county smoking rates.Adult household residents were invited to participate, resulting in a 33% response rate (n=3,738).Participants self-reported use of multivitamin/mineral products.Adjusting for covariates (demographics, single-ingredient and herbal supplement use) weighted stepwise binary logistic regression was used to examine correlates of self-reported multivitamin/mineral use.Intake was associated with less than a high school education, having health insurance, and single-ingredient and herbal supplement use. Trust in health organizations (odds ratio [OR]=1.67, P0.001) and the expectancy that cancer could be avoided with dietary supplements (OR=1.76, P0.001) correlated with use. Agreement that supplements labeled as "anticarcinogenic" could treat (OR=3.07, P0.001) or prevent cancer (OR=6.06, P0.001) correlated with multivitamin/mineral use. Fatalistic beliefs (P0.001) and negative information-seeking experiences (P0.001) were associated with slightly lower odds of use.Despite leading health organizations' discouragement of dietary supplements for cancer prevention, this study found that trust in health organizations and outcome expectancies were associated with multivitamin/mineral use. This divergence presents a need to explore how dietary supplement evidence based recommendations can be translated and disseminated for the public.

Objective To evaluate the association of sexual knowledge with sexual desire, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction in hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) patients and partners, and their willingness to participate in sexual education. Methods This is a multi-center survey. Patients were eligible if they had received HSCT. Patients’ current sexual partners were invited to the study unless they had limitations on sexual activity. Sexual desire, activity and satisfaction was assessed using the Sexual Activity Questionnaire. Sexual knowledge, experience of information seeking, sexual counseling or education, and willingness of participate in sexual education were assessed using questionnaire. Results Of 151 participants, 61.8 % had experience of receiving counseling about their sexual issues after HSCT. Compared to the lower sexual knowledge group, participants with higher sexual knowledge reported to be 1.91 times more sexually active with 3.04 times higher sexual desire. Among the participants, 79.4 % of participants had the willingness to receive sexual education after HSCT and preferred to receive sexual education from sexual education specialists Conclusions Higher sexual knowledge was associated with higher sexual desire, sexual activity, and sexual satisfaction. Practice implications Sexual education should be provided to patients and their partners after HCST by trained experts for HSCT patient’s sexual life.

Objective To examine the information seeking behavior and health literacy of caregivers of individuals living with spinal cord injury in Switzerland and their impact on the caregiving experience. Methods Nationwide survey of family caregivers of people with spinal cord injury (N = 717). Caregivers aged 18+ who assisted with activities of daily living were included. Self-reported information seeking behavior, including topics, preferred sources, and health literacy were assessed and analyzed. Results Health professionals were the most trusted source of information. Among information-seekers, higher health literacy levels were shown to be associated with lower subjective caregiver burden and, in turn, with higher caregivers’ satisfaction with own health. Conclusion Caregivers use information on different topics and coming from different sources. In order for information to improve the caregiving experience, however, caregivers need health literacy skills to make sense of it. Practice implications Building health literacy is a promising approach to support caregivers in their activities, reduce their subjective burden, and even to improve their health. Interventions should consider involving health professionals, as the most trusted source of information, and address both health-related and more practical issues.

Limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods affects the health of individuals. Because of its association with chronic health conditions, addressing food insecurity may improve health outcomes and decrease health-related costs. This study explores whether and how information seeking as captured by calls made to United Way 2-1-1 can be used to identify food-insecure areas and information deserts-communities with low proportions of residents accessing government food resources but with high rates of 2-1-1 calls for emergency food resources.Details regarding calls made to United Way of Salt Lake 2-1-1 for emergency food resources between 2014 and 2018 (n=63,221) were analyzed in 2019. Using GIS methods, areas with the highest number of calls for emergency food resources (hot spots) were identified; multinomial logistic regression was used to identify community-level sociodemographic predictors of food insecurity.Areas with a smaller proportion of the population aged18 years, more female householders, and more African Americans are associated with higher odds of being food-insecure.Patterns of information seeking about emergency food resources suggest that, despite statewide access to federal means-tested food programs, significant food needs remain. This novel approach in food insecurity research can help public health officials and health systems address an important social determinant of health by identifying areas vulnerable to food insecurity. In addition, this work may be useful in benchmarking food needs, information seeking, and replicating analyses where similar data are available.

People who use drugs (PWUD) remain at high risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), both from injection and from sexual risk-taking. In 2016, 9% of 39,782 new HIV diagnoses occurred among people who inject drugs in the United States. Reaching PWUD with accurate information about and motivation for initiating pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) remains challenging and remains the first crucial step in the knowledge-attitude-behavior change continuum. This study seeks to contribute to closing this information gap by examining the HIV information-seeking behaviors among PWUD who are not on PrEP, so as to identify potential strategies to increase adoption of HIV prevention such as PrEP as part of overall health and related to risk-taking behaviors. A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2016 among HIV-negative PWUD (n = 400), 57.3% of whom reported injecting at least once in a week, chronically maintained on methadone treatment (MMT) at a large addiction treatment program. The study found that the number of hours spent online by people who use drugs was comparable to the general population. Awareness about PrEP and the seeking of HIV-related information was low in this population. Looking for sex partners online, perception of risk, having multiple partners were associated with seeking HIV information. Although using injection drugs was related to high perception of risk of acquiring HIV, it was not associated with seeking HIV information online. It is imperative to further understand the online HIV information seeking behavior of this population and provide targeted information in order to increase awareness and knowledge about HIV-related risk and methods of prevention, including information about PrEP.

Objective Recent guidelines indicate adults 27–45 years old can receive the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine based on a shared-decision with their healthcare provider. With this expansion in recommendations, there is a need to examine the awareness and knowledge of HPV and HPV vaccination among this age group for cancer prevention. Methods HINTS-5 Cycle-2 is a national survey of US adults, and was restricted to a complete case analysis of adults ages 27–45 years (N = 725). Sociodemographic, healthcare, and health information correlates were assessed for the outcomes of HPV awareness, HPV vaccine awareness, knowledge of HPV and cervical cancer, and knowledge of HPV and non-cervical cancers. Survey-weighted logistic regression models were conducted. Results Most respondents were aware of HPV (72.9%) and HPV vaccination (67.1%). Respondents were more likely to be aware of HPV and HPV vaccination if they were female, had a higher level of education, and had previous cancer information seeking behaviors. Although there was widespread knowledge of HPV as a cause of cervical cancer (79.6%), knowledge of HPV as a cause of non-cervical cancers was reported by a minority of respondents (36.1%). College education was positively associated with cervical cancer knowledge (aOR = 4.62; 95%CI: 1.81–11.78); however, no significant correlates were identified for non-cervical HPV associated cancer knowledge. Conclusion While more than half of adults ages 27–45 years are aware of HPV and HPV vaccination, there are opportunities to improve awareness and knowledge, particularly related to non-cervical cancers, as these are critical first steps toward shared decision-making for HPV vaccination in mid-adulthood.

Objective Infants and children under 5-years are at an increased risk of complications from influenza. We aimed to evaluate characteristics associated with uptake of Australian state and territory funded influenza vaccine programs in 2018 for children aged 6-months to 5-years. Materials and methods A national online survey of 1002 Australian parents with at least one child aged between 6-months and 5-years (response rate 29.9%). A 23-item online questionnaire asked parents about health service use, 2017 and 2018 influenza vaccine uptake, and routine childhood vaccine status for their youngest child. Parents were also asked a range of questions about their demographics, sources of vaccine information, and beliefs and attitudes towards immunisation. Results A total of 1002 parents completed the questionnaire and 52.9% of children aged 6-months to 5-years in our sample were immunised against influenza in 2018; representing a significant increase from 2017. Knowing the vaccine was free for their child, and being influenced by a pharmacist increased the likelihood that their child received the influenza vaccine. Not receiving an influenza vaccine recommendation from a health care provider significantly reduced the likelihood of immunisation. Some parents were worried about the safety of the influenza vaccine for their child (36.4%), while 26.5% of parents agreed that you can catch influenza from the vaccine. Conclusions Uptake of influenza vaccine for Australian children aged 6-months to 5-years increased significantly in 2018. Continuing efforts to build parents’ trust in childhood influenza vaccination are still required. Increasing opportunities for health care providers to recommend vaccination will lead to further improvements in uptake for young children.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a common and clinically heterogeneous gastrointestinal disorder that can be divided into 4 subtypes: IBS with constipation (IBS-C), IBS with diarrhea (IBS-D), IBS with mixed bowel habits, and unclassified IBS. IBS decreases quality of life1 and imposes a substantial economic burden on the healthcare system.2 To develop efficient approaches to address the individual needs of IBS patients while minimizing healthcare resource overutilization, it is important to identify the factors that drive patients to seek care, to clarify the burden associated with distinct IBS subtypes, and to be aware of the resources from which IBS patients seek health-related information. We aimed to compare healthcare and information seeking between individuals with IBS-C and IBS-D.

Objective True person-centered care (PCC) involves anticipating, responding to, and integrating patients’ needs and preferences as the illness experience unfolds. PCC success rests, in part, on quality provider-patient communication and tailored information exchange. These processes can have profound effects on the patient experience, self-management and health outcomes including survival. Cancer information-seeking preferences (CISP) by patients are increasingly found to modulate illness and care processes. However, research has yet to document the CISP types and prevalence as well as their associations with satisfaction with care. Method Individuals (N = 2142) treated for cancer in the last 6 months completed the Ambulatory Oncology Patient Satisfaction Survey (AOPSS) and a CISP measure. Results Whereas 60.3% (n = 1292) reported wanting to actively seek information about their cancer, a surprisingly high percentage (i.e., 39.7%; n = 850) did not. Men reported avoiding cancer information to a greater extent than women, χ² (4, N = 2108) = 12.00, p = 0.02. CISP were also differentially associated with 6 key domains of satisfaction, with intense seekers consistently being less satisfied. Conclusion and practice implications These findings underscore how CISP can significantly affect patients’ cancer experience as well as their care satisfaction.

Despite the use of virtual support groups among adoptive parents, very few studies have empirically examined outcomes of participating in these groups. This research brief investigated the impact of perceived social support, information seeking effectiveness, and homophily on perceived empathy within a pilot-phase virtual support group for adoptive parents (N = 27) in one southeastern state. Researchers also examined the moderating effect of homophily on these relationships. Findings suggest that while perceived social support was significantly positively related to perceived empathy, there was no association between perceived information seeking effectiveness and perceived empathy. Of variables of interest for this study, only homophily uniquely predicted empathy and was not a moderator in other models. While findings lend credence to the notion that perceived similarities among participants is important, there are implications for developing diverse, inclusive adoptive parent support groups. This brief discusses results from this study and apposite areas for future research.

This paper examines how ambiguity aversion and information uncertainty jointly influence the momentum effect across countries. Most countries in our sample exhibit information uncertainty effect, i.e., the momentum effect is stronger for firms with greater uncertainty (e.g., smaller, younger, and more volatile firms). Moreover, we find that such information uncertainty effect is stronger in countries with lower degree of ambiguity aversion. The interaction effect of uncertainty and ambiguity aversion is mainly driven by losers, suggesting the information avoidance or “Ostrich Effect”. We offer two possible explanations for this result based on the potential impacts of ambiguity aversion on information reaction and information seeking.

Driven by ‘success stories’ reported by private sector firms, government agencies have also started adopting various Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies in diverse domains (e.g. health, taxation, and education); however, extensive research is required in order to exploit the full potential of AI in the public sector, and leverage various AI technologies to address important problems/needs. This paper makes a contribution in this direction: it presents a novel approach, as well as the architecture of an ICT platform supporting it, for the advanced exploitation of a specific AI technology, namely chatbots, in the public sector in order to address a crucial issue: the improvement of communication between government and citizens (which has for long time been problematic). The proposed approach builds on natural language processing, machine learning and data mining technologies, and leverages existing data of various forms (such as documents containing legislation and directives, structured data from government agencies' operational systems, social media data, etc.), in order to develop a new digital channel of communication between citizens and government. Making use of appropriately structured and semantically annotated data, this channel enables ‘richer’ and more expressive interaction of citizens with government in everyday language, facilitating and advancing both information seeking and conducting of transactions. Compared to existing digital channels, the proposed approach is appropriate for a wider range of citizens' interactions, with higher levels of complexity, ambiguity and uncertainty. In close co-operation with three Greek government agencies (the Ministry of Finance, a social security organization, and a big local government organization), this approach has been validated through a series of application scenarios.

In addition to primary rewards such as food and water, humans continuously seek information in daily life. Whereas the neural mechanisms for processing primary rewards have been clarified in detail in the homeostatic system, those for information seeking remain poorly understood. Although studies in psychology and economics have suggested several criteria with which information is assessed in human information seeking, the neural mechanism that assesses information remains unknown. The suggested criteria include the value of information (VOI; Hubbard, 2010), Shannon information, and the probability gain (Baron, 1985), which are defined as reduction of expected cost, reduction in expected entropy, and expected improvement of identifying correct response, respectively. We examined which criterion the nervous system uses to assess information. We recorded neuronal activity from the lateral prefrontal cortices (lPFCs) of monkeys while the animals performed information seeking tasks. We found that activity of the lPFC neurons was correlated with information that the animals expected to receive, and that more neurons encoded the VOI than did the two other criteria. Further, using principal component analysis, we found that the responses of entire neuronal populations could encode the three criteria. Finally, using a "targeted dimensionality reduction" analysis (Mante et al., 2013), we found that the population responses could encode information values assessed with the VOI longer than the probability gain, but not Shannon information. These findings suggest that the lPFC is involved in assessing information, and the assessment is primarily based on the criterion of the VOI, which captures reduction in expected cost.

Sustainable management of coastal ecosystems requires engaged communities—communities that support sustainable management policies and are willing to adopt behaviours that promote waterway health. Information provision is a common component of engagement practices, yet little is known about what type of information will most effectively motivate engaged communities. We conducted an experimental study (N = 702) examining the effectiveness of different messages about benefits of sustainable coastal management. We examined two messages about cultural ecosystem services (economic benefits and lifestyle benefits), messages focused on conservation benefits, and a ‘control’ message, which mentioned threats to coastal ecosystems but no benefits of management. We also compared the effect of factual and moral arguments on engagement outcomes. Overall, economic messages generated lower intentions to adopt household behaviours, and reduced information seeking across the whole sample. Moral arguments were not more effective than messages using factual arguments. In fact, factual arguments were associated with greater policy support and behavioural intentions. We also examined the role of participant values, political orientation and knowledge on message effectiveness. Participants with a conservative political orientation exhibited poorer responses to framed messages, compared with the control message. These findings highlight the importance of considering message content when communicating with communities. Specifically, messages about ecosystem services may not be superior to environmental messages when communicating about local issues. Recommendations for effective communication commonly suggest aligning messages with audience values. While our findings do not contradict this, they do serve as a reminder to avoid simple assumptions about what these values may entail, and that groups less supportive of conservation goals are likely to require more specific strategies to enhance communication effectiveness.

Objective: An inadequate surgical informed consent process (SIC) may result in a medical malpractice claim or medical disciplinary board (MDB) complaint. Aim of this study was to analyse characteristics of a decade of malpractice claims and MDB decisions regarding SIC in the Netherlands.Methods: A retrospective analysis of malpractice claims and MDB decisions concerning SIC disputes in four major surgical specialties was conducted based on company data from the largest medical malpractice insurance company and two public available online MDB databases.Results: A total of 11376 malpractice claims and 661 MDB complaints were filed between 2004-2013 and 676(6%) of these claims and 69(10%) of these complaints involved an alleged deficient SIC process. A random sample of 245(37%) claims and all MDB decisions were analysed. Reasons for filing a claim or complaint were insufficient counselling or recording of SIC elements. In 20% of lawsuits and 25% of claims the case resulted in favour of the complainant.Conclusion: A substantial portion of malpractice claims and MDB decisions is related to a deficient SIC process.Practice implications: Focusing on crucial SIC elements for patients may improve satisfaction and expectations and result in a lower risk for malpractice claims and MDB complaints. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Precision agricultural technologies (PATs) allow more detailed management of in-field variability. Policy and advisory communities have championed PATs as a route to preserving natural capital whilst increasing productivity from agricultural land. A range of PATs are currently available for the agricultural producer but uptake varies by the type of technology and region. Whereas most studies on uptake have focused on US or Australia we empirically examine uptake of machine guidance (MG) and variable rate nitrogen technologies (VRNT) within European farming systems. Using primary information from 971 arable crop growers across five countries: Belgium, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands and the UK, a multilevel random intercept regression estimated a) the differences between adoption and non-adoption and b) the differences between VRNT and MG adoption. We find, aside from size and income differences, which reflect the economic cost barrier to adoption, an attitudinal difference, in terms of optimism towards the technology’s economic return leading to more probability of uptake. Moreover innovative and information seeking behaviour also proved significant when upgrading from machine guidance to variable rate technologies. Subsidy and taxation were considered positive drivers of uptake within the community. However, results suggest that more indirect interventions, such as informational support to counteract industry bias, and demonstration to prove the viability of economic return may be effective at meeting land manager and policy expectations towards PATs.

This study examines how wine by-the-glass (WBG) consumption by diners in USA restaurants is affected by their risk perception, product involvement, information seeking and dissemination-related behaviours and, how these constructs interact in this situation. We model their motivational process by developing a structural equation model (SEM) to examine these effects using a sample of 532 diners representing all restaurant categories in the USA. In the process we develop and validate a 17-item scale to measure the risk perception specific to WBG consumption. This empirical study supports all hypotheses tested in the motivational process model, which explicates the processes by which consumer WBG risk perception and product involvement are caused and influence one another, as well as the subsequent information processing behaviour-related responses of restaurant diners. Refereed/Peer-reviewed

Children’s own memory is not the only reliable source of information about past events. Others may possess relevant knowledge, and children must learn to appropriately consider it in combination with their own memories. In the current study, we investigated 5-, 7-, and 9-year-olds’ (N = 72) ability to incorporate probabilistically reliable (70% accurate) hints into their memory decisions. Results revealed that children across ages were appropriately sensitive to these cues without following them blindly and indiscriminately. Furthermore, individual differences in metamemory monitoring predicted overall accuracy improvements after receiving cues in 9-year-olds but not in 5- and 7-year-olds, revealing a developmental role of metamemory for discerning when cues are most informative or needed. Although 5-year-olds increased overall confidence in their memory after receiving invalid cues, they still preserved the capacity to monitor their memory in the face of inaccurate information. Overall, children were sensitive to reliable recommendations, but developing metacognitive mechanisms predicted judicious benefits from cues.

Important conversation analytic work has made evident how responses to questions may be designed to resist the terms, agendas, and constraints of those questions (e.g., Heritage, 1998; Lee, 2013; Stivers & Hayashi, 2010). Based on audio-recordings of 17 publicly-available information webinars delivered by a U. S. philanthropic foundation to prospective applicants, the paper describes three methods leveraged by the institutional representatives that treat wh-questions that seek information during Q&A as somewhat “problematic.” Findings extend the current literature by illuminating how resistance to questions may be implemented in an understudied institutional context and contribute to the knowledge base for identifying “best practices” for webinar facilitation (Zoumenou et al., 2015).

Regulation of food systems exists to ensure safety and enhance consumer confidence in the food which they purchase and consume. However, some regulatory systems fail to instil public confidence. In China for example, trust in the domestic food system is low as a consequence of multiple high-profile food scandals, many of which linked to food fraud. Fraud occurs when food is intentionally adulterated for economic gain and may, but not always, pose a risk to the safety of food. Food authenticity and quality may also be compromised. The focus of this research relates to how Chinese consumers perceive food fraud and make choices in the absence of trust in regulatory systems. Seven focus groups with middle class Chinese participants in tier 1 and 2 cities (Beijing, Guangzhou and Chengdu) were conducted to explore attitudes of and perception towards food fraud. Infant milk formula, olive oil and Scotch whisky were used as prompts for attitudinal and perceptual elicitation. The findings indicated that Chinese consumers consider food fraud to represent a food hazard that poses a threat to the authenticity, quality and reliability of food and increased the risk of purchasing and consuming of unsafe food. Consumers were found to rely on informal kinship networks as trusted sources of information regarding food products' authenticity and safety. Behavioural responses included a range of risk relieving strategies to support food purchasing judgements, in the perceived absence of regulatory protection, that included: pre-purchase and consumption information seeking; the use of product attributes as authenticity cues; carefully selected acquisition sources; as well as a range of domestically-situated food practices. The strategic implications for food companies and policy are discussed.

Hashtags have become a ubiquitous and seminal feature of social media; however, a comprehensive understanding of what motivates and predicts their use is yet to be addressed. To fill this gap, this research investigates motives of hashtag use and their effect on behavioral outcomes based on the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) approach. Through a two-phase mixed method data collection, we distill six motives of hashtag use in the context of Instagram: Self-presentation, Chronicling, Inventiveness, Information Seeking, Venting, and Etiquette. We find drivers for platform use to affect these motives, which, in turn, influence the frequency of clicking and adding hashtags, and the number of hashtags a user may employ in a post. Furthermore, we find potential influencers to be heavy users of hashtags, primarily driven by motives of self-presentation, and to score higher on narcissism, extraversion and self-monitoring than followers. We further assert the need for U&G studies to explicitly acknowledge the nature of social media that allows users to both consume and produce content. The findings hold important implications for social media managers and designers.

This study examines the psychological mechanisms underlying the process that enables publics’ individual differences (e.g., the levels of uncertainty avoidance and social media usage) to give rise to varying post-crisis social media engagement intentions (e.g., information seeking, support seeking, and negative word-of-mouth). The study confirms that this process is serially mediated by perceived threat severity, perceived susceptibility, and negative emotions. These psychological mediators, however, function differently between uncertainty avoidance and social media usage. For uncertainty avoidance, a high arousal negative emotion (e.g., anger, fear) is a more essential step to influence engagement intentions than a low arousal emotion (e.g., shame, guilt). For social media usage, however, the type of aroused negative emotions does not matter. Rather, the relationship social media usage has with information seeking is different from that with support seeking and negative word-of-mouth intentions. Social media usage induces information seeking intentions only through publics’ cognitive appraisals of the situation without the activation of negative emotions, while it induces supporting seeking and negative word-of-mouth intentions through both cognitive appraisals and negative emotion arousals.

Service providers increasingly use textual analysis such as sentiment mining or topic models on unstructured data. Still, those techniques fall short when providing linguistic relations such as reasons behind changes in sentiment or topics. Information-seeking argument mining (IS AM) is a text mining technique that automatically extracts and identifies the argumentative structures (e.g., reasoning) from natural language text. So far, however, service researchers and managers hardly use IS AM. This article outlines how to use IS AM to improve services. The empirical study applies IS AM to news articles about scooter-sharing systems, i.e., a service enabling the short-term rentals of electric motorized scooters. The results outline that (i) arguments differ strongly across time, providers of scooter-sharing systems, and media, (ii) knowledge of arguments enable to improve services and communications with customers, and (iii) results from sentiment analysis support the validity of IS AM. The article closes with an outlook for further research.

PurposeThis study aims to examine how embeddedness influences consultants' information seeking when making decisions within a social network of relationships, and how these social networks evolve throughout the project delivery stages. The study is grounded in social network theory and examines embeddedness from three perspectives: structural (network cohesion), relational (tie strength in terms of friendship and knowledge awareness) and actor prominence.Design/methodology/approachA social network analysis (SNA) questionnaire was administered to a team of consultants working on a management consultancy project in Shanghai, China. The SNA measures of density, degree centrality and betweenness centrality were used to analyse relationship patterns among project team members, permitting comparison between the networks. Networks were also compared across the three project delivery stages of collect, consider and create.FindingsStructural embeddedness was observed in the active information seeking behaviour among consultancy team members. The moderate network density of the self-organising information seeking networks across the project delivery stages ensures that the team remains connected but avoids information redundancy and overload. Relational embeddedness was evident through the multiplexity of ties among team members with overlapping friendship and information seeking relationships. The knowledge awareness network's sparseness indicates a team of autonomous knowledge workers with distributed expertise. Project managers were the most prominent actors across the three project delivery stages, underlining these actors' relational leadership role.Practical implicationsThe study provides a deeper understanding of collaborative decision-making behaviours in dynamic-project environments. Limited attempts have been made to visualise and analyse the relationships involved in small consulting teams. The novelty of the network approach adopted stems from its ability to offer a structural view of the relationship among consultants, thus offering a distinctive and arguably more complete picture of consultancy team dynamics.Originality/valueThe study validates the social network theory of embeddedness in a real-world collaborative decision-making setting and provides a deeper understanding of information seeking behaviours for decision-making in dynamic-project environments. From a project management process viewpoint, the evolving nature of the information seeking network as it changes across the project stages with associated actors' roles was also visualised graphically, offering a distinctive and arguably more complete picture of consultancy team dynamics.

Misinformation circulation has arguably reached a peak during the COVID-19 pandemic, creating an “infodemic” that severely endangers public health and well-being. Using a moderated mediation model, a survey of 712 respondents from China reveals that social media information seeking is positively associated with COVID-19 misperceptions, while need for cognition (NFC) is negatively associated with it. Both relationships became more significant while mediating through individuals' general misperceptions. Moreover, it is found that among those with greater locus of control over media, the association between social media information seeking and COVID-19 misperceptions became more positive, while the association between NFC and COVID-19 misperceptions became more negative among those with greater media locus of control. Findings provide insights into the misperception research and have practical implications regarding infodemic management.

Social distancing emerged as one of the early critical non-pharmaceutical interventions to fighting the spread of COVID-19. However, in the US, this behavior was not universally adopted. In late March of 2020, we surveyed 2,500 US respondents to better understand the drivers of social distancing behavior. Our survey measured demographics, social distancing awareness, beliefs, barriers, and behaviors. We first used predictive modeling to identify a broad set of factors correlated with social distancing. However, it could not reveal which variables were the critical causal drivers of this behavior. We used Bayesian network (BN) to map the causal relationships between variables. Our BN pinpointed which variables were causal drivers of social distancing intentions and behavior: higher financial security, higher information seeking, and higher worry about the coronavirus. The BN cast doubt on the effectiveness of potential interventions that would have been suggested by the predictive model alone, such as interventions on community norms perceptions, as well as factors that have previously received attention in the media, such as religion and political affiliation. Finally, to more easily identify target groups for policy recommendations, we performed K-means clustering that distinguished population segments based on social distancing beliefs and behavior. We identified four segments ranging from a 'worried social distancers' (55.3% always social distanced), to 'uninformed skeptics' (25.9% always practiced). Taken together, our results demonstrate how a precision public health approach can help policymakers design more targeted and efficient public health interventions for social distancing. This approach can help prioritize messages most effective for matched population targets, increasing desirable outcomes while potentially saving resources.

Background: On 31 December 2019, an epidemic of pneumonia of unknown aetiology was first reported in the city of Wuhan, Hubei Province, People’s Republic of China. A rapidly progressing epidemic of COVID-19 ensued within China, with multiple exportations to other countries. We aimed to measure perceptions and responses towards COVID-19 in three countries to understand how population-level anxiety can be mitigated in the early phases of a pandemic. Methods: Between February and March 2020, we conducted online surveys in Singapore, China and Italy with a total of 4,505 respondents to measure respondents’ knowledge, perceptions, anxiety and behaviours towards the COVID-19 epidemic, and identified factors associated with lower anxiety and more positive behavioural responses. Findings: Respondents reported high awareness of COVID-19 and its accompanying symptoms, comparable information seeking habits and similarly high levels of information sufficiency, adherence to and acceptance of public health control measures. Higher self-efficacy was associated with lower anxiety levels in all three countries, while willingness to comply with restrictive measures and greater information sufficiency were associated with more positive behavioural changes to reduce spread of infection. Interpretation: Population-level anxiety and behavioural responses to an outbreak can be influenced by information provided. This should be used to inform future outbreak preparedness plans, taking into account the importance of increasing population-level self-efficacy and information sufficiency to reduce anxiety and promote positive behavioural changes. Funding Statement: This work was funded by the infectious diseases programme at the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (NUS), a startup grant at the Department of Communications and New Media, NUS, and the Singapore Ministry of Health’s National Medical Research Council under the Centre Grant Programme – Singapore Population Health Improve Centre (NMRC/CG/C026/2017_NUHS). Declaration of Interests: All authors have no conflicts of interest to declare. Ethics Approval Statement: Ethical approval for this study was provided by the Departmental Ethics Review Committee of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore (SPH-003; SPH-004), and the Departmental Ethics Review Committee of the Department of Communications and New Media, National University of Singapore (CNM-20200202-01).

Much animal learning is slow, with cumulative changes in behavior driven by reward prediction errors. When the abstract structure of a problem is known, however, both animals and formal learning models can rapidly attach new items to their roles within this structure, sometimes in a single trial. Frontal cortex is likely to play a key role in this process. To examine information seeking and use in a known problem structure, we trained monkeys in a novel explore/exploit task, requiring the animal first to test objects for their association with reward, then, once rewarded objects were found, to re-select them on further trials for further rewards. Many cells in the frontal cortex showed an explore/exploit preference, changing activity in a signal trial to align with one-shot learning in the monkeys’ behaviour. In contrast to this binary switch, these cells showed little evidence of continuous changes linked to expectancy or prediction error. Explore/exploit preferences were independent for two stages of the trial, object selection and receipt of feedback. Within an established task structure, frontal activity may control the separate operations of explore and exploit, switching in one trial between the two.

The importance of context in information seeking is a growing concerned in the emerging literature. The objective of this study is to understand the impact of personal and professional factors on information behavior of Nepalese Civil Services (NCS) Officers/Managers. Regarding methodology, the study was followed quantitative research and data were collected through the distribution of structured survey questionnaire in the non-contrived settings. Time horizon of this study is cross-sectional. The unit of analysis is in-service employees of NCS. Accordingly, data were captured using a structured questionnaire sent to a total 155 NSC Officers, out of which 84 questionnaires were collected, which is above 54% achievement obtained in the response rate. Data Analysis were conducted using MS Excel and statistical analysis package (SPSS 21vr.). Descriptive and inferential statistical analysis like frequencies, percentage, ANOVA, MANOVA; and multiple comparisons with the Scheffe test were also conducted to examine the proposed hypotheses. The finding of the study showed that the demographic personal factors like age and the organizational/ professional factors like job experience and information system use are only the contextual variables, which make a difference in the all three elements of information dimensions (or IB). This means, therefore, both null hypothesis (H0) and alternative hypothesis (H1) have been only partially supported. Hence, it can be concluded from the study findings that Nepalese Civil Service Officers/Managers' personal and professional factors do create differences in their IB. However, the low sample size is one of the major limitations of this study.

We study self-serving reporting behavior when people are ignorant on whether they are dishonest or telling the truth. We argue that the costs of making a (potentially) dishonest report under ignorance are smaller than the behavioral costs of a deliberate lie. In our laboratory reporting task, subjects are either eligible to a high payoff or a low payoff. One dimension varies the available information on the eligibility to payoffs, and the other dimension the ex-ante probability distribution of payoffs. Ignorance on the eligibility to payoffs leads to a pronounced increase in the fraction of unjustified claims of the high payoffs. While the probability dimension has only a small effect per se, the combination with ignorance is detrimental for truthful reporting. Potential explanations include the highly controversial social norm for reporting under ignorance. Further results indicate that most subjects are information seeking when having the opportunity to choose the preferred information regime.

The interest/deprivation model of trait curiosity contrasts curiosity as a feeling of interest versus a feeling of deprivation. In two studies, we explored (N = 324), then confirmed (N = 397) relations that curiosity-as-interest and curiosity-as-deprivation had with anticipatory affect and information seeking behaviour during a trivia task. We found that (1) curiosity-as-interest predicted feeling curious/interested, whereas curiosity-as-deprivation predicted feeling both curious/interested and frustrated/bothered, when anticipating trivia answers; (2) curiosity-as-interest was the more robust trait predictor of information seeking (i.e., paying a cost to view trivia answers), and (3) anticipatory affect mediated the relations that both curiosity traits had with information seeking. These findings suggest that both traits in the I/D model of curiosity predict their definitional epistemic experiences.

An individual's socio-economic status can increase their vulnerability to, and ability to prepare for and recover in the aftermath of a disaster. People from low socio-economic (LSE) backgrounds often face greater disaster risks, but are least prepared for disaster events due to a number of factors including a lack of housing affordability, low income and literacy levels. While there is an established relationship between a person's socio-economic status and disaster vulnerability, very little is understood about the disaster information seeking needs and preferences of LSE population groups and how this affects their levels of disaster awareness. This paper addresses this gap through a comparative study of LSE and non-LSE population groups to identify key disaster information sources and how it shapes levels of disaster awareness. A survey of 224 residents was conducted, and multivariate regression analysis of both LSE and non-LSE respondents revealed a trend of disaster passivity in both population groups. English language proficiency, occupation, familiarity with the local environment are the most important factors influencing disaster awareness among the LSE population groups. For non-LSE population groups, disaster awareness is gender-dependent with females showing higher levels of awareness. Overall, television was the most trusted information source regardless of socio-economic status. The results provide a better understanding of the underlying impact of socio-economic status on disaster awareness and information seeking behaviour, which can assist practitioners and policy makers in making informed decisions on disaster mitigation strategies to reduce the disaster risk vulnerability of targeted population groups.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate information seeking behaviour of people involved in slow and flash flood disasters, specifically how they received the first alert, where they then turned for more information, and what their main sources and forms were. An online and mailed survey based on models of problem-specific information seeking and risk information for natural hazards secured responses from Australians who had experienced flash flood (n = 91) and slow flood (n = 41). It found that information pathways taken by individuals are different for slow and flash floods, but the set of information forms and sources used are similar. ‘Other people’, television and news and weather websites were predominant sources and forms in flash flood, and online sources, television and radio predominant in slow flood. The importance of other people and mainstream media (including their online sites) in information behaviour means that mainstream media should remain an important component of information efforts by agencies. This study builds further evidence that disaster type and the media landscape should be taken into account when developing warning and response communication strategies, and allows public information officers to prioritise communication forms during response.

This study investigated the association between school-related Internet information seeking and academic self-efficacy, as well as the moderating role of Internet information seeking styles, in Chinese children. A total of 517 elementary school students took part in this study. The results suggested that school-related Internet information seeking positively predicted academic self-efficacy. The styles of school-related information seeking were investigated within the framework of help seeking. The results of a cluster analysis identified four groups of children: instrumental Internet information seekers, executive Internet information seekers, multiple-styles Internet information seekers, and unclear-styles Internet information seekers. Furthermore, the information seeking styles moderated the associations between school-related Internet information seeking and academic self-efficacy. More school-related Internet information seeking predicted higher level of academic self-efficacy only for instrumental Internet information seekers and multiple-styles Internet information seekers.

Background Statins are widely prescribed to lower cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. However, statin non-adherence is very high. Purpose The aim of this paper was to investigate reasons for stopping statin treatment in the general population and to study how aspects of information-seeking and processing is associated with statin non-adherence. Methods This study used a population survey on 3050 Danish residents aged 45–65 years. Reasons for statin discontinuation was studied among those who were previous statin users. The association between information seeking and processing and statin discontinuation were analysed using multivariate logistical regression models. Results Experience of side effects and fear of side effects played an important role in the discontinuation of statin treatment. Feelings of uncertainty and confusion regarding information on statins predicted statin discontinuation. This applied to information from both mass media and from general practitioners. There was no clear pattern of information seeking and statin non-adherence. Conclusions The article point to the impact of information-seeking on the decision to take cholesterol-lowering medication. This included contributions from information disseminated by media outlets. Side effects and fear of side effects should be addressed in clinical practice. Health care professionals should pay attention to emotional aspects of how information is disseminated and perceived by statin users.