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Globalization has changed the landscape of higher education. The purpose of this study is to enhance understanding of how higher education leaders are engaging emerging questions about successful leadership, particularly when it comes to international student populations in times of crisis. Guided by the Intercultural Leadership framework, this comparative case study illuminates how university presidents from eight different countries were informed in their perceptions of international students and how they acted to support this vulnerable population. The results of this analysis highlight practical implications for higher education leaders to utilize when navigating global crises while protecting international student populations.

Many teachers hesitate to integrate internet research into their lessons as they face major uncertainties concerning their students' competencies in retrieving, evaluating and processing digital information. Understanding complex geographical conflicts using the internet poses special challenges to students, as they need to obtain multi-dimensional, spatial and temporally relevant information to grasp the conflict in its entirety. In order to obtain insights into students' digital researching strategies, a study was conducted in 2018 with 20 German secondary school students, who were asked to form their own opinion on a complex geographical conflict by searching the internet for useful information. The students were instructed to share their thoughts and actions aloud while undertaking the research. All digital activities and accompanying speech were recorded with screen and audio capture technology. The analysis of the transcripts consisted of a combination of qualitative and basic quantitative analysis, which led to the conclusion that students have very different abilities in identifying multi-dimensional information on complex geographical conflicts. The majority of the students neither used maps nor paid attention to publication dates of websites or information. Furthermore, none of the participants questioned the credibility of their retrieved digital information.

Understanding that hypothesis testing is aimed at seeking information rather than producing desirable outcomes is indispensable for designing informative experiments. This study investigated the developmental course of information seeking compared to producing an effect in young children. In a between-subjects design, 4- to 6-year-olds (N = 109) were presented with the same pattern of events and asked to choose an intervention to either seek information on whether a hypothesis is right or produce an effect. The results revealed a developmental change between 4 and 6 years of age. From 5.5 years and onwards, children selectively chose the correct interventions in both conditions, whereas 4- and younger 5-year-olds did not. Contrary to the general view that producing desirable outcomes developmentally precedes engaging in information seeking, the present findings indicate that they follow a similar developmental line in the early childhood years.

There is a critical need to understand the factors that influence the development of students' skills for using the Internet to search for and locate information. Teachers play an important role in this process and there is a related impetus to identify the dynamics of instruction in information-seeking activities. This study investigated German and American middle and secondary school teachers' perceptions about preparing students to use the Internet as a tool for research. Utilizing theoretical thematic analysis, results indicated teachers from both countries felt specific student attributes contributed to and inhibited processes associated with online information searches. Importantly, there were also similarities and differences in the strategies teachers perceived as necessary for preparing students that were linked to pedagogical and contextually-specific factors. Implications for future investigations include incorporating observations of instruction and collecting teaching artefacts to further identify the pedagogical strategies implemented by teachers from each country.

This study compares the financial knowledge of Korean (N = 1006) and German (N = 1346) university students. The country-specific adaptations of the US-American Test of Financial Literacy was used to assess financial knowledge. Financial knowledge can be divided into three areas (everyday money management; banking; insurance). German students show a slightly higher knowledge of everyday money management and insurance. Korean students tend to be stronger in the area banking. The paper examines the impact of gender on financial knowledge and the role of financial information gathering. A gender difference is determined in Germany, but not in Korea. Male students in Germany score higher than female students. An analysis of variance shows that Korean as well as German students who inform themselves more frequently about financial topics achieve a higher financial knowledge score. The article shows that it is possible to validly measure financial knowledge in Germany and Korea, which have different economic systems.

Internet forums are interactive, question-answer-based information resources in the Internet. Users can post questions and others can answer from any place in the world and at any time. Teachers can use Internet forums to find answers on how and what to teach, e.g. science; students find or ask for information for school topics or homework assignments. Digital forums can be even used to organize communication among students or of students with their teachers. The use of Internet forums quite often is initiated unconsciously when Internet search engines, like Google, lead the user to them. The Internet provides various types of forums, ranging from very general forums to domain-specific ones such as those focusing on science-related questions. In more general Internet forums, however, it is quite common that science-related content is discussed on the basis of everyday life questions. In order to educate learners in dealing with science-related content in forums and to contribute to digital media education, it has been suggested that schools integrate and reflect upon Internet forums in formal educational settings, e.g. in science education. The question, however, remains what the individual school subjects should contribute to the process. This survey seeks to map out to which degree science teachers in Germany are aware on Internet forums and whether they are open and prepared to integrate Internet forums into their teaching. An interview study with 16 selected science teachers indicates that teachers are largely open-minded about the use of Internet forums. The survey, however, also shows that Internet forums are used only by a few of the teachers from this sample in science class. Hindering factors mentioned included time constraints, missing concepts, and lack of infrastructure.

This study aims at exploring gender differences in text-type-specific reading competences via readers' gender-specific reading preferences. Women were expected to read more often for the sake of entertainment (entertainment preference), whereas men were expected to read more often to gain information (information preference). We further assumed that individuals who read for entertainment would have higher reading competence in fictional literary texts compared with non-fictional informational texts, and vice versa for individuals who read to gain information. The analysis was based on a sample of 830 adults between 19 and 71 years (M = 31.04; SD = 12.53) from a pilot study of the "German National Educational Panel Study" ("NEPS"). A structural equation model confirmed that women and men show different reading preferences during leisure time. The preference to read for entertainment was predictive for reading competence in literary texts; however, the preference to read for information had positive effects on reading competence in both informational and literary texts.

Introduction: The present paper argues that adequate self-perceptions of academic ability are essential for students' realization of their intellectual potential, thereby fostering learning of complex skills, e.g., information-seeking skills. Thus, academic self-concept should moderate the relationship between intelligence and information literacy: a positive relationship between intelligence and information literacy is only expected for students with a high academic self-concept. It is expected that this moderator effect is mediated by students' effort: Whenever students recognise their actual deficits or strengths, they will invest more effort than if they are over- or under-confident. Method: Data were gathered in a quantitative field study with 137 psychology freshmen from the University of Trier, Germany. Measures included a standardised information literacy test, Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices test for fluid intelligence as well as standardised measures for students' academic self-concept and work avoidance tendencies. Analysis: Data was analysed through multiple regression analysis and tests for mediated moderation. Results. With regard to the hypothesised interaction effect, it was confirmed that a positive relation between intelligence and information literacy solely exists for students with a high academic self-concept. A high academic self-concept may even be detrimental for information literacy when paired with a low intelligence. These effects were partially mediated by students' tendency for work avoidance. Conclusions: Our findings corroborate that adequate self-perceptions of academic abilities are a basic requirement for information-seeking skills. Hence, we emphasise a need for ability-tailored information literacy training paired with performance feedback to foster realistic self-perceptions. [This paper was published in: "Proceedings of ISIC: The Behaviour Conference" (Leeds, England, Sep 2-5, 2014), Part 2, Paper isic34.]

This study investigates how graphical and content list type overviews with and without navigation restrictions affect the cognitive load experienced by a learner searching for information in a hypertext. The study used a 2x2 between factor design with the factors navigability (restricted vs. non-restricted) and overview format (graphical vs. content list). Participants had to search for information in a hypertext within a specific time limit. Analyses of participants' eye movements revealed that participants' cognitive load was higher in the navigation restricted condition than in the non-restricted condition. Furthermore, a higher cognitive load was experienced with the graphical overview than with the content list type overview. Search efficiency was also higher in the navigation non-restricted condition than in the restricted condition. Furthermore, the better participants represented the hypertext structure the better was their search efficiency. Results of the study indicate that a simple content list type overview that can be directly navigated supports learners best in an information search task.

Today, most college students use the Internet when preparing for exams or homework. Yet, research has shown that undergraduates' information literacy skills are often insufficient. In this paper, we empirically test the relation between information-seeking strategies and grades in university. We synthesise arguments from the literature on information-seeking behaviour and approaches to learning in tertiary education. Building on the distinction between deep- and surface-level learning, we develop a classification of online search strategies and contrast it with traditional information behaviour. Multivariate analyses using a two-wave online survey among undergraduate students at a German university indicate that using advanced online information-seeking strategies is a significant and robust predictor of better grades. However, there are notable differences between subject groups: Traditional information behaviour is still crucial in the humanities. Advanced search strategies are beneficial in all settings, but only one in four students uses these early on, while this share increases to around 50% over the course of studies.

The success of an application programming interface (API) crucially depends on how well its documentation meets the information needs of software developers. Previous research suggests that these information needs have not been sufficiently understood. This article presents the results of a series of semistructured interviews and a follow-up questionnaire conducted to explore the learning goals and learning strategies of software developers, the information resources they turn to and the quality criteria they apply to API documentation. Our results show that developers initially try to form a global understanding regarding the overall purpose and main features of an API, but then adopt either a concepts-oriented or a code-oriented learning strategy that API documentation both needs to address. Our results also show that general quality criteria such as completeness and clarity are relevant to API documentation as well. Developing and maintaining API documentation therefore need to involve the expertise of communication professionals.

The Internet has become a pivotal source of information among university students. However, studies routinely show that many students lack digital information literacy skills (i.e. skills needed to find and evaluate information online). In this paper, we report results from an experimental study testing the effect of a workshop for third-year students of a German university. The workshop was designed to teach relevant information literacy skills in a computer lab. Afterwards, students were given academic search tasks and their search behavior was recorded with a tracking device. We find that, compared with the control group, workshop participants significantly increased their use of academic databases and cited more articles from scholarly journals. On the other hand, we find no effect on the relevance of the content students found online. Teaching digital information literacy is essential and feasible, but it is no panacea for increasing the academic quality of students' work.

In many decision situations, individuals must actively search information before they can make a satisfying choice. In such instances, individuals must be aware of the fact that not all information may be equally relevant for the choice at hand--thus, individuals should weight information by its respective relevance. We compared children's and adult's decision-making in a child-friendly decision game. For each decision, participants received information on the content of 3 piggy banks on an information-board. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the weight-structure by presenting decisions with similarly relevant or differently relevant information. Results suggested that 8- to 9-year-olds did not adapt their search to the weight-structure. In contrast, 10- to 12-year-olds did consider relevance weights. Still, 8- to 9-year-olds and 10- to 12-year-olds were unable to search for a good, adultlike information sample containing all relevant and no irrelevant information. Thus, children based their decisions on a biased information sample. In Experiment 2, we intensified the need to consider relevance weights by introducing a search constraint. In doing so, we replicated the deficits of 8- to 9-year-olds and found adultlike behavior in 11- to 12-year-olds. Our findings suggest that although children understand that relevance may vary, they are not immediately able to effectively consider relevance weights in their information search--which appears to be a skill that continues to develop throughout childhood. We discuss the resulting implications for understanding children as decision makers as well as the general ability to perform structured information search.

The present article investigates the effects of epistemic beliefs (i.e. beliefs about the nature of knowledge and knowing) on the effectiveness of information literacy instruction (i.e. instruction on how to search for scholarly information in academic settings). We expected psychology students with less sophisticated beliefs (especially multiplicistic students viewing psychological knowledge as inherently subjective) not to recognize the value of differentiated information searches and of the respective instructional courses. In a first intervention study with 67 psychology students, multiplicism was shown to reduce information-seeking skills students gain throughout the intervention. In a second intervention study with 64 psychology students, students with higher multiplicistic beliefs subjectively benefited less from the information searches carried out during instruction (in terms of reduced increases in subjective topic-specific knowledge). In conclusion, we recommend including elements from epistemic belief instruction into information literacy instruction.

Universities globally are showing increased interest in the potential of social media as a marketing recruitment tool. This paper explores how and why potential postgraduate business students looking to study internationally use social media in their educational decision-making process. Due to a lack of existing research, this study adopted an exploratory approach, gathering data through in-depth interviews with 12 postgraduate international students at an Australian university. The findings indicate that besides Facebook and YouTube, students are using blogs in their study search. The two most common reasons for social media usage are finding out about student life and reading reviews from former students. In the decision-making process, social media is mostly used in the information search and evaluation stages. Students' use of social media also varies across source countries. Our findings are a good information source for education marketers who need to engage more actively with social media.

The research we report on was conducted from our computer desktops. We have not met the people we have studied; they are part of what Eichhorn described as a "textual community", gathered around the threads of online conversations associated with a website servicing the needs of English-language speakers in Germany. The thread in question started in 2008 with a query from someone about to move to Berlin, seeking advice about the best international school in which to enrol her three children. The ensuing conversations are revealing, not only because of the schools canvassed and the manner in which they are discussed, but also because of the schools that are not charted into the discussion. This paper raises questions about qualitative research methodologies in online settings, particularly in relation to studies of the global middle-class. It examines claims about an emerging commitment to "nonlocal ethnography" and the surmising one can make about research subjects one never meets, but who remain comprehensible because of the broader cultural context in which they are situated. The research carries the promise of "rich enough" ethnography, reflecting a commitment to understanding what people "do", documenting and analysing the intricate realities influencing and shaping individual choices people make, the complexities they face and the realities they help create. The fact that it was done "at a distance", in so-called virtual spaces, does not undermine its ethnographic authenticity.

When reading multiple texts about controversial scientific issues, learners must construct a coherent mental representation of the issue based on conflicting information that can be more or less belief-consistent. The present experiment investigated the effects of text-belief consistency on the situation model and memory for text. Students read four texts about a scientific controversy. Learners' situation model was biased towards their beliefs when belief-consistent and belief-inconsistent texts were presented block-by-block. When the texts were presented alternatingly, situation models for belief-consistent and belief-inconsistent texts were equally strong. Moreover, the text base was better for belief-inconsistent texts. These results support the idea that prior beliefs influence the processing of conflicting information in multiple texts differently on the level of the situation model and on the propositional text base. A more balanced situation model of scientific controversies can be promoted by presenting belief-consistent and belief-inconsistent texts in an alternating sequence. (Contains 5 tables, 2 figures and 1 footnote.)

Past research has shown that readers often fail to notice conflicts in text. In our present study we investigated whether accessing information from multiple documents instead of a single document might alleviate this problem by motivating readers to integrate information. We further tested whether this effect would be moderated by source expertise. One hundred undergraduates read the same medical information purportedly written by either medical experts or laypeople, which was presented as one document or spread across four documents. Results revealed partial support for our hypotheses. Readers of multiple documents exhibited superior memory for conflicts and provided a more balanced description of conflicting information in essays they wrote. Variation of author expertise moderated the effect of presentation format in the essay task but not on the memory test. The results extend previous research by showing that multiple documents reading also stimulates the integration of "conflicting" information. (Contains 2 tables and 1 footnote.)

Background and objectives. The majority of environmental education takes place in informal settings, of which so-called free-choice learning is typical. What is understood by this is a kind of learning which is self-determined and driven by the needs and interests of the learner. The voluntariness of participation in interventions and the fact that they take place in turbulent action settings lead to formidable challenges for impact evaluation, particularly because often no randomized control trials (RCTs) or before-and-after measurements can be carried out. In this article, the evaluation of five different interventions from a large-scale program on consumer climate education provides the empirical background for illustrating the problems confronting quasi-experimental impact analyses in a free-choice context and presenting a possible solution based on propensity score matching (PSM). Method. In a quasi-experimental control-group design, intervention participants and nonparticipants filled out questionnaires featuring the same behavioral intentions. The challenges due to selection processes were met with radius matching on the basis of sociodemographic characteristics as covariates. Sensitivity analyses on the basis of Rosenbaum Bounds and the Hodges-Lehmann point estimator were used for assessing the robustness of treatment effects against unobserved confounding variables. Results. The analyses show that all the interventions under study positively influenced intentions to seek further advice or information on the topics covered. Furthermore, for all the interventions, significant positive effects on the intentions relating directly to climate-friendly behavior could be identified. In this context, PSM and sensitivity analyses proved to be effective methods. However, there were several limitations due to conceptual and methodological issues, and these are discussed below. (Contains 3 notes, 5 figures and 25 tables.)

Previous studies on the impact of perceived threat on confirmatory information search (selective exposure) in the context of decision making have yielded mixed results. Some studies have suggested that confirmatory information search is reduced, yet others have found contradictory effects. The present series of 5 studies consistently found that the crucial moderator for these inconsistent findings was whether the induced threat was contextually related to the subsequent decision and information search tasks. Contextual incongruence (e.g., an induction of terrorist threat followed by an economic decision case) results in reduced levels of confirmatory information search, whereas a congruent threat (e.g., an induction of terrorist threat followed by a decision case on terrorism) results in increased levels of confirmatory information search. Analyses of the underlying psychological processes revealed that decision-unrelated threat inductions increase decision makers' experienced decision uncertainty, thus reducing confirmatory information search. (Contains 1 footnote and 1 figure.)

With the current growth of the Internet, we expect significant changes in how and to what extent companies acquire business information. By comparing two studies on information seeking by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) carried out in 1982 and 2003 respectively, and comparing the results with other studies, this paper indicates that the reality is rather to the contrary. SMEs remain remarkably stable in their information seeking behaviour, in the sources they use and in the problems they face. The paper concludes with a discussion on the likely causes of this consistency and its consequences for online intermediaries. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

Background: Although digital maternity records (DMRs) have been evaluated in the past, no previous work investigated usability or acceptance through an observational usability study. Objective: The primary objective was to assess the usability and perception of a DMR smartphone app for pregnant women. The secondary objective was to assess personal preferences and habits related to online information searching, wearable data presentation and interpretation, at-home examination, and sharing data for research purposes during pregnancy. Methods: A DMR smartphone app was developed. Key features such as wearable device integration, study functionalities (eg, questionnaires), and common pregnancy app functionalities (eg, mood tracker) were included. Women who had previously given birth were invited to participate. Participants completed 10 tasks while asked to think aloud. Sessions were conducted via Zoom. Video, audio, and the shared screen were recorded for analysis. Task completion times, task success, errors, and self-reported (free text) feedback were evaluated. Usability was measured through the System Usability Scale (SUS) and User Experience Questionnaire (UEQ). Semistructured interviews were conducted to explore the secondary objective. Results: A total of 11 participants (mean age 34.6, SD 2.2 years) were included in the study. A mean SUS score of 79.09 (SD 18.38) was achieved. The app was rated "above average" in 4 of 6 UEQ categories. Sixteen unique features were requested. We found that 5 of 11 participants would only use wearables during pregnancy if requested to by their physician, while 10 of 11 stated they would share their data for research purposes. Conclusions: Pregnant women rely on their medical caregivers for advice, including on the use of mobile and ubiquitous health technology. Clear benefits must be communicated if issuing wearable devices to pregnant women. Participants that experienced pregnancy complications in the past were overall more open toward the use of wearable devices in pregnancy. Pregnant women have different opinions regarding access to, interpretation of, and reactions to alerts based on wearable data. Future work should investigate personalized concepts covering these aspects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During health crises like the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid‐19) pandemic, it is crucial that individuals are able and willing to adequately respond to information. Individuals who deliberately seek information have an enhanced capacity to act on it and are capable of informed assessments of risks and self‐protective behaviors. In contrast, overexposure to Covid‐19 news as well as non‐seeking can constitute information‐related inequalities and hamper individuals' coping with the health crisis. Having this global health communication challenge in mind, our research aims to understand what characterizes non‐, medium, and frequent seekers, considering sociodemographic and socioeconomic factors, health status, affective risk responses, efficacy assessments, trust in information sources, and satisfaction with information. This study is based on data of the second wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) Germany. Among 2602 participants, analysis revealed that 23.3% of the respondents did not actively seek information about Covid‐19, while 34.3% of them intensively monitored information. Nonseekers, compared to medium and frequent seekers, were characterized by a lower socioeconomic status, lower affective risk responses, lower perceived information‐related self‐efficacy, and lower trust in information sources. These findings provide indications for strategic health approaches and can guide initiatives to address adequate use of health information. Key Points: Identifying and characterizing groups differing in their frequency of Covid‐19 information seeking is relevant since being able and willing to adequately respond to information is crucial for combating health crises. 23.3% of respondents of a German representative study did not actively seek information, while 34.3% intensively monitored information about Covid‐19. Medium and frequent seekers of Covid‐19‐related information show similar preference patterns regarding the used sources, with public broadcasting being the preferred source of information about Covid‐19. Nonseekers, compared to medium and frequent seekers, were characterized by a lower socioeconomic status (SES), lower affective risk responses, lower perceived information‐related self‐efficacy, and lower trust in information sources. Planners of informational interventions, health communicators, as well as health professionals, need to be aware of the profiles of nonseekers as well as frequent seekers to find adequate strategies to overcome barriers and design adequate supportive information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives Information-seeking (IS) and emotion-regulatory (ER) motivation play meaningful roles in age-related changes in social interaction across adulthood. This study aimed to develop and validate the Social Motivation Questionnaire (SMQ) to assess these two types of motivation. Research Design and Methods Ten items were selected from a pool as the candidate items of SMQ and were administered to 480 German adults (20–91 years old) for validation. These items were also administered to 150 U.S. (18–40 years old) and 131 Hong Kong younger adults (18 to 26 years old) for cultural-invariance examination. Results Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses showed that a two-factor, eight-item structure fits the German adults' data well with satisfactory reliability. Multigroup comparisons showed cross-age invariance among younger, middle-aged, and older German adults, as well as cross-cultural invariance among German, U.S. and Hong Kong younger adults. Discussion and Implications A new questionnaire, SMQ, was developed and validated to measure IS and ER social motivation across adulthood and across cultures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The gender perspective is an essential level of effective health communication approaches. Against the background of the gender perspective as an essential level of effective health communication approaches, we focus on health-related information behaviors. Complementary to information seeking, information avoidance is included. Both forms of information behavior are described in gender-specific ways, and their predictors are identified using a resource-centered approach covering the individual's health, empowerment, involvement, and social support., Method: An online survey of a sample stratified for the German population (N = 3000) was conducted. The two modes of information behavior as well as their theoretically derived predictors were assessed. In addition to descriptive analyses, blockwise regression analyses were used to identify gender-specific predictors of information seeking and avoidance., Results: Information seeking occurs more frequently than information avoidance. Both differ only slightly between men and women and showed the strongest correlations with the respondents' involvement. For information seeking, coping resources are also a significant predictor, while information avoidance is associated with psychological well-being and social support. Similar patterns of association emerge across genders., Conclusion: Across genders, it is evident that health communication measures should strengthen the involvement of the population and their coping resources to promote information seeking and counteract information avoidance. Additionally, the findings revealed that avoiders should be more focused as one of the main target groups of health communication., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Background: Previous studies have revealed that users of symptom checkers (SCs, apps that support self-diagnosis and self-triage) are predominantly female, are younger than average, and have higher levels of formal education. Little data are available for Germany, and no study has so far compared usage patterns with people's awareness of SCs and the perception of usefulness., Objective: We explored the sociodemographic and individual characteristics that are associated with the awareness, usage, and perceived usefulness of SCs in the German population., Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional online survey among 1084 German residents in July 2022 regarding personal characteristics and people's awareness and usage of SCs. Using random sampling from a commercial panel, we collected participant responses stratified by gender, state of residence, income, and age to reflect the German population. We analyzed the collected data exploratively., Results: Of all respondents, 16.3% (177/1084) were aware of SCs and 6.5% (71/1084) had used them before. Those aware of SCs were younger (mean 38.8, SD 14.6 years, vs mean 48.3, SD 15.7 years), were more often female (107/177, 60.5%, vs 453/907, 49.9%), and had higher formal education levels (eg, 72/177, 40.7%, vs 238/907, 26.2%, with a university/college degree) than those unaware. The same observation applied to users compared to nonusers. It disappeared, however, when comparing users to nonusers who were aware of SCs. Among users, 40.8% (29/71) considered these tools useful. Those considering them useful reported higher self-efficacy (mean 4.21, SD 0.66, vs mean 3.63, SD 0.81, on a scale of 1-5) and a higher net household income (mean EUR 2591.63, SD EUR 1103.96 [mean US $2798.96, SD US $1192.28], vs mean EUR 1626.60, SD EUR 649.05 [mean US $1756.73, SD US $700.97]) than those who considered them not useful. More women considered SCs unhelpful (13/44, 29.5%) compared to men (4/26, 15.4%)., Conclusions: Concurring with studies from other countries, our findings show associations between sociodemographic characteristics and SC usage in a German sample: users were on average younger, of higher socioeconomic status, and more commonly female compared to nonusers. However, usage cannot be explained by sociodemographic differences alone. It rather seems that sociodemographics explain who is or is not aware of the technology, but those who are aware of SCs are equally likely to use them, independently of sociodemographic differences. Although in some groups (eg, people with anxiety disorder), more participants reported to know and use SCs, they tended to perceive them as less useful. In other groups (eg, male participants), fewer respondents were aware of SCs, but those who used them perceived them to be more useful. Thus, SCs should be designed to fit specific user needs, and strategies should be developed to help reach individuals who could benefit but are not aware of SCs yet., (©Marvin Kopka, Lennart Scatturin, Hendrik Napierala, Daniel Fürstenau, Markus A Feufel, Felix Balzer, Malte L Schmieding. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 20.06.2023.)

Background: A person's opinion about COVID-19 vaccination and their decision for or against the vaccination are determined, among other things, by the information they receive. Therefore, it seems crucial to examine the phenomenon of information sharing in the context of COVID-19 vaccination. The study explores who shares which information about vaccinations with whom, how the sharing of information is related to the seeking of information from various sources, and what the motives are., Method: From 19 June to 13 July 2021, we conducted an online survey with 833 people using the German non-representative Social Sciences' (SoSci) panel. The questionnaire assessed information sharing with strangers and the social environment, the content, and the motives as well as the sources of information. The responses of 828 people were evaluated using descriptive statistics and multiple linear regression analyses., Results: Older people, women, and unvaccinated individuals were more likely to share information about COVID-19 vaccination. Information was more often shared in the social environment than with strangers. People shared information about benefits and risks of the vaccination as well as their own experiences with vaccinations. People who research websites of health authorities were more likely to share information about the benefits of vaccinations and their own experiences, while people using YouTube or messenger services were more likely to share information about risks. The motives for sharing information are to help others, social exchange, to raise awareness, to gain status, and the fear of being attacked or judged., Conclusion: Information sharing on COVID-19 vaccination is complex in terms of content and motivation. In order to promote vaccination readiness, the range of information offered by public health departments should be expanded and the population's health literacy should be strengthened., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

The growing importance of the Internet as an information and purchasing channel is drawing widespread attention from marketing decision makers. Nevertheless, the relevance of the Internet to the so-called self-medication market in Germany has been paid barely enough attention. Our study aims to contribute insights concerning the penetration of the Internet in this market, as well as to give an overview of the critical determinants of Internet use for non-prescription drug information seeking, such as the accessibility of professional information, trust in health professionals’ opinion and the ability to search online, as well as the perceived usefulness and credibility of online non-prescription drug information. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the preferred use of the Internet as a non-prescription drug information source positively influences the choice of unconventional purchase channels for non-prescription drugs and negatively affects the use of stationary pharmacies. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

How do people decide which risks they want to get informed about? The present study examines the role of the availability and affect heuristics on these decisions. Participants ( N = 100, aged 19-72 years) selected for which of 23 cancers they would like to receive an information brochure, reported the number of occurrences of each type of cancer in their social circle (availability), and rated their dread reaction to each type of cancer (affect); they also made relative judgments about which of 2 cancers was more common in Germany (judged risk). Participants tended to choose information brochures for those cancers for which they indicated a higher availability within their social networks as well as for cancers they dreaded. Mediation analyses suggested that the influence of availability and affect on information choice was only partly mediated by judged risk. The results demonstrate the operation of 2 key judgment heuristics (availability and affect), previously studied in risk perception, also in decisions about information choice. We discuss how our findings can be used to identify which risks are likely to fall from people's radar.

The scope of this article is the complex transformation of health communication in the face of the Internet and social media. Formerly, experts distributed longer pieces of information to target audiences. Today, "many-to-many" communication increasingly dominates, for example via social media. Information is getting shorter, more emotional, and personalized, with more pictures and videos. This contribution focuses on active online-searching behavior for health information and its reception and evaluation by users as well as the underlying factors of credible health communication and the necessity of quality control of health communication on the Internet. Although the article is not based on a systematic literature study, it provides an expert review of the state of the art of the literature in the field.

Objective: The extent to which cancer patients are well-informed can have manifold effects. The aim of this study was to explore both the sources of information that young breast cancer patients with children use and how they evaluate the information obtained., Methods: Participants were recruited within a rehabilitation program for young mothers with non-metastatic breast cancer (the Groemitz project "gemeinsam gesund werden"). Data on information seeking, the level of information, socio-demographic data and clinical characteristics were collected using a questionnaire., Results: The patients (n=827) used several additional sources of information - most frequently the internet (69.5%; n=767). The majority felt well informed about their disease and found the information provided easy to understand. A social gradient was observed in relation to media use, information evaluation and obtaining a second opinion., Conclusion: To young breast cancer patients, the internet is crucial for obtaining further information. The indication of a social gradient underlines the importance of addressing the information needs of patients with a lower socioeconomic status., (Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier GmbH.)

Background: The internet is an emerging source of information for prostate cancer (PCa) patients. Since little is known about the quality of information on PCa provided online, we investigated its accordance to the latest European Association of Urology (EAU) guidelines., Methods: A total of 89 German web pages were included for analysis. A quality model classifying the provider of information and its expertise was introduced. Correctness of provided information was systematically compared to the EAU guidelines., Results: Information was provided by medical experts (41%), media (11%), and pharmaceutical companies (6%). Certificates were found in 23% with a significantly higher rate if provided by medical experts (p = 0.003). The minority of web pages showed information in accordance with the EAU guidelines regarding screening (63%), diagnosis (32%), classification (39%), therapy (36%), complications (8%), and follow-up (27%). Web pages by medical experts as well as websites with any kind of certification showed a significantly higher guideline conformity regarding diagnosis (p = 0.027, p = 0.002), therapy (p = 0.010, p = 0.011), follow-up (p = 0.005, p < 0.001), and availability of references (p = 0.017, p = 0.003)., Conclusions: The present study reveals that online health information on PCa lacks concordance to current guidelines. Certified websites or websites provided by medical experts showed a significantly higher quality and accordance with guidelines., (© 2018 S. Karger AG, Basel.)