ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2015
"It's got to be on this page": age and cognitive style in a study of online health information seeking.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2015. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 29 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
29 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Health Literacy in Web-Based Health Information Environments: Systematic Review of Concepts, Definitions, and Operationalization for Measurement.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Pooled it
- Improving Access to Online Health Information With Conversational Agents: A Randomized Controlled Experiment.Journal of medical Internet research · 2016Trial
- Health Information Seeking Behavior Among American Indian and Alaska Native Peoples.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2026Article
- Factors Influencing the Intentions of Patients With Inflammatory Rheumatic Diseases to Use a Digital Human for Medication Information: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- How Patients With Cancer Use the Internet to Search for Health Information: Scenario-Based Think-Aloud Study.JMIR infodemiology · 2025Article
- Global online interest in finasteride sexual side effects.International journal of impotence research · 2024Article
- Digital health literacy and associated factors among internet users from China: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2024Article
- Restricted health service utilization and subsequent positive self-care behavior during the early COVID-19 pandemic in China.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Performance-Based Measurement of eHealth Literacy: Systematic Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Understanding online health information seeking behavior of older adults: A social cognitive perspective.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Health Information Sourcing and Health Knowledge Quality: Repeated Cross-sectional Survey.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Development of an Internet of Things Technology Platform (the NEX System) to Support Older Adults to Live Independently: Protocol for a Development and Usability Study.JMIR research protocols · 2022Article
- The Relationship between Health Literacy and Comfort with Teleneuropsychology in a Veteran Sample.Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists · 2022Article
- Validity Evidence Based on Relations to Other Variables of the eHealth Literacy Questionnaire (eHLQ): Bayesian Approach to Test for Known-Groups Validity.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Men with an FMR1 premutation and their health education needs.Journal of genetic counseling · 2021Article
- Differences in Perceptions of Health Information Between the Public and Health Care Professionals: Nonprobability Sampling Questionnaire Survey.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Article
- The neuropsychological aspects of performance-based Internet navigation skills: A brief review of an emerging literature.The Clinical neuropsychologist · 2019Review
- Treatment Activity, User Satisfaction, and Experienced Usability of Internet-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Adults With Depression and Anxiety After a Myocardial Infarction: Mixed-Methods Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2018Article
- A P5 Approach to m-Health: Design Suggestions for Advanced Mobile Health Technology.Frontiers in psychology · 2018Article
- Sexual Health and the Internet: Cross-Sectional Study of Online Preferences Among Adolescents.Journal of medical Internet research · 2017Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe extensive availability of online health information offers the public opportunities to become independently informed about their care, but what affects the successful retrieval and understanding of accurate and detailed information? We have limited knowledge about the ways individuals use the Internet and the personal characteristics that affect online health literacy.
objectiveThis study examined the extent to which age and cognitive style predicted success in searching for online health information, controlling for differences in education, daily Internet use, and general health literacy.
methodsThe Online Health Study (OHS) was conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and Stanford University School of Medicine from April 2009 to June 2010. The OHS was designed to explore the factors associated with success in obtaining health information across different age groups. A total of 346 men and women aged 35 years and older of diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds participated in the study. Participants were evaluated for success in searching online for answers to health-related tasks/questions on nutrition, cancer, alternative medicine, vaccinations, medical equipment, and genetic testing.
resultsCognitive style, in terms of context sensitivity, was associated with less success in obtaining online health information, with tasks involving visual judgment most affected. In addition, better health literacy was positively associated with overall success in online health seeking, specifically for tasks requiring prior health knowledge. The oldest searchers were disadvantaged even after controlling for education, Internet use, general health literacy, and cognitive style, especially when spatial tasks such as mapping were involved.
conclusionsThe increasing availability of online health information provides opportunities to improve patient education and knowledge, but effective use of these resources depends on online health literacy. Greater support for those who are in the oldest cohorts and for design of interfaces that support users with different cognitive styles may be required in an age of shared medical decision making.
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.