ArticleJournal of medical Internet research2016
Health Information Brokers in the General Population: An Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013-2014.
Article in Journal of medical Internet research, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers.
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.
The trial behind it
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
13 citing papers in PubMed, 38 citations in OpenAlex.
- Internet use for health information, health service utilization, and quality of care in the U.S.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Health literacy and the role of social support in different age groups: results of a German cross-sectional survey.BMC public health · 2023Article
- How People Use Web-Based Parenting Information to Support Others in Their Social Circle: Qualitative Descriptive Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2023Article
- Self- and surrogate-seeking of information about mental health and illness in Germany.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Article
- Do Health Information Sources Influence Health Literacy among Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study in the Urban Areas of Western China.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Contexts and Outcomes of Proxy Online Health Information Seeking: Mixed Studies Review With Framework Synthesis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Review
- Proxy Information Seeking by Users of a Parenting Information Website: Quantitative Observational Study.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2022Article
- Role of Health Literacy in Health-Related Information-Seeking Behavior Online: Cross-sectional Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
- Article
- The relationships between health information behavior and neural processing in african americans with prehypertension.Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology · 2019Article
- Understanding the Digital Gap Among US Adults With Disability: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey 2013.JMIR rehabilitation and assistive technologies · 2018Article
- "Take an opportunity whenever you get it": Information Sharing among African-American Women with Hypertension.Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundHealth information exchanged between friends or family members can influence decision making, both for routine health questions and for serious health issues. A health information broker is a person to whom friends and family turn for advice or information on health-related topics. Characteristics and online behaviors of health information brokers have not previously been studied in a national population.
objectiveThe objective of this study was to examine sociodemographic characteristics, health information seeking behaviors, and other online behaviors among health information brokers.
methodsData from the Health Information National Trends Survey (2013-2014; n=3142) were used to compare brokers with nonbrokers. Modified Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between broker status and sociodemographics and online information seeking.
resultsOver half (54.8%) of the respondents were consulted by family or friends for advice or information on health topics (ie, they acted as health information brokers). Brokers represented 54.1% of respondents earning <$20,000 yearly and 56.5% of respondents born outside the United States. Women were more likely to be brokers (PR 1.34, 95% CI 1.23-1.47) as were those with education past high school (PR 1.42, CI 1.22-1.65). People aged ≥75 were less likely to be brokers as compared to respondents aged 35-49 (PR 0.81, CI 0.67-0.99). Brokers used the Internet more frequently for a variety of online behaviors such as seeking health information, creating and sharing online content, and downloading health information onto a mobile device; and also reported greater confidence in obtaining health information online.
conclusionsMore than 50% of adults who responded to this national survey, including those with low income and those born abroad, were providing health information or advice to friends and family. These individuals may prove to be effective targets for initiatives supporting patient engagement and disease management, and may also be well-positioned within their respective social networks to propagate health messages.
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Registered trials
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.