Consumer reports and health care information: a call for research

The consumer movement together with the information explosion has a tremendous impact upon all aspects of American life. Health care is a prime example of a vital area of importance that has seen and will continue to see a demand for more timely and appropriate information that consumers can use to assist in decision making about personal health care services. This article proposes that cancer, in particular breast cancer, presents one of the major diagnostic areas that has caused women to seek out such information. We propose needed research including a conceptual framework that may guide that research.