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Incidental health information use on the Internet
1Department of Communication, University of Missouri-St.Louis, USA.
Health Communication
|February 11, 2009
Summary
Incidental online health information use correlates with overall internet engagement and active seeking. This behavior is linked to increased health knowledge, offering insights for digital health campaigns.
Area of Science:
- Health Communication
- Digital Health
- Media Studies
Background:
- Incidental health information use, or nonpurposive exposure, is common.
- Understanding its drivers and effects is crucial for public health.
- The internet plays a significant role in health information dissemination.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate correlates of incidental health information use online.
- To examine the relationship between incidental online health information use and health knowledge.
- To extend media complementarity theory to incidental health information seeking.
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of Health Information National Trends Survey II data.
- Statistical examination of associations between variables.
- Focus on incidental versus active health information seeking.
Main Results:
- Incidental internet health information use positively correlates with overall internet use, active online seeking, and traditional media incidental use.
- Adults with cancer showed higher traditional media incidental use, but not online.
- Incidental online health information use is positively associated with health knowledge.
Conclusions:
- Media complementarity extends to incidental health information usage.
- Incidental online health information seeking positively impacts health knowledge.
- Findings inform the design of effective internet-based health campaigns.
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