Ana Keselman|Allen C. Browne|David R. Kaufman
Consumer Health Information Seeking as Hypothesis Testing
Aquilent (United States)|National Center for Biotechnology Information|National Institutes of Health|National Center for Biotechnology Information|National Institutes of Health|Columbia University
objective despite proliferation consumer health sites lay individuals often experience difficulty finding health information online present study attempts understand users information seeking difficulties drawing hypothesis testing explanatory framework also addresses role user competencies interaction internet resources design twenty participants interviewed understanding hypothetical scenario family member suffering stable angina searched medlineplus consumer health information portal information problem presented scenario participants understanding heart disease analyzed via semantic analysis thematic coding used describe information seeking trajectories terms three key strategies verification primary hypothesis narrowing search within general hypothesis area bottomup search results compared expert model participants understanding heart disease involved different key concepts also differently grouped defined understanding provided framework searchguiding hypotheses results interpretation incorrect imprecise domain knowledge led individuals search information irrelevant sites often seeking data confirm incorrect initial hypotheses online search skills enhanced search efficiency eliminate difficulties conclusions regardless web experience general search skills lay individuals may experience difficulty health information searches difficulties may related formulating evaluating hypotheses rooted domain knowledge informatics provide support levels health information portals individual websites consumer education tools