• The Journal of Information Systems
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.51-74
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• 2024

Purpose This study investigates the key factors influencing knowledge sharing within Online Health Communities (OHCs), focusing on how different types of support impact sharing general health and specific health knowledge. Design/Methodology/Approach This study adopts a quantitative research design, collecting data from 308 participants across various OHCs through a questionnaire survey. The questionnaire assesses the relationships between informational support, emotional support, altruism, personal innovativeness, and knowledge-sharing behavior. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), the researchers systematically analyzed the impact of these factors on the sharing of general health knowledge (such as health advice and lifestyle information) and specific health knowledge (such as medical, technical details, and treatment plans). Findings The analysis revealed that informational support significantly promotes general health and specific health knowledge sharing in OHCs. Emotional support has a notable effect on general health knowledge sharing but is limited in its impact on specific health knowledge sharing, potentially due to the technical nature of the information involved. Altruism positively influences general health knowledge sharing but shows mixed effects on specific health knowledge sharing, possibly due to the complexity and difficulty of the knowledge being shared. Personal innovativeness enhances general health knowledge sharing but may conflict with existing norms in specific health knowledge contexts, leading to variable outcomes.

• Knowledge Management Research
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• v.11 no.1
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• pp.1-17
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• 2010

As information technology had shown tremendous development in late 20th century, various service opportunities appeared in many industries. Also, new types of service are becoming available such as, reservation, teleconsultation, telemedicine. In health care industry, in which, many hospitals are faced operational difficulties and competing impetuously, a web site has become a effective tool to attract patients and transfer tremendous health information to the patients. This study is based on many previous researches on online service quality, try to figure out e-service quality factors of health information sites, and the factors' effect on users' satisfaction on the web site via providing knowledge and trust on the web site. As a result, usability, site aesthetic, responsiveness and security are the 4 factors to measure e-service quality of health information web site. All factors except site aesthetic have significant effects on providing knowledge, security only effects on trust on the web site.

• Journal of Digital Convergence
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.255-267
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• 2012

High Internet usage and the public's keen interest on health have influenced the health care system, and a potential value of the online health information and medical consultation market is immense. This study reveals results from data collected from Seoul residents in the age group of 20s in 2011. Out of 499 respondents, 75.2% answered that they used online health information; however, only 7.2% answered that they have used online medical consultation services. Findings on the purposes of using online medical consultation included treatments of symptoms(33.6%) and self-disciplines of one's health(19.5%). Mostly used Websites for health information search included search engines and blogs, but respondents preferred to use government sites and hospital sites in the future. When choosing a medical consultation, respondents preferred a certain website for different reasons including creditability of the consultant(23.7%), creditability of the organization(23.7%), rapid responses(21.2%), and more. Overall, although health information search via web is being highly utilized among people in their 20s, utilization of online medical consulting is not. Thus, promotion efforts to increase awareness and utilization of online medical consulting based on the site selection criteria, type of personal information disclosure, and other preferences are essential. Also, creating websites meeting these criteria is important.

• Korea Journal of Hospital Management
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• v.18 no.2
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• pp.57-80
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• 2013

The purpose of this study is to examine the information search behavior of medical consumers visiting a hospital, and investigate the consumption values of medical consumers, classified according to the information search behavior, and characteristics of online health and disease information. This study also tried to identify the factors affecting medical consumers classified according to information search behavior, and gain an extensive understanding of medical consumers'consumption values and online information use. The analysis results of this study are as follows: First, the consumption values of medical consumers were classified into a total of 7 factors, i.e. future-positive value, family-oriented value, sustainablehealth value, rational-progressive value, social-cooperative value, socialachiever value and hedonistic-individual value. Next, the characteristics of medical consumers'online information search behavior were classified into three types of consumer groups, i.e. the limited information-oriented consumer group, the practical information-oriented consumer group and the passionate information-oriented consumer group. Second, the analysis of the differences among the three groups classified according to the characteristics of the information search behavior in terms of consumption values, use of online information sources, utility and the intention to reuse online information showed that all the differences were statistically significant. The passionate information-oriented consumer group showed the highest scores in the sustainable-health value, the social-achiever value and the hedonisticindividual value. Third, the factors affecting medical consumers, classified into three groups according to the characteristics of the information search behavior, were found to be socio-demographic variables like consumers' age and occupation, consumers'consumption values, use of online information sources, and utility of online information. This study tried to understand what values medical consumers have according to the differences in the information search behavior by examining the consumption values of medical consumers according to the information search behavior. The significance of this study lies in the fact that consumption values are instrumental in understanding medical consumers by identifying the fundamental motives and desires of consumers' behavior.

• International Journal of Advanced Culture Technology
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• v.11 no.3
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• pp.18-25
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• 2023

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the educational landscape for students across the globe, leading to a shift towards long-term online learning. This study aims to examine the changes in the health status of college and university students before and after the transition to online classes. We conducted a survey questionnaire among 200 students enrolled at K University in Gangwon-do, including participants from both the Department of Visual Optics and the Department of Physical Therapy. The survey employed a 5-point Likert scale to evaluate a range of health-related factors, including physical and mental well-being, alterations in lifestyle, and academic performance. Both male and female students experienced a decline in physical strength and exercise during the online class period, while mental health and overall happiness showed improvement, particularly among female students. Notable shifts in lifestyle emerged, including an increased usage of electronic devices and enhanced familial connections. The study also shed light on intriguing trends related to academic accomplishments and adherence to official quarantine guidelines. In sum, the findings of this study offer valuable foundational information for the maintenance of students' well-being during online learning, as well as the development of effective strategies for online education in future academic settings.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.15
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• pp.6171-6176
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• 2014

Background: In order to design effective educational intervention for cancer survivors, it is necessary to identify most-trusted sources for health-related information and the amount of attention paid to each source. Objective: The objective of our study was to explore the sources of health information used by cancer survivors according to their access to the internet and levels of trust in and attention to those information sources. Materials and Methods: We analyzed sources of health information among cancer survivors using selected questions adapted from the 2012 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Results: Of 357 participants, 239 (67%) had internet access (online survivors) while 118 (33%) did not (offline survivors). Online survivors were younger (p<0.001), more educated (p<0.001), more non-Hispanic whites (p<0.001), had higher income (p<0.001), had more populated households (p<0.001) and better quality of life (p<0.001) compared to offline survivors. Prevalence of some disabilities was higher among offline survivors including serious difficulties with walking or climbing stairs (p<0.001), being blind or having severe visual impairment (p=0.001), problems with making decisions (p<0.001), doing errands alone (p=0.001) and dressing or bathing (p=0.001). After adjusting for socio-demographic status, cancer survivors who were non-Hispanic whites (OR= 3.49, p<0.01), younger (OR=4.10, p<0.01), more educated (OR= 2.29, p=0.02), with greater income (OR=4.43, p<0.01), and with very good to excellent quality of life (OR=2.60, p=0.01) had higher probability of having access to the internet, while those living in Midwest were less likely to have access (OR= 0.177, p<0.01). Doctors (95.5%) were the most and radio (27.8%) was the least trusted health related information source among all cancer survivors. Online survivors trusted internet much more compared to those without access (p<0.001) while offline cancer survivors trusted health-related information from religious groups and radio more than those with internet access (p<0.001 and p=0.008). Cancer survivors paid the most attention to health information on newsletters (63.8%) and internet (60.2%) and the least to radio (19.6%). More online survivors paid attention to internet than those without access (68.5% vs 39.1%, p<0.001) while more offline survivors paid attention to radio compared to those with access (26.8% vs 16.5%, p=0.03). Conclusions: Our findings emphasize the importance of improving the access and empowering the different sources of information. Considering that the internet and web technologies are continuing to develop, more attention should be paid to improve access to the internet, provide guidance and maintain the quality of accredited health information websites. Those without internet access should continue to receive health-related information via their most trusted sources.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.5237-5242
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• 2016

Background: Cancer screening rates are lower in Japan than those in western countries. Health professionals publish procancer screening messages on the internet to encourage audiences to undergo cancer screening. However, the information provided is often difficult to read for lay persons. Further, anti-cancer screening activists warn against cancer screening with messages on the Internet. We aimed to assess and compare the readability of pro- and anti-cancer screening online messages in Japan using a measure of readability. Methods: We conducted web searches at the beginning of September 2016 using two major Japanese search engines (Google.jp and Yahoo!.jp). The included websites were classified as "anti", "pro", or "neutral" depending on the claims, and "health professional" or "non-health professional" depending on the writers. Readability was determined using a validated measure of Japanese readability. Statistical analysis was conducted using two-way ANOVA. Results: In the total 159 websites analyzed, anti-cancer screening online messages were generally easier to read than pro-cancer screening online messages, Messages written by health professionals were more difficult to read than those written by non-health professionals. Claim ${\times}$ writer interaction was not significant. Conclusion: When health professionals prepare pro-cancer screening materials for publication online, we recommend they check for readability using readability assessment tools and improve text for easy comprehension when necessary.

• Journal of Information Technology Applications and Management
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.17-39
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• 2024

E-Health services are seen as promising to healthcare promotion, but low usage by patients limits their effectiveness. The Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) has shown to be explanatory in the adoption of e-Health services. As the use of e-Health for self-management grows, it is important to identify factors influencing perceived ease-of-use (PEOU) and usefulness (PU) to encourage acceptance. However, the selection of external variables in this context lacks a clear pattern. We applied the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) with the aim of further explaining the external variables in TAM especially in the area of e-health, and selected three external variables: information quality, health information literacy, and social influence. Hence, our study combines the Heuristic-Systematic Model (HSM) and TAM to investigate the mechanism and external factors that promote individuals to act for their health benefits. A total of 198 responses were collected among people having completed an online diabetes risk test on the website of the Finnish Diabetes Association. This data was then analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Our study finds that heuristic cues like health information literacy and social influences impact PEOU, while systematic cues, especially information quality, positively influence PU. Also, higher PU is associated with increased intention to use e-Health services and engage in health-promoting actions, highlighting the importance of the systematic path in the e-Health context. Our theoretical contributions are twofold. First, we add to TAM research in the area of e-health by providing an explanation why heuristic cues link to PEOU while systematic cues link to PU. Second, our research is among very few applying HSM to e-health and finds that overall, the systematic path is more influential than the heuristic path. We also provide practical advice for healthcare providers to improve the impact of their e-health initiatives.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
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• v.41 no.3
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• pp.431-459
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• 2024

In contemporary South Korea, ultra-low birth rates have become a critical social issue. Equally important is the social responsibility to support the healthy physical and mental development of children. This study aimed to assess the children and adolescents related to online health information available on the websites of 17 metropolitan representative libraries in South Korea. Using literature review and content analysis methodologies, the study found that only two libraries (11.8%) offered 32 health-related resources for children and adolescents through their library websites. Of these resources, 25 (78.1%) were provided by public health centers, while hospitals contributed six resources (18.8%), and public institutions provided two resources (6.3%). Additionally, an evaluation of these 32 health information resources using the HON code, a recognized tool for assessing online health information, revealed relatively low satisfaction in areas such as "complementarity," "attribution," "transparency of authorship," and "honesty in advertising and editorial policy." Furthermore, the researcher conducted a comparative evaluation of children and adolescent health information resources available through the search engines Naver and Google in Korea. Based on these findings, the study outlines recommendations for improving online health information services related to children and adolescents.

• Journal of Oriental Neuropsychiatry
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.43-59
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• 2023

Objectives: Although a manual for a disaster medical support using Korean medicine doctors for disaster survivors has been developed, education programs for using the manual in disaster situations need to be developed. Thus, the purpose of this study was to analyze existing online education programs for disaster mental health to develop education programs for Korean medicine doctors. Methods: We conducted website searching for disaster mental health education programs using Google. Compositions, contents, hours, methods, costs, organizers, and targets of included educational programs were analyzed qualitatively. Results: After searching, eight websites among a total of 64 were included for the analysis. Lectures consisted of Psychological First Aid, Skills for Psychological Recovery, Self-Care, and Psychological Education after a disaster experience. Training hours for each program ranged from 30 minutes to 31 hours. All lectures were given only online. They could only be taken online. Free lectures were the most common ones. Most of them were for the general public. Conclusions: Findings of this study provide information regarding trends of online education programs for disaster mental health. Our information could be used for developing disaster trauma response education programs for Korean medicine doctors in the future.