Zahra Otroj, Firoozeh Zare-Farashbandi, Fatemeh Rastegari,
Volume 16, Issue 2 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background and Aim: Health information seeking behavior can be influenced by several factors and variables such as personality traits, beliefs, values, tendencies, contextual factors and personal emotions. Health information has a direct relationship with the quality of life of people in society, it can be influential in decisions related to personal and social health and improve people’s performance in this field. This study aimed to determine the relationship between personality types of graduate students of Isfahan University of medical Sciences (IUMS) and their health information seeking behavior based on the Miller model.
Materials and Methods: This was an applied survey study. The study population was all graduate students of IUMS. The sample size was determined using the Morgan table of 297 people. Data collection tools are Neo Five Personality Factor Questionnaire and Miller Information Behavior Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by SPSS software.
Results: The results showed that there is an inverse relationship between personality type “Psychotic” and the component of “active search for health information”. Also there is a direct relationship between persons who are “Eager for new experiences” and “conscientiousness” with the component of “active search for health information”. But there is no significant relationship between personality types “extroversion” and “agreeability” with the components of health informing behavior. The studied students are not responsible and conscientious in terms of personality type, they often prefer solitude and are introverted and conservative. But more than half of them are balanced in the dimension of “agreeability”.
Conclusion: This study showed that people who are eager for new experiences and conscientious, search health information actively, but Psychotic persons are not willing to be active in seeking health information This means that the more responsible and conscientious people are, or the more eager they are for new experiences, the more actively they search for health information. Therefore, it is better for health policy makers to plan in such a way that the necessary health information is provided to them interactively based on the personality of the people.
Shahnaz Khademizadeh, Bahram Peymannia, Fatemeh Rafieinasab,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (3-2024)
Abstract
Background and Aim: The term “information behavior,” with an emphasis on health and hygiene, refers to purposeful actions taken to satisfy informational needs related to health. The objective of the current research is to develop and validate a questionnaire on information behavior, with a focus on health and hygiene information.
Materials and Methods: This study was a quantitative research conducted with a tool design approach. Initially, a questionnaire for measuring this behavior was prepared using instrument design methods. The basis for extracting the factors of the present questionnaire has been argumentation and logical repetition. In other words, the researcher, in line with the background of these factors and their repetition in the sources, used them as influential factors in the questionnaire construction. After confirming the content and structural validity, the modified questionnaire was distributed among 238 patients with multiple sclerosis. The sample selection.
was done using the available sampling method. Then, the data were analyzed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The internal consistency of the data was calculated using Cronbach’s alpha. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical methods with the help of SPSS and AMOS software.
Results: The content validity of the questionnaire was evaluated with the opinion of 20 experts in information behavior. The reliability of the health information behavior questionnaire was adequate and satisfactory with the overall Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.78 and the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of the components between 0.71 and 0.94. In order to factor analysis, the sampling adequacy index and the value of Bartlett’s Crowley test were calculated, and all 29 items were statistically significant; which confirms the factorization of the correlation matrix. In the exploratory factor analysis, five factors (avoidance of information), the second factor (need for information), the third factor (exposure to information), the fourth factor (seeking information), and the fifth factor (use of information) were obtained. The indicators of confirmatory factor analysis showed the validity of the proposed structure. The results of the structural equation model test showed that the fit indices were favorable and also indicated the fit of the presented model in the MS patient population.
Conclusion: The obtained results demonstrated that health information behavior in this questionnaire encompasses five factors: information needs, information-seeking behavior, information avoidance, information use, and information confrontation, which were confirmed. The designed scale for assessing health information behavior in the Iranian community has been evaluated and is recommended for use in measuring health information behavior effectively.
