Document Type : Original Article
Authors
- . Maryam Zamani
- . Mohammad Reza Soleymani 1
- . Mina Afshar 1
- . Leila Shahrzadi 1
- . Akbar Hasan Zadeh 2
1 Health Information Technology Research Center
2 Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
Abstract
Background: Patients, as one of the most prominent groups requiring health‑based information,
encounter numerous problems in order to obtain these pieces of information and apply them. The
aim of this study was to determine the information‑seeking behavior of cardiovascular patients who
were hospitalized in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences hospitals. Materials and Methods: This
is a survey research. The population consisted of all patients with cardiovascular disease who
were hospitalized in the hospitals of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences during 2012.
According to the statistics, the number of patients was 6000. The sample size was determined
based on the formula of Cochran; 400 patients were randomly selected. Data were collected
by researcher‑made questionnaire. Two‑level descriptive statistics and inferential statistics were
used for analysis. Results: The data showed that the awareness of the probability to recover
and finding appropriate medical care centers were the most significant informational needs.
The practitioners, television, and radio were used more than the other informational resources.
Lack of familiarity to medical terminologies and unaccountability of medical staff were the major
obstacles faced by the patients to obtain information. The results also showed that there was no
significant relationship between the patients’ gender and information‑seeking behavior, whereas
there was a significant relationship between the demographic features (age, education, place of
residence) and information‑seeking behavior. Conclusion: Giving information about health to the
patients can help them to control their disease. Appropriate methods and ways should be used
based on patients’ willingness. Despite the variety of information resources, patients expressed
medical staff as the best source for getting health information. Information‑seeking behavior of
the patients was found to be influenced by different demographic and environmental factors.
Keywords
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