Journal of Education and Health Promotion

Information‑seeking behavior of cardiovascular disease patients in Isfahan University of Medical Sciences hospitals

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

Cardiovascular disease
educational hospitals
information‑seeking behavior
Isfahan University of Medical Sciences
1. Afshar M. Information needs and information seeking behavior
of nurses in teaching hospitals in Isfahan in 1388. Isfahan: Isfahan
University of Medical Science; 2010.
2. Adhami A. What’s the Information seeking and information‑seeking
behavior? J Infor Sci 2004;19:31‑6.
3. Ghasemi M. Information seeking behavior of doctors Masjed
Soleyman. Book J 2003;14:13‑22.
4. Afshar A, Rashidi A, Mirzatolouei F. Information seeking behavior of
orthopedic specialists in the use of orthopedic knowledge update.
Iranian Journal of Orthopaedic Surgery 2009;7:121‑5.
5. Davarpanah M, Azami M. Information needs and information
seeking behavior of nurses: A review of studies. Infor Res Public
Libr 2011;17:425‑7.
6. Leydon GM. Cancer Patient Information Needs and Information
Seeking Behavior: Indepth Interview Study. British Medical Journal
2000;320:909‑13.
7. Talosig‑Garcia M, Davis SW. Information‑seeking behavior of
minority breast cancer patients: An exploratory study. J Health
Commun 2005;10:53‑64.
8. Mistry A, Wilson S, Priestman T, Damery S, Haque M. How do
the information needs of cancer patients differ at different stages
of cancer journey? A cross‑sectional survey. JRSM Short Rep
2010;1:30.
9. Milewski J, Chen Y. Barriers of obtaining health information among
diabetes patients. Stud Health Technol Inform 2010;160:18‑22.
10.     Güleser GN, Taşci S, Kaplan B. The experience of symptoms and
information needs of cancer patients undergoing radiotherapy.
J Cancer Educ 2012;27:46‑53.
11. Lin GA. Information‑seekinig behavior and decision making in
patients undergoing elective cardiac procedures. In the 34th Annual
Meeting of the Society for Medical Decision Making (SMDM)
Phoenix 2012.
12. Ellis J, Mullan J, Worsley A, Pai N. The Role of Health Literacy and
Social Networks in Arthritis Patients’ Health Information‑Seeking
Behavior: A Qualitative Study. Int J Family Med 2012;2012:397039.
13. Mufunda E, Wikby K, Björn A, Hjelm K. Level and determinants
of diabetes knowledge in patients with diabetes in Zimbabwe:
A cross‑sectional study. Pan Afr Med J 2012;13:78.
14. Naidoo P. The information needs and information seeking
behaviour of adult diabetic patients at Addington Hospital, Durban.
Thesis (M.I.S.). Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu‑Natal; 2012.
15. Hjelm K, Atwine F. Health‑care seeking behaviour among persons
with diabetes in Uganda: An interview study. BMC Int Health Hum
Rights 2011;11:11.
16. Hicks K. Information‑Seeking behavior among medicare patients
with stable coronary artery disease. Cardio Vascular Quality and
Outcomes 2012;5:A256.
17. Yang Y, Zhang S, Xia L. Preventive health information seeking
behavior among general population in China. Inf Technol Med Educ
2012;2:608‑12.
18. Yan YY. Online health information seeking behavior in Hong Kong:
An Exploratory Study. J Med Syst 2010;34:147‑53.
Journal of Education and Health Promotion
Volume 4, Issue 4
Summer 2014
Pages 1-6

Home

Guide for Authors

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us