Cited by 895Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityPatient-Provider Communication in HealthcareHealth and Wellbeing Research

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 115 of the 115 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Health Information—Seeking Behavior

Lambert, Sylvie D., Loiselle, Carmen G.·2007·Qualitative Health Research

DOI 10.1177/1049732307305199

Open this paper in CoChat — free account

Abstract

Seeking information about one's health is increasingly documented as a key coping strategy in health-promotive activities and psychosocial adjustment to illness. In this article, the authors critically examine the scientific literature from 1982 to 2006 on the concept of health information-seeking behavior (HISB) to determine its level of maturity and clarify the concept's essential characteristics. A principle-based method of concept analysis provides the framework for exploring the nature of HISB. The authors reviewed approximately 100 published articles and five books reporting on HISB. Although HISB is a popular concept used in various contexts, most HISB definitions provide little insight into the concept's specific meanings. The authors describe the concept's characteristics, contributing to a clearer understanding of HISB, and discuss operationalizations, antecedents, and outcomes of HISB. Such an analysis of HISB might guide further theorizing on this highly relevant concept and assist health care providers in designing optimal informational interventions.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/1049732307305199

Cites

115 of 115 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

This paper’s full text isn’t openly available, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Stress, appraisal, and coping
Eysenck, H. J. (1985) · Behaviour Research and Therapy · doi:10.1016/0005-7967(85)90087-7 · Cited by 32,038
“Stress: appraisal and coping,”
Folkman, S. (2013) · Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9_215 · Cited by 27,833
Strategies for theory construction nursing
Hough, C. (1989) · Nurse Education Today · doi:10.1016/0260-6917(89)90137-8 · Cited by 2,324
Looking for Information: A Survey of Research on Information Seeking, Needs, and Behavior
(2016) · Studies in information · doi:10.1108/s2055-53772016 · Cited by 1,537
Journal of Rehabilitation
(2018) · فصلنامه علمی پژوهشی توانبخشی · doi:10.32598/rj · Cited by 1,454
Strategies for theory construction in nursing
Walker, L. O., & Avant, K. C. (1983) · Cited by 1,208
Proposed Model of the Relationship of Risk Information Seeking and Processing to the Development of Preventive Behaviors
Griffin, R. J., Dunwoody, S., & Neuwirth, K. (1999) · Environmental Research · doi:10.1006/enrs.1998.3940 · Cited by 1,187
Monitoring and blunting: Validation of a questionnaire to assess styles of information seeking under threat.
Miller, S. M. (1987) · Journal of Personality and Social Psychology · doi:10.1037//0022-3514.52.2.345 · Cited by 1,142
Measuring patients’ desire for autonomy
Ende, J., Kazis, L. E., Ash, A. S., & Moskowitz, M. A. (1989) · Journal of General Internal Medicine · doi:10.1007/bf02596485 · Cited by 938
Cancer patients' information needs and information seeking behaviour: in depth interview study
Leydon, G. (2000) · BMJ · doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7239.909 · Cited by 860

Show all 113 references

Research works printed but not linked: 21

Baker, L.M., 1994, Bulletin Medical Library Association, 82, 36
Baker, L.M., 1999, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 87, 444
Butow, P.N., 1997, Oncology, 8, 857
Carlsson, M., 2000, Support Care Cancer, 8, 453
Corbo-Richert, B., 1993, Maternal-Child Nursing Journal, 21, 27
Dauenheimer, D.G., 2002, Revue Internationale de Psychologie Sociale, 15, 89
Gollop, C.J., 1997, Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 85, 141
Lenz, E., 1984, ANS, 6, 59
Loiselle, C.G., 2001, Nursing, 14, 9
Loiselle, C.G., 1998, Canadian Nurse, 94, 42
Loiselle, C.G., 2003, Canadian Nurse, 99, 22
Loiselle, C.G., 2002, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (MOP-57782)
Loiselle, C.G., 2007, Tasting the differential health information-seeking behavior scale among women newly diagnosed with breast cancer
Loiselle, C.G., 2003, Psycho-Oncology, 12, S232
Loiselle, C.G., 2006, Canadian Journal of Nursing Research (CJNR), 38, 83
Loiselle, C.G., 2006, Journal of the Medical Library Association, 94, 375
Loiselle, C.G., 2001, Canadian Journal of Nursing Research (CJNR), 33, 31
McGuffin, M., 2004, Radiation Therapist, 13, 93
Morse, J.M., 1995, ANS, 17, 31
Morse, J.M. (2000). Exploring pragmatic utility: Concept analysis by critically appraising the literature. In B. Rodgers, & K. Knafl (Eds.), Concept development in nursing: Foundations, techniques, and applications (pp. 333-352). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders.
Rees, C.E., 2001, ONF, 28, 899

Sorted by citations

Items 401–500 of 895

Profiling Cancer Patients Based on Their Motives for Seeking Informational and Emotional Support Online
Duimel, S., Linn, A. J., Smets, E. M. A., Smit, E. S., & van Weert, J. C. M. (2022) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2022.2144287 · Cited by 10
“Additionally, Longo’s and Johnson’s model may provide other personal characteristics that might be better suited to examine the differences between clusters, for example, culture, attitudes, cognitive abilities, salience, and beliefs (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007; Longo et al., 2010).”
Background
Public sentiments and the influence of information-seeking preferences on knowledge, attitudes, death conversation, and receptiveness toward palliative care: results from a nationwide survey in Singapore
Yeo, S. L., Ng, R. H. L., Peh, T. Y., Lwin, M. O., Chong, P. H., Neo, P. S. H., Zhou, J. X., & Lee, Á. (2023) · Palliative Care and Social Practice · doi:10.1177/26323524231196311 · Cited by 10
A systematic integrative review of cognitive biases in consumer health information seeking: emerging perspective of behavioral information research
Chen, T. (2020) · Journal of Documentation · doi:10.1108/jd-01-2020-0004 · Cited by 12
Accessibility of maternal health information and its influence on maternal health preferences in rural Tanzania: A case study of Chamwino District
Mwangakala, H. A. (2021) · South African journal of information management · doi:10.4102/sajim.v23i1.1353 · Cited by 10
Improving the Safety of Medicines via Digital Technology: An Assessment of the Scope and Quality of Risk Minimization Websites in the United States and United Kingdom
Smith, M. Y., Frise, S., Feron, J., & Marshall, R. (2022) · Drug Safety · doi:10.1007/s40264-022-01165-4 · Cited by 10
“In regard to interactive tailoring, research has shown that individuals differ markedly in terms of how they seek and access health information, and in the depth of information that they desire [35].”
Background
COVID-19 Information-Seeking, Health Literacy, and Worry and Anxiety During the Early Stage of the Pandemic in Switzerland: A Cross-Sectional Study
Ilic, A., Roser, K., Sommer, G., Baenziger, J., Mitter, V. R., Mader, L., Dyntar, D., & Michel, G. (2022) · International Journal of Public Health · doi:10.3389/ijph.2022.1604717 · Cited by 10
Understanding the importance of trust in patients’ coping with uncertainty via health information-seeking behaviors
Link, E., Baumann, E., & Klimmt, C. (2022) · Communications · doi:10.1515/commun-2021-0117 · Cited by 10
Walking and neighborhood environments for obese and overweight patients: perspectives from family physicians.
Hong, Y. A., Ory, M. G., Lee, C., Wang, S., Pulczinksi, J., & Forjuoh, S. N. (2012) · PubMed · Cited by 10
Hippocrates and the smart phone: The evolving parent and doctor relationship
Thompson, A. (2016) · Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health · doi:10.1111/jpc.13170 · Cited by 10
Constructing the information ground of the campus disability center
Williams, R. D., & Smith, C. A. (2016) · Library & Information Science Research · doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2016.11.002 · Cited by 10
Motivating intentions to adopt risk-reducing behaviours for chronic diseases: Impact of a public health tool for collecting family health histories
Molster, C. M., Kyne, G., & O'Leary, P. C. (2011) · Health Promotion Journal of Australia · doi:10.1071/he11057 · Cited by 10
Impact of mobile Internet use on health-seeking behaviors: evidence from China
Lin, C., & Lin, H. (2024) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2024.1403877 · Cited by 10
Alignment of Patient Information Leaflets with the Health Literacy Skills of Future End-Users: Are We on the Same Page?
Alfaya, F. J. F., Zarzuelo-Romero, M. J., & Cura, Y. (2024) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2024.2388887 · Cited by 9
“Health information-seeking behavior emerges as a key mediator between HL and medical decision-making, a well-documented factor in health-threatening situations, and informed participation in medical decisions (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Single Episodes of Health Information Seeking, Scanning, and Avoidance: Findings of an Experience Sampling Methods Study of German Residents Suffering From Acute or Chronic Illness
Link, E. (2025) · Communication Research · doi:10.1177/00936502251328717 · Cited by 9
“The Uncertainty Management Theory (UMT) (Brashers, 2001) posits that information seeking and avoidance are situational coping strategies employed to manage illness-related uncertainty (see also Brashers et al., 2002; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Online HIV information seeking and pre-exposure prophylaxis awareness among people who use drugs
Ranjit, Y. S., Shrestha, R., Copenhaver, M., & Altice, F. L. (2019) · Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment · doi:10.1016/j.jsat.2019.12.010 · Cited by 11
Decision-making about uptake and engagement among digital mental health service users: a qualitative exploration of therapist perspectives
Fisher, A. C., Corrigan, E., Cross, S. P. M., Ryan, K., Staples, L., Tan, R. L., Webb, N., Titov, N., & Dear, B. F. (2023) · Clinical Psychologist · doi:10.1080/13284207.2022.2163157 · Cited by 9
Linking Health Consciousness and Social Media Information Seeking to College Students COVID-19 Prevention Behavior: Examining a Modified IMBP Model
McKinley, C. J., Luo, Y., & Brennan, J. (2023) · Western Journal of Communication · doi:10.1080/10570314.2023.2294711 · Cited by 9
“Health information seeking is “the purposeful acquisition of information from selected information carriers” (Johnson et al., 1995, p. 275) to fulfill health information needs (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Parents' search for evidence‐based practice: A personal story
Ben‐Sasson, A. (2011) · Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health · doi:10.1111/j.1440-1754.2011.02141.x · Cited by 9
Using information sources by breast cancer women treated with mastectomy
Latifi, M., Tehrani, H. G., Karami, N. A., Barahmand, N., & Allahbakhshian, L. (2019) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_224_18 · Cited by 9
““Patients [1,13,15] stated we watch “The Education Channel” of IRIB, we get most of our information from this program.”
Background
An Empirical Assessment of the Qualitative Aspects of Misinformation in Health News
Zuo, C., Zhang, Q., & Banerjee, R. (2021) · Workshop on Natural Language Processing for Internet Freedom: Censorship, Disinformation, and Propaganda (NLP4IF) · doi:10.18653/v1/2021.nlp4if-1.11 · Cited by 9
“…(HISB) – which refers to the ways in which individuals seek information about their health, risks, illnesses, and health-protective behaviors (Lambert and Loiselle, 2007; Mills and Todorova, 2016) – has become increasingly reliant on Online news articles (Fox and Duggan, 2013; Medlock et…”
Background
Mapping Information Needs of Patients With Sexually Transmitted Infections Using Web-Based Data Sources: Grounded Theory Investigation
Mulgund, P., Sharman, R., Purao, S., Thimmanayakanapalya, S. S., & Winkelstein, P. (2021) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/30125 · Cited by 9
“The problem is important because health care providers as well as researchers are interested in understanding “how and why individuals obtain health information, where they go to retrieve such information, what particular types of information they prefer, and how the health information sought is used” [14].”
Background
Likelihood of Dermatology Patients to Inquire about Sun Protection Measures during a Regular Clinic Visit
Jung, G. W., Senthilselvan, A., & Salopek, T. G. (2011) · Journal of Cutaneous Medicine and Surgery · doi:10.2310/7750.2011.10054 · Cited by 9
We-Caring: Searching for Online Health Information by Italian Families
Cioni, E., Lovari, A., & Tronu, P. (2016) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2016.1242037 · Cited by 9
“Internet use for health information seeking Information-seeking behaviors are a popular and central theme in health care and health communication studies (Galarce, Ramanadhan, & Viswanath, 2011; Johnson, 2003; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Background
Exploratory Research Focusing on Oral Cancer Prevention: Challenges of Dealing With Informational and Cognitive Barriers
Baumann, E., Scherer, H., Link, E., Wiltfang, J., Wenz, H., Koller, M. T., & Hertrampf, K. (2018) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732318802263 · Cited by 9
Real-world questions and concerns about disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs): a retrospective analysis of questions to a medicine call center
Masri, H. E., Hollingworth, S., van Driel, M., Benham, H., & McGuire, T. (2020) · BMC Rheumatology · doi:10.1186/s41927-020-00126-7 · Cited by 9
Seeking treatment options: Consumers' search behaviors and cognitive activities
Broussard, R., & Zhang, Y. (2013) · Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/meet.14505001055 · Cited by 9
“…consumers’ needs for seeking treatment options, and also to better empower them in the conversation with health care providers and eventually the decision-making concerning their own care, it is necessary to understand how general consumers search for treatment options (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Background
Breaking the barriers: The impact of health information and cultural factors on immigrant health in the Nordic countries
Ahmadinia, H. (2023) · Library & Information Science Research · doi:10.1016/j.lisr.2023.101253 · Cited by 10
Outcomes of Information Seeking and Avoidance Behaviors: Insights from a German Longitudinal Study
Link, E., Leuppert, R., & Baumann, E. (2023) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2023.2268562 · Cited by 8
“Although negative affective outcomes of information seeking can occur, its outcomes are more often reported as positive than negative (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
BackgroundMethod
Health information-seeking behavior and perceived information source credibility among middle-aged and older adults
Fei, F., Chan, K., & Tsang, L. (2024) · Health & New Media Research · doi:10.22720/hnmr.2024.00073 · Cited by 8
Wikipedia: an unexplored resource for understanding consumer health information behaviour in library and information science scholarship
Smith, D. A. (2021) · Journal of Documentation · doi:10.1108/jd-03-2021-0049 · Cited by 8
“…and concept analysis is a characterization of health information seeking behaviour (HISB) despite a noticeable lack of an “apparent dominant definition”(Lambert & Loiselle, 2007, p. 1008) for the term and a limited use of theoretical frameworks grounded in LIS (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007, p. 1015).”
Background
Health information-seeking behavior among Congolese refugees
Diese, E. L., Baker, E., Akpan, I. N., Acharya, R., Raines-Milenkov, A., Felini, M., & Hussain, A. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0273650 · Cited by 8
“Health information is important in decision-making and health promotion [5].”
Background
Health information behavior and related factors among Estonians aged ≥ 50 years during the COVID-19 pandemic
Paimre, M., Virkus, S., & Osula, K. (2023) · Journal of Documentation · doi:10.1108/jd-10-2022-0217 · Cited by 8
Mobile health community loyalty development process in China: an empirical study from information seeking perspective
Yang, X., Gu, D., Li, H., Liang, C., Jain, H. K., & Li, P. (2023) · Information Technology and People · doi:10.1108/itp-11-2021-0835 · Cited by 10
Health Information-Seeking Behavior of Latino Caregivers of People Living with Dementia: A Mixed-Methods Study
Ramirez, M., Anda, S. D., Jin, H., Herrera, J., & Wu, S. (2023) · Journal of Applied Gerontology · doi:10.1177/07334648231163430 · Cited by 8
Impossible arrangements: The extreme challenge of child care for low‐income mothers
Freeman, A. (2024) · American Journal of Economics and Sociology · doi:10.1111/ajes.12562 · Cited by 8
Study of health Information needs and barriers to access among afghan and iraqi immigrants in Iran
Riahi, A., Hariri, N., & Nooshinfard, F. (2016) · Journal of North Khorasan University of Medical Sciences · doi:10.29252/jnkums.7.3.597 · Cited by 8
Trusting Sources of Information on Quality of Physician Care
Moore, A. R., Hudson, C., Amey, F. K., & Chumbler, N. R. (2020) · INQUIRY The Journal of Health Care Organization Provision and Financing · doi:10.1177/0046958020952912 · Cited by 8
A Phenomenographic Study of Adolescents’ Conceptions of Health Information Appraisal as a Critical Component of Adolescent Health Literacy
Stars, I., & Rubene, Z. (2020) · Acta Paedagogica Vilnensia · doi:10.15388/actpaed.44.5 · Cited by 8
Mediterranean Diet Patterns in the Italian Population: A Functional Data Analysis of Google Trends
Caruso, G., & Fortuna, F. (2021) · Lecture notes in networks and systems · doi:10.1007/978-3-030-69094-6_6 · Cited by 8
Nordmenn stolte på myndighetenes informasjon og tiltak i starten av koronapandemien
Sætrevik, B., Bærøe, K., Carlsen, B., & Bjørkheim, S. B. (2021) · Tidsskrift for velferdsforskning · doi:10.18261/issn.2464-3076-2021-02-06 · Cited by 8
Do social media matter? The effects of information seeking on COVID-19 psychological and behavioral processes
Beaudoin, C. E. (2023) · Telematics and Informatics · doi:10.1016/j.tele.2023.102027 · Cited by 8
Activity Profile of Members of an Online Health Community After Articular Cartilage Repair of the Knee
Hambly, K. (2011) · Sports Health A Multidisciplinary Approach · doi:10.1177/1941738111402151 · Cited by 8
Struggling Towards Diagnosis: Experiences of Iranian Diabetes
Moonaghi, H. K., Areshtanab, H. N., Jouybari, L. M., Bostanabad, M. A., & Heather, M. D. (2014) · Iranian Red Crescent Medical Journal · doi:10.5812/ircmj.16547 · Cited by 8
“Seeking information about one's health is increasingly documented as a key coping strategy in health-promotion activities and in the psychosocial adjustment to illness (9).”
Background
Research on the Model of Consumer Health Information Seeking Behavior via Social Media
Chen, J., Hou, X., & Zhao, W. (2016) · International Journal of Communications Network and System Sciences · doi:10.4236/ijcns.2016.98029 · Cited by 9
“Subsequently, some scholars had defined health information seeking behavior from the scene, concrete action mode and other different angles of concepts [7].”
Background
The effects of informal carers’ characteristics on their information needs: The information needs state approach
Alzougool, B., Chang, S., & Gray, K. M. (2016) · Informatics for Health and Social Care · doi:10.1080/17538157.2016.1221409 · Cited by 8
Contextual variables explaining the influence of social networking sites for information communication among library users: Cross-cultural study between China and Pakistan using Structure Equation Modeling
Jabeen, M., Qinjian, Y., Imran, M., Jabeen, M., & Rafiq, M. (2019) · Journal of Librarianship and Information Science · doi:10.1177/0961000619836721 · Cited by 8
“Contextual factors are found to be important to the students’ information search (Lambert and Loiselle, 2007) but the influence of contextual factors on using SNS has not been examined sufficiently.”
Background
Erratum zu: Nutzung von Gesundheitsinformationen im Internet: personenbezogene und motivationale Einflussfaktoren
Link, E., & Baumann, E. (2021) · Bundesgesundheitsblatt - Gesundheitsforschung - Gesundheitsschutz · doi:10.1007/s00103-021-03447-1 · Cited by 8
Proceedings of the Fourth Workshop on NLP for Internet Freedom: Censorship, Disinformation, and Propaganda
(2021) · doi:10.18653/v1/2021.nlp4if-1 · Cited by 8
Health Information Needs of Breast Cancer Survivors: An Umbrella Review
Gavili, N., Sedghi, S., Panahi, S., & Razmgir, M. (2024) · The Breast Journal · doi:10.1155/2024/5889622 · Cited by 7
“Where am I meant to go from here?”: Young people’s experiences of navigating referral processes, waiting lists and access pathways in mental health services
Lynch, L., Moorhead, A., Long, M., & Steele, I. H. (2025) · Children and Youth Services Review · doi:10.1016/j.childyouth.2025.108248 · Cited by 7
The Effects of Patients’ Health Information Behaviors on Shared Decision-Making: Evaluating the Role of Patients’ Trust in Physicians
Song, M., Elson, J. S., Haas, C. S., Obasi, S. N., Sun, X., & Bastola, D. K. (2025) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare13111238 · Cited by 7
“SDM ensures patient-centered, evidence-based decisions tailored to individual needs, empowering patients in their healthcare [13,14].”
Why do Chinese Youth Seek Cancer Risk Information Online? Evidence from Four Cities
Xia, Z., Chen, Q., & Evans, R. D. (2023) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2022.2163113 · Cited by 7
The Media-Mediated Model of Information Seeking Behavior: A Proposed Framework in the Chinese Culture During the COVID Pandemic
Liu, R., Huang, Y. C., & Sun, J. (2024) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2024.2327878 · Cited by 7
“Specifically, health information seeking possesses the capacity to impact the process and outcomes related to dealing with an illness or health condition (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
How Do Health Information Scanning and Seeking Influence Excessive Alcohol Drinking Among Chinese Hypertensive Drinkers? A Moderated Mediation Analysis
Zhang, L., Liu, M., You, F., & Zhao, X. (2024) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2024.2413988 · Cited by 7
“Within the context of preventive health, information seeking behaviors are conceptualized as coping strategies, emphasizing individuals’ activity and purpose when confronted with health-risk situations (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007; Rees & Bath, 2001).”
Influential
Doctor, What Are My Options? a Prospective Cohort Study of an Individualized Care Plan for Patients with Gastrointestinal Cancer
Hird, A. E., Lemke, M., Turovsky, M., Malecki, V., Kumar, V., DeAngelis, C., Chow, E., & Ko, Y.-J. (2015) · Current Oncology · doi:10.3747/co.22.2194 · Cited by 7
Hospitals need to customise care according to patients' differing information-seeking behaviour.
Riiskjær, E., Ammentorp, J., Nielsen, J. F., & Kofoed, P. (2014) · PubMed · Cited by 7
Patterns of Reasons for Taiwanese Adults’ Health Information–Seeking Efforts: A Latent Class Analysis Approach
Wei, M. (2016) · Journal of Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10810730.2016.1157656 · Cited by 7
“…to benefit individuals’ health in multiple ways, including their health practices (Shi, Nakamura, & Takano, 2004), health decision making (Niederdeppe et al., 2007), and health care utilization (Eastin & Guinsler, 2006), thereby linking to health outcomes (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007; Longo, 2005).”
Background
What do health consumers want to know about childhood vaccination? An evaluation of data from an Australian medicines call centre
Mus, M., Kreijkamp‐Kaspers, S., McGuire, T., Deckx, L., & van Driel, M. (2016) · Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health · doi:10.1111/1753-6405.12607 · Cited by 7
Patients’ Use and Perceptions of a Drug-Drug Interaction Database: A Survey of Janusmed Interactions
Justad, H., Askfors, Y., Shemeikka, T., Andersson, M. L., & Hammar, T. (2021) · Pharmacy · doi:10.3390/pharmacy9010023 · Cited by 7
“Health information seeking is important because patients take an active role in healthcare, and actively seeking information about health-related issues can be a key coping strategy in health-promotive activities and psychosocial adjustment to illness or condition [23,24].”
Background
The Relationship Between Individual Coping and the Need to Have and Seek Health Information Among Older Adults: Exploratory Mixed Methods Study
Theis, S., Schäfer, K., Schäfer, D., Jochems, N., Nitsch, V., & Mertens, A. (2021) · JMIR Human Factors · doi:10.2196/15858 · Cited by 7
“HISB denotes the search for health information resulting from a perceived HIN to reach a certain goal [10].”
Background
A qualitative study of health information-seeking behavior on the Internet among information technology professionals
Pattath, P. (2021) · Journal of Education and Health Promotion · doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_19_21 · Cited by 7
“[13,14,22‐24] The resultant information has led to knowledge change, attitude change, and behavior change and maintenance for the participants of this study.[25] Many of the participants have remained proactive in maintaining their fitness and exercise regimes.”
Background
Health information seeking behaviour among the Kuwaiti population during the COVID-19 pandemic
Aldousari, E., & Al‐Sejari, M. M. (2021) · Malaysian Journal of Library & Information Science · doi:10.22452/mjlis.vol26no3.6 · Cited by 7
Predictive Factors for Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior among Adults in the Russian Federation
Polukhin, N., & Ekkert, N. V. (2022) · Iranian Journal of Public Health · doi:10.18502/ijph.v51i9.10558 · Cited by 7
Motivational factors were more important than perceived risk or optimism for compliance to infection control measures in the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic
Sætrevik, B., & Bjørkheim, S. B. (2022) · PLoS ONE · doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0274812 · Cited by 6
“The concept of information seeking [64] has only been partially developed, and may be considered as both a state and a trait characteristic [65].”
Background
Participatory Design and Evaluation of the “Stem Cells Australia” Website for Delivering Complex Health Knowledge: Mixed Methods Study
Pang, P. C., Munsie, M., Chang, S., Tanner, C., & Walker, C. F. (2023) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/44733 · Cited by 7
“Health information–seeking behavior is an essential coping strategy for facing illness [10], particularly for patients with chronic conditions [11].”
Information-Seeking Among Pregnant Women: A Mixed Method Approach
Das, A. (2013) · Cited by 7
Perspectives of young Chinese Singaporean women on seeking and processing information to decide about vaccinating against human papillomavirus
Basnyat, I., & Lim, C. X. Q. (2017) · Women & Health · doi:10.1080/03630242.2017.1342741 · Cited by 7
Motives for Health Information Behavior: Patterns More Refined Than Traditional Dichotomies. A Study Among Women in a Cervix Treatment Process
Dubbeldam, I. P. H., Sanders, J., Spooren, W., Meijman, F. J., & van den Haak, M. J. (2018) · Journal of Consumer Health on the Internet · doi:10.1080/15398285.2018.1425071 · Cited by 8
“…according to different features of search behavior, such as type and number of search queries (Keselman, Browne, and Kaufman 2008; Puspitasari et al. 2015; Perez et al. 2015); reading behavior (Pang et al. 2015); or type of information that is consulted or avoided (Lambert and Loiselle 2007).”
Background
Source of medicines and medicine information by self-reported persons living with hy-pertension and diabetes in rural and urban Ghana
Opare-Addo, M. N. A., Buabeng, K. O., Marfo, A. F. A., Osei, F., Owusu‐Dabo, E., Ansong, D., Anto, B. P., Boaheng, J. M., & Nyanor, I. (2018) · Pharmacy Practice · doi:10.18549/pharmpract.2018.03.1151 · Cited by 7
Understanding information behavior of diabetic patients: a case of the diabetic's institute Pakistan
Soroya, S. H., Ilyas, A., & Ameen, K. (2020) · Library Management · doi:10.1108/lm-03-2020-0041 · Cited by 7
Online Health Information Seeking Behaviors and Infant Feeding Practices: A Social Cognitive Theory Perspective
Yang, Y., Krupsky, K. L., Keim, S. A., McAdams, R. J., Roberts, K. J., & McKenzie, L. B. (2021) · Health Behavior Research · doi:10.4148/2572-1836.1102 · Cited by 7
“Parents’ breastfeeding information-seeking qualifies as a HISB, which generally refers to information acquisition within a health context or to fulfill a health need (Johnson, 1997; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Background
Trust and explainability in A/IS-mediated healthcare: Operationalizing the therapeutic alliance in a distributed system
Schoenherr, J. R. (2021) · IEEE International Symposium on Technology and Society (ISTAS) · doi:10.1109/istas52410.2021.9629118 · Cited by 7
Sağlık İletişimi ve Yeni Medya
Avcı, K., & Avşar, Z. (2015) · DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) · Cited by 7
Améliorer la santé des personnes séropositives au VIH : SERONET, un nouvel outil de l'approche communautaire
Castro, D. R., Gall, J. M. L., & Jablonski, O. (2010) · Santé Publique · doi:10.3917/spub.098.0129 · Cited by 7
Qualitative methods for studying health information behaviors
Oh, S., Costello, K. L., Chen, A., & Wildemuth, B. M. (2016) · Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/pra2.2016.14505301024 · Cited by 7
“Qualitative content analysis has been used to analyze popular concepts in health information seeking behavior research presented in published articles and books (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Method
Understanding the Process of Family Cancer History Collection and Health Information Seeking
Allen, C. G., Green, R. F., Dowling, N. F., Fairley, T. L., & Khoury, M. J. (2023) · Health Education & Behavior · doi:10.1177/10901981231152430 · Cited by 6
Prevalence, correlates, and sources of women’s health information-seeking behaviors in the United States
Ajayi, K. V., Flores, S., Fan, Q., Ezenwanne, F., Garney, W. R., & Wachira, E. (2023) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2023.107703 · Cited by 6
Risk perception of air pollution and behavioral responses: a mapping review of research studies during 2000–2021
Völker, M., & Sujaritpong, S. (2024) · Air Quality Atmosphere & Health · doi:10.1007/s11869-024-01531-4 · Cited by 7
“Specific to health, since the concept of health information-seeking behavior has been critically analyzed by Lambert and Loiselle (2007), this area of research has evolved rapidly to address the changes of the digital information (Mirzaei et al. 2021; Zimmerman and Shaw Jr 2020).”
Decoding the Digital Pulse: Bibliometric Analysis of 25 Years in Digital Health Research Through the Journal of Medical Internet Research
Kaczmarczyk, R., Wilhelm, T. I., Roos, J., & Martin, R. (2024) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/60057 · Cited by 9
Sociocultural determinants of health-associated quality of life among Afghan refugees in Pakistan: evidence from a multi-stage cross-sectional study
Rehman, A. U., Zakar, R., Hani, U., & Fischer, F. (2025) · BMC Public Health · doi:10.1186/s12889-025-22125-4 · Cited by 6
“Healthcare facts-seeking behavior is considered one of the coping mechanisms for emotional well-being during sickness [79].”
Health anxiety and information-seeking in the digital age: a two-wave study of cyberchondria
Luo, X., Chang, J. Y., Cheah, J., Lim, W. M., & Lim, X. (2026) · Internet Research · doi:10.1108/intr-09-2024-1337 · Cited by 7
Preferences for Attributes of Initial COVID-19 Diagnosis in the United States and China During the Pandemic: Discrete Choice Experiment With Propensity Score Matching
Zhang, Y., Liu, T., He, Z., Chan, S. N., Akinwunmi, B. O., Huang, J. V., Wong, T.-H., Zhang, C. J. P., & Ming, W. (2022) · JMIR Public Health and Surveillance · doi:10.2196/37422 · Cited by 7
“The need to eliminate uncertainty motivates people to seek information and health care [19,20], and health care seeking can assist the patients better in making health decisions [21].”
Background
The Current Quality of Web-Based Information on the Treatment of Bipolar Disorder: A Systematic Search
Piras, M., Perra, A., Gureje, O., Preti, A., & Carta, M. G. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm11185427 · Cited by 6
“Information seeking is an important aspect of managing and coping with chronic disorders [36,37], and people living with BD have often expressed the need to obtain information about their illness [38–41].”
Background
Health Information Repertoires of Implant Patients: Toward a Deeper Understanding of Multiple Source Use and the Role of Health-Related Motives
Fisse, T., Link, E., Schrimpff, C., Baumann, E., & Klimmt, C. (2023) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2023.2258597 · Cited by 6
“…the coping approach (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and the self-regulatory approach (Higgins, 1997), they distinguished two types of coping relevant to HISB: problem-oriented coping and emotion-oriented coping (Chasiotis et al., 2020; Kim & Lee, 2014; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984).”
Influential
Exploring Information Behavior Patterns in Response to False and Misleading Health Information
Bressel, P., Dewitz, L., & Greifeneder, E. (2023) · Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/pra2.770 · Cited by 6
“It encompasses a wide range of studied health practices in digital and physical environments as well as activities and contexts of health and specific illnesses (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Background
Online health information–seeking behaviours for low back pain in the United Kingdom: analysis of data from Google trends and the Global Burden of Disease Study, 2004–2019
Patel, H., & Shepherd, T. A. (2024) · International Health · doi:10.1093/inthealth/ihae020 · Cited by 7
“28 Although most people rely on their doctors as their primary source of health information, sometimes they are unsat-isﬁed with the lack of medical explanations and lack of adequate solutions for their pain and resort to seeking information online.”
Telelactation Within the Landscape of Breastfeeding Support: Experiences of Latina Parents
Alvarado, G., Howell, K., Waymouth, M., Demirci, J. R., Rogers, R. C., Ray, K. N., & Uscher‐Pines, L. (2024) · Journal of Human Lactation · doi:10.1177/08903344241274760 · Cited by 6
“…Seeking Behavior Model is a widely used framework that is divided into an information dimension (which issues to seek information about, and how much information is needed) and a method dimension (which sources are used, and specific strategies to obtain information; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Online search and activities of parents of children with ADHD: a qualitative study
Bringer, M., Bodard, S., Moscoso, A., Révah‐Levy, A., Purper‐Ouakil, D., Acquaviva, É., Delorme, R., Landman, B., & Sibéoni, J. (2025) · Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health · doi:10.1186/s13034-025-00886-5 · Cited by 6
“The number of websites focusing on health is expanding rapidly, and several are entirely dedicated to parents [17, 18].”
HIV-Related Information Seeking Among Residential University Students in Three Caribbean Countries
White, L. A. (2009) · Cited by 6
Communication in rare diseases. A literature review
Liuccio, M., Belotti, R., Zambito, V., & Peter, S. (2015) · IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) · Cited by 6
Considering the local and the translocal
Dalmer, N. K. (2019) · Aslib Journal of Information Management · doi:10.1108/ajim-02-2019-0046 · Cited by 9
Pretraživanje zdravstvenih informacija na internetu – implikacije za zdravstvenu anksioznost kod starijih osoba
Jokić‐Begić, N., & Bagarić, B. (2020) · Psihologijske teme · doi:10.31820/pt.29.2.10 · Cited by 6
Determining health information–seeking behavior of shoulder patients
Miller, A. S., Stetler, P., Sharma, S., Ahmed, A. F., Jenkins, S. G., Vattigunta, S., Huish, E. G., & Srikumaran, U. (2022) · Journal of Shoulder and Elbow Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.jse.2021.12.038 · Cited by 6
How Does Media Use Promote the Purchase of Private Medical Insurance? A Moderated Mediation Model
Shi, H., Gao, L., & Wang, G. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.894195 · Cited by 6
“Assuming that the mediating effect is significant, β3 in Equation (2) or γ5 in Equation (3) is significant (H0: β3 = 0 or H0: γ5 = 0 is rejected), indicating that cognitive ability plays a moderating role in the indirect path (Edwards and Lambert, 2007).”
Background
Seeking and avoiding information: a qualitative study of the information behaviour of cancer patients
Jensen, J. G., Petersen, E., & Frandsen, T. F. (2022) · Information Research · doi:10.47989/colis2209 · Cited by 6
Shooting from the hip or taking careful aim? Developing the VISTA analytic framework comparing English and Scottish visual campaigns for self-protective behaviour throughout the COVID-19 pandemic
Diers-Lawson, A. R., Omondi, G., & Hillier, S. L. (2021) · Journal of Visual Political Communication · doi:10.1386/jvpc_00017_1 · Cited by 5
“Quality, Readability, and Understandability of Online Posterior Glottic Stenosis Information”
Chapa, J. S. D. L., Bellinger, J. R., Timm, A. R., & Daniero, J. J. (2022) · Journal of Voice · doi:10.1016/j.jvoice.2022.11.036 · Cited by 5
The Relationship between self-efficacy and online health information seeking: A meta-analysis
Zeng, R., & You, L. I. (2022) · Advances in Psychological Science · doi:10.3724/sp.j.1042.2023.00535 · Cited by 7
Sağlık Arama Davranışı Üzerine Bir Saha Çalışması
ÖZİŞLİ, Ö. (2023) · Sosyal Bilimler Metinleri · doi:10.56337/sbm.1244490 · Cited by 6
Online Health Information-Seeking Behaviour among People of African Descent in the United Kingdom: A Qualitative Study
Usman, J. E., Childs, C., Rogerson, D., & Klonizakis, M. (2024) · Healthcare · doi:10.3390/healthcare12090897 · Cited by 6
“Health Information-Seeking Behaviour (HISB) is a dynamic process that empowers individuals to seek health information, directly influencing their health-related decisions and outcomes [10,11].”
Background

Authors: Lambert, S. D., & Loiselle, C. G.
Affiliations: McGill University (CA)
ORCID: Lambert, Sylvie D.
Loiselle, Carmen G.
Venue: Qualitative Health Research
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Published: 2007-10
Volume: 17
Issue: 8
Pages: 1006-1019
ISSN: 1049-7323 (ISSN-L)
1552-7557
DOI: 10.1177/1049732307305199
OpenAlex: W2161788636
Cited by: 894
References: 113
Citations by year: 2026: 53 · 2025: 60 · 2024: 67 · 2023: 83 · 2022: 77 · 2021: 86 · 2020: 76 · 2019: 38 · 2018: 38 · 2017: 39 · 2016: 75 · 2015: 34 · 2014: 35 · 2013: 39 · 2012: 34
FWCI: 26.23
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Licence: journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations: Qualitative Health Research (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics: Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Patient-Provider Communication in Healthcare
Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health and Wellbeing Research
Keywords: health information seeking, conceptual analysis, health information, coping strategies, psychosocial adjustment to illness, health promotion, information interventions
MeSH terms: Books, Humans, Information Services, Patient Acceptance of Health Care, Periodicals as Topic, United States, Bibliometrics, Consumer Health Information

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review

Health Information—Seeking Behavior

Abstract

Overview

Integrity signals

Verification

Claims the paper makes

Claims other papers make about this one

Citations

Cites

Cited by

Related

Metadata

Record

About these checks