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

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Health Information—Seeking Behavior

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

DOI 10.1177/1049732307305199

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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.

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MODELING THE CONSUMER HEALTH INFORMATION-SEEKING BEHAVIORS OF PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIANS WHO TREAT ELDERLY DEPRESSED PATIENTS AND THEIR CAREGIVERS
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Health Information Needs, Sources Avalibility and their use by Eldelry People in South India: A Case Study of Kalagi, A Gram Panchayat in Chittapur Taluk of Gulbarga District, India
Bhadrashetty, A. M., & Maheswarappa, B. S. (2014) · Cited by 1
Information Behavior: An Introduction
(2016) · Studies in information · doi:10.1108/s2055-53772016001 · Cited by 1
Les pratiques de recherche d’informations en matière de santé (PRIMS) chez des immigrants de première génération dans la région de Montréal. L’incidence du type d’acculturation, du niveau de scolarité et du temps écoulé depuis l’immigration.
Girard, A., Boucher, V. G., & Sercia, P. (2016) · Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne · doi:10.1037/cap0000071 · Cited by 1
Online health information seeking among patients in primary health care settings, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Madhi, R. B., Khugali, A., & Kofi, M. A. (2020) · International Journal of Advanced Community Medicine · doi:10.33545/comed.2020.v3.i3a.151 · Cited by 1
“[2, 3] but are they reliable for the patients to depend on for their selfmanagement and suffice from visiting a physician? in the Arab world 85.”
Background
Providing Education and Welfare Opportunities for Syrian Children Near Conflict Zone
Güner, P. B. (2020) · ETHICS IN PROGRESS · doi:10.14746/eip.2020.1.8 · Cited by 1
Integrative Review of Sexual Health Information Seeking Behaviors among Adolescents: Based on Qualitative Research
김, 수., & 김, 상. (2021) · Journal of the Korean Society of School Health · doi:10.15434/kssh.2021.34.1.42 · Cited by 1
Web-Based Health Information–Seeking Methods and Time Since Provider Engagement: Cross-sectional Study
Shaveet, E., Urquhart, C., Gallegos, M., Dammann, O., & Corlin, L. (2022) · JMIR Formative Research · doi:10.2196/42126 · Cited by 1
“Health information–seeking methods are the means by which individuals acquire information about their health, health promotion, health risks, and illness [8].”
Background
Organspende als Herausforderung gelingender Kommunikation – Einführung
Fuchs, M., Inthorn, J., Koscielny, C., Link, E., & Logemann, F. (2023) · Medizin, Kultur, Gesellschaft · doi:10.1007/978-3-658-39233-8_1 · Cited by 1
Reliance on Social Networks and Health Professionals for Health Information in the U.S. Adult Population
Narine, D., Yamashita, T., Punksungka, W., Helsinger, A., Kramer, J. W., Karam, R., & Cummins, P. A. (2023) · Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health · doi:10.1007/s10903-023-01556-4 · Cited by 1
“Then, we zeroed in on the three main health information sources identified in the literature, namely the internet, social networks (i.e., family, friends, or coworkers), and health professionals [ 2 ] (see Fig.”
Determinants of Cancer-Related Online Information-Seeking Intentions of Cancer Patients Receiving Chemotherapy
Eskiler, E., Bilir, C., & Altunışık, R. (2023) · Online Türk Sağlık Bilimleri Dergisi · doi:10.26453/otjhs.1327254 · Cited by 1
Information behaviour and factors influencing family planning knowledge of Myanmar ethnic migrants: a qualitative study
Ohn, N. S. T., & Worland, S. (2023) · Journal of Public Health and Development · doi:10.55131/jphd/2024/220103 · Cited by 1
Health Information Seeking Behaviour in University Students Sri Lanka
Gunarathna, M. (2023) · International Journal For Multidisciplinary Research · doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2023.v05i06.11295 · Cited by 1
“Lambert and Loiselle (2007) posit that the quest for health information represents a widely accepted avenue through which individuals acquire insights into health, disease, health promotion, and health-related risks.”
Background
Information Needs of and Information Sources Used by Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder
Dewitz, L. (2024) · Lecture notes in computer science · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-57860-1_5 · Cited by 1
D-MiQ: Deep Multimodal Interactive Healthcare Query Expansion Approach for Web Search Engines Retrieval Effectiveness
Benzarti, S., Tebourski, W., & Karâa, W. B. A. (2024) · Communications in computer and information science · doi:10.1007/978-981-97-5937-8_12 · Cited by 1
Disordered Eating, Food Landscapes, and Public Health
Fixsen, A. M. (2024) · The politics of mental health and illness · doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70318-8_5 · Cited by 1
Representations of in vitro fertilization in the first cycle of IVF in women
Mitrović, M., Ćirović, N., Janković, I., Šnele, M. S., Kostić, J. O., Guberinić, M., & Trenkić, M. S. (2024) · Health Psychology and Behavioral Medicine · doi:10.1080/21642850.2024.2444245 · Cited by 1
Exploring the experiences of adult patients with turner syndrome at a multidisciplinary clinic
Shin, S., Liang, L., Korenvain, C., McCarthy, L. M., & Lega, I. C. (2025) · Maturitas · doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2025.108214 · Cited by 1
Training the next generation of researchers in psychosocial oncology: an innovative transdisciplinary multimethod approach
Loiselle, C. G. (2007) · Revista Brasileira de Terapias Cognitivas · doi:10.5935/1808-5687.20070010 · Cited by 1
Health Literacy in High-Risk Populations
Feinberg, I. Z. (2022) · Digital Archive @ GSU · doi:10.57709/7875458 · Cited by 1
Gender and sexual health: Applying gender role theory to men and women's intention to engage in sexual health information seeking behaviors
Tabaac, A. R. (2016) · VCU Scholars Compass (Virginia Commonwealth University) · doi:10.25772/h5c0-m002 · Cited by 1
“…and women's intention to engage in sexual health information seeking behaviors Chapter 1: Health Information Seeking Behaviors Health information seeking behaviors (HISB) pertain to the manner by which people seek, obtain, evaluate, categorize, and use health information (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
BackgroundMethod
Information Needs, Motivations, and Use
(2016) · Studies in information · doi:10.1108/s2055-53772016005 · Cited by 1
Finding and Exploring Health Information with a Slider-Based User Interface
Cheong-Iao, P. P., Karin, V., Pearce, J. M., & Chang, S. (2016) · Studies in health technology and informatics · doi:10.3233/978-1-61499-666-8-106 · Cited by 1
“Also, many people wish to make informed decisions for health conditions and thus use health websites for exploring extra information [9][10].”
Background
Electronic health record access by patients as an indicator of information seeking and sharing for cardiovascular health promotion in social networks: Secondary analysis of a randomized clinical trial
Brown, S.-A. N., Jouni, H., & Kullo, I. J. (2019) · Preventive Medicine Reports · doi:10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.12.011 · Cited by 1
“Notably, information seeking and sharing have both been perceived as health-promotive activities by mediating bidirectional social information acquisition (van den Putte et al., 2011; Lambert and Loiselle, 2007; Stoffel et al., 2008).”
Background
Relationships of health information orientation and cancer history on preferences for consent and control over biospecimens in a biobank: A race‐stratified analysis
Hong, S. J., Drake, B. F., Goodman, M. S., & Kaphingst, K. A. (2020) · Journal of Genetic Counseling · doi:10.1002/jgc4.1217 · Cited by 1
“Health information seeking is affected by individuals’ social and psychological factors and, in turn, strongly links to their health decisions and behaviors (Lambert & Loiselle, 2007).”
Background
Antecedent factors influencing maternal health information seeking behaviour of women of childbearing age in rural Tanzania
Kassim, M., & Katunzi-Mollel, K. R. U. (2020) · University of Dar es Salaam Library Journal · Cited by 1
“I need personal experiences or some sort of documentation”: a qualitative study on where people with multiple sclerosis seek information on dietary and herbal supplements
Bergien, S. O., Petersen, C. M., Lynning, M., Kristiansen, M., & Skovgaard, L. (2021) · BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies · doi:10.1186/s12906-021-03377-0 · Cited by 1
“A semi-structured interview guide informed by the aim of the study, existing literature [23], and the survey results [8] were developed by author SOB and MK (See Additional file 1).”
Method
Health consumers' knowledge learning in online health information seeking
Chi, Y. (2021) · D-Scholarship@Pitt (University of Pittsburgh) · Cited by 1
Health Information Behavior in the Context of Medical Decision‐making: An Exploratory Study based on Vaccination in Beijing
Zhang, Y., & Zheng, G. (2021) · Proceedings of the Association for Information Science and Technology · doi:10.1002/pra2.496 · Cited by 1
“…research on health information seeking behavior, focusing on the influencing factors of behavior (Sbaffi & Chen, 2020; Peña-Purcell, 2008; Lambert & Loiselle, 2007; Zhao, 2009; Li, Theng & Foo, 2015; Chang & Huang, 2020; Wang & Deng, 2016) and on the process of seeking (Sbaffi & Chen,…”
Background
Coping and Regulatory Responses on Social Media during Health Crisis: a Large-scale Analysis
Abramova, O., Batzel, K., & Modesti, D. (2022) · Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS) · doi:10.24251/hicss.2022.457 · Cited by 1
“We propose that social media information exchanges may be interpreted as a way to cope with circumstances perceived as threatening [13].”

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

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