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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Neumann, M. L., Corcoran, K. E., Allen, J. Y., & Kakani, S. R. (2026) · Intestinal failure. · doi:10.1016/j.intf.2026.100385
How Social Role Influences Interaction and Evaluation in Persona-based Health Chatbots: A Qualitative User Study
Cui, W., Yang, C.-L., & Narumi, T. (2026) · ACM Conference on Conversational User Interfaces (CUI) · doi:10.1145/3816046.3816274
Information-seeking experiences during genetic testing and counseling: a qualitative study of patients at high risk for hereditary breast cancer
Park, S. Y., Kim, Y.-J., Chae, H., Choi, Y., Ryu, K. H., Jung, S., An, M., Kong, S., & Jung, S. (2026) · BMC Cancer · doi:10.1186/s12885-026-16538-6
“Insufficient information and misunderstanding of the information hinder patients’ adequate knowledge acquisition, compromise informed decision-making and coping related to disease management, and ultimately reduce their quality of life [7].”
Influential
Nativity and Cancer Information-Seeking Behaviors Among Middle-Aged and Older-Adults in the United States
Kedia, S. A., Sirohi, S., Entwistle, C., Kim, H., Boykins, A. M., & Mahmood, A. (2026) · Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities · doi:10.1007/s40615-026-03141-5
Cancer information seeking and awareness of multi-cancer detection tests among U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study
Suleman, D. B. (2026) · Cancer Causes & Control · doi:10.1007/s10552-026-02226-0
“Health communication theories emphasize that individuals are not passive recipients of information; rather, they actively engage with, interpret, and selectively attend to health information based on their motivations, resources, and prior experiences [25, 26], [27]; [28].”
Stigmatization in healthcare and health information contexts: A qualitative secondary analysis of cisgender LGB individuals’ experiences
Schmid, N., Hofstetter, B., & Ort, A. (2026) · SSM - Qualitative Research in Health · doi:10.1016/j.ssmqr.2026.100839
Message Formats and Source Cues in Digital Mental Health Communication: Socioeconomic Differences in Engagement Intentions
Hong, S. J. (2026) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2026.2723336
Confirmation or overload? The nonlinear impact of topic-extension on revisiting consultation in online healthcare
Zhang, J., Zhang, Y., Ye, B., & Guo, Y. (2026) · Decision Support Systems · doi:10.1016/j.dss.2026.114759
Beyond Commercial Taxonomies: Developing a Healthcare-Specific Search Intent Classification for Medical Content Strategy
Chen, C.-C., & Chiu, Y.-P. (2026) · International Conference on Computer Communication and the Internet (ICCCI) · doi:10.1109/iccci70321.2026.11666576
“Furthermore, Lambert and Loiselle [7] identified iterative verification patterns in healthcare decision-making: patients cycle through multiple rounds of information gathering before reaching sufficient confidence to act.”
Health Literacy, Primary Healthcare Accessibility and Hypertension Self-Care Management Among Adults in an Urban Slum of New Delhi: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study
Kumar, I., Jaiswal, R. K., Roy, N., Panesar, S., & Dhamnetiya, D. (2026) · SN Comprehensive Clinical Medicine · doi:10.1007/s42399-026-02682-4
“Individuals who actively seek health-related information tend to demonstrate better adherence, lifestyle modification, and disease monitoring practices [30].”
Fitness-related Instagram use and physical activity participation: A cross-sectional examination of the roles of physical activity information seeking and exercise self-schema among emerging adults.
Grace, S. M., Weiss, M., Eisenberg, M. E., Antunovic, D., & Barr-Anderson, D. (2026) · Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1177/13591053261484122
Promoting health information-seeking behaviour prior to vaccination decisions
Groß, M., Sievert, E. D. C., Korn, L., Santana, A. P., Betsch, C., & BOHM, R. M. (2026) · Psychology and Health · doi:10.1080/08870446.2026.2739472
Health Information Seeking by People Navigating Masculinizing Transition Pathways in Switzerland: Communication Inequalities and Adaptive Approaches
Ort, A., Stefanelli, S., & Weisstanner, D. (2026) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2026.2743838
From viewing to deciding: How YouTube videos impact medical decisions? An empirical investigation using S-O-R framework
Lakshmanan, K. S., & Shanmugavel, N. (2026) · IIMT Journal of Management · doi:10.1108/iimtjm-10-2025-0085
AI chatbots for health information-seeking and self-diagnosis among Saudi university students: patterns of use, predictors, attitudes, and trust
Alzghaibi, H., & Alfuraydan, M. M. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1899249
A nurse-guided ChatGPT-assisted dietary learning program and self-efficacy for avoiding high-phosphorus foods in peritoneal dialysis patients
Wang, H.-C., Arviano, H., Wang, T., Chi, Y.-W., Hsu, Y.-J., Sung, C., Peng, H.-L., Pei-Chen, S., Doong, H., & Huang, Y.-H. (2026) · Journal of Psychosomatic Research · doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2026.113007
Utilizing Artificial Intelligence in Personal Health Contexts: Investigating Information Seeking Motivations, Information Processing Behaviors, and Behavioral Responses During and After Interaction with GenAI
Chen, S., Li, J., Ngai, C. S. B., & Yeo, T. E. D. (2026) · Health Communication · doi:10.1080/10410236.2026.2748947
Health Information-seeking Behavior in Patients with Antiphospholipid Syndrome: A Scoping Review with Original Data
Noyé, M., Foret, T., Dufrost, V., Mohamed, S., Frotscher, B., Wahl, D. G., & Zuily, S. (2026) · Current Rheumatology Reports · doi:10.1007/s11926-026-01236-w
“We designed the survey using the aforementioned identified key components of HISB by Lambert and Loiselle [12 ].”
‘I’ll ask my fellow villagers first’: peer health consultation among left-behind older adults under transnational separation in rural China
Chen, Y., & Bao, S. (2026) · Health Promotion International · doi:10.1093/heapro/daag161
“Studies on health information seeking have also shown that when individuals face health-related uncertainty, their choice of information sources is shaped by factors such as channel accessibility and perceived trustworthiness (Lambert and Loiselle 2007, Lee and Hawkins 2016).”
Communication patterns in home medication review for individuals with vision impairment: A qualitative study
Hong, S., Sohn, M., & Park, W. (2026) · Patient Education and Counseling · doi:10.1016/j.pec.2026.110345
Exploring E-health-literacy-related behaviours and information-seeking practices among university students in Saudi Arabia: a 2024 cross-sectional survey
Alzghaibi, H., Alfuraydan, M., Mousa, O., & Almulhem, M. (2026) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2026.1893795

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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