Information in Crisis: Health technology-related information behaviors of parents in emergency departments

摘要

This research examined the information behavior of parentsrn(including legal guardians) during an emergent healthrnsituation with a child. Although many studies examinernhealth-related information behaviors, very few explorernhealth consumers’ information practices during moments ofrnhealth crisis. This study explored parents’ informationrnneeds, source use, and source preferences during a visit tornthe emergency department. An online questionnaire wasrnadministered using iPads given to 897 parents with childrenrnat one of 32 participating general emergency departmentsrn(ED) across Canada. Before taking their child to the ED,rnonly 38.8% (n=348) of parents looked for information;rnthose who did search looked most frequently forrninformation about specific symptoms or severity of illness.rnPrior to visiting the ED the sources most frequentlyrnaccessed were the internet and direct contact withrnhealthcare professionals. At the emergency department,rnparents’ information needs centred on immediate concerns,rnincluding explanations of their child’s illness, treatments,rnand care instructions. Household income, education level,rnand parents’ age were factors that affected informationrnseeking in emergent health situations. Overwhelmingly,rnspeaking to a healthcare professional in person is the typicalrnand preferred way to obtain health information when facingrna health crisis involving a child. The results havernimplications for how and when healthcare information isrnshared; the findings add to the limited research on parents’rninformation behavior, particularly their roles as informationrnproxies for their children.