Health information seekers in Japan: a snapshot of needs, behavior, and recognition in 2008

The purpose of this study was to explore the latest information-seeking behavior among health care consumers in Japan and to compare these behaviors with those recorded in similar surveys administered in Japan and the United States after 2000. The authors conducted a randomized, population-based, do...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Journal of the Medical Library Association Vol. 100; no. 3; pp. 205 - 213
Main Authors:	SAKAI, Yukiko, KUNIMOTO, Chihiro, KURATA, Keiko
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Chicago, IL Medical Library Association 01-07-2012 University Library System, University of Pittsburgh
Subjects:	Adult Attitude to Health Computer Literacy - statistics & numerical data Computers and civilization Consumer Health Information Cross-Sectional Studies Educational aspects Exact sciences and technology Female Follow-Up Studies Forecasts and trends Global health Health aspects Health care industry Health Education - statistics & numerical data Health sciences Hospitals Humans Information and communication sciences Information Dissemination Information science. Documentation Information Seeking Behavior Information seeking behaviour Information Storage and Retrieval - methods Insurance policies Internet Internet - statistics & numerical data Japan Japan - epidemiology Library and information science. General aspects Male Medical records Middle Aged Online health care information services Patient Preference - statistics & numerical data Physicians Polls & surveys Primary care Science Sciences and techniques of general use Social aspects Surveys and Questionnaires United States - epidemiology Use and user studies. Information needs User needs Young Adult Asia Japan Information retrieval Use study Biomedical information User behavior Information professional
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Summary:	The purpose of this study was to explore the latest information-seeking behavior among health care consumers in Japan and to compare these behaviors with those recorded in similar surveys administered in Japan and the United States after 2000. The authors conducted a randomized, population-based, door-to-door survey in 2008. A total of 1,200 Japanese adults over 15 years of age completed the questionnaire. The results from 1,189 valid responses indicated that slightly more than half the number of participants had actively sought health information during the previous 2 years. Most seekers looked for information on a specific disease. "Physicians" remained the respondents' first choice as an information source, while "Internet" has gained greater popularity as a resource since the previous survey in 2000. Half the number of participants stated that they were willing to read academic or professional medical journal articles if written in Japanese and provided free of charge. The evidence indicates that Japanese health care consumers are now proactively seeking health information. These consumers feel reassured by the information they can access and would like to read clinical research in their native language.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Article-1 ObjectType-Feature-2
ISSN:	1536-5050 1558-9439
DOI:	10.3163/1536-5050.100.3.011