Amber Marie Reinhart

Health information seeking: A review of measures and methods

OBJECTIVE Outlines the methods and measures commonly used to study active health information seeking and prescribes important considerations in advancing the study of patient information seeking. METHODS A systematic review of the literature from 1978 to 2010. A single bibliometric database, PsychInfo, identified 648 articles of health information seeking. The 129 articles included in the review were coded by type of sample, measures (n=12) utilized to study health information seeking, and types of study methods (n=5). RESULTS A majority of studies used non-clinical samples and measured general health information seeking (i.e., whether the participant engaged in a search for health information) through cross-sectional study designs. CONCLUSIONS There are varying samples, measures, and designs used to identify those who do or do not seek health information. Future research should look into how health information seeking influences health management and should uncover the social and relational functions of health information seeking using more advanced (and less routinely applied) measures and methods of studying health information seeking. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS More people are actively searching for health information and health providers should address this in their discussions with patients.

The Persuasive Effects of Message Framing in Organ Donation: The Mediating Role of Psychological Reactance

The effects of message framing on reactions to campaign messages promoting organ donation were examined in three experiments. It was predicted that gain-framed messages would produce more positive reactions toward organ and tissue donation. In Study 1, students (N=189) responded to either a gain-framed or loss-framed message about organ donation. Study 2 (N=318) and Study 3 (N=433) examined the role of psychological reactance as a mediator between framing and reactions. Results indicated an effect for framing across the three studies—specifically, students reading a gain-framed message reported more favorable reactions toward the scripted message and lower psychological reactance. Psychological reactance and perceived manipulative intent were found to mediate the relationship between framing and message reactions.

Reactions to Narrative and Statistical Written Messages Promoting Organ Donation

Students (N = 412) attending a large eastern university evaluated two of three message vignettes (narrative, statistical, actual) on organ donation after reporting their attitudes on the topic. The narrative and statistical vignettes were replicated from a study published in 1998 by Kopfman, Smith, Ah Yun, and Hodges. The study design replicated the Kopfman et al. experiment while also correcting for two methodological artifacts (order effects and analysis procedure) that may have accounted, in part, for the reported findings. Results failed to replicate the findings of Kopfman et al., and in one factor findings were in the opposite direction previously hypothesized. Number of total thoughts and number of positive thoughts were greater for the first message compared to the second message regardless of message condition. Narrative messages were evaluated more positively, seen as more causally relevant, and rated as more credible when compared to the actual messages.

Meta-Analysis of Meta-Analyses in Communication: Comparing Fixed Effects and Random Effects Analysis Models

Thirty-nine meta-analyses obtained from the past 10 years of communication research (1997–2007) were reanalyzed using fixed effects (FE), random effects (RE), and Hunter and Schmidt (HS) meta-analytic methods. The majority of studies (62%) reported use of the HS model in the original analysis. Differences identified between models include (a) greater propensity for Type 1 error under the FE approach, (b) episodes of inflated effect size (ES) under the RE approach, and (c) high levels of heterogeneity in population ESs across studies. Recommendations are made for scholars to appropriately choose and implement meta-analytic models in future research.

Trait Affection and Asymmetry in the Anterior Brain

The trait tendency to express affectionate messages is positively related to a range of physical health and well-being indicators. Thus far, the literature on affectionate communication has not examined this trait from a neurological perspective linked to such indicators. Using an approach-avoid framework of temperament, this study tests the notion that high-affection communicators have greater relative electrical activity in the left anterior cortex versus the right anterior cortex, as reflected in baseline electroencephalograph recordings. Results are consistent with the hypothesis that high-affection communicators have greater relative left activity than less affectionate communicators. Discussion centers on what conclusions can be drawn, and how research might be informed by linking trait affection to fundamental temperament reflected in anterior brain asymmetry.

An Exploration of Transportation and Psychological Reactance in Organ Donation PSAs

The present study expands on prior work on the use of narratives in persuasive communication by examining students’ (N = 201) reactions to six organ donation public service announcements (PSAs). Reactions to the type of appeal, donor-focused or recipient-focused, were also explored. Results indicated that being immersed in the PSA was positively associated with message reactions and negatively associated with threats to overall freedom of choice when deciding whether or not to become an organ donor. Those perceived threats partially mediated the relationship between immersion into the story of the PSA and message reactions, such that increased threats were associated with reduced message reactions. Individuals exposed to the recipient-focused appeals were more interested in the narrative of the PSAs than those exposed to donor-focused appeals. Results are discussed in the context of future message and campaign development.