Ashley E. Anker

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.

Estimating the risks of acquiring a kidney abroad: a meta-analysis of complications following participation in transplant tourism.

A meta‐analysis of odds ratios comparing the risks of participating in transplant tourism by acquiring a kidney abroad to the risks associated with domestic kidney transplant was undertaken. Comparison across 12 medical outcomes indicates transplant tourists are significantly more likely to contract cytomegalovirus, hepatitis B, HIV, post‐transplantation diabetes mellitus, and wound infection than those receiving domestic kidney transplant. Results also indicate that domestic kidney transplant recipients experience significantly higher one‐yr patient‐ and graft‐survival rates. Analyses are supplemented by independent comparisons of outcomes and provide practitioners with weighted estimates of the proportion of transplant recipients experiencing 15 medical outcomes. Practitioners are encouraged to caution patients of the medical risks associated with transplant tourism. Despite the illegal and unethical nature of transplant tourism, additional efforts are indicated to eliminate the organ trade and to educate wait‐listed patients about the risks of transplant tourism.

The Door-in-the-Face Persuasive Message Strategy: A Meta-Analysis of the First 35 Years

A random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the Door-in-the-Face (DITF) persuasive message strategy on compliance. Results indicate an overall significant effect of the DITF strategy on verbal compliance (k=78, r=.126), but an insignificant effect for behavioral compliance (k=39, r=.052). In terms of verbal compliance, the DITF strategy works significantly better than controls for different samples, across varied communication media, and for prosocial causes. Additionally, the DITF technique is more successful than controls for volunteering/research than other target behaviors (e.g., monetary donation). For both verbal and behavioral compliance outcomes, the toughness (measured as amount of baseline compliance) of the donation context negatively predicted the magnitude of the DITF effect. It is argued social responsibility theory best accounts for observed moderator factors.

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.

Measuring the Effectiveness of Mass-Mediated Health Campaigns Through Meta-Analysis

A meta-analytic review was undertaken to examine the effects of mass communication campaigns on changes in behavior, knowledge, and self-efficacy in the general public. A review of the academic literature was undertaken and identified 1,638 articles from 1966 through 2012. Using strict inclusion criteria, we included 63 studies for coding and analyses. Results from these efforts indicated that campaigns produced positive effects in behavior change (r = .05, k = 61) and knowledge (r = .10, k = 26) but failed to produce significant increases in self-efficacy (r = .02, k = 14). Several moderators (e.g., health topic, the theory underlying the campaign) were examined in relation to campaign principles that are prescribed to increase campaign effects. The major findings are reviewed, and the implications for future campaign design are discussed.

Providing Social Support in a Persuasive Context: Forms of Social Support Reported by Organ Procurement Coordinators

Eighty-five organ procurement coordinators (OPCs) completed face-to-face interviews designed to elicit the emotional and instrumental social support strategies communicated to potential donor families throughout the request for deceased organ donation. OPCs identified six forms of emotional support and eight forms of instrumental support, with greater reported use of instrumental support strategies. In terms of instrumental support, OPCs most frequently ensured in-hospital comfort (61.2%) or met the nutritional needs of family members (51.8%). With respect to emotional support, OPCs most often expressed sympathy (31.8%) to families and provided support in the form of physical contact (27.1%) with family members. Identifying the forms of social support used by OPCs is a first step toward understanding the strategies that are more (or less) effective in achieving persuasive and support goals.

A Journal-Level Analysis of Health Communication

Citation data from 2006 through 2008 were used to examine the journal citation network of Health Communication in comparison to 26 related journals indexed by Journal Citation Reports, a database published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) Web of Knowledge. A recently advanced journal relatedness factor based on out-degree (i.e., cited journals) and in-degree (i.e., citing journals) citations was used to determine the network of peer journals. Results indicate Health Communication serves to link communication and health-related journals. Data were also reported on journal impact and 5-year journal impact factors. When compared to ISI-indexed communication journals, Health Communication is consistently ranked in the top 25% across impact factors and citations to the journal are consistent over the 7 years of analysis from 2002 through 2008. Methods of increasing the impact of Health Communication among journals in social sciences are discussed.

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.

A Department of Motor Vehicle–Based Intervention to Promote Organ Donor Registrations in New York State:

Context: Examination of efficacy of motor vehicle representative educational training and dissemination of promotional materials as a means to promote organ donation enrollments in New York State. Objective: To increase the number of New York State residents who consent to donation through the department of motor vehicle transactions during project period. Setting: County-run motor vehicle offices across New York State. Participants: Customers who present to New York Department of Motor Vehicle offices and the representative who work at designated bureaus. Interventions: point-of-decision materials including promotional posters, brochures, website, and the motor vehicle representative training sessions. Main Outcome Measures: Reasons for enrollment decision, knowledge/experience with donation, monthly consent rates, enrollment in state organ, and tissue registry. Results: Customers who elected not to register reported no reason or uncertainty surrounding enrollment. The representatives reported experience with donation, discussion with customers, and need for additional education on organ donation. Enrollment cards were mailed to 799 project staff; counties where offices participated in intervention did not indicate significantly higher monthly enrollments when comparing pre- to postenrollment rates. Conclusions: Use of point-of-decision materials and enrollment cards proved inexpensive method to register customers with a 3.6% return rate. Customers report low (27%) enrollment rate and reticence to consent to donation. Educational training sessions with representatives did not yield significant enrollment increases when evaluating data at county-level enrollment.