The influence of individual differences on consumer's selection of online sources for health information

Abstract

Online sources for health information are becoming increasingly diverse, and these sources impact healthcare decision making. However, little is known about the factors influencing people's selection of online sources. Using the survey method, this study investigated how the individual characteristics of users influence their selection of five internet sources (search engines, social Q&A sites, online health communities (OHCs), social networking sites (SNSs), and crowdsourcing sites), for three distinct types of health search tasks (factual, exploratory, and personal experience). We found that individuals' source experience consistently predicted the selection of the four established sources (search engines, social Q&A sites, OHCs, and SNSs) for all types of tasks, whereas the selection of the comparatively new source, crowdsourcing sites, for all task types, was consistently predicted by race and preference for information. Health literacy was positively associated with the selection of search engines for all three types of search tasks, the selection of social Q&A sites for personal experience tasks, and the selection of OHCs for both exploratory and personal experience search tasks. Individuals with better health status were more likely to use SNSs for factual tasks. We also found some influence of personality. The findings suggest a need for interventions to reduce the divides in information access among user groups and for the development of technological innovations to tailor information delivery based on individual differences.