رفتارهای جست و جوی اطلاعات سلامت آنلاین اسپانیایی زبان ها در شهر نیویورک: یک مطالعه مقطعی مبتنی بر جامعه Online Health Information Seeking Behaviors of Hispanics in New York City: A Community-Based Cross-Sectional Study

Introduction Since the Internet has become a promising source of health information for the general public and a target of health information seeking behaviors (HISBs), the use of the Internet for health purposes is an important topic [1-6]. Those living in metropolitan areas with populations larger than 250,000 have been more likely to access the Internet than residents of rural communities [7-9]. Moreover, individuals residing in urban areas are more likely to use the Internet to seek health-related information [3,9]. Although use of the Internet differs by geographic location, social and economic disparities such as geographic distribution of race and ethnicity groups likely account for those differences [9,10]. Hispanics are the most underserved population in the US in terms of access to online health information because of limited opportunities for education and employment and an increased prevalence of poverty [10-13]. According to the US Census Bureau, 16% of the US population (50.5 million) identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino in 2010 [14]. Of Hispanic Internet users, 66% have used the Internet for searching health information. However, non-Hispanic whites and African Americans are more likely to seek health information through the Internet: 73% and 69% respectively [15]. Reducing the inequality of access to health information is linked to reducing and preventing an unequal burden of disease. In 2010, the Department of Health and Human Services launched “Healthy People 2020”, which included an objective “to increase the proportion of online health information seekers who report that they can easily access health information” [۱۶]. To meet this objective, the characteristics of individuals who search for health information via the Internet needed to be identified [17,18]. A growing body of literature has examined correlates of online HISBs; however, to our knowledge, there are few such studies about the Hispanic community. As a part of a larger study, the Washington Heights Inwood Informatics Infrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research (WICER) project, our study aimed to examine factors associated with online HISBs among Hispanics. Methods Theoretical Framework Bodie and Dutta’s Integrative Model of eHealth Use [19] informed the development of the research question and selection of study variables for our study: What demographic, situational, and literacy factors (health and computer literacy) are associated with online HISBs among Hispanic survey respondents and other members of the same household? According to the model, variables such as demographics, situational, personal, and cultural factors affect the use of the Internet for obtaining health information [19]. Differences in these variables may contribute to health disparities and a digital divide between people who have and people who do not have access to Internet technology [19]. This model suggests that disparities in social structures such as socioeconomic factors lead to individual-level differences in motivation and online health information seeking ability. The difference in online HISBs causes disparities in lifestyle that are related to health outcomes and continue to contribute to health care disparities [19].