Health Information Seeking, Source Trust, and Culture: A Comparative Analysis of Health Information Trends and Needs Between Guam and the United States

Overview

Journal J Health Commun

Specialties Health Services
Public Health

Date 2016 Mar 18

PMID 26983674

Citations 12

Authors

Lilnabeth P Somera

Hye-Ryeon Lee

Grazyna Badowski

Kevin Cassel

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Unlabelled: The Guam population offers a unique glimpse into Americans of Pacific Island ancestry and their communication and information-seeking behaviors, experiences, and needs relevant to cancer. National surveys do not typically include the U.S. territories, so there are limited data on the health and cancer information-seeking behaviors of these populations, in which health disparities persist. To fill this information gap, we conducted a survey on health communication in Guam using a modified version of the Health Information National Trends Survey instrument supplemented with items measuring specific cultural factors and communication practices. The results of the survey (N = 511) revealed some differences in health and cancer information-seeking patterns in Guam and the mainland United States. Sociodemographic variables, including sex, age, education, income, and employment, were significantly associated with health and cancer information seeking and Internet use. Levels of trust in various information sources were differentiated in the Guam and mainland U.S.

Samples: Logistic regression models revealed differences in factors predicting health and cancer information seeking and Internet use. The results suggest that these health information-seeking patterns and factors should be taken into account when developing communication strategies for more effective prevention and control programs.

Citing Articles

Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, Practices Regarding Human Papillomavirus (HPV), and Barriers to Vaccination Against HPV Infection: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Guam Residents.

Mendez A, Somera L, Badowski G, Mummert A, Castro L, Antolin A Hawaii J Health Soc Welf. 2024; 83(2):54-60.

PMID: 38344697 PMC: 10850866.

Perceived Barriers and Benefits of COVID-19 Testing among Pacific Islanders on Guam.

Leon Guerrero R, Mummert A, Rios D, Mian N, Cruz T, Siriwardhana C Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023; 20(13).

PMID: 37444149 PMC: 10341953. DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20136302.

Count on trust: the indirect effect of trust in government on policy compliance with health behavior instructions.

Goren T, Vashdi D, Beeri I Policy Sci. 2022; 55(4):593-630.

PMID: 36405103 PMC: 9665042. DOI: 10.1007/s11077-022-09481-3.

Acculturation and Cancer Risk Behaviors among Pacific Islanders in Hawaii.

Cassel K, Willingham M, Lee H, Somera L, Badowski G, Pagano I Ethn Dis. 2020; 30(4):593-602.

PMID: 32989359 PMC: 7518534. DOI: 10.18865/ed.30.4.593.

Trends and Predictors of COVID-19 Information Sources and Their Relationship With Knowledge and Beliefs Related to the Pandemic: Nationwide Cross-Sectional Study.

Ali S, Foreman J, Tozan Y, Capasso A, Jones A, DiClemente R JMIR Public Health Surveill. 2020; 6(4):e21071.

PMID: 32936775 PMC: 7546863. DOI: 10.2196/21071.

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