Human search for information is a constant and instinctual act Search is a problem-solving. goal-oriented behavior. With the rise of the computer, searching has quickly manifested itself into a digital activity. Searching the internet for information is a ubiquitous act. In some situations, there are information seeking circumstances where a…

In team-based medical tasks, digital tools facilitate information among medical experts to support patient safety. Although generally beneficial, Electronic Health Records (EHRs) have not completely mitigated communication and clinical decision errors. The design of systems meant to facilitate information-transfer among care teams has been…

A qualitative study was performed to evaluate the experiences and perceptions of Hispanic senior adults with health literacy while accessing the healthcare system. Research has shown that Hispanic Americans experience health inequalities due to low health literacy. Patients with low health literacy have trouble following medical directions and…

Health literacy is widespread, but its potential is not recognized. By not recognizing health literacy, patients have the burden of coping with diabetes with renal complications without full knowledge of their responsibility to their health. The focus of the project was to assess participants with diabetes with low health literacy and low mean…

This research study investigated the perceptions of health care professionals regarding a newly defined set of health literacy competencies. A key step in the development of professional competency statements is to solicit the opinions and feedback of individuals currently practicing or working within the appropriate setting. Health literacy and…

Limited health literacy is a national public health problem contributing to adverse health outcomes and increasing healthcare costs. Both health and educational systems are intervention points for improvement; however, there is paucity in empirical research regarding the role of educational systems. This needs assessment study explored health…

This research study employed a mixed method sequential approach and investigated the number of Schools of Medicine within the United States that offer health literacy as a component of their curriculum and a course of study within the academic setting. Data were gathered from medical school surveys and personal interviews. Curriculum content,…

Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States, but they are the most underserved population in terms of access to online health information. The specific aims of this descriptive, correlational study were to examine factors associated with online health information seeking behaviors of Hispanics and to examine the…

This study investigated college students' attitudes toward and intentions to use personal health portals (PHPs) for managing their personal health information using a survey method. The study also aimed to examine the roles electronic Personal Health Information Management (PHIM) anxiety and apathy play in influencing students' attitudes toward…

Nursing homes are considered lagging behind in adopting health information technology (HIT). Many studies have highlighted the use of HIT as a means of improving health care quality. However, these studies overwhelmingly do not provide empirical information proving that HIT can actually achieve these improvements. The main research goal of this…

Health information exchange (HIE) is the process of electronically sharing patient-level information among different organizations with the objectives of quality and cost improvements. The adoption of HIE in the United States is not widespread, but numerous efforts at facilitating HIE exist and the incentives for electronic health record system…

The primary purpose of this case study was to determine if the university under study had adequate health-related programs, services, and supports in place to develop health-literate young adults. A secondary purpose was to identify strengths and gaps in these university health-related programs, services, and supports, which, if addressed, could…

Patient health literacy skills are critical to effective healthcare communication and safe care delivery in primary care settings. Methods and strategies to identify patient health literacy (HL) capabilities and provider/staff knowledge, attitudes and beliefs (KAB) regarding HL must be known before addressing provider/staff communication skills.…

Health literacy involves basic reading and numeracy, which allow a person to function as a health care consumer, by reading, understanding, evaluating and using information in health documents. For thirty years, the gap between the reading level of most of the public, eighth grade, and the reading level of most written health information, above…

Little is known about how Deaf people perceive, access, and utilize interpersonal and media sources for health information. In light of the scarcity of research on health information management among this group, a two-phase study was conducted that included eight focus groups (N=39) and survey data (N=366) with Deaf participants to determine the…