Associations of online health information seeking with health behaviors of cancer survivors

Authors

• Zhaoli Liu, University of Texas at Arlington
• Yue Liao, University of Texas at Arlington
• Chueh-Lung Hwang, University of Texas at Arlington
• Chad D. Rethorst
• Xiaoli Zhang

Document Type

Article

Source Publication Title

Digital Health

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1177/20552076241238074

Abstract

Objective

To examine the effects of online health information seeking (OHIS) behavior on five health behaviors (regular physical activity, less sedentary, calorie checking, no alcohol consumption, and no smoking) among adult cancer survivors in the United States.

Methods

A cross-sectional analysis was conducted with adult cancer survivors (≥18 years old) from Cycles 2, 3, and 4 of the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). The respondents self-reported OHIS, and the data on the five health behaviors were pooled to perform descriptive and multivariable logistic regression analyses using Stata 17.0.

Results

Of the 1245 adult cancer survivors, approximately 74% reported OHIS behavior for themselves within the previous year of the survey. We found that OHIS was significantly and positively associated with the level of physical activity (odds ratio [OR] = 1.53, p = .002) and calorie checking (OR = 1.64, p = .001), but not with sedentary behavior, smoking, and alcohol consumption after adjusting for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, income, body mass index (BMI), marital status, depression, and general health.

Conclusions

Findings from this study suggest that most cancer survivors used various forms of digital tools and platforms to seek health information. The study also demonstrated an independent impact of OHIS behavior on physical activity and calorie checking. Healthcare professionals may need to encourage and guide cancer survivors to seek credible eHealth information and further utilize digital health tools as a platform for care delivery, promoting health behaviors and preventing adverse health outcomes among cancer survivors.

Publication Date

3-15-2024

Language

English

License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Recommended Citation

Liu, Zhaoli; Liao, Yue; Hwang, Chueh-Lung; Rethorst, Chad D.; and Zhang, Xiaoli, "Associations of online health information seeking with health behaviors of cancer survivors" (2024). SAGE Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive. 52.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/utalibraries_sageoapubs/52