• Journal of the Korean Society for Library and Information Science
• /
• v.51 no.4
• /
• pp.161-181
• /
• 2017

The present study aimed at investigating health information seeking behaviors of health information consumers who changed their health behaviors by using mobile health applications according to the dynamic stages of change. For this purpose, the study analyzed the changes of perception, health information needs and seeking behaviors of health information consumers in each stage by employing Stages of Change as a theoretical framework. A total of 30 college students participated in this study to change health behaviors such as smoking or alcohol cessation, and regular exercise, while using health applications for 3 months; then written interviews were conducted with these students based on their experiences. Findings indicated that the study participants used diverse information sources, including social media and the Internet, seeking for different types of sources of information according to information needs. Above all, the health information needs and seeking behaviors examined in active utilization of health applications by consumers in the stage of action suggest the implications of health information services, particularly through health applications. In addition, stress management and relapse that consumers experienced while attempting health behavior changes, and the positive and negative effects of behavior changes inform health information providers of insights for supporting consumers' changes of health behaviors.

• Journal of the Korean Society for information Management
• /
• v.36 no.4
• /
• pp.161-181
• /
• 2019

People begin to recognize sexual orientation or gender identity in adolescence, and adolescents frequently use an accessible and anonymous anonymity knowledge retrieval community to explore sensitive health information about gender. This study attempted to observe their information search behavior based on questions and answers about adolescents' gender identity in the knowledge retrieval community. First, we wanted to examine their information needs and to investigate what factors they preferred to answer by comparing the characteristics of the answers adopted with the non-adopted answers among the answers provided in the questions they shared. To this end, Naver, Korea's representative knowledge search community. In Knowledge-iN, a total of 358 sets of data were analyzed, consisting of responses adopted over three years from January 2016 to December 2018. As a result, adolescents with concerns about gender identity demanded information about definition or confusion about gender identity. In the responses adopted by the users, the factors that gave empathy and positive feelings were higher than those that were not adopted, whereas the negative responses were higher in the unaccepted answers. This study is meaningful in that it analyzes the information needs and information search behaviors of adolescents with no established gender identity, expands the discussion in the information search field, and confirms cognitive and emotional models for information evaluation of health information users. Also, based on the research results, we propose practical implications for effective information services on gender identity that social media should provide to young people.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
• /
• v.52 no.1
• /
• pp.279-300
• /
• 2021

The present study aimed to investigate the information needs and information seeking behavior of consumers who attempted to quit or maintain the ceasing of smoking and analyze the effects of the health information obtained at different stages. In particular, we examined how consumers use mobile health applications(health apps) as aids to change unhealthy behaviors and how their use of health apps influence health behavior changes. For 7 months from December 2017 to July 2018, the researchers observed changes in smoking behaviors of college students who use smoking-cessation apps and conducted face-to-face interviews. Regarding the effects of smoking-cessation apps, the participants in the action stage reported that they were encouraged to quit smoking by visualized information such as the number of days of smoking cessation, change of health status, and the saving of money due to smoking cessation. The participants in the maintenance stage highlighted that smoking cessation apps were helpful in recognizing the importance and achievement of smoking cessation by sharing experiences and social support with other attempters in the app community. The study provided theoretical implications in the field of information behavior in that it identified the particular types of information needs and information-seeking behavior of the consumers who were using mobile apps in their behavior modification process. In addition, those findings can contribute to designing the contents of the smoking cessation apps that reflect the information needs of those who attempt to cease smoking and further suggest practical insights to health information services that promote effective information intervention strategies in health behavior change.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
• /
• v.16 no.5
• /
• pp.3268-3275
• /
• 2015

The goals of this study are understanding the state of improvement of university students' health behavior who are about to graduate and have to consider their health for getting a job according to the way of access and achieving health information and suggesting effective way to improve health behavior. 224 people who responded to the survey which was conducted at some universities in Kyungpook area are selected as a subject of final analysis. The analysis result of internet searching was more meaningful than the analysis result of TV programs or books regarding health. And the older grade(B=.103, p=.007), the more access to health information(B=.137, p=.008) and the higher score of existing health behavior(B=.431, p=.000) the score of improvement of health behavior was increased. Internet searching for health information is the most popular thing because information can be easily get after searching what you want immediately. TV program regarding health has better quality than the information on the internet because of the appearance of health professionals giving health information on TV but it is difficult to watch TV program whenever you want. However the separation between books, TV program and internet is obscured in that the books and TV program can be turned into replay and e-book on internet.

• Journal of Korean Library and Information Science Society
• /
• v.46 no.3
• /
• pp.171-199
• /
• 2015

This study analyzed the access to health-related information by migrant marriage women in Korea. Specifically, this study examined major issues, problems, and solutions related to immigrant women's experiences of seeking health related information while they struggle to settle down. It also analyzed the barriers to accomplish their purposes. For this, the study collected interview data from 12 informants and analyzed the transcript by utilizing qualitative data analysis software, Nvivo10. It has been revealed that migrant marriage women have experienced difficulties to obtain quality health information although they tend to have more health related problems than their time in homelands because of marriage, pregnancy, and patriarchal family culture in a new environment. It is expected that the results of the study will have the government and public agencies alerted the importance of public health information to migrant marriage women, and provide them with implications to build proper strategies.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
• /
• v.19 no.5
• /
• pp.436-447
• /
• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the health food consumption patterns and their relationship to dietary behavior in middle-aged women (45-60 years). Methods: The exclusive face-to-face interviews by well-trained interviewers guaranteed a scientific data collection and the quality of survey data of 731 women. Subjects were divided into two groups according to the intake of the health foods, 'Intake' group (${\geq}3.2$, n = 488) and 'Non-intake' group (n = 243). Data were analyzed using the SPSS 20.0 program. Results: The average age of the subjects was 49.8 years and 66.8% of subjects were taking the health foods. Vitamins and minerals were consumed by the subjects. The major reason for intake of health foods was that they provide nutrient supplements may prevent diseases. More than 70% of the subjects reported checking nutrition information, ingredients, recommended daily intakes, instructions, when they bought the health foods. The average dietary life score of the intake group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the non-intake group. In analysis of exploratory factors of dietary life, the intake group showed significantly higher score (p < 0.001) in 'moderation of food intake' among the 4 exploratory factors. Conclusions: These results showed that women who took health foods had better dietary behavior than others suggesting a positive relation between the dietary behavior and the health food consumption. Therefore, we suggest that developing guidelines and then educating women about those guidelines could improve the ability of choosing health foods appropriately for their own benefit.