Public Health Informatics Results (1)

.docx

School

The University of Nairobi *

*We aren’t endorsed by this school

Course

AEB 302

Subject

Health Science

Date

Nov 24, 2024

Type

docx

Pages

7

Uploaded by kww001

Report
1 Effects of Access to Public Health Information on Patients’ Health Awareness and Education Name Institution Professor’s Name Date
2 Results Uptake of Preventative Healthcare Practices due to Public Health Information Resources Various studies have examined the effect that access to public health information resources has on people’s uptake of preventative healthcare services. Jacobs et al. (2017) conducted a study to investigate the factors that determine health-seeking behavior via the internet and other media among adults in the United States. The researchers obtained data for their study from the Health Information National Trends Survey conducted between 2011 and 2014. The authors found that the majority of people use the internet to find health information. Moreover, during the three-year period that Jacobs et al. (2017) reviewed, the proportion of people accessing health information via the internet increased from 42 percent to 46 percent. Appendix A shows the trends that the authors observed in the use of internet resources for health information among American adults. A similar study was conducted by Ahadzadeh et al. (2018), who investigated online health-seeking habits among women. The researchers found that individuals who use internet resources to find information about their health and wellness are likelier to practice preventative health and lifestyle habits (Ahadzadeh et al., 2018). However, while discussing the findings of their study, Ahadzadeh et al. (2018) noted that people who are already health conscious are likely to both seek health information from the internet, and also to observe preventative health and lifestyle habits. Garmache et al. (2018) conducted a study to identify current trends relating to the use of public and population health information resources. In the study, the researchers found that the proportion of providers and health agencies who routinely use informatics resources has trended upwards in recent times, and the trend is expected to continue over the coming decades
3 (Garnache et al., 2018). In particular, the researchers explained that public health professionals and organizations are adept at utilizing informatics tools and resources for functions like evaluating indicators relating to determinants of health (Garnache et al., 2018). However, the general public does not demonstrate a similar aptitude for health informatics (Garnache et al., 2018). A study by Polinski et al. (2018) investigated how effective the integration of MyHealthFinder into pharmaceutical services was at improving the uptake of preventative health services among patients. The study used as quasi-experimental design and compared the levels of engagement with the MyHealthFinder application to variables like vaccination rates, and clinical visits for preventative health consults (Polinski et al., 2018). These findings are corroborated by Hilfiker et al. (2019), who assert that access to digital health information can influence consumers to seek the preventative health services that are recommended for them, such as vaccinations and screenings for chronic and communicable diseases. The study by Polinksi et al. (2018) also found that patients who used MyHealthFinder were likelier to receive pneumococcal and influenza immunizations. However, the authors found no significant differences in the adoption of other non-vaccination preventative services among the patients, such as diabetes screening and tobacco cessation counselling (Polinski et al., 2018). Furthermore, only 1.6 percent of the patients who received pharmaceutical services used MyHealthFinder application, indicating generally low levels of engagement. Brewer et al. (2020) conducted a study that investigated the utilization of informatics applications for health promotion among disadvantaged populations. The study, which used a case study approach, found that technological tools like health monitoring applications have the potential to improve the health of individuals who contend with health disparities. However, the
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help
4 study also found that certain factors work against the adoption of health informatics among vulnerable populations. The first barrier that Brewer et al. (2020) identified was the economic or financial constraints that hinder some vulnerable populations from affording technological tools and applications. The second barrier is the fact that many commercial health informatics applications that are intended for the public are not tailored specifically to suit the needs of underrepresented groups, which are also usually more vulnerable compared to the general population (Brewer et al., 2020). Another challenge is the lack of awareness of informatics applications and services among vulnerable groups, which prevents people from using the publicly available resources that they ought to use to improve their health and wellness (Brewer et al., 2020). Barriers to the Use of Public Health Informatics Applications Some studies featured in the review focused on the barriers that prevent consumers from accessing and using public health informatics applications like MyHealthFinder, thus allowing people to experience the intended benefits of the platforms. Adams et al. (2020) conducted a study that reviewed trends in the use of quality, evidence-based resources for health information. The researchers found that several web-based resources are accessible to the public, and are designed specifically for ordinary users rather than health professionals. Some notable public health agencies that maintain such web-based resources include the National Library of Medicine, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Adams et al., 2020). However, the researchers found that awareness of these public health informatics resources is lacking among health consumers. Based on this finding, the researchers recommended the orchestration of public health awareness campaigns to inform consumers about these useful resources.
5 A similar study by Hilfiker et al. (2019) explored the challenges and opportunities associated with the use of public health informatics resources by health consumers. In the study, the authors asserted that there are numerous health information resources accessible for free via the internet. However, the authors noted that several challenges prevent health consumers from using these resources properly (Hilfiker et al., 2019). The first challenge is that ordinary people, including those who are highly literate, may struggle to comprehend the context and complexity of nuanced health information (Hilfiker et al., 2019). A study by Mustafa et al. (2022) investigated the factors that contribute to the abandonment of digital health information applications. Appendix B shows the common functions that health consumers use health informatics tools for. The cross-sectional survey featured 209 health consumers from around the world. In the study, the authors found that the major contributors to the abandonment of health information applications are the lack of motivation or incentive to continue using the applications, and the tendency among consumers to experiment with different applications with the intention of identifying the one that suits their needs best (Mustafa et al., 2022). The researchers emphasized the need for affordable applications that feature the information and functionalities that consumers need and offer easy access to such information at reasonable rates (Mustafa et al., 2022).
6 References Ahadzadeh, A. S., Pahlevan Sharif, S., & Sim Ong, F. (2018). Online health information seeking among women: the moderating role of health consciousness. Online Information Review , 42 (1), 58-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/OIR-02-2016-0066 Brewer, L. C., Fortuna, K. L., Jones, C., Walker, R., Hayes, S. N., Patten, C. A., & Cooper, L. A. (2020). Back to the future: achieving health equity through health informatics and digital health. JMIR mHealth and uHealth , 8 (1), e14512. Gamache, R., Kharrazi, H., & Weiner, J. P. (2018). Public and population health informatics: the bridging of big data to benefit communities. Yearbook of medical informatics , 27 (01), 199-206. Hilfiker, S. W., Santana, S., Freedman, M., & Harris, L. M. (2019). There’sa gap between digital health information and users—let’s close it. Information Services & Use , 39 (1-2), 15-22. Jacobs, W., Amuta, A. O., & Jeon, K. C. (2017). Health information seeking in the digital age: An analysis of health information seeking behavior among US adults. Cogent Social Sciences , 3 (1), 1302785. https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2017.1302785 Mustafa, A. S., Ali, N. A., Dhillon, J. S., Alkawsi, G., & Baashar, Y. (2022, January). User engagement and abandonment of mHealth: a cross-sectional survey. In Healthcare (Vol. 10, No. 2, p. 221). MDPI. Polinski, J. M., Harris, L. M., Shrank, W. H., Sussman, A., & Barron, J. (2018, September). Impact of a patient engagement tool on preventive service uptake. In Healthcare (Vol. 6, No. 3, pp. 162-167). Elsevier.
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
  • Access to all documents
  • Unlimited textbook solutions
  • 24/7 expert homework help
7 Appendices Appendix A: Trends in the use of the Internet and other sources for health information Sourced from Jacobs et al. (2017). Appendix B: Common functions of digital health information applications Sourced from Mustafa et al. (2022).