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Health information needs and seeking behaviors among korean mothers of young children in the United States
Author(s) -
Lee Hanseul Stephanie
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
proceedings of the association for information science and technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.193
H-Index - 14
ISSN - 2373-9231
DOI - 10.1002/pra2.2015.145052010064
Subject(s) - breastfeeding , medicine , physical health , psychology , gerontology , family medicine , pediatrics , psychiatry , mental health
Previous studies have noted mothers’ roles as active health information seekers, health managers, and caregivers for their family members. However, little is known about health information needs and seeking behaviors among Korean mothers of young children living in the United States. Using paper‐based surveys, this study found that vaccination, child dental health, parenting, nutrition and diets, and physical exercise were ranked as the five most important topics by the Korean mothers of young children aged 0 to 10 years old in this sample. Furthermore, this study revealed that mothers of boys evaluated the importance of the following two topics significantly higher than those of girls: circumcision ( t = 3.16, p < .01 ) and breastfeeding ( t = 2.47, p < .05 ). Also, age of child was an important factor influencing mothers’ information needs in three health topics: child dental health ( F = 5.292, p < .01 ), physical exercise ( F = 7.107, p < .01 ), and child skin care ( F = 5.640, p < .01 ). Implications for developing health information services are discussed.