title: How do cancer patients navigate the public information environment? Understanding patterns and motivations for movement among information sources.
abstract: Little is known about how patients move among information sources to fulfill unmet needs. We interviewed 43 breast, prostate, and colorectal cancer patients. Using a grounded theory approach, we identified patterns and motivations for movement among information sources. Overall, patients reported using one source (e.g., newspaper) followed by the use of another source (e.g., Internet), and five key motivations for such cross-source movement emerged. Patients' social networks often played a central role in this movement. Understanding how patients navigate an increasingly complex information environment may help clinicians and educators to guide patients to appropriate, high-quality sources.
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence in Cancer Communication Research, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania, 3620 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. rnagler@asc.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Rebekah H
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Nagler
authors.forename: Anca
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Romantan
authors.forename: Bridget J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: Robin S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Stevens
authors.forename: Stacy W
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Shawnika J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Hull
authors.forename: A Susana
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Ramirez
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Hornik
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D009524:Newspapers as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011471:Prostatic Neoplasms / Q000517:prevention & control*