title: Online health information seeking behaviors of Hispanics in New York City: a community-based cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The emergence of the Internet has increased access to health information and can facilitate active individual engagement in health care decision making. Hispanics are the fastest-growing minority group in the United States and are also the most underserved in terms of access to online health information. A growing body of literature has examined correlates of online health information seeking behaviors (HISBs), but few studies have included Hispanics.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The specific aim of this descriptive, correlational study was to examine factors associated with HISBs of Hispanics.
  
  
  METHODS
  The study sample (N=4070) was recruited from five postal zip codes in northern Manhattan for the Washington Heights Inwood Informatics Infrastructure for Comparative Effectiveness Research project. Survey data were collected via interview by bilingual community health workers in a community center, households, and other community settings. Data were analyzed using bivariate analyses and logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Among individual respondents, online HISBs were significantly associated with higher education (OR 3.03, 95% CI 2.15-4.29, P<.001), worse health status (OR 0.42, 95% CI 0.31-0.57, P<.001), and having no hypertension (OR 0.60, 95% CI 0.43-0.84, P=.003). Online HISBs of other household members were significantly associated with respondent factors: female gender (OR 1.60, 95% CI 1.22-2.10, P=.001), being younger (OR 0.75, 95% CI 0.62-0.90, P=.002), being married (OR 1.36, 95% CI 1.09-1.71, P=.007), having higher education (OR 1.80, 95% CI 1.404-2.316, P<.001), being in worse health (OR 0.59, 95% CI 0.46-0.77, P<.001), and having serious health problems increased the odds of their household members' online HISBs (OR 1.83, 95% CI 1.29-2.60, P=.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This large-scale community survey identified factors associated with online HISBs among Hispanics that merit closer examination. To enhance online HISBs among Hispanics, health care providers and policy makers need to understand the cultural context of the Hispanic population. Results of this study can provide a foundation for the development of informatics-based interventions to improve the health of Hispanics in the United States.
authors.affiliation: Division of Health and Biomedical Informatics, Department of Preventive Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States. young.lee3@northwestern.edu.
authors.forename: Young Ji
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6359-4721
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3752-329X
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boden-Albala
authors.forename: Elaine
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5639-7770
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Larson
authors.forename: Adam
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6305-735X
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wilcox
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6202-6001
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bakken
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003197:Computer Literacy; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003625:Data Collection; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006630:Hispanic or Latino / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009519:New York City
keywords: Internet; consumer health information; health behavior; hispanic Americans; information seeking behavior
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