title: How do readers choose to undergo treatments based on medical articles?
abstract: The purpose of this study is to study the reader's cognitive process in reading medical articles and its influence on the decision-making process. Twenty-four participants completed a survey pertaining to 36 medical articles on new treatments with similar text structures and similar titles. Participants rated each article on its level of interest, informativeness, and reliability, and were asked whether they would choose the treatments in the news article. A cognitive decision-making model can be applied to health contexts, in which the reader's subjective ratings on interest, informativeness, and reliability were positively associated with choosing new treatments. The decision-making process path from the perception of informativeness was mediated by the reliability of the news article. Interest was positively linked to informativeness, although it was not directly associated with reliability. This study shows that readers' subjective ratings on health information can indicate their decision-making. Artifacts in the information that might incite emotions or interest, such as framing, can affect the reader's decision-making process.
authors.affiliation: Acupuncture & Meridian Science Research Center, College of Korean Medicine, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ye-Seul
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Jeongjoo
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seongsu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Joo
authors.forename: Byeongho
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Go
authors.forename: Hyangsook
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Younbyoung
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chae
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003657:Decision Making; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008490:Medical Informatics; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D057240:Patient Preference; D011932:Reading; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012494:Sampling Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult