Contextualizing Healthcare Communication: Determinants of Trust in Information about Cancer

• In Event: 193 - Regular Session. Decision Making and Trust in Health Care

Abstract

Having access to reliable and current information about health has become a core feature of modern health systems. New participatory models of healthcare encourage patients and their families to directly engage in healthcare decision-making and to acquire information to inform these decisions. At the same time, the internet has enabled individuals outside of the medical community to acquire medical knowledge and, therefore, has dominated discussions of health communication; however, heterogeneity in healthcare preferences likely remains. This study advances a sociological understanding of healthcare communication by analyzing trust in information about cancer. Using data from the 2013 wave of the Health Information National Trends Survey, I first analyze factors that predict high trust in five sources of information: doctors, family/friends, internet, television, newspapers/magazines. Next, I build a “competitive” model of trust preferences to analyze who trusts, for example, newspapers more than the internet. Results indicate that race, age, and medical history influence trust preferences. For example, people who have experienced cancer are less likely to trust information from the internet. These results suggest that healthcare information should not solely be distributed through a single source, such as the internet, but must remain a multi-faceted effort given the heterogeneity of the American public.

Author

• Ryan Light, University of Oregon