Value of Evaluation: A Study of Cancer Patients’ and Caregivers’ Evaluation of Health Information Sources

• In Event: Online and Health Information Seeking: High-Density Panel in Health Communication

Abstract

This study examines how cancer patients and caregivers evaluate diverse sources of healthcare information and compares the differences in their evaluations. Data for this study was collected from the Multimedia Audience Research Systems Pharmaceutical Study, a nation-wide study that includes a list-enhanced oversample to include the households having someone who had certain diseases. This study was restricted to 2,229 cancer patients and 1,370 caregivers out of the total of 19,420 respondents. Results showed doctors were the most highly valued source for healthcare information. Among the mediated communication sources, print media were rated to have higher values than broadcasting media. The internet was evaluated as low as radio. This study also demonstrated that cancer caregivers valued most of the healthcare information sources higher than cancer patients. The propensity score matching technique was employed and confirmed those findings. This study provides valuable information for designing and implementing cancer-related media campaigns and interventions.

Authors

• Kang Namkoong, University of Kentucky

• Tae Joon Moon, U of Wisconsin-Madison

• Sojung Claire Kim, High Point University

• Ming-yuan Chih, U of Kentucky

• Dhavan Shah, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison