# Presentation: 162343

## Consumer Health Information in Allegheny CountyPittsburgh, PA

*An Environmental Scan*
- Project Conducted at the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs
- for the Jewish Healthcare Foundation
- Susan Elster, PhD
- April 17, 2001

## Jewish Healthcare Foundation

- Created by hospital sale
- Public charity
- Funds used in Southwestern PA to advance health
- Focus on systems change rather than program funding

## Problem?

- Significant potential impact on health of information technologies
- Lack of information on extent of use

**Notes:**
Say this is siwht

## Research Approach: Environmental Scan

- Advisory Panel
- Co-Chairs: Donald A.B. Lindberg, MD and Charles P. Friedman, PhD
- 18-Member Advisory Panel
- Funding Recipient: University of Pittsburgh, Graduate School of Public and International Affairs

## Project Goals

**To identify consumer information-seeking patterns, preferences and barriers**
**To describe the health information technologies currently used by consumers in Allegheny County**
**To make recommendations for improving consumer access to health information resources**

## Research Questions

- What precipitates a consumer’s search for health information?
- Where do consumers prefer to seek health information?
- Where do consumers actually seek health information?
- How do consumers evaluate sources of health information?
- What role do information technologies currently play in providing consumers with health information?

## Data Sources

- Pre-survey focus groups
- Telephone Survey
- Meetings with Disease-Specific Support Groups
- Library Patron Survey

## Focus Groups of Healthcare Consumers

- 41 Men and Women in four groups:
- Managing major health problem in last six months
- Managing no major health problem in last six months

## ConsumerHealth Information Seeking

- Contacting a Health Care Provider (HCP)
- Looking Elsewhere for Information
- Contacting an Insurance Company
- _Definitions_
- _Consumers _:  Caregivers as well as care receivers
- _Health care provider _: “A doctor, a nurse practitioner, a physician assistant, a mental health therapist or anyone else seen for health care.”

## Telephone Survey

- 1000 Allegheny County Adults
- Randomly-dialed telephone numbers
- 54 questions (maximum)
- Under 10 minutes

## Follow-up Methods

- Support Group Meetings
- Arthritis, diabetes, stroke, mental illness
- Via Surveys: breast cancer, cardiac care, AIDS
- Public Library Patron Survey
- Four branch locations
- Telephone reference unit

## Finding:	New Healthcare 				Consumer

_**Traditional Information Seekers**_
**Rely only on a HCP for information**
**48.1% of the sample**
_**New Information Seekers**_** **
**Rely on both a HCP and additional sources of information**
**26.4% of the sample**

## Finding:	After HCP, Internet 				most widely used			source

## Finding:	Mixed Evaluations 			of HCPs

## Finding: 	Limited Utility of Other			of non-HCP 						Information Sources 

## Finding:	HCP/Consumer			“Disconnect” 

## Information Distributed by HCPs

## Bringing Internet Information to HCPs

## Finding:	Internet Use Limited to		Information Seeking

## Finding:	Key Role of Public Libraries		in Providing Internet Access

## Summary of Major Findings 

- Emergence of a New Healthcare Consumer
- HCP-Consumer Communication Challenges
- Critical, on-going role played by HCPs
- Chronic illness and dissatisfaction with HCP
- “Disconnect” between HCPs and Consumers

## Summary of Major Findings, cont.

- Questionable Value of Information Resources
- Beyond Internet, Limited Use of Health Information Technologies by Consumers or HCPs
- Critical Role of Public Library in Providing Internet Access

## Future Funding Priorities:	Addressing Consumer 			Information Challenges

- Seeking ways to improve HCP-Consumer communication
- Finding ways to increase use of health information tools by HCPs and Consumers
- Evaluating special information needs of consumers with chronic illness
- Identifying barriers to better communication from  perspective of HCP
- Improving access to quality health information
- Exploring roles of information “gatekeepers”
- Enhancing role of public libraries