Table 4.

Associated variables of information-seeking behaviour

Category of associated variable	Category of information-seeking behaviour	Specific associated variables	Study
Quantitative studies
Demographic	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Older and female participants show reduced information seeking	[5]
	Information sources	Younger participants often use Internet to find health information	[5, 24, 36, 38, 41]
		Male participants prefer ophthalmologists	[5]
		Male and younger participants prefer broadcast media as a source	[5]
		Female uses Internet more often for health information	[38]
		Older participants prefer Internet as a source	[42]
		Participants born outside Australia prefer Internet as a source	[42]
		Immigrants (Canadian) prefer family and friends as a source of information	[10]
		Immigrants (Canadian) use physicians less than Canadian-born	[10]
	Content of information	A younger age is related to searching for information about exercise	[5]
		A younger age is related to searching for complications	[5]
		A younger age is related to searching for information about hypoglycaemia	[5]
		A younger age is related to searching for dietary issues	[5]
Role-related/interpersonal	Types of information-seeking behaviour	People with DM with a family history of DM have significantly higher average information-seeking behaviour scores of active information receipt and interpersonal relationships	[44]
	Information sources	Receiving information from people and from novel media, and the effect of information according to the patient, was significantly higher for people with diabetes during pregnancy compared with prediabetes and diabetes.	[44]
Source characteristics	Information sources	Unorganised information appears to act as a barrier for younger people with diabetes	[5]
Socioeconomic	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Lower education level is related to reduced seeking behaviour	[5]
		Participants with a lower income show reduced information seeking	[5]
	Information sources	Higher education level is related to a preference for a combination of verbal and written information	[24]
		Higher education level is related to Internet use	[24, 36, 41]
		Particularly, patients with lower education level prefer physicians as their main source of information	[5]
		Lower education level is related to a preference for verbal communication	[24]
		A higher income is related to Internet use	[5, 36, 41]
		A lower income is related to a preference for physicians as the main source of information	[5]
	Content of information	Higher education level is related to information needs about complications	[5]
		Higher education level is related to information needs about hypoglycaemia	[5]
		Higher education level is related to information needs about exercise	[5]
		A higher income is related to information needs about complications	[5]
		A higher income is related to information needs about exercise	[5]
Duration of DM	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Longer duration of DM is related to reduced seeking	[5, 44]
	Information sources	Longer duration of DM is related to preference for ophthalmologists	[5]
		Shorter duration of DM is related to Internet use	[5, 36, 41]
	Content of information	Shorter duration of DM is related to information needs about exercise	[5]
		Shorter duration of DM is related to information needs about hypoglycaemia	[5]
		Longer duration of DM is related to information needs about foot complications	[5]
Lifestyle	Information sources	Human information behaviour is related to BMI and fitness level: lower self-reported fitness level and higher BMI are related to higher desire for tailored information	[22]
		Higher BMI is related to Internet use	[41]
	Content of information	Higher BMI is related to information seeking about nutrition	[22]
Qualitative studies
Demographic	Information sources	Different demographic factors, e.g. gender	[28]
		In an older population, the minority use the Internet for health information seeking	[27]
Role-related/interpersonal	Information sources	Family as a motivator for using the Internet for health information seeking	[27]
Environmental	Information sources	Cultural aspects like a preference for herbal medicine or religious and spiritual beliefs could lead to an avoidance of healthcare professionals	[28]
Source characteristics	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Lower quality could maybe lead to less active seeking	[30]
Socioeconomic	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Higher education level is related to active seeking and a complex style of information-seeking behaviour	[28, 31]
		A higher income is related to a use of a more complex style of information-seeking behaviour	[31]
		A lower income is related to a use of simple styles of information-seeking behaviour	[31]
	Information sources	Higher education level is related to Internet use	[29]
Duration of DM	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Shorter duration of DM is related to passive seeking	[29]
		Short duration of DM is related to active seeking; longer duration leads to less active seeking	[30]
		Short duration of DM shows a search for baseline information and after a longer duration of DM more complex information seeking starts	[31]
	Information sources	Health professionals consulted in all phases of disease	[9, 29]
Mixed-methods studies
Demographic	Information sources	Black participants mainly obtain baseline information from a physician	[33]
Role-related/interpersonal	Content of information	For childbearing women, information about pregnancy and DM are most important	[34]
Source characteristics	Types of information seeking	Doctor motivates active seeking of information	[35]
		Trust as a factor influencing the use of Internet as a source	[33]
Socioeconomic	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Lower education level is related to reduced seeking behaviour and the perception of importance to learn more about DM	[12]
	Information sources	Higher education level is related to Internet use	[34]
		Lower education level is related to the use of special websites	[33]
Duration of DM	Types of information-seeking behaviour	Short duration of DM is related to active seeking; longer duration leads to less active seeking	[12]