International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing

Purpose – This study aims to examine the relationships between consumer self-confidence in health information search and health-related outcomes (i.e. knowledge about cancer prevention, healthcare behavior, and use of the web as a primary source for health information). The associations between self-confidence in health information search and its predictors (i.e. health literacy and trust in health information sources) are explored as well.

Design/methodology/approach – This study used the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey data. Stepwise linear regression analyses, a logistic regression analysis, and stepwise multiple regression analyses were used to test the hypotheses.

Findings – The results from this study revealed that consumer self-confidence in health information search appears to be linked with perceptions of health literacy and trust in information sources, particularly, trust in health professionals (e.g. doctors, healthcare professionals, government health agencies, family and friends, the internet), but not in information-focused media (newspapers or magazines). Furthermore, as expected, consumer self-confidence in health information search determines two health-related outcomes, which are knowledge about cancer prevention and healthcare behavior.

Originality/value – The results of this study provide researchers with a better understanding about the key factors guiding consumers to have informed healthcare and enabling public health agencies to evaluate the effectiveness of their policies.