慢性病資訊消費者健康資訊行為及歷程中的資訊過載

Abstract

隨著社會的高齡化趨勢，健康問題日益受到重視。慢性病因病程長、復發率高且難以治癒，成為患者及照顧者沉重而長期的生活負擔。一般民眾可以透過廣泛流通的健康資訊加深對疾病與自我健康狀況的理解，然龐雜的健康資訊，不僅難以處理，更可能引發負面情緒，甚至阻礙醫病溝通。有鑑於此，本研究旨在探討慢性病資訊消費者的健康資訊行為、資訊使用過程中的資訊過載現象，以及資訊過載所涉及的資訊特徵。 研究採個案研究設計，主要透過半結構式訪談進行資料蒐集。研究者先透過非參與式觀察描繪研究對象資訊使用樣貌，包括慢性病資訊消費者的健康資訊需求、偏好與使用方式，後續再訪談18位腎臟疾病、癌症之患者與照顧者，指出其為理解疾病所展現的資訊行為包括驗證、詢問、紀錄、分享、篩選及採取行動等。此過程中，囿於知識落差與資訊品質不佳，導致資訊使用困難，並易產生資訊過載。其次，研究辨識慢性病患者與照顧者產生資訊過載後的行為，發現消費者面對大量且龐雜的健康資訊時會產生無法處理資訊的判斷，進而導致無法獨立進行健康決策的情況。最後，本研究解構資訊過載現象中的資訊特徵，除資訊量之外，多為價值層面的資訊特徵如相關、複雜度、新穎性、歧異、正確性。 本研究為少數橫跨不同病種且聚焦於患者與照顧者的健康資訊過載研究，從使用者角度出發，提出領域內未曾共同討論的資訊特徵，補充既有理論觀點，拓展相關理論的應用範疇。根據研究結果，建議健康資訊提供者優化內容整合與呈現方式，提供系統性的一站式閱讀材料，協助使用者更有效地獲取與理解；亦鼓勵健康資訊消費者提升資訊素養與健康素養，作為因應資訊過載的策略。

As societies age, health-related issues have become increasingly prominent. Chronic diseases place significant and long-term burdens on both patients and caregivers. While health information can enhance public understanding of diseases and personal health, its complexity and volume may hinder processing, induce negative emotions, and disrupt doctor-patient communication. This thesis investigates the health information behaviors of chronic disease information consumers, explores the phenomenon of information overload during their information-seeking processes, and analyzes the characteristics of information that contribute to overload. This study adopts a case study design, with data primarily collected through semi-structured interviews. Non-participant observation was first used to depict chronic disease information consumers’ information use patterns, including their health information needs, preferences, and behaviors. The main data consists of interviews with 18 individuals—patients and caregivers dealing with kidney disease or cancer. Findings indicate that participants demonstrated multiple information behaviors when understanding their disease: verification, inquiry, documentation, sharing, filtering, and taking action. However, due to knowledge gaps and poor information quality, they often faced difficulties in using information effectively, which led to experiences of information overload. Furthermore, when faced with excessive and fragmented health information, participants exhibited impaired judgment and often struggled to make independent health decisions. These findings advance understanding of information overload by examining both patients and caregivers across diverse disease contexts. We propose a novel user-perspective classification of information characteristics, enriching theoretical frameworks in health communication. The results recommend that health information providers enhance content integration through systematic, one-stop materials, while consumers should strengthen their information and health literacy to better manage overload.