274433 Mobile Advantage: Context and Immediacy in Health Information Seeking

Monday, October 29, 2012 : 9:10 AM - 9:30 AM

Lisa Gualtieri, PhD, ScM , Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA
Mobile devices are changing health search because of the immediacy they provide and their integration of context. With the infiltration of mobile devices into populations who were traditionally less likely to have internet access, increased reach is possible. However, health literacy skills remain an issue as does privacy. Beyond browser-based health searches, mobile devices open a new set of challenges: how consumers locate health apps, learn about the credibility of apps, and if apps incorporate evidence-based guidelines. The talk will address these topics and will place an emphasis on the discussion of how these tools have changed how and when people seek health information.

Learning Areas:
Communication and informatics
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
1. Discuss the potential of mobile devices to reach healthcare consumers 2. Explain how context and immediacy offer advantages to healthcare consumers 3. Define the issues in how consumers search for credible and reliable health apps

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: with a PhD in Computer Science and as an Assistant Professor in the Health Communication Program at Tufts University School of Medicine, my research is at the intersection of technology and health communication. I have presented and run workshops on many aspects of mobile health, including offering a course at Tufts University School of Medicine in May-June 2012 on Mobile Health Design. In addition, I have supervised graduate students working on these in mobile health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.