Enlighten Publications

In this section

Health information: a case of saturation or 57 channels and nothing on?

Whitelaw, S. (2008) Health information: a case of saturation or 57 channels and nothing on? Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health, 128(4), pp. 175-180. (doi: 10.1177/1466424008092233)

Full text not currently available from Enlighten.

Abstract

The claim is made by many that we have reached a point where we are exposed to too much information. This potential phenomenon is particularly prominent in the health field where there is a suggestion that the volume of available information has increased significantly and more importantly that such volume has had detrimental effects on both the overall quality of such information and the ability of people to process and use it. This paper explores the nature and validity of these claims. Within the context of the notion of an `information society', it outlines a range of concerns that have been expressed in relation to this increase, including the simple problem of overload, the potential for less robust information to enter the system and thus the overall quality of available information to decline. This excess of information is seen to act against the benefits that are sought — information can be invalid and people may not have time to reflect and act on excessive information loads. This can result in irrationality or disinformation.<p></p> The suggestion is made, however, that these concerns are largely unsupported by empirical evidence and are potentially the basis of a panic over the entry of alternative perspectives on health. The pessimistic perspectives are thus balanced by more constructive and optimistic views on this growth and opening up of information production and potential consumption. Seeing information creation as organic and pluralistic, it is suggested that increased information volume can actually be a constructive phenomenon.<p></p> The paper concludes with the contention that it is unrealistic to expect a return to former circumstances of controlled and limited information flows. Rather, a series of more pragmatic suggestions is offered within existing circumstances, including differentiating between information rich and poor health areas, addressing structural issues like information access and health literacy, and working towards organizing health information so that it is of a high quality, is physically accessible, relevant to the needs and literacy of groups, and in a usable form.

Item Type:	Articles
Keywords:	Health information; professional client relations; information overload; information saturation; panic
Status:	Published
Refereed:	Yes
Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID:	Whitelaw, Dr Alexander
Authors:	Whitelaw, S.
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
College/School:	College of Social Sciences > School of Social & Environmental Sustainability
Journal Name:	Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health
Journal Abbr.:	JRSPH
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
ISSN:	1476-9042
ISSN (Online):	1757-9147

University Staff: Request a correction | Enlighten Editors: Update this record

References

1 Nelson D. Reducing information pollution in the internet age. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy 2007; 4(1): 1–3 2 Webster F. Theories of the Information Society. London: Routledge, 1995 3 Goddard J. New technology and thegeography of the UK information economy. In: Robins, editor. Understanding Information: Business, Technology and Geography. London: Belhaven Press, 1992 4 Castells M. The information city: Informationtechnology, economic restructuring and the urban-regional process. London: Blackwell, 1989 5 De Mul J. The informatization of the worldview. Information, Community and Society 1999; 2(1): 69–94 6 Ellison, N. Towards a new social politics: citizenship and reflexivity in late modernity. Sociology 1997; 31(4): 697–717 7 Laverak G. Health Promotion Practice, Power and Empowerment. London: Sage, 2004 8 Baudrillard J. In the Shadow of the Silent Majorities, or, The End of the Social and Other Essays. New York: Semiotext(e), 1983 9 Benigeri M, Pluye P. Shortcomings of health information on the Internet. Health Promotion International 2003; 18(4): 381–386 10 Burkett I. Beyond the ‘information rich and poor’: futures understandings of inequality in globalising informational economies. Futures 2000; 32(7): 679–694 11 Sherry J. Media saturation and entertainment-education Communication Theory 2002; 12(2): 206–224 12 Coupland D. Generation X: Tales for an Accelerated Culture. London: Abacus, 1992 13 Glasson B. Information Overload. WellBeing 2001; Annual Edition 14 Lash, S. Critique of Information. London: Sage, 2002 15 White M. Confronting information overload. Journal of School Health 2000; 70(4): 160–161 16 Bottles K. The information revolution: Opportunities and pitfalls for patients and providers. The Physician Executive 2000; January/February: 20–27 17 Brown P, Zavestoski S, McCormick S, Mayer B, Morello-Frosch R, Gasior Altman R. Embodied health movements: new approaches to social movements in health. Sociology of Health & Illness 2004; 26(1): 50–80 18 Gitlin T. Media unlimited: How the torrent of images and sounds overwhelms our lives. London: Metropolitan Books, 2002 19 Fischer F. Citizens, experts, and the environment: The politics of local knowledge. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2000 20 Nettleton S, Burrows R. E-scaped medicine? Information, reflexivity and health. Critical Social Policy 2003; 23(2): 165–185 21 Korp P. Health on the internet: implications for health promotion. Health Promotion International 2006; 21(1): 78–86 22 Ayers S, Kronenfeld J. Chronic illness and health-seeking information on the internet. Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness and Medicine 2000; 11(3): 327–347 23 Ratzan S. Health literacy: communication for the public good. Health Promotion International 2001; 16(2): 207–214 24 Knight W. Info-mania dents IQ more than marijuana. New Scientist News Service April 2005. Available online at: http://www.Newscientist.com/article/dn7298. html (last accessed 3 December 2007) 25 Ferrell J, Websdale N, editors. Making trouble: cultural constructions of crime, deviance and control. New York: Aldine de Gruyter, 1999 26 Bono, J. Why metaphor? Towards a metaphorics of scientific practice. In: Maasen S, Winterhager M, editors. Science studies: probing the dynamics of scientific knowledge. Bielefeld: Transaction Publishers, 2001 27 Cresswell T. Place: A short introduction. London: Blackwell, 2002 28 Zarcadoolas C, Pleasant A, Greer D. Understanding health literacy: an expanded model. Health Promotion International 2005; 20(2): 195–203 29 Biddle S, Gorely T, Marshall SJ, Murdey I, Cameron N. Physical activity and sedentary behaviours in youth: issues and controversies. Journal of The Royal Society for the Promotion of Health 2004; 124(1): 29–33 30 Stevenson N. Understanding media cultures: social theory and mass communication. London: Sage, 1995 31 Guptill W. Knowledge management in health care. Journal of Health Care Finance 2005; 31(3): 10–14 32 Brand R, Karvonen A. The ecosystem of expertise: complementary knowledges for sustainable development. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy 2007; 3(1): 21–32 33 Crespo R. Virtual community health promotion. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy 2007; 4(3): 1–2 34 Wang R. Critical health literacy: a case study from China in schistosomiasis. Health Promotion International 2000; 15(3): 269–274 35 De Landa M. A thousand years of nonlinear history. New York: Zone Books, 1997 36 McQueen D. Perspectives on health promotion: theory, evidence, practice and the emergence of complexity. Health Promotion International 2000; 15(2): 95–97 37 Parcell G. ‘Learning to Fly’ in a world of information overload. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2005; 83(10): 727–729 38 Nelson D, Kreps G, Hesse B, Croyle R, Willis G, Arora N et al. The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS): Development, Design, and Dissemination. Journal of Health Communication 2004; 9(5): 443–460 39 See: http://www.expertpatients.co.uk/public/default.aspx 40 Ham C. Gordon Brown’s agenda for the NHS. British Medical Journal 2008; 336: 53–54 41 Eppler M, Mengis J. The concept of information overload: A review of literature from organization science, marketing accounting, MIS, and related disciplines. The Information Society – an International Journal 2004; 20(5): 1–20

Deposit and Record Details

ID Code:	44634
Depositing User:	Dr Alexander Whitelaw
Datestamp:	17 Nov 2010 15:16
Last Modified:	08 Aug 2023 11:01
Date of first online publication:	July 2008