From: Social capital and health information seeking in China
Variable | Questionnaire | Scaling details |
---|---|---|
Dependent variable (HISB) | ||
Health information seeking | “Have you ever searched for health information on your own initiative?” | Single item, yes/no |
Cancer information seeking | “Have you ever searched for cancer information on your own initiative?” | Same as above |
Health information seeking from the internet | “Have you encountered health or medical information from [media source] in the past 12 months?” | 4-category frequency scale, ranging from never (= 1) to always (= 4) |
Health information seeking from traditional media | Similar to above | Same as above |
Independent variables: Social capital | ||
Structural components | ||
Bonding networks | “How many people live in your current residence, including yourself?” | Single item |
Bridging networks | “Apart from your family and relatives, how many people do you usually contact within a day?” | 7-point scale was used ranging from None (= 1) to 100 or more persons (= 7) |
Organization memberships | Number of community groups or organizations they are currently in | 3-point scale |
Cognitive components | ||
Emotional support | “When you need emotional support (e.g., need to discuss problems or make difficult decisions), is there anyone you can rely on? | Single item, yes/no or I am not sure |
Informational support | Respondents have friends or family members to discuss health issues | Same as above |
Covariates | ||
Trust in health information | “What’s your degree of trust in the health information provided by [media source]?” | 24 items (= information sources), each rated by a 5-point scale from very untrustworthy (= 1) to very trustworthy (= 5) |
Health information discussion | Frequency of discussing health-related issues with their family members or friends | Single item, 4 answer categories from 1 = never to 4 = always |
Health information acquisition from organizations | If any joined organizations or groups can provide them health information | Single item, yes/no or I am not sure |