In association with Simon Fraser University & Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute
Simon Fraser University
Great Northern Way Campus
555 Great Northern Way
Vancouver, BC, Canada V5T 1E2
tel: 1.604.268.7306
fax: 1.604.268.7309
email: act4hlth@sfu.ca
website: www.sfu.ca/act4hlth
The search for certainty: lay women and health professionals’ use/understanding of health
information technology (Theme I)
Investigators: Eileen Green, Frances Griffiths, Flis Henwood and Sally Wyatt
Research Partner: University of Teesside, University of Warwick
Background
Health technologies such as bone densitometry and mammography are widely used for both
diagnosis and review of treatment, however, lay and professional understanding of their
perceived status as “expert knowledge” and use in decision-making (both lay and clinical) about
health risks is extremely variable. Similarly, perceptions of the internet as an accessible and
empowering source of health information that is open to all may be misleading and requires
closer examination.
Research undertaken by two UK projects on midlife women and health professionals’ views of
innovative health technologies and the internet as a source of health information, have
problematized such perceptions. Parallel data from a European pilot study of Health
Professionals’ perceptions of the use of specific health technologies confirms this and data from
all three projects suggest a more complex picture of the relationship between different types of
knowledge and information-seeking behaviour.
Project Description
The aim of this project is to explore the ways in which specific technologies (e.g., bone
densitometry, mammography and the internet) figure in the process of health care decisionmaking, particularly in relation to women’s perceived need for certainty in terms of diagnosis and
treatment options.
Methods
This project involves undertaking a literature review and a secondary analysis of three data sets
with guidance from the research teams that collected them. The dimensions that the secondary
analysis considers include:
ƒ European/Canada comparison
ƒ Changing medical evidence
ƒ Comparison of information sources used
Although the data sets are available electronically, it is necessary for researchers to become
familiar with the context of the data collection, so a visit to the UK (and possibly Greece and
Finland) is a part of the fieldwork for this study.