Information Poverty and Its Impact on Health
Information poverty is, according to [1], a disadvantage because of which certain groups are unable to access necessary tools for self-sufficiency that would help them improve their situations, for example, being informed about opportunities or helpful resources. Britz [2] defines information poverty as “that situation in which individuals and communities, within a given context, do not have the requisite skills, abilities or material means to obtain efficient access to information, interpret it and apply it appropriately”.
Information poverty greatly influences many facets of life, including health and healthcare. It is closely connected to the socio-economic status of an individual, or a group of individuals. Meaning people of higher socio-economic status experience less information poverty than those of lower socio-economic status. It is postulated that the parts of population that are of higher socio-economic status gather information faster than those of lower socio-economic status, so the information gap between these two parts of the population is ever growing [3]. This fact is alarming because the information poor are at a greater risk of serious morbidity and mortality. It may be because the information poor lack access to life-saving knowledge and information or are not making use of their, oftentimes very limited, medical knowledge. Medical information poverty can also lead to extremely cost-demanding medical care. Not possessing sufficient information and knowledge, the information poor can be unaware of the symptoms of certain diseases, which can lead to a late or last-minute diagnosis [4].
Zimmerman [5] states that when it comes to information poverty and reproductive healthcare, women of higher socio-economic status do not cite gaps in their knowledge as an issue in their healthcare journeys. This is in contrast with women of lower socio-economic status, who “do not access reproductive healthcare services and information with the same reliability and regularity of women who are higher income”. The information poor women state lack of information concerning what services are available to them, where are these services located, and not understanding the healthcare workers as problematic facets of their lives.
Thankfully, research suggests that the youth may be in for a brighter future [6]. Because of their age, it may be harder for young people to access medical care or advice discreetly. However, the internet provides a unique platform for accessing medical information and advice, even that coming from professionals. With efforts to lower information poverty in general, the amount of youth without access to the internet decreases year by year, which leads to reducing the information gap on medical topics. The internet is of course not on par with visiting a healthcare professional, but pre-existing knowledge on medical problems or awareness of symptoms of diseases is invaluable to an individual’s quality of life.
Works Cited
[1] MARCELLA, Rita a Gobinda CHOWDHURY. Eradicating information poverty: An agenda for research. Journal of Librarianship and Information Science [online]. 2020, 52(2), 366–381 [cit. 2023–04–26]. ISSN 0961–0006. Available from: doi:10.1177/0961000618804589.
[2] BRITZ, Johannes J. To Know or not to Know: A Moral Reflection on Information Poverty. Journal of Information Science [online]. 2004, 30(3), 192–204 [cit. 2023–04–26]. ISSN 0165–5515. Available from: doi:10.1177/0165551504044666.
[3] TICHENOR, P. J., G. A. DONOHUE a C. N. OLIEN. Mass Media Flow and Differential Growth in Knowledge. Public Opinion Quarterly [online]. 34(2) [cit. 2023–04–26]. ISSN 0033362X. Available from: doi:10.1086/267786.
[4] SLIGO, Frank X.; JAMESON, Anna M. The knowledge — behavior gap in use of health information. Journal of the American Society for Information Science, 2000, 51.9: 858–869.
[5] ZIMMERMAN, Margaret S. Information Poverty and Reproductive Healthcare: Assessing the Reasons for Inequity between Income Groups. Social Work in Public Health [online]. 2017, 32(3), 210–221 [cit. 2023–04–26]. ISSN 1937–1918. Available from: doi:10.1080/19371918.2016.1268990.
[6] GRAY, Nicola J., Jonathan D. KLEIN, Peter R. NOYCE, Tracy S. SESSELBERG a Judith A. CANTRILL. Health information-seeking behaviour in adolescence: the place of the internet. Social Science & Medicine [online]. 2005, 60(7), 1467–1478 [cit. 2023–04–26]. ISSN 02779536. Available from: doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.08.010.
Preparation for lecture no. 8
