Active sensing is a behavioral strategy for exploring the environment. In this study, we show that contact vocal behaviors can be an active sensing mechanism that uses sampling to gain information about the social environment, in particular, the vocal behavior of others. With a focus on the real-time vocal interactions of marmoset monkeys, we contrast active sampling to a vocal accommodation framework in which vocalizations are adjusted simply to maximize responses. We conduct simulations of a vocal accommodation and an active sampling policy and compare them with actual vocal interaction data. Our findings support active sampling as the best model for real-time marmoset monkey vocal exchanges. In some cases, the active sampling model was even able to partially predict the distribution of vocal durations for individuals to approximate the optimal call duration. These results suggest a non-traditional function for primate vocal interactions in which they are used by animals to seek information about their social environments.

BACKGROUND: Relative to country-specific epidemiological trends, Kuwait experiences a far greater burden of type 2 diabetes among its population. Information behaviours form a significant component of self-care management for patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, however this remains an understudied aspect of disease management. This study aims to investigate the information behaviours of patients with type 2 diabetes in Kuwait, and characterise the methods employed to manage their disease.
METHODS: This qualitative study employed a grounded theory method. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with twenty-seven participants over three phases of data collection in primary, secondary and tertiary healthcare settings across Kuwait. These were complemented by in-depth interviews to detail the information behaviours of these participants. The interviews were translated where appropriate, transcripts, and analysed through qualitative coding to synthesise the information behaviour patterns.
RESULTS: The findings demonstrated that living with type 2 diabetes involved a range of developmental and transformative stages, including changes to the patients\' emotional state, reconstruction of their lifestyle and identity, and changes in the ways they find and use information. Living with the chronic condition was viewed as a dynamic and transitional process, where patients\' information behaviours continually changed throughout the process across various identifiable stages. This dynamic pattern was reflected most prominently across the participants\' behavioural needs, sources and information-seeking patterns.
CONCLUSIONS: Patients with type 2 diabetes continuously adapted their information behaviours to optimise the self-management of their condition across a relatively predictable pattern. Greater understanding of these behaviours across a wider population would improve the provision of clinical care for patients with diabetes.

When making decisions in everyday life, we often rely on an internally generated sense of confidence to help us revise and direct future behaviours. For instance, confidence directly informs whether further information should be sought prior to commitment to a final decision. Many studies have shown that aging and both clinical and sub-clinical symptoms of psychopathology are associated with systematic alterations in confidence. However, it remains unknown whether these confidence distortions influence information-seeking behaviour. We investigated this question in a large general population sample (N = 908). Participants completed a battery of psychiatric symptom questionnaires and performed a perceptual decision-making task with confidence ratings in which they were offered the option to seek helpful information (at a cost) before committing to a final decision. Replicating previous findings, an \'anxious-depression\' (AD) symptom dimension was associated with systematically low confidence, despite no detriment in objective task accuracy. Conversely, a \'compulsive behaviour and intrusive thoughts\' (CIT) dimension was associated with impaired task accuracy but paradoxical over-confidence. However, neither symptom dimension was significantly associated with an increased or decreased tendency to seek information. Hence, participants scoring highly for AD or CIT did not use the option to information seek any more than average to either increase their confidence (AD) or improve the accuracy of their decisions (CIT). In contrast, older age was associated with impaired accuracy and decreased confidence initially, but increased information seeking behaviour mediated increases in both accuracy and confidence for final decisions. Hence, older adults used the information seeking option to overcome initial deficits in objective performance and to increase their confidence accordingly. The results show an appropriate use of information seeking to overcome perceptual deficits and low confidence in healthy aging which was not present in transdiagnostic psychopathology.

BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer (CC) and breast cancer (BC) threaten women\'s well-being, influenced by health-related stigma and a lack of reliable information, which can cause late diagnosis and early death. ChatGPT is likely to become a key source of health information, although quality concerns could also influence health-seeking behaviours.
METHODS: This cross-sectional online survey compared ChatGPT\'s responses to five physicians specializing in mammography and five specializing in gynaecology. Twenty frequently asked questions about CC and BC were asked on 26th and 29th of April, 2023. A panel of seven experts assessed the accuracy, consistency, and relevance of ChatGPT\'s responses using a 7-point Likert scale. Responses were analyzed for readability, reliability, and efficiency. ChatGPT\'s responses were synthesized, and findings are presented as a radar chart.
RESULTS: ChatGPT had an accuracy score of 7.0 (range: 6.6-7.0) for CC and BC questions, surpassing the highest-scoring physicians (P < 0.05). ChatGPT took an average of 13.6 s (range: 7.6-24.0) to answer each of the 20 questions presented. Readability was comparable to that of experts and physicians involved, but ChatGPT generated more extended responses compared to physicians. The consistency of repeated answers was 5.2 (range: 3.4-6.7). With different contexts combined, the overall ChatGPT relevance score was 6.5 (range: 4.8-7.0). Radar plot analysis indicated comparably good accuracy, efficiency, and to a certain extent, relevance. However, there were apparent inconsistencies, and the reliability and readability be considered inadequate.
CONCLUSIONS: ChatGPT shows promise as an initial source of information for CC and BC. ChatGPT is also highly functional and appears to be superior to physicians, and aligns with expert consensus, although there is room for improvement in readability, reliability, and consistency. Future efforts should focus on developing advanced ChatGPT models explicitly designed to improve medical practice and for those with concerns about symptoms.

UNASSIGNED: We aimed to synthesize the information needs of people with stroke (PwS) in recurrent stroke prevention.
UNASSIGNED: In this scoping review we searched Medline (via PubMed), CINAHL, and PsycINFO from inception to June 5, 2023, to identify all studies describing the information needs of people 18 years and older who have suffered a stroke or transient ischemic attack within the past 5 years. We included qualitative and quantitative studies from developed countries published in German or English. Data analysis was performed following Arksey and O\'Malley\'s methodological framework for scoping reviews.
UNASSIGNED: We screened 5822 records for eligibility and included 36 articles published between 1993 and 2023. None of the included studies used a comprehensive framework or defined information needs. Based on statements from PwS and their caregivers, PwS needed information on treatment, etiology, effects of stroke, prognosis, rehabilitation, discharge, life changes, care role, support options, information sources, and hospital procedures. The most frequently expressed needs were information on the treatment (77.8%) and stroke etiology (63.9%). The primary information source was healthcare professionals (85.7%), followed by written information (71.4%), family and friends (42.6%), and the internet (35.7%), with information provided directly by healthcare professionals being preferred. The timing of information transfer is often described as too early.
UNASSIGNED: PwS are primarily interested in clinical information about stroke, for example, treatment and etiology, and less often in information about daily life, for example, rehabilitation, the role of care, or lifestyle changes. PwS prefer to receive information directly from healthcare professionals. Developing a shared understanding of PwS\'s information needs is crucial to implement suitable strategies and programs for dealing with these needs in clinical practice.

BACKGROUND: Norway has a high use of e-health.
METHODS: This paper summarizes and discusses the published data from the Tromsø 7 Study, conducted between 2015 and 2016, focusing on e-health utilization in the Norwegian population aged 40 and above.
RESULTS: More than half of the participants reported using the Internet for health purposes. The main channels for obtaining information were search engines, apps, social media platforms, and online videos. The respondents frequently acted upon the information obtained online, and online health information influenced decisions regarding healthcare utilization and treatment management. Most respondents indicated a positive reaction to the information found online.
CONCLUSIONS: The Tromsø 7 Study highlights the widespread utilization of e-health in Norway. The study also emphasizes the significant impact of e-health on individuals\' decision-making processes related to their health. The findings suggest that the use of e-health overall does not replace the use of traditional health services, but rather functions as a supplement. Most respondents report positive reactions to online health information, highlighting the importance and relevance of e-health in modern healthcare practices.

With the diversification of Internet uses, online content type has become richer. Alongside organic results, search engine results pages now provide tools to improve information searching and learning. The People also ask (PAA) box is intended to reduce users\' cognitive costs by offering easily accessible information. Nevertheless, there has been scant research on how users actually process it, compared with more traditional content type (i.e., organic results and online documents). The present eye-tracking study explored this question by considering the search context (complex lookup task vs. exploratory task) and users\' prior domain knowledge (high vs. low). Main results show that users fixated the PAA box and online documents more to achieve exploratory goals, and fixated organic results more to achieve lookup goals. Users with low knowledge process PAA content at an early stage in their search contrary to their counterparts with high knowledge. Given these results, information system developers should diversify PAA content according to search context and users\' prior domain knowledge.

When it comes to health-related information-seeking behavior, online communities play a key role for some groups, such as parents. With a case study of online communities in a loosely organized vaccination system, that of Austria, we study how parents make use of a prominent online forum (parents.at) in their vaccination trajectories and situate this analysis in its socio-political context. Based on inductive qualitative analysis of relevant threads (n = 27), we find that parents use forums in three ways: First, the forum serves as a platform through which parents seek orientation in a loosely organized and fragmented vaccination system. Second, the forum offers space for sharing, collecting, and evaluating different forms of expertise. In doing so, parents carve out a space in which they can comfortably put lay expertise and credentialed expertise on a par, particularly in their advice to peers. Third, and on that basis, parents use the forum for deliberating on future or past vaccination-related decisions. In doing so, they frequently draw on idiosyncratic notions of individual risks and benefits. These three practices enable parents to accumulate and share what we label navigational capital. We conclude that parents resort to online spaces both out of a subjective need and, for some, as a result of a dysfunction of the national childhood vaccination program which offers little orientation for parents.

BACKGROUND: OpenAI\'s ChatGPT is a source of advanced online health information (OHI) that may be integrated into individuals\' health information-seeking routines. However, concerns have been raised about its factual accuracy and impact on health outcomes. To forecast implications for medical practice and public health, more information is needed on who uses the tool, how often, and for what.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to characterize the reasons for and types of ChatGPT OHI use and describe the users most likely to engage with the platform.
METHODS: In this cross-sectional survey, patients received invitations to participate via the ResearchMatch platform, a nonprofit affiliate of the National Institutes of Health. A web-based survey measured demographic characteristics, use of ChatGPT and other sources of OHI, experience characterization, and resultant health behaviors. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data. Both 2-tailed t tests and Pearson chi-square tests were used to compare users of ChatGPT OHI to nonusers.
RESULTS: Of 2406 respondents, 21.5% (n=517) respondents reported using ChatGPT for OHI. ChatGPT users were younger than nonusers (32.8 vs 39.1 years, P<.001) with lower advanced degree attainment (BA or higher; 49.9% vs 67%, P<.001) and greater use of transient health care (ED and urgent care; P<.001). ChatGPT users were more avid consumers of general non-ChatGPT OHI (percentage of weekly or greater OHI seeking frequency in past 6 months, 28.2% vs 22.8%, P<.001). Around 39.3% (n=206) respondents endorsed using the platform for OHI 2-3 times weekly or more, and most sought the tool to determine if a consultation was required (47.4%, n=245) or to explore alternative treatment (46.2%, n=239). Use characterization was favorable as many believed ChatGPT to be just as or more useful than other OHIs (87.7%, n=429) and their doctor (81%, n=407). About one-third of respondents requested a referral (35.6%, n=184) or changed medications (31%, n=160) based on the information received from ChatGPT. As many users reported skepticism regarding the ChatGPT output (67.9%, n=336), most turned to their physicians (67.5%, n=349).
CONCLUSIONS: This study underscores the significant role of AI-generated OHI in shaping health-seeking behaviors and the potential evolution of patient-provider interactions. Given the proclivity of these users to enact health behavior changes based on AI-generated content, there is an opportunity for physicians to guide ChatGPT OHI users on an informed and examined use of the technology.

BACKGROUND: Despite the potential benefits of using eHealth, sociodemographic disparities exist in eHealth use, which threatens to further widen health equity gaps. The literature has consistently shown age and education to be associated with eHealth use, while the findings for racial and ethnic disparities are mixed. However, previous disparities may have narrowed as health care interactions shifted to web-based modalities for everyone because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to provide an updated examination of sociodemographic disparities that contribute to the health equity gap related to using eHealth for information seeking using 3 time points.
METHODS: Data for this study came from the nationally representative 2018 (n=3504), 2020 (n=3865), and 2022 (n=6252) time points of the Health Information National Trends Survey. Logistic regression was used to regress the use of eHealth for information seeking on race and ethnicity, sex, age, education, income, health status, and year of survey. Given the consistent association of age with the dependent variable, analyses were stratified by age cohort (millennials, Generation X, baby boomers, and silent generation) to compare individuals of similar age.
RESULTS: For millennials, being female, attaining some college or a college degree, and reporting an annual income of US $50,000-$74,999 or >US $75,000 were associated with the use of eHealth for information seeking. For Generation X, being female, having attained some college or a college degree, reporting an annual income of US $50,000-$74,999 or >US $75,000, better self-reported health, and completing the survey in 2022 (vs 2018; odds ratio [OR] 1.80, 95% CI 1.11-2.91) were associated with the use of eHealth for information seeking. For baby boomers, being female, being older, attaining a high school degree, attaining some college or a college degree, reporting an annual income of US $50,000-$74,999 or >US $75,000, and completing the survey in 2020 (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.15-2.12) and 2022 (OR 4.04, 95% CI 2.77-5.87) were associated with the use of eHealth for information seeking. Among the silent generation, being older, attaining some college or a college degree, reporting an annual income of US $50,000-$74,999 or >US $75,000, and completing the survey in 2022 (OR 5.76, 95% CI 3.05-10.89) were associated with the use of eHealth for information seeking.
CONCLUSIONS: Baby boomers may have made the most gains in using eHealth for information seeking over time. The race and ethnicity findings, or lack thereof, may indicate a reduction in racial and ethnic disparities. Disparities based on sex, education, and income remained consistent across all age groups. This aligns with health disparities literature focused on individuals with lower socioeconomic status, and more recently on men who are less likely to seek health care compared to women.