Published on Authors of this article:. Background: High-quality online health information OHI can reduce unnecessary visits to health professionals and improve health.
There are several models on proxy information seeking. Yet, we know little about the use and outcomes of OHI on behalf of someone else.
Objective: The objectives of this paper are to explore and revise a framework on the context and outcomes of proxy OHI seeking. Methods: We conducted a mixed studies literature review integrating qualitative and quantitative evidence with thematic analysis of the findings of 28 studies, followed by framework synthesis incorporating the derived themes.
Our conceptual framework incorporates these themes and builds on previous work. The use of OHI can improve quality of life and is generally associated with positive outcomes, such as increased empowerment of seekers and their families and improved health outcomes [ 4 - 7 ]. Based on the results of a recent systematic review on the outcomes of OHI seeking hereafter, OHI outcomes , several contextual factors associated with these outcomes were identified, such as age, education, income, and eHealth literacy [ 8 ].
Social support is an important factor because one of the ways people use OHI is to support family members or friends with health conditions [ 10 ]. Moreover, findings from a study exploring internet use trends between and showed a significant increase in the use of family and friends to obtain health information [ 13 ].
