Guest editorial

• Published in: Aslib proceedings Vol. 73; no. 1; pp. 1 - 4
• Main Authors: Ma, Feicheng, Ilhan, Aylin, Feng, Yuanyuan, Pian Wenjing
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Bradford Emerald Group Publishing Limited 01.01.2021
• Subjects: Artificial intelligence; Clinical outcomes; Communication; Health behavior; Human papillomavirus; Hypertension; Immunization; Information science; Information seeking behavior; Information sources; Intellectual disabilities; Literature reviews; Medical research; Older people; Patients; Public health; Science; Social networks; Virtual communities; China
• ISSN: 2050-3806; 1758-3748
• DOI: 10.1108/AJIM-01-2021-373

According to Johnson and Case (2012, p. 4), “individuals are being empowered to find the answers they need to solve their problems, in part through the explosive growth of health information technology.” [...]we sought submissions that contribute emerging perspectives to enrich the understanding of health information needs under the context of new information technologies. 2. The contributions in this special issue are in line with Julien and Fourie's (2019, p. 697) vision on health information behavior research: “the biggest potential for future research lies in appropriate combinations of different methods of data collection and ongoing expansion of the disease conditions, participation groups and contexts we study.” [...]articles in this special issue have examined the health information needs of diverse populations around the world, including several high-risk, under-studied or under-represented groups such as hypertension patients, seniors and students with intellectual disabilities. [...]in the investigation of people's health information needs, researchers should pay more attention to the under-represented groups in our society who often have special needs.