Health Information National Trends Survey
Encyclopedia
The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a biennial, cross-sectional, nationally-representative survey of American adults sponsored by the National Cancer Institute
. HINTS provides publicly available data on American adults' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behaviors related to cancer
prevention and control and communication.
The survey provides updates on changing patterns and needs related to communication and health, identifies changing health communications trends and practices, assesses cancer information searching, sources used, and search experiences and provides information about how cancer is perceived by the public.
The HINTS data collection program provides national-level surveillance on health communication in the context of cancer prevention and control. HINTS data are publicly available and a large community of HINTS data users examines questions including how adults 18 years and older use different communication channels (e.g., the Internet
) to obtain vital health information for themselves and their loved ones and the experiences people have when they search for cancer information. Program planners can use the data to overcome barriers to health information access and usage and to obtain data to help them create more effective communication strategies. Finally, social scientists use the data to refine theories of health communication and to recommend methods to reduce the burden of cancer.
HINTS data are available for public use and can be downloaded from the National Cancer Institute
. As a national-level surveillance vehicle for cancer and health communication, HINTS can make valuable contributions to the larger cyberinfrastructure
devoted to health and may potentially be leveraged with other national-level surveys (e.g., The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey and National Health Interview Survey
) to gauge the effects of policy changes on population health.
) format to accommodate complex skip-patterns based on respondent's answers. Data were collected from 6,369 respondents.
The second sample was selected from United States Postal Service
address administrative records. After the CATI instrument was modified to produce a printed questionnaire, the survey and a cover letter were sent to the address sample. All adults at each sampled address were asked to return the completed questionnaire in a postage-paid envelope. Data were collected from 3,582 respondents. Data from both surveys became available for public use in February 2009 along with a Final Report. HINTS 2007 CATI Instruments,
There is content in HINTS 2007 that is new to the survey, including items that focus on use of social networking media, personal health record
s, health services utilization, and patient provider communication.
http://www.cancer1122.blogspot.com
Finally, the HINTS overview materials include a HINTS brochure and a HINTS fact sheet. These overview materials can be useful to researchers presenting HINTS data at conferences when explaining their methodological approach.
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
. HINTS provides publicly available data on American adults' knowledge of, attitudes toward, and behaviors related to cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
prevention and control and communication.
The survey provides updates on changing patterns and needs related to communication and health, identifies changing health communications trends and practices, assesses cancer information searching, sources used, and search experiences and provides information about how cancer is perceived by the public.
The HINTS data collection program provides national-level surveillance on health communication in the context of cancer prevention and control. HINTS data are publicly available and a large community of HINTS data users examines questions including how adults 18 years and older use different communication channels (e.g., the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
) to obtain vital health information for themselves and their loved ones and the experiences people have when they search for cancer information. Program planners can use the data to overcome barriers to health information access and usage and to obtain data to help them create more effective communication strategies. Finally, social scientists use the data to refine theories of health communication and to recommend methods to reduce the burden of cancer.
HINTS data are available for public use and can be downloaded from the National Cancer Institute
National Cancer Institute
The National Cancer Institute is part of the National Institutes of Health , which is one of 11 agencies that are part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NCI coordinates the U.S...
. As a national-level surveillance vehicle for cancer and health communication, HINTS can make valuable contributions to the larger cyberinfrastructure
Cyberinfrastructure
United States federal research funders use the term cyberinfrastructure to describe research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services distributed over...
devoted to health and may potentially be leveraged with other national-level surveys (e.g., The Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance Survey and National Health Interview Survey
National Health Interview Survey
The National Health Interview Survey is an annual, cross-sectional survey intended to provide nationally-representative estimates on a wide range of health status and utilization measures among the nonmilitary, noninstitutionalized population of the United States...
) to gauge the effects of policy changes on population health.
HINTS 2003
The first HINTS data (HINTS 2003) were collected between October 2002 and April 2003 via a Random Digit Dial (RDD) telephone survey using a Computer Assisted Telephone Interview (CATICatí
Catí is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Maestrat, Castellón, Valencia, Spain.The municipality of Catí limits with the following municipal terms: Ares del Maestre, Morella, Chert, Tírig, Salsadella, Sant Mateu and Albocàsser all of them located in the province of Castellón.- Geography :Catí is...
) format to accommodate complex skip-patterns based on respondent's answers. Data were collected from 6,369 respondents.
HINTS 2005
HINTS 2005 data were collected from February 2005 through August 2005. HINTS 2005 also used RDD/CATI and identical data collection procedures. Data were collected from 5,586 respondents.HINTS 2007
HINTS 2007 data were collected from December 2007 through May 2008. The sample design for HINTS 2007 consisted of two samples with each sample selected from a separate sample frame. One sample used the same RDD/CATI methodology as prior surveys. Survey administration averaged 30 minutes per respondent. Data were collected from 4,092 respondents.The second sample was selected from United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
The United States Postal Service is an independent agency of the United States government responsible for providing postal service in the United States...
address administrative records. After the CATI instrument was modified to produce a printed questionnaire, the survey and a cover letter were sent to the address sample. All adults at each sampled address were asked to return the completed questionnaire in a postage-paid envelope. Data were collected from 3,582 respondents. Data from both surveys became available for public use in February 2009 along with a Final Report. HINTS 2007 CATI Instruments,
There is content in HINTS 2007 that is new to the survey, including items that focus on use of social networking media, personal health record
Personal health record
A personal health record or PHR is a health record where health data is curated by an individual user themselves. This stands in contrast with the more widely used electronic medical record which is held by institutions such as a hospital and contains data entered by clinicians or billing data in...
s, health services utilization, and patient provider communication.
http://www.cancer1122.blogspot.com
HINTS knowledge products
Three categories of HINTS knowledge products are available: books/reports, HINTS briefs, and overview materials.- Books and reports include a special issue of the devoted to HINTS research as well as reports that summarize the results of HINTS 2003 and 2005 and that explain analytic strategies for evaluating trends between iterations of the survey.
- HINTS Briefs provide two page high-level summaries of HINTS research and are usually based on a HINTS study that appears in the peer-reviewed literature. The briefs cover several topics, including sun safety, and cancer information seeking behaviors.
Finally, the HINTS overview materials include a HINTS brochure and a HINTS fact sheet. These overview materials can be useful to researchers presenting HINTS data at conferences when explaining their methodological approach.
External links
- http://hints.cancer.gov/
- http://hints.cancer.gov/docs/HINTS_2003_final_report.pdf
- http://hints.cancer.gov/docs/HINTS_2005_Final_Report.pdf