The Open Medical Informatics Journal
2008, 2 : 82-91Published online 2008 May 22. DOI: 10.2174/1874431100802010082
Publisher ID: TOMINFOJ-2-82
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Can Contextualization Increase Understanding During Man-Machine Communication? A Theory-Driven Study
2 Department of Physical Therapy, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands
3 Faculty of Management Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
4 Medical Statistics Group, Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, The Netherlands
5 Department of Computer and Information Science, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
* Address correspondence to this author at the Clinical Informatics Group, Department of Medical Statistics and Bioinformatics, Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC), Leiden, The Netherlands; E-mail: l.l.alpay@lumc.nl
ABSTRACT
The Internet offers unlimited possibilities for finding health information. However, the user is often faced with the problem of understanding it. Contextualization has a role to play in enhancing the user’s comprehension. We report on a study which addresses this issue, using a theoretical model of communication whose central theme is that of context. A randomized controlled experimental design was chosen, using as a test-bed the website SeniorGezond we had previously developed. The study was composed of a pre-test, the intervention with the website and a post-test. Participants (n=40) were randomly assigned to exposure or no exposure to contextualization with the website. Results show that contextualization increases understanding for non-knowledgeable users. Furthermore, the participant’s cognitive style was found to be a significant factor on understanding. We also found that participants bring their own contexts such as social context and psychological context to support their understanding.