Talk given to the 2015 meeting of the DC Health Communication conference. Title was "Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier"

1. Homesteading on the
Electronic Frontier*
Bradford W. Hesse, PhD
Chief, Health Communication and
Informatics Research Branch
*apologies to Howard Rheingold

3. Science Public Health

4. Augmenting Human Intellect
• Intuitive Interface
• Connected Nodes of
Knowledge
• Connected People
“Computers in Medical
Decision Making” by
HomerWarner, MD
Improve Medicine?
Source: Hesse, B.W. (2008). Of mice and mentors: developing cyber-infrastructure to support transdisciplinary scientific
collaboration.Am J Prev Med, 35(2 Suppl), S235-239.
1982-1988
Can
informa*on
science
improve
medicine?

5. Can
connected
technology
enhance
communica*on?
Source: Hesse BW,Werner CM,Altman I.Temporal aspects of computer-mediated communication. Computers in Human
Behavior. 1988;4(2):147-165.
Irwin Altman, PhD
Vice President, University of Utah
CarolWerner, PhD
Psychology, University of Utah
1982-1988

6. Can technology
bridge spatial
constraints (e.g.,
telemedicine)?
Can asynchrony be
used to overcome
temporal restraints?
How do we create a
better fit between
information environment
and healthy behavior?
How do we improve
human factors: i.e.,
safety, effectiveness,
patient-centeredness,
equity?

7. Commi8ee
for
Social
Science
Research
on
Compu*ng
• Benefits to scientists online,
amplified for geographically
isolated
• Benefits to “shift workers,”
exchanging information
asynchronously
1988-1990
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (1993). "Returns to science: computer networks in oceanography." Commun.ACM 36(8): 90-101.

8. Motorola’s Consumer
Cell Phone
Consumer Internet
See: Boyle, L.F. (1993). Averting Pc Headaches: Usability Tests Aim To Find Design Bugaboos
Before They Find You. San Jose Mercury News, April 4, 1993,1F & 7F. San Jose, Ca.
Apple’s Newton
Center
for
Research
on
Technology:
CRT
1989-1999

9. Center
for
Research
on
Technology:
CRT
1989-1999

10. Center
for
Research
on
Technology:
CRT
1989-1999

11. Source: Hiatt, R. A., & Rimer, B. K. (1999). A new
strategy for cancer control research. Cancer
Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev, 8(11), 957-964.
Robert Hiatt, MD PhDBarbara Rimer, DrPh

12. Gary Kreps, PhDRobert Croyle, PhD David Nelson, MD PhD
• To monitor changes in communication
environment
• To monitor channel usage and sources
preferred
• To explore knowledge, attitudes, and
behaviors
• To complement fundamental & intervention
research; and to be a resource in program
delivery
K.Viswanath, PhD

13. 4/1/2012
HINTS Estimate,
2003: 63%
HINTS Estimate,
2005: 61%
HINTS Estimate Cycle 1,
2011: 78.1%
HINTS Estimate,
2008: 68%
Tracking Web for Health Over Time
Source: http://www.pewinternet.org/Trend-Data-(Adults)/Internet-Adoption.aspx
HINTS Estimate Cycle 2,
2012: 80.2%

14. Tracking National Goals
Adjusted Target
Adjusted Target

15. Research Question: Will there be gender differences over time?
Exploring Subpopulation
Trends
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (2014). "Meeting the healthy people 2020 goals: using the Health Information National Trends
Survey to monitor progress on health communication objectives." J Health Commun 19(12): 1497-1509.

16. Age
Education
Gender
Race /Ethnicity
Exploring Subpopulation
Trends
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (2014). "Meeting the healthy people 2020 goals: using the Health Information National Trends
Survey to monitor progress on health communication objectives." J Health Commun 19(12): 1497-1509.

17. Education
Exploring Subpopulation
Trends
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (2014). "Meeting the healthy people 2020 goals: using the Health Information National Trends
Survey to monitor progress on health communication objectives." J Health Commun 19(12): 1497-1509.

18. Age
Education
Gender
Race /Ethnicity
Exploring Subpopulation
Trends
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (2014). "Meeting the healthy people 2020 goals: using the Health Information National Trends
Survey to monitor progress on health communication objectives." J Health Commun 19(12): 1497-1509.

19. Exploring Subpopulation
Trends
Source: Hesse, B.W., et al. (2014). "Meeting the healthy people 2020 goals: using the Health Information National Trends
Survey to monitor progress on health communication objectives." J Health Commun 19(12): 1497-1509.
Race /Ethnicity

20. Does smoking increase risk
for cancer?
Lung & bronchus cancer
mortality
Uncovering GeographicVariation
Relevant to Health Communication
Nelson, D. E., Hesse, B.W. Croyle R. T. (2009).
Making data talk : communicating public health
data to the public, policy makers, and the press.
Oxford ; New York, Oxford University Press.

21. *NIH Nominee to White House for “Open
Science Champion,” May 14 2013.
Data Briefs Peer Reviewed
Publications
Web Platform for Participation*
Statistical
Guides
Creating an Open Platform
Edited Book
Downloadable
Data sets

22. HINTS Publications & Counting
Count PubYear Cummula*ve
2 2004 2
4 2005 6
19 2006 25
14 2007 39
23 2008 62
11 2009 73
36 2010 109
25 2011 134
20 2012 154
15 2013 169
37 2014 206
18 2015 224
4 No
Year
Indicated 228

23. HINTSV: Incentivizing Participation
STAY TUNED

24. Where are
we going?

25. Health Information National Trends Survey
Tracing Health I.T. for ONC
30%
x

26. Technology: EHR Adoption

27. Deficits in:
Usability
Interoperability
Communication

28. Connecting Health and Care for the
Nation

29. March 10, 2015

30. Medical Informatics as a Communication System

31. With the Emphasis on Communication

32. April 8, 2015

33. March, 2015

34. Ultimately, the goal is to empower patients
“The real action — and
the money — will shift to
creating innovative tools
to allow patients to stay
healthy and manage
chronic illness.”
- Robert Wachter

35. But only with the hard
work of communication
scientists
Thank you!
We’re going from
homesteading
To a thriving metropolis