視障者健康資訊行為之探討

A Study of Health Information Behavior of Visually Impaired People

科技與網路的發達，視障者獲取健康資訊的管道已有改善，但比起其他人，視障者必然會遭遇更多問題，有許多障礙需要克服。健康資訊是日常生活資訊中重要的一環，因此，探討視障者的健康資訊行為，是一項重要的研究課題。本研究訪談15位視障者，研究結果發現，視障者有五種類型的健康資訊需求：醫療資訊、飲食資訊、一般日常生活保健資訊、藥物資訊，以及運動資訊。資訊來源管道也相當廣泛，包括網路、社群媒體、廣播、書籍、雜誌、醫師及親友。視障者在搜尋健康資訊時會遇到許多困難，因為語文障礙及輸入錯誤影響檢索結果，且網頁設計不友善使視障者在使用時無法全面的了解網頁內容。因此建議無論是檢索或是介面設計應該要更為簡單，方便視障者查詢資訊。另外，廣播節目如能透過手機App聆聽，對於視障者更為便利。

The channel and device for visually impaired people to seek health information have been improved due to the development of technology and the Internet. But, most information is presented in the formats which are not always easily accessible to them. Health information is frequently needed in people's daily lives. Therefore, to explore the health information behavior of visually impaired people is an important research topic. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in this study, with 15 participants recruited via personal communication network. This study found that visually impaired people have a considerable degree of demand for health information. It can be summarized into five types of health information needs: medical information, dietary information, general daily health information, drug information, and sports information. Informatin sources are also quite extensive, including the Internet, social media, radio, books, magazines, doctors, and friends and relatives. Participants reported that they mostly seek information by themselves, with assistances from other people sometimes. They faced obstacles in the process of information seeking, such as language barriers, input errors, and inadequate interfaces. They suggested that the interfaces should be simple and friendly for the visually impaired people. Moreover, they recommended mobile apps would be convenient for them to access health information related radio programs via cell phones.