Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study
BackgroundMany people seek health-related information online, not only for themselves but also on behalf of others who cannot articulate their symptoms. This proxy information-seeking behavior is particularly relevant for animal owners, who must interpret their animals’ symptoms without direct verba...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-07-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1628421/full |
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| author | Laura Haase Laura Haase Julia Winter Sophia Grummt Martin Sedlmayr Brita Sedlmayr |
| author_facet | Laura Haase Laura Haase Julia Winter Sophia Grummt Martin Sedlmayr Brita Sedlmayr |
| author_sort | Laura Haase |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | BackgroundMany people seek health-related information online, not only for themselves but also on behalf of others who cannot articulate their symptoms. This proxy information-seeking behavior is particularly relevant for animal owners, who must interpret their animals’ symptoms without direct verbal feedback. While online health information-seeking in the context of one’s own health is well-studied, the specific challenges of searching by proxy, especially for animal health information, remain largely unexplored.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the specific information needs and search behavior of animal owners. As a case study, horse owners were selected, representing a group regularly searching the web for health-related advice concerning their animals.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used with 17 horse owners in Germany. Participants first described a recent search for equine health information. They were then shown a video of a horse experiencing an asthma attack and asked to conduct a search on how to proceed with the horse’s condition. Afterwards, they were questioned about their respective search behavior.ResultsThe participants’ main initial questions revolved around the cause of the horse’s condition, its urgency of veterinary treatment and the cost of treatment. All participants chose the Google search engine as the starting point for their search and formulated an average of 3.71 (SD: 2.02) queries. Each of these queries contained an average of 3.81 words (SD: 1.57). Most searches (52%) were evidence-directed with 29% using multiple descriptors of the horse’s situation. An average of 0.97 results (SD: 1.38) were clicked per query, with titles containing all search terms in 13% of cases. Participants reported experiencing several barriers to their search, including difficulties in formulating precise queries and the need for additional guidance during the search process.ConclusionThe findings highlight the need for improved online information systems, offering better guidance, context-aware search support, and trustworthy sources. The insights could inform veterinarians on how to better address their clients’ communication and information needs, provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to conduct online research and therefore build a better animal health partnership with them. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-3cedcfe8ba19482a87e33e58796903f0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2297-1769 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Veterinary Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-3cedcfe8ba19482a87e33e58796903f02025-08-20T02:50:33ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Veterinary Science2297-17692025-07-011210.3389/fvets.2025.16284211628421Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods studyLaura Haase0Laura Haase1Julia Winter2Sophia Grummt3Martin Sedlmayr4Brita Sedlmayr5Carl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, GermanyDepartment of Cooperative Studies - Computer Science, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Berlin, GermanyDepartment of Cooperative Studies - Computer Science, Berlin School of Economics and Law, Berlin, GermanyCarl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, GermanyCarl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, GermanyCarl Gustav Carus Faculty of Medicine, Institute for Medical Informatics and Biometry, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, GermanyBackgroundMany people seek health-related information online, not only for themselves but also on behalf of others who cannot articulate their symptoms. This proxy information-seeking behavior is particularly relevant for animal owners, who must interpret their animals’ symptoms without direct verbal feedback. While online health information-seeking in the context of one’s own health is well-studied, the specific challenges of searching by proxy, especially for animal health information, remain largely unexplored.ObjectiveThis study aimed to determine the specific information needs and search behavior of animal owners. As a case study, horse owners were selected, representing a group regularly searching the web for health-related advice concerning their animals.MethodsA mixed-methods approach was used with 17 horse owners in Germany. Participants first described a recent search for equine health information. They were then shown a video of a horse experiencing an asthma attack and asked to conduct a search on how to proceed with the horse’s condition. Afterwards, they were questioned about their respective search behavior.ResultsThe participants’ main initial questions revolved around the cause of the horse’s condition, its urgency of veterinary treatment and the cost of treatment. All participants chose the Google search engine as the starting point for their search and formulated an average of 3.71 (SD: 2.02) queries. Each of these queries contained an average of 3.81 words (SD: 1.57). Most searches (52%) were evidence-directed with 29% using multiple descriptors of the horse’s situation. An average of 0.97 results (SD: 1.38) were clicked per query, with titles containing all search terms in 13% of cases. Participants reported experiencing several barriers to their search, including difficulties in formulating precise queries and the need for additional guidance during the search process.ConclusionThe findings highlight the need for improved online information systems, offering better guidance, context-aware search support, and trustworthy sources. The insights could inform veterinarians on how to better address their clients’ communication and information needs, provide them with the skills and knowledge they need to conduct online research and therefore build a better animal health partnership with them.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1628421/fullanimal health information seekinghorse health information seekingonline health information seekingproxy seekinghuman computer interactionanimal owners |
| spellingShingle | Laura Haase Laura Haase Julia Winter Sophia Grummt Martin Sedlmayr Brita Sedlmayr Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study Frontiers in Veterinary Science animal health information seeking horse health information seeking online health information seeking proxy seeking human computer interaction animal owners |
| title | Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study |
| title_full | Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study |
| title_fullStr | Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study |
| title_short | Horse owners seeking online health information: a mixed-methods study |
| title_sort | horse owners seeking online health information a mixed methods study |
| topic | animal health information seeking horse health information seeking online health information seeking proxy seeking human computer interaction animal owners |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2025.1628421/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT laurahaase horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy AT laurahaase horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy AT juliawinter horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy AT sophiagrummt horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy AT martinsedlmayr horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy AT britasedlmayr horseownersseekingonlinehealthinformationamixedmethodsstudy |