What Makes HINTS Unique

Communication & Technology Focus

The National Cancer Institute’s Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is the only nationally representative, federally funded survey that includes items related to health and cancer communication, information technology, and the information environment in addition to items related to health-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. This communication and technology focus allows researchers to monitor changes in the health communication environment and study the impact of communication on key processes affecting the health of American adults.

Examples of Health/Cancer Communication and Information Technology items:

• Health Information Seeking:
  Have you ever looked for information about cancer from any source?
• Use of Health Information Technology:
  Have you shared health information from either an electronic monitoring device or smartphone with a health professional within the last 12 months?
• Social Media Use:
  In the last 12 months, have you used the Internet for any of the following reasons? To watch a health-related video on YouTube
• Medical Records/EHRs:
  Have any of your health care providers, including doctors, nurses, or office staff ever encouraged you to use an online medical record?
• Patient-Provider Communication:

  The following questions are about your communication with all doctors, nurses, or other health professionals you saw during the past 12 months.

  • How often did they spend enough time with you?
  • How often did they explain things in a way you could understand?
  • How often did they make sure you understood the things you needed to do to take care of your health?
  • How often did they involve you in decisions about your health care as much as you wanted?
  • How often did doctors, nurses, or other health professionals give you the chance to ask all the health-related questions you had?
  • How often did doctors, nurses, or other health professionals give the attention you needed to your feelings and emotions?

Policy Support

HINTS has fielded several unique policy-related items to assess the public’s attitudes toward proposed public health policies and regulations.

Example items:

• To reduce the problems associated with excessive alcohol use, to what extent would you support or oppose… Requiring specific health warnings on alcohol containers?
• To what extent would you support or oppose that cigarette packs should be required to have warning labels that use both images and words to show the negative health effects of smoking?
• To what extent would you support or oppose that tobacco products should not be advertised on social media?

Policy and Guideline Tracking

HINTS has fielded items to help track the public’s awareness and response to major public health developments, such as the release of new guidelines, the implementation of new regulations, and the announcement of major legal decisions.

Example items:

• In the past 12 months, have you seen messages saying that a Federal Court has ordered tobacco companies to make statements about the dangers of smoking cigarettes? These messages have been in newspapers, on television, on tobacco company websites, and on cigarette packs.
• Think about the last time you ordered food in a fast food or sit down restaurant, did you notice calorie information listed next to the food on the menu or menu board?
• In the past 6 months, have you heard about government recommendations for physical activity from a health professional or doctor?

Tracking National Health Objectives

HINTS is used to track national progress toward the US Department of Health and Human Services Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion’s HealthyPeople targets related to health communication and health information technology:

• Increase the proportion of adults whose health care providers involved them in decisions as much as they wanted (HC/HIT‑03)
  • Tracked by HINTS Item: The following questions are about your communication with all doctors, nurses, or other health professionals you saw during the past 12 months…How often did they involve you in decisions about your health care as much as you wanted?
• Increase the proportion of adults who talk to friends or family about their health (HC/HIT‑04)
  • Tracked by HINTS Item: Do you have friends or family members that you talk to about your health?
• Increase the proportion of adults with broadband internet (HC/HIT‑05)
  • Tracked by HINTS Item: When you use the Internet, do you access it through… Broadband such as DSL, cable or FiOS
• Increase the proportion of adults offered online access to their medical record (HC/HIT‑06)
  • Tracked by HINTS Items:
    Have you ever been offered online access to your medical records by your health care provider?
    Have you ever been offered online access to your medical records by your health insurer?
• Increase the proportion of adults who use IT to track health care data or communicate with providers (HC/HIT‑07)
  • Tracked by HINTS Item:
    In the past 12 months, have you used a computer, smartphone, or other electronic means to look up test results?
    In the past 12 months, have you used a computer, smartphone, or other electronic means to make appointments with a health care provider?
    In the past 12 months, have you used a computer, smartphone, or other electronic means to use email or the internet to communicate with a doctor or doctor's office?
    In the past 12 months, have you used a computer, smartphone, or other electronic means to look for health or medical information for yourself?

Emerging Tobacco Products

HINTS has also been used to track the public’s awareness and use of emerging tobacco products.

Example items:

• Thinking about heated tobacco products, which of the following statements best applies to you?
• Compared to smoking cigarettes, would you say that electronic cigarettes are…
• Compared to smoking cigarettes, would you say that smoking tobacco using a hookah is…

Misinformation

HINTS is being used to track public attitudes and perceptions of emerging issues such as health misinformation.

Example items:

• How much of the health information that you see on social media do you think is false or misleading?
• How much do you agree or disagree with the following statements: I find it hard to tell whether health information on social media is true or false

Telehealth

HINTS is being used to assess the American public’s use of and experiences with telehealth services.

Example items:

• In the past 12 months, did you receive care from a doctor or health professional using telehealth?
• What was the primary reason for your most recent telehealth visit?

 

Please visit our online codebook to view additional topics covered in HINTS surveys:
https://hints.cancer.gov/view-questions/all-hints-questions.aspx