Can We Typify Health Information Seekers? Identification of Personas Among Laypeople

Abstract

The digitalization of healthcare and the widespread use of personal health technologies generate large volumes of health data, yet individuals still struggle to manage and understand their information. This paper explores the development of personas that represent typical personal health information-seeking behaviors, motivations, and needs to support the user-centered design of personal health knowledge management systems. We adopted a mixed-method approach, conducting and analyzing an online survey that collected data on personal health information needs, purposes of access, and access-related challenges, along with using affinity diagramming to group participants by key characteristics identified through data analysis. This approach derived three personas: clinical navigator, health tracker, and care planner. These personas provide a basis for designing user-centered systems that enable individuals to access, organize, and use their personal health information.