HIB Theories and Mental Illness

As mentioned above, a large majority of American’s will experience some sort of mental illness in their lifetime.  It is necessary for LIS professionals take the mental state of users into consideration, particularly in regard to their information seeking process and behavior.  In order for their information needs to be met, quality services and access must be made available.  Because the internet is such a readily available, confidential source, it is understandable that health information seekers would utilize it first. 

Mental illness is characterized by abnormalities in cognition, emotion, or mood.  Therefore, the cognitive perspective must be touched upon when considering the internal workings of the user; a perfect example is Robert Taylor’s question-negotiation approach.   The health queries developed by the user are comparable to Taylor’s Q3 level of information needs, formalized need.  In order for the user to input their query into the system he or she must “be thinking within the contexts or constraints of the system from which he wants information” (182).  It is possible that search system will misinterpret the information provided and output either an incorrect or incomplete result.  Depending on the seriousness of the query, there could be any level of adverse repercussions, both physically and mentally. 

Since the internet is “mostly unregulated”, its unreliability is detrimental for these users presently experiencing mental distress and seeking medical guidance (Powell and Clarke, 276).  It is noted that these persons currently suffering from mental illness “are more likely to have used the internet for this purpose” (Powell and Clarke, 274).  Misleading results could potentially cause harm to the person or make their situation worse.  The study neglected to include LIS professionals as a medical resource.  Taylor notes that "a large number of users of information systems who, for a variety of reasons, will not ask a librarian for assistance" (179).  For those who are unwilling to ask for information from doctors and librarians, the internet is their primary option.

When users search for health information, it is vital to focus on more than just the interaction with an information retrieval system; this is where Brenda Dervin’s sense-making theory comes into play.  This approach can be applied to any moment in an individual’s life.  Health related questions can be both open ended and evolving.  As human’s we are “involved in a constant journey in time and space of sense-making and of sense-unmaking” (Pettigrew, 65).  It is necessary to take the time-space situation into account; one can see how our information “gap” may never be reached.  Yet, we cannot help but acknowledge the fact that there are answers, we just have to find them.  Dervin explains that “humans do not have available to them an external standard to which they can turn for an assessment of their truth” and thus as information-seekers we must have trust not only in our external sources, but also our internal (63).  If we cannot trust ourselves, how can we believe the persons and resources available?  In the study it was shown that “the internet was used more than it was trusted as an accurate medium” for those with current mental health distress (Powell and Clarke, 275).  This is where librarians can help.  LIS professionals have to ability to provide a neutral and reliable resource for those who face segregation. 

However, the biggest issue in mental health information seeking is the associated stigma.  The negative social constructions about mentally ill include: stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination (Corrigan and Watson, 2002).  From a social constructivist perspective, our information communications can be seen as a social discourse.   Tuominen and Savolainen view information within the context that “there is no versionless reality” (82).  People enact defense mechanisms or levels of “disinterestedness” when coping with stigma.  Within the context in which one lives, many social realities are imposed and impede the information search.  When searching for articles related to mental health information-seeking, online searching dominated the results. Participants in the study cited the advantages of the internet as being “privacy, anonymity, and widespread accessibility” (Powell and Clarke, 276).  In an effort to avoid that social criticism, the simplest alternative is to avoid human contact and seek information independently.