Pervasiveness of health information in everyday life in Germany: insights from a photo-elicitation diary study on implicit health knowledge using the documentary method

In an information society, the complexity of health discourses and media–technological developments touch upon processes of finding, understanding, appraising, and using information. Encounters with health information in everyday life are omnipresent. Hence, applying perceived health information to lifeworlds becomes challenging. We were therefore particularly interested in understanding appraisals and practices regarding random encounters with health information.

A photo-elicitation diary study was designed and conducted to collect data from encounters with health information in everyday life. Drawing on a sociology of knowledge approach and using the documentary method, appraisal patterns of health information were reconstructed.

Four appraisal patterns were reconstructed: control, optimization, responsibility, and confidence.

The findings contribute to a critical reflection on the pervasiveness of health information in lifeworlds, also referred to as infodemic. The identified appraisal patterns and orientation frames offer insights into the impact of random encounters with health information in everyday life; they also provide a foundation for critically discussing quality criteria for health information in a diverse society, and can inform initiatives for strengthening individual and collective health literacy.