Research is unanimous that health correlates positively with socio-economic position
regardless of measuring scales. The current stress is on sociocultural and
psychosocial factors. In his theoretical model of the relationships between
stressors, coping and health, Aaron Antonovsky has highlighted the inadequacy of a
pathogenic orientation and proposed a salutogenic orientation. He asked why
resources like wealth, ego strength, cultural stability and social support promoted
health. He developed the concept of the sense of coherence and integrated it into a
general model of information processing. This article presents results of a survey
of a representative sample (N = 2500) of the Finnish population aged 18-65 years.
The objective was to examine the influence of the sense of coherence on perceived
health, media literacy, the level of reliability of different health information
sources and interest in health information. The results indicate that the impact of
the sense of coherence is considerable.
1
Whitehead M MWhere do we stand? Research and policy issues concerning inequalities in
health and in healthcare
. Acta Oncologica1999; 38 (1);
41-50
.
2.
2
World Health Organization
. Targets for Health for All: Targets in Support of the European Regional
Strategy for Health for All.
Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe
, 1985.
3.
3
World Health Organization
. Health 21. The Health for All Policy for the WHO European Region: 21
targets for the 21st Century.
Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe
, 1998.
4.
4
Macintyre S
.
Understanding the social patterning of health: the role of the social sciences
. Journal of Public Health Medicine1994; 16 (1);
53-59
.
5.
5
Macintyre S
.
The Black Report and beyond; what are the issues?Social Science & Medicine1997; 44 (6);
723-745
.
6.
6
Valkonen T
, et al. Socio-Economic Mortality Differences in Finland 1981-90.
Helsinki: Statistics Finland
, 1993.
7.
7
Townsend P
,
Davidson N
eds. Inequalities in Health: The Black Report. Sir Douglas Black
et al. Introduction by Townsend P. Davidson N.
Harmondsworth: Penguin
, 1982.
8.
8
Marmot M
,
Davey Smith G
.
Socio-economic differentials in health: the contribution of the Whitehall Studies
. Journal of Health Psychology1997; 2 (3);
283-296
.
9.
9
Kawachi I
,
Kennedy B P
.
Health and social cohesion: why care about income inequality?British Medical Journal1997, 314 (7086);
1037-1040
.
10.
10
Bosma H
,
Dike van de Mheen H D
,
Mackenbach J P
.
Social class in childhood and general health in adulthood: questionnaire
study of contribution of psychological attributes
. British Medical Journal1999; 318 (7175);
18-22
.
11.
11
Stepukonis F
. The development of suicides in the Scandinavian and the post-soviet
Baltic countries in a postindustrial-country contextYearbook of Population Research in Finland XXXIVHelsinki
, 1997.
12.
12
Durkheim L
. Suicide: A Study in Sociology 209.
Glencoe, IL: Free
, 1960.
13.
13
Rogers R G
.
The effects of family composition, health, and social support linkages on mortality
. Journal of Health and Social Behavior1996; 37 (December);
326-338
.
14.
14
House J S
,
Landis K R
,
Umberson D
.
Social relationships and health
. Science1988; 241;
540-545
.
15.
15
Berkman L F
,
Syme S L
.
Social networks, host resistance, and mortality: a nine-year follow up
study of Alameda residents
. American Journal of Epidemiology1979; 109 (2);
186-204
.
16.
16
Smith H J
,
Tyler T R
.
Choosing the right pond: the impact of group membership on self esteem and
group-oriented behavior
, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology1997; 33 (2);
146-170
.
17.
17
Antonucci T C
. Social supports and social relationships. In
Binstock R H
,
George L K
eds Handbook of Aging and the Social Sciences.
San Diego, CA: Academic
, 1990.
18.
18
Suominen S
. Perceived Health and Life Control: A Theoretical Review and Empirical
Study about the Connections between Health and Life Control Determined According
to the Strength of the Sense of Coherence 121.
Helsinki: Stakes
, 1993.
19.
19
Nationella folkhalsokommitten
. Halsa pa lika villkor: andra steget mot nationella folkhilsomll:
delbetinkande (Health on Equal Terms: Second Step towards National Goals for
Public Health: Preliminary Report).
Stockholm: Fakta info direct
, 1999.
20.
20
Hanson B S
. Social Network, Social Support and Health in Elderly Men: A Population
Study.
Lund: Lunds Universitet
, 1988.
21.
21
Syme S L
,
Berkman L F
.
Social class, susceptibility and sickness
. American Journal of Epidemiology1976; 104 (1);
1-8
.
22.
22
Chamberlain K
.
Socio-economic health differentials: from structure to experience
. Journal of Health Psychology1997; 2 (3);
399-411
.
23.
23
Calnan M
,
Williams S
.
Style of life and the salience of health: an exploratory study of
health-related practices in households from differing socio-economic circumstances
. Sociology of Health and Illness1991; 13 (4);
506-529
.
24.
24
Calnan M
,
Johnson B
.
Health, health risks and inequalities: an exploratory study of women's perceptions
. Sociology of Health and Illness1985; 7 (1);
55-75
.
25.
25
d'Houtard A
,
Field M GThe image of health: variations in perceptions by social class in a French populationSociology of Health and Illness1984; 6 (1);
30-60
.
26.
26
Agada J
.
Inner-city gatekeepers: an exploratory survey of their information use environment
. Journal of the American Society for Information Science1999; 50 (1);
74-85
.
27.
27
Gaziano C
.
Forecast 2000: widening knowledge gaps
. J & MC Quarterly1997; 74 (2);
237-264
.
28.
28
Chatman E A
.
The information world of low-skilled workers
. Library and Information Science Research1987; 9 (4);
265-283
.
29.
29
Childers T
,
Post J A
. The Information Poor in America.
Metuchen, NJ: Scarecrow
, 1975.
30.
30
Fogel R W
. The Fourth Great Awakening and the Future of Egalitarianism1-4, 236-236.
Chicago: University of Chicago Press
, 2000.
31.
31
Antonovsky A
. Health, Stress and Coping. New Perspectives on Mental and Physical
Well-Being.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
, 1979.
32.
32
Antonovsky A
. Unraveling the Mystery of Health. How People Manage Stress and Stay
Well.
San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
, 1 987.
33.
33 Dagens Nyheter. En falsk drbm om friskhet: Lena Andersson intervjuar Aaron
Antonovsky (A vain dream about healthiness: Lena Andersson interviews Aaron
Antonovsky). Dagens Nyheter 30 June 1989.
34.
34
Dervin BFrom the mind's eye of the user: the sense-making qualitative-quantitative
methodology. In
Glazier J
,
Powell R R
eds Qualitative Research in Information Management.
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Libraries Unlimited
, 1992.
35.
35 Svenska Dagbladet. Auschwitz ar alltid narvarande: Steve Sem-Sandberg
intervjuar Imre Kertesz (Auschwitz is always present, Steve Sem-Sandberg interviews
Imre Kertesz). Svenska Dagbladet 22 July 2002.
36.
36
Kuhlthau C C
. Seeking Meaning. A Process Approach to Library and Information Services
6-7.
Norwood: Ablex
, 1993.
37.
37
MacMullin S E
,
Taylor R SProblem dimensions and information traits
. The Information Society1984; 3(1);
91-111
.
38.
38
Antonovsky A
. The structural sources of salutogenic strengths. In
Cooper C L
,
Payne R
eds Personality and Stress. Individual Differences in the Stress
Process.
New York: Wiley
, 1991.
39.
39
Antonovsky A
.
Complexity, conflict, chaos, coherence, coercion and civility
. Social Science & Medicine1993; 37 (8);
969-981
.
40.
40
Antonovsky A
.
A sociological critique of the 'well-being' movement
. Advances: The Journal of Mind-Body Health1994; 10 (3):
6-12
.
41.
41
Buckland M K
.
Information as thing
. Journal of the American Society for Information Science1991; 42 (5):
351-360
.
42.
42
American Library Association
. Presidential Committee on Information Literacy: Final Report.
1989. http://www.ala.org2003 March.
43.
43
Bruce C
. Seven faces of information literacy in higher education.
1997. http:llsky.fit.qut.edu.au 2003 March.
44.
44
Doyle C S
. Information literacy in an information society. ERIC
Digest. 1994. http://www.ericfacility.net2003 March.
45.
45
Chatman E A
.
Information, mass media use, and the working poor
. Library and Information Science Research1985;7 (2);
97-113
.
46.
46
Chatman E A
.
Opinion leadership, poverty, and information sharing
. RQ1987; 26 (3);
341-353
.
47.
47
Chatman E A
. Framing social life in theory and research. In
Hdglund L
,
Wilson T D
eds The New Review of Information Behaviour Research: Studies of
Information Seeking in Context vol. 1, 3-17.
Cambridge: Taylor Graham
, 2000.
48.
48
Chatman E AThe impoverished life-world of outsiders
. Journal of the American Society for Information Science1996, 47 (3);
193-206
.
49.
49
Savolainen R
.
Network competence and information seeking on the Internet: from
definitions towards a social cognitive model
. Journal of Documentation2002; 58 (2);
211-226
.
50.
50
Spink A
,
Greisdorf H
.
Regions and levels: measuring and mapping users' relevance judgments
. Journal of the American Society for Information Science2001; 52 (2);
161-173
.
51.
51
Tombros T
,
Crestani F
.
Users' perception of relevance of spoken documents
. Journal of the American Society for Information Science2000; 51 (10);
929-939
.
52.
52
Frankl V E
. Man's Search for Meaning. An Introduction to Logotherapy.
New York: Washington Square
, 1963.
53.
53
Koestler A
. The Ghost in the Machine.
London: Hutchinson
, 1967.
54.
54
Saboga Nunes L A
. The WWW Sense of Coherence Home Page.
http://www.angelfire.com/ok/soc/ 2003 March.
55.
55
Antonovsky A
.
The structure and properties of the sense of coherence scale
. Social Science & Medicine1993; 36 (6);
725-733
.
56.
56
Bourdieu P
. Distinction: A Social Critique of the Judgement of Taste.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press
, 1 998.
