Information behaviors in disadvantaged and dependent circumstances and the role of information intermediaries

TLDR

This study empirically investigates the role of information intermediaries in disadvantaged and dependent circumstances, developing a theoretical framework linking information behavior to social capital. Through interviews and focus groups with 49 UK state and voluntary sector professionals supporting young mothers, the authors identify three core intermediary functions: recognizing information needs, connecting to external sources, and tailoring information via iterative communication. The findings demonstrate that intermediaries significantly shape information behaviors in at‑risk populations, offering practical insights for public health and digital health policy.

Abstract

This article provides the first empirical study focused exclusively on the information intermediary role in disadvantaged (socioeconomic) and dependent (support) circumstances. We report findings from interviews and focus groups with 49 UK state and voluntary sector professionals providing support to young (<21) mothers from areas of multiple deprivations. We evidence an important information intermediary role with three key contributions to information behaviors in disadvantaged and dependent circumstances. Intermediaries: facilitate information needs recognition, and consider purposeful action within problematic situations; are a key source of information in themselves, and a key integrative connection to other external sources not otherwise accessed; and tailor and personalize information for relevance, and communicate via incremental and recursive cycles that take into account learning needs. We provide parameters for a theory of information intermediary intervention to guide future examination of an important and understudied role; and conceptualize important theoretical relationships between information behavior and social capital, and in particular shared concepts of social integration, and the progressive and integrative intermediary role within. Our findings have significant practical implications for public health policy and digital health strategies, as they evidence an important human information intermediary role among an at‐risk group, with implications for disadvantaged and vulnerable populations more broadly.