Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the specific mediating role of intention as a determinant of content specific reading grounded in the hermeneutic situation of the respondent, their attitude towards reading and their self-care agency. ;A case-study approach, using open-ended interviews with eight individuals, was paired with the respondent's perusal of samples of health-related literature. The interviews allowed for a concurrent appraisal of intention to read as well as a retrospective analysis of health reading as an intentional act. The content of the interviews was then analyzed for statements indicative of attitude towards reading, the mediating role of intention in the decision to read, the impact of external motivators, and the impact of the self-care agency of the person on health reading decisions. A central focus of the analysis was the impact of the "hermeneutical situation" of the individual on reading choices, interpretations and understanding. ;The findings of the study resulted in the development of a model of health reading as an intentional act. Based on the levels of perceived risk and ambiguity surrounding the health problem, individuals were found to engage in four variations of reading: informational scanning, proactive investigation, reactive investigation, and critical concern reading. Included are the effort to match personal symptoms to information based either on interest or need and the locus of control of the reader in all four variations. Reading is presented as an intentional act, grounded in the hermeneutic self-understanding of the person. ;The research was also conducted to test Mathewson's model of attitude influence upon reading and learning to read. It suggests that intention does serve to mediate between attitude and reading. The model has value both for reading theory and for patient education efforts to use reading as a motivator for behavior change