Breast Cancer Information Needs and Seeking: towards an Intelligent, User Sensitive Portal to Breast Cancer Knowledge Online

Breast cancer features prominently in the medical expenditures of all western societies and remains the greatest cancer killer amongst women. Information regarding the medical, societal and psycho-social aspects of the disease are vital for informed decision making, patient ‘empowerment’, compliance and improved outcomes. Yet the literature consistently reports dissatisfaction with both the content and delivery mechanisms of breast cancer information. This paper presents a critical review of research on the information needs and informationseeking behavior of women with breast cancer. Results from the Australian Breast Cancer Information Needs and Seeking (BCINS) study are reported and affirm the importance of user-centered, contextual studies as a means of understanding the continually changing information requirements of a diverse target audience. The end-product of the BCINS study, an online ‘intelligent portal’, is described. Through the provision of quality, ‘tailored’ breast cancer resources, the portal is intended to meet the differentiated information needs of the breast cancer community.