Online health information seeking and health literacy among non-medical college students: gender differences
Online health information seeking and health literacy among non-medical college students: gender differences
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DOI：
10.1007/s10389-020-01243-w
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发表时间：
2020-03-09
影响因子：
1.8
通讯作者：
Masoud, Omar
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hassan, Sherine;Masoud, Omar
目的本文的目的是调查埃及非医学院校学生的在线健康信息寻求和健康素养以及两种性别之间的差异。主题和方法 采用横断面描述性设计，通过自填问卷收集了 600 名学生的数据。结果大多数学生在互联网上搜索健康信息（82.3%）。其中 90.3% 使用手机，97.8% 通过 Google 查找数据。皮肤和头发问题是搜索最多的主题（83.3%），其次是生殖健康（79.7%）。学生认为，快速、便捷地获取信息是在线查找健康信息的主要优点（分别为 98.5% 和 95.5%），而阿拉伯语信息缺乏可靠性和稀缺是主要缺点（分别为 78.2% 和 60.5%）。只有 31.2% 的样本达到了足够的识字水平。我们样本中的女性在线健康信息查找的频率更高，健康素养水平也更高。他们在 YouTube 上搜索健康数据和寻求营养信息的比例也更高。另一方面，男性更频繁地使用在线健康应用，并且对健身和吸烟更感兴趣。女性认为在线健康信息查找的主要缺点是成本高，而男性则更关心信息的可靠性。健康素养与女性性别和在线健康信息查找频率呈正相关。结论 利用互联网根据不同性别的喜好和关注点传递健康信息，可以鼓励学生在线搜索健康信息，从而提高学生的健康素养水平。
Aim The aim of this paper was to investigate online health information seeking and health literacy among non-medical college students in Egypt and the differences between the two genders. Subjects and methods A cross-sectional descriptive design was used to collect data from 600 students through a self-administered questionnaire. Results Most of the students searched for health information on the internet (82.3%). 90.3% of them used their mobile phones and 97.8% sought data via Google. Skin and hair problems was the most searched for topic (83.3%), followed by reproductive health (79.7%). Students perceived that rapid and easy access to information were the main advantages of health information seeking online (98.5% and 95.5%, respectively), while the lack of reliability and scarcity of information in the Arabic language were the main disadvantages (78.2% and 60.5%, respectively). Only 31.2% of the sample achieved an adequate literacy level. Females in our sample had a higher frequency of online health information seeking and a higher level of health literacy. They also had a higher percentage of searching for health data on YouTube and seeking nutrition information. On the other hand, males used online health applications more frequently and were more interested in physical fitness and smoking. Females perceived the high cost as the main disadvantage of online health information seeking, while males were more concerned about the reliability of information. Health literacy was positively related to female gender and frequency of online health information seeking. Conclusion Using the internet to deliver health information according to each gender's preferences and concerns can encourage students to search for health information online and, therefore, raise their health literacy level.