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Based on a cross-sectional design, this study investigates online health seeking and its possible influence on decision making among 400 university undergraduates in Nigeria. From the results, it was found that daily Internet use was on the average (33.7%), and use was constrained by the poor power supply, the high cost of the Internet access, and...
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In this study, we examined what sources laypeople would select (i.e., visit and adopt) to resolve their health-related information needs, and how different health conditions affect the selection. Twenty-four college students participated in this user study, where they were asked to search for two separate health issues respectively: multiple sclero...
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Mobile information seeking often involves search engines that are designed by Western cultures, but are used across the world. As we strive for a more global design, we have a need to evaluate the information seeking journey across different segments of the population in a structured and programmatic process. In this study we focus on qualitative i...
Citations
... 10,11 Studies have reported that sources of nutrition information are generally the internet, family members and friends, television and books. 30,31 In this study, sources of nutrition information were questioned and it was reported that they were internet (37.1%), scientific books and publications (28.6%), medical institutions (19%) and brochures (9.5%). When the levels of nutrition knowledge were evaluated according to these information sources, it was found that the nutrition knowledge scores were significantly higher if the information resources were medical institution and scientific books and publications, and it was not affected in the case of the internet and brochures. ...
Schoolteachers who interact with students continuously and intensively are important role models for students to gain healthy eating habits and eating behaviors. In this study, it was aimed to evaluate teachers' nutrition knowledge, sources of nutrition information and digital healthy diet literacy. This cross-sectional study was conducted online between May 2022 and July 2022. Schoolteachers completed Nutrition Knowledge Scale and Digital Healthy Diet Literacy Scale and the questionnaire containing questions about sociodemographic characteristics and sources of nutrition information. Schoolteachers’ average scores of nutrition knowledge was found to be 94.54±12.97. About 65.6% of the participants had mid-to-high nutrition knowledge. Participants who had information about healthy nutrition had higher nutrition knowledge scores (p=0.013). Participants who used medical institution (p=0.007) and scientific books and publications (p
... A study among university undergraduate students in Nigeria showed a positive result for more than half of the participants. [17] Furthermore, Latunji and Akinyemi [18] studied the determinants of healthseeking behavior among civil servants in Ibadan in the South-Western part of Nigeria, with an appropriate high result among the targeted population. Another healthseeking behavior that targeted the pregnant women at the University College Hospital Ibadan also discovered increased online health-seeking behavior. ...
Objectives
To evaluate alterations in the behavioral pattern of people looking for health information online in Nigeria.
Material and Methods
Using a Google form that included a consent form and a data collection tool, 206 internet users participated in this online descriptive cross-sectional survey. From April 22 through May 31, 2022, the Google form’s link was shared on social media with all eligible participants. Descriptive statistics of frequency and percentage were used to summarize the data, which was represented as a bar chart.
Results
Respondents within the age range of 20-29 years (82.5%) predominated in the study and were mostly Male (63.1%). The proportion of persons with internet access had gone up slightly from 98.5% to 99.5%, but internet usage remained the same (99% Vs 99%), however, a decrease in the frequency of using the internet always (56.3% Vs 48.5%) was observed. During COVID-19, there was a rise in the percentage of people obtaining health information online (87.4% vs. 96.6%).
Conclusion
Albeit a slight decrease in using the internet during the COVID-19 era, however, there was an increase in online seeking behavior.
... The second part included sources [15] of nutrition information that were divided into four segments: family members, friends and peers, healthcare professionals (e.g., nutritionists, dieticians, doctors, etc.), and online resources (e.g., Google searches, YouTube). [16] Traditional media (e.g., radio, television, newspapers, etc.) and the academic curriculum (schools, colleges, and universities) made the questionnaire easy to fill as the answers were listed on a Likert scale with the options Never, Rarely, Sometimes, and Always. These options were enlisted to assess the sources of nutrition knowledge. ...
Objective: This study was aimed at identifying the sources and basic nutrition knowledge among the citizens of Lahore.
Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in the metropolis city of Lahore, Pakistan. Four hundred and seventy-six adult citizens of Lahore participated. A random sampling method was used to collect data through a food frequency questionnaire consisting of 23 questions. The questionnaire designed for this study contained questions about demographics, sources of nutrition information, the reliability of these sources of nutrition information, and basic nutrition knowledge. The highest possible score of the questionnaire was marked as 15, and a mean value of 7.5 was used to categorize the low and high values for variables like nutrition knowledge.
Results: The majority of participants (34.2%) took nutrition information from their families, healthcare professionals (23.9%), and online resources (23.5%). The most reliable source for nutrition information was healthcare professionals (78.6%). Many participants (65.30%) had high nutrition-related basic knowledge, and 34.70% had low knowledge. Although more than 50% of participants reported having high nutrition knowledge, but they were not aware of how to read food labels. Those citizens who referred to online resources for information about nutrition knowledge usually got better results regarding nutrition knowledge.
Conclusion: There is a need for more extensive research to identify the quality of sources for nutrition information to form better policies and plans that can be integrated and adopted at the community and national levels to increase the overall nutrition knowledge of people.
... The findings in this present study are similar to the trend of use established in previous studies globally as well as in Nigeria. However, the prevalence of use of the internet for health-related purposes in this study is higher than that of Onyi and Rebecca in Bauchi as well as that of Obasola and Agunbiade [35,36]. The proportion of internet use in this present study is commendable and suggests that there is a growing interest in the use of the internet as a communication tool for health-related purposes in Nigeria [37,38]. ...
... The variation in both studies could be linked to difference in geographical settings as well as characteristics of the study population [36]. Additionally, greater proportion of the respondents were found to use social media (56.6%) and educational websites (54.0%) for their search for health-related topics on the internet. ...
... Some of the major health topics that were searched for by the respondents in this present study were topics related to sex/reproductive health (44.7%), diet (35.4%) and fitness/exercise (31.1%). These findings are almost similar to the findings in the study of Obasola and Agunbiade among undergraduates in Nigeria as well as some other studies that were conducted in Ghana [36,[40][41][42][43]. Increased knowledge on health topics was identified by the respondents in this present study to be a major benefit associated with the use of the internet for health-related purposes (62.3%). ...
... Moreover, the platform may not be accessible to users with different types of ability, which could limit them to use the platform and access its content. The questions are: Do all the people have a computer or a reliable internet connection to access the MNEMONIC atlas 14 ? How differently abled users such as blind persons visit the Atlas? ...
This study focuses on computer ethics and its relationship with the natural cultural heritage (CNH) domain. The research critically considers the concept of digitalization in the context of heritage to explore the ethical dilemmas that are introduced when cultural heritage values are combined with digital technologies. To this end, by utilizing an established framework, the study examines the social and ethical aspects of a digital cultural heritage platform, "MNEMONIC: Italian hub of cultural resilience". The digital Atlas of MNEMONIC networks makes available a picture of the tangible and intangible heritage of urban open spaces, memory institutions, and their cultural activities during the Covid-19 pandemic. The research findings emphasized the issues of accessibility, copyright, privacy, and cybersecurity as the most serious ethical dilemmas of the MNEMONIC platform. Hence, the study proposes several alternative solutions to alleviate those dilemmas. The research improved the current understanding of the main ethical issues of the MNEMONIC digital cultural heritage platform, allowing the development of a fair digital environment.
... The most frequently searched subjects included information on sexual/productive health, certain disorders, certain treatments, exercise and fitness, diet and nutrition, and many others. 46,47 Data from a recent systematic review identifies general behavioral patterns and influencing factors for individuals seeking online health information such as age, gender, income, employment status, literacy (or education) level, country of origin and places of residence, and caregiving role. 48 Information on health Customers said their ideal social media site should be aesthetically pleasing, simple to use, and resemble a combination of already existing platforms (such as YouTube and Twitter) with better inclusivity and accessibility for a range of identities and experiences. ...
Background:
Online medical education is critical for public health literacy and physician efficacy, but it must be trustworthy. Although it has the potential to be a useful resource for medical education, users must be able to identify reliable content.
Objective:
To assess the scientific quality of Arabic-language video content related to erectile dysfunction that is available on YouTube to learn what information our patients can handle online.
Materials and methods:
A comprehensive search of the YouTube database was carried out to identify videos related to erectile dysfunction published in Arabic. The search was conducted using the following keywords: "Erectile dysfunction", "Sexual dysfunction" and "Impotence". Without a time, limit, the search was carried out until January 1, 2023. The quality assessment of the videos was done using the Kappa score.
Results:
The videos in our sample had up to one million views (average 2,627,485.6), and the kappa index was 0.86 (p <0.001). Of these videos, 16% were considered scientific evidence-based (SEB), and 84% were considered not scientific evidence-based (NSEB) (p <0.001). The NSEB group addressed details concerning natural remedies, the Psychosocial sphere, and lifestyle, whereas the SEB group tended to be more concerned with physiopathology, etiology, endothelial dysfunction, diagnosis, psychosocial treatment, oral treatment, injections, or prosthesis.
Conclusion:
On social media, misleading or incorrect information about erectile dysfunction is widely disseminated. This research may support urological and technical oversight and emphasizes guiding patients to the best men's health options.
... It is important to conduct this study in low-, middleas well as high-income countries to identify the existing different levels of NK [19]. Appropriate health education interventions can increase awareness of simple public health nutrition messages in order to initiate positive behavior changes at a community-wide level [20,21]. Plenty of evidence shows that adequate levels of food and nutrition literacy are positively associated with food selection, food preparation, eating habits, and diet quality [21]. ...
... Appropriate health education interventions can increase awareness of simple public health nutrition messages in order to initiate positive behavior changes at a community-wide level [20,21]. Plenty of evidence shows that adequate levels of food and nutrition literacy are positively associated with food selection, food preparation, eating habits, and diet quality [21]. ...
... Youth (15)(16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24) yrs.) were more dependent on social media: 87% of them used it as a primary source of NK, while 43% of adults (≥ 25 yrs.) used social media. ...
Background
Knowing what to eat and realizing the significance of healthful eating habits are among the important steps to promoting eating behavior. The current study aims to assess the nutrition knowledge (NK) among a convenient sample in four different countries, determine the association between different demographic factors and NK, and investigate the need for future interventions on nutrition in the four selected countries.
Methods
A cross-sectional multi-national survey study among a convenient sample of 8,191 subjects from Egypt, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan who undertook surveys between January 2019 and January 2020. A pre-tested interview questionnaire was utilized for data collection from study participants. It included three sections: i) Sociodemographic characteristics:. ii). Section two included twenty-one questions related to NK.. iii). Section three included one question about NK sources.
Results
About three-quarters showed inadequate nutrition knowledge (73.1%). Youth (15–24 yrs.) were more dependent on social media, with 87% using it as a primary source of NK, while adults (≥ 25 yrs.) demonstrated that 43% of them used social media. In contrast, TV was more prominent among them, with participants’ characteristics such as living with parents, body mass index, and country of residence showing no association with NK. However, female sex, education, and reading nutrition articles are significantly correlated with adequate knowledge (p < 0.001). Significant predictors of satisfactory knowledge were age, sex, education, living with parents, and reading nutrition articles.
Conclusion
The study revealed low levels of NK indicating an urgent need to implement educational programs to promote nutrition knowledge. As NK is a modifiable determinant of diet intake and can positively impact the need for developing strategies in counselling and raising awareness among the general population to improve their health status.
... Moreover, health consumers sought a variety of topics of health information online including diet and nutrition, exercise and fitness, certain health diseases, specific health treatment, mental health issues, sexual/productive health information (e.g., Alhuwail & Abdulsalam, 2019;Maon et al., 2017;Obasola & Agunbiade, 2016), symptoms (Wong & Cheung, 2019), and skin and hair problems (Hassan & Masoud, 2021). Health consumers sought health information online for various reasons such as convenient, anonymous, confidential, time-efficient, easy to obtain instant up-to-date related information (e.g., Hassan & Masoud, 2021;Maon et al., 2017;Asibey et al., 2017), to be more informed and just out of interest (Alhuwail & Abdulsalam, 2019), and noticing new symptoms or change in health (Wong & Cheung, 2019). ...
... Health consumers sought health information online for various reasons such as convenient, anonymous, confidential, time-efficient, easy to obtain instant up-to-date related information (e.g., Hassan & Masoud, 2021;Maon et al., 2017;Asibey et al., 2017), to be more informed and just out of interest (Alhuwail & Abdulsalam, 2019), and noticing new symptoms or change in health (Wong & Cheung, 2019). However, two-fifths of consumers believed that the online health information was reliable (Obasola & Agunbiade, 2016). On the other hand, online HISB is explained by both psychological and social factors (Mills & Todorova, 2016;Wang et al., 2013). ...
... Hence, it would be important for health information providers to tailor their information provision to these types of information. These results are consistent with other similar studies (e.g., Hassan & Masoud, 2021;Alhuwail & Abdulsalam, 2019;Ashkanani et al., 2019;Maon et al., 2017;Asibey et al., 2017;Obasola & Agunbiade, 2016). Two types of health information frequently sought online varied according to five characteristics of participants. ...
The aim of this study was threefold: (i) to examine the prevalence and patterns of online HISB among laypeople in Jordan, (ii) to identify their types and reasons for seeking health information online, and (iii) to explore any differences in the identified types and reasons according to their characteristics. A cross-sectional study was carried out among general population in Jordan. Participants highly sought health information online. More than third sought the information several times a week. They sought information about symptoms, medication, and a disease or condition in order to be informed, because of noticing new symptoms, and for curiosity.
... To the best of our knowledge, previous studies in Nigeria on the subject have largely assessed the concept of online health information seeking among university students without examining the predictors of such behaviour (Adegbilero-Iwari et al., 2021;Obasola & Agunbiade, 2016;Onwe & Okocha, 2019). This study, however, assessed the predictors of online health information seeking behaviour among nonmedical undergraduate students of a private university in Nigeria. ...
... Gender differences in online health information seeking behaviour among students have been upheld in previous studies done in Nigeria (Obasola & Agunbiade, 2016;Onwe & Okocha, 2019). In this study, the female students (54.8%) depended more on the internet as their main source of health information than the males (41.5%). ...
Background:
As more people across Generations X, Y, and Z continue to use the Internet meet their information needs, this study assesses the characteristics influencing the online health information seeking behaviour (OHISB) of non-medical university students. Previous studies on the subject in Nigeria have largely assessed the concept of OHISB among university students without examining the determinants of such behaviour.
Objective:
To determine the predictors of OHISB among non-medical undergraduate students of a Nigerian private university.
Methods:
Adopting a cross-sectional research design, the study utilized a semi-structured questionnaire administered via Google forms. Some 361 non-medical undergraduate students were recruited purposively with a response rate of 84.2%. The questionnaire obtained data on students' socio-demographics, Internet usage, and OHISB.
Results:
Presence of a chronic condition, gender, and college showed significant associations with students' OHISB. 'Mothers' occupation' and 'prior experience' became significant predictors of students' OHISB.
Discussion:
The results align with studies that stressed that chronically ill persons would search for health information on the internet and that presence of chronic illness is among the predictors of OHISB.
Conclusion:
These findings add to evidence from other countries that had identified health literacy and presence of chronic illness as significant predictors of OHISB among students.
... In Africa, a good number of studies on web information related surveys have been conducted. For instance, a cross sectional study by Obasola and Agunbiade (2016) in Nigeria on 'Online health information seeking pattern among undergraduates in a Nigerian University' revealed that undergraduate students mostly use Google and Yahoo for their information sources. A smaller percentage of students use Wikipedia, Facebook and other social media outlets. ...
... In Africa, a study by Obasola and Agunbiade (2016) in Nigeria, that focussed on Web information search by undergraduate found that students became confused due to too much information on the web, coupled with inadequate computers in the library, power outages and lack of information seeking skills, lack of awareness, insufficiency of web amenities and other facilities that should ease access to web-based resources. Eke et al. (2014) affirmed that electricity power failure is a major constraint to web search by undergraduate students in universities in Nigeria. ...
The Web has grown into a vital channel of communication and an important vehicle for information provision, dissemination and retrieval in universities by all students and lecturers. Therefore, the purpose of the study was to investigate undergraduate students’ web information seeking behaviour at Malawi Adventist University (MAU) with the view of improving their web information searching skills and use. The study was necessary because it is hoped that it may help the institution to develop appropriate interventions and policies to improve, or reinforce web information seeking behaviour of undergraduate students. The study addressed the following objectives: to establish web information needs of undergraduate students at MAU , to determine the web information sources consulted by undergraduate students, to identify web information searching strategies by undergraduate students, and to find out the barriers faced by undergraduate students in accessing and using web information.
The study adopted a mixed methods approach and underpinned by Wilsons’ (1996) Model of Information Behaviour. The target population of the study were level four undergraduate students equivalent to 166. The study used stratified purposive sampling technique in selecting respondents. A questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect data. The study found that 91(77%) undergraduate students at MAU Lakeview Campus have web information needs for them to meet their study requirements. On web information sources accessed by undergraduate at Malawi Adventist University the study found that 51(43%) consult academic and scholarly databases, 29(25%) uses instructional sites like dummies and how to stuff. The study also found that 51(43%) students employ simple search strategy to seek information on the web and 35(30%) type full sentence to search the web, 23(20%) use phrase search technique. However, 53(45%) experience information overload as a barrier and 21(18%) are challenged by inadequate computers and limited internet access as a barrier to seek in information on the web. The other barriers as indicated by undergraduate students are lack of time, unwillingness of library staff to assist and being unaware of web information source.
The study recommends that the library at Malawi Adventist University should more user awareness campaigns and make offering of information literacy sessions compulsory to students. It is further recommended that Malawi Adventist University MAU Library and the institution should increase the internet bandwidth for the students to have a speedy internet service.
