Abstract
BackgroundDuring university, students face some potentially serious health risks, and their lifestyle can have a direct effect on health and health behaviors later in life. Concurrently, university students are digital natives having easy access to the internet and new technologies. Digital health interventions offer promising new opportunities for health promotion, disease prevention, and care in this specific population. The description of the current use of and opinions on digital health among university students can inform future digital health strategies and interventions within university settings.ObjectiveThe aim of this exploratory study was to report on university students’ use and opinions regarding information and communication technologies for health and well-being, taking into account sociodemographic and self-rated general and mental health correlates.MethodsThis field survey was conducted from March to April 2017. An informed consent form and a paper questionnaire were given to students aged 18 to 24 years in 4 university campuses in Bordeaux, France. The survey was formulated in 3 sections: (1) sociodemographic characteristics and self-rated general and mental health, (2) information about the use of digital health, and (3) opinions about digital health. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and tests of independence.ResultsA total of 59.8% (303/507 females) students completed the questionnaire. Concerning digital health use, 34.9% (174/498) had at least 1 health app mostly for physical activity (49.4%, 86/174) and general health monitoring (41.4%, 72/174,), but only 3.9% (20/507) of students had a wearable device. Almost all (94.8%, 450/476) had searched for Web-based health-related information at least once in the last 12 months. The most sought health-related topics were nutrition (68.1%, 324/476); pain and illnesses (64.5%, 307/476); and stress, anxiety, or depression (51.1%, 243/476). Although Wikipedia (79.7%, 357/448) and general health websites (349/448, 77.9%) were the most consulted sources, students considered institutional or official websites as the most credible sources (309/335, 92.2%). There were significant differences in digital health use by gender, field, and year of study. No statistically significant association was found between digital health use and self-rated general and mental health status. Concerning opinions on digital health, although 94.1% (475/505) of students estimated that today’s digital health cannot replace traditional health services and medical consultations, 44.6% (207/464) of students declared that this could be possible in the future, provided that digital health interventions are promoted by institutional or official entities.ConclusionsUniversity students are largely using the internet for health information seeking, but using less mobile health apps and very few wearable devices. Our data suggest that digital health has the potential for improving health and well-being at the university, especially if digital health interventions take into account students’ profiles, interests, and needs.
Highlights
BackgroundUniversity students represent almost two-thirds of all young adults in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries [1]
University students are largely using the internet for health information seeking, but using less mobile health apps and very few wearable devices
A total of 18 students were excluded because their date of birth was missing, 6 because they were younger than 18 years, and 59 because they were older than 24 years
Summary
BackgroundUniversity students represent almost two-thirds of all young adults in Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries [1]. Politicians, and managers, their health and well-being is a world-wide public health priority [2] They can be viewed as a privileged healthy population, university students often report poor health conditions. They have relatively high rates of sexually transmitted and inflammatory diseases due to risky sexual practices [3]; they are at risk of chronic diseases due to sedentary behavior [4], problematic alcohol consumption [5], and drug use [6]; and frequently report mental health problems such as stress, anxiety, or depression, which are often due to academic load and homesickness [7]. The description of the current use of and opinions on digital health among university students can inform future digital health strategies and interventions within university settings
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