Needs, Uses and Evaluation of Internet Health Information Among Students in a Provincial University

Abstract

Objective: This study aims to investigate the needs, uses and evaluation of Internet health information among students in a provincial university. Methods: Nine hundred and sixty one student from seven different classes of S University located in Chungnam province participated in this study from 2nd to 9th May, 2005. A self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data. Collected data were analyzed on SPSS 11.0. Results: 58.2% of them have needed some health information before and 84.6% of them needed the health information offered by a University. 67.2% of them use the Internet more than any other resource to acquire Health Information. 90.9% of them used a search engines to get health information on the Internet. 57.6% of them have searched for Internet health information to get information about specific disease or medical problem. The most frequently searched topics were LASIK(laser in-situ Keratomileusis), diabetes, and contraception. 39.6% of them evaluated the Internet health information was reliable and 55.8% of them satisfied with the Internet health information. Conclusion: Universities and their in-campus health centers are needed to offer the trustworthy Internet health informtaion on their official homepages so that the student can refer to the reliable and qualified Internet health information.