Online health information-seeking behavior (HISB) about COVID-19 among students of Hanoi Medical University, Vietnam

Abstract

Objective: To describe the online COVID-19 information seeking of Hanoi Medical University students and associated factors. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with 308 participants. Chi-square test and Poisson regression were applied. Results: The majority (94.16%) of participants utilized the internet to seek COVID-19 information. Descriptions of this disease (91.72%) were the most desired information for knowledge or curiosity (75.52%). Government sources were most commonly used (75.17%) because of trustworthiness (53.45%). Few of the subjects (16.9%) discussed COVID-19 information with doctors, but doctors were principally interested in that information (79.59%). The total eHEALS score of participants is relatively high (30.29 ± 4.52). There were significant differences between genders in asking doctors about online COVID-19 information (face-to-face communication). Poisson regression analysis shows that a higher eHEALS score was associated with the level of interest of doctors. Conclusion: These findings contribute to our understanding of seeking online information on COVID-19 of Hanoi Medical University students.