Abstract
BackgroundGiven the increasing availability of the internet, it has become a common source of health information. However, the effect of this increased access on health needs to be further studied.ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the correlation between online health information–seeking behavior and general health dimensions in a sample of high school students in Iran.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in 2019. A total of 295 female students participated in the study. The data were collected using two validated questionnaires: the e-Health Impact Questionnaire and the 36-Item Short Form Health Survey. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficients using SPSS version 23 (IBM Corp).ResultsThe participants moderately used online information in their health-related decisions, and they thought that the internet helped people in health-related decision making. They also thought that the internet could be used to share health experiences with others. Participants had moderate confidence in online health information and stated that the information provided by health websites was moderately understandable and reliable and moderately encouraged and motivated them to play an active role in their health promotion. Nevertheless, the results showed that online health information–seeking experience had no significant correlation with health-related quality of life.ConclusionsThis study provides insights into the effect of using internet information on the health of adolescents. It has important implications for researchers and policy makers to build appropriate policies to maximize the benefit of internet access for health.
Highlights
Adolescence refers to the age range of 10 to 19 years [1]
The moderate scores obtained by the participants in the 2 subscales of e-Health Impact Questionnaire (eHIQ)-Part 1 indicated that the participants had used the internet moderately in their health-related decisions and thought that internet could be moderately useful to help people in their health-related decision making
The moderate scores of the participants regarding the last 2 subscales of eHIQ-Part 2, “Information and presentation” and “Understanding and motivation,” showed that the information provided by health websites had been moderately understandable and reliable for the participants and moderately encouraged and motivated them to play an active role in their health promotion
Summary
It is generally supposed that this period is an appropriate time to maintain and promote health and prevent health-related adverse effects in the following decades of life [2]. Despite this potential, adolescents have special needs that are often not well met by health systems [3]. Results: The participants moderately used online information in their health-related decisions, and they thought that the internet helped people in health-related decision making. Conclusions: This study provides insights into the effect of using internet information on the health of adolescents It has important implications for researchers and policy makers to build appropriate policies to maximize the benefit of internet access for health
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