Health Information-seeking Behavior Research Articles

Association Between Health Information‒Seeking Behavior on YouTube and Physical Activity Among U.S. Adults: Results From Health Information Trends Survey 2020

Although physical activity has many health benefits, 45.8% of U.S. adults did not meet the WHO recommendation in 2018. Delivering health-related content, particularly physical activity, through YouTube may help to overcome some barriers, such as lack of access to resources. This study aimed to examine the association between watching health-related information on YouTube and increased levels of physical activity among U.S. adults. Using the U.S. national cross-sectional survey-Health Information National Trends Survey 2020 (n=3,865), we conducted a multivariable logistic regression on obtaining 150 minutes of at least moderate-intensity physical activity per week (WHO guidelines) by watching health-related information on YouTube, controlling for demographics (age, sex, race/ethnicity), socioeconomics (income, education level, insurance coverage, employment), current use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes, use of electronic wearable devices (e.g., Fitbit), self-reported health status, BMI, and the presence of chronic conditions (e.g., diabetes, heart disease, cancer) and depression or anxiety disorders. Overall, 40.8% (weighted) of respondents reported using YouTube to watch health-related videos, and 39.2% reported meeting the WHO-recommended physical activity level. After controlling for covariates, adults who reported watching health-related videos on YouTube in the past 12 months (versus not watching) were 1.33 times more likely to do 150 minutes or more of moderate physical activity a week (AOR=1.33; 95% CI=1.01, 1.76). This study suggests that adults who view health-related YouTube videos may be more likely to meet the WHO-recommended level of physical activity. This finding could inform future behavioral interventions using online video platforms to promote physical activity.

Predictive Factors for Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior among Adults in the Russian Federation.

The internet is fast becoming one of the key instruments for seeking health-related information. This study aimed to investigate factors associated with internet use for health information among adults in the Russian Federation and to identify factors that explain its variation. The data were collected from the online survey conducted in Russian Federation on Aug-Sep 2020. A bivariate chi-square test was used to identify factors for further analysis. The binomial logistic regression model was fitted to the data to determine the relationship between dependent and independent variables. Overall, 1319 adults' survey submissions were analyzed. The binomial regression model showed women (OR 1.507, 95% CI 1.152-1.972), those with higher education level (OR 2.688, 95% CI 1.380-5.234), avid Internet users (3-4 h per day OR 2.187, 95% CI 1.383-3.460; 5+ h per day OR 2.361, 95% CI 1.475-3.781) are more likely to seek the health information on the Internet. Older participants (35-49 yr OR .701, 95% CI .498-.988; 50+ yr OR .624, 95% CI .430-.907) and those who live in rural areas (OR .469, 95% CI .308-.712) are less likely to use the internet for health information. It is important to promote health information-seeking behavior among men, older, less educated individuals, and those who live in rural areas. The improvement of digital skills and infrastructure may engage those who experience difficulties accessing health information over the internet.

Health information-seeking behavior among Congolese refugees.

BackgroundThe purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the extent to which Congolese refugees seek health information, to identify and assess the resources used while exercising Health Information-Seeking Behavior (HISB), and to identify individual determinants that affect their HISB.MethodologyBuilding Bridges program participants who resided in Texas between 2017–2020, reported country of origin as Democratic Republic of Congo, and responded to HISB questions were included in this study. Four HISB questions asked about frequency seeking health information, preferred source and perceived trustworthiness of source, and frequency worrying about their health. Associations between HISB and sociodemographic factors (age, gender, education years, years in US, proficiency speaking English, marital status) were tested using Pearson chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests (α≤0.05).ResultsMost participants (59%) reported seeking health information sometimes. Less than half (44%) of participants identified doctors as their preferred source of health information, Twenty-five percent relied on family, friends, and community leaders, and 23% used media sources. Doctors were identified as the most trustworthy source (71%), family and friends were the second highest trusted source (25%), whereas media sources were the least trusted (4%). Sociodemographic factors age (p = .02), gender (p < .01), and education years (p < .01) were the only significant predictors of preferred information sources. Conversely, those residing in US <5 years were more likely to seek health information more frequently (p = .01). The majority of participants did not worry about their health, and it was not significantly associated with source or frequency of seeking health information.ConclusionsThe high trust in doctors represents an opportunity for healthcare professionals to educate and address individual barriers contributing to refugees’ underutilization of preventive care services such as routine immunizations and preventive health screenings.

Online Fitness Information-Seeking Behavior’s Prevalence Among Californian Arts Schools’ Adolescents

Engagement in online health information-seeking behavior has the potential to improve patient-physician relationships. Previous research suggested online fitness information-seeking behavior is generally the most prevalent online health information-seeking behavior amongst Californian adolescents aged 13 to 18 years, making it the most vital online health information-seeking behavior to monitor. Further research into online fitness information-seeking behavior’s prevalence amongst specific demographics within Californian adolescents was necessary because previous research showed patient experiences improve when physicians treat patients as unique individuals. One such unexamined demographic was those who received an arts education; this research focused on this gap. After the implementation of an online, quantitative, and cross-sectional survey research method, responses from 155 adolescents aged 13 to 18 years attending one Californian arts school were divided into 4 areas: percent engagement in online fitness information-seeking behavior, relative prevalence of this behavior, perceived importance of fitness, and health literacy. By analyzing the 4 areas with descriptive and inferential statistics and then synthesizing the results into a single understanding, it was concluded there may be a high prevalence of online fitness information-seeking behavior amongst the inquired population. The conclusion also noted the potential for a moderate prevalence instead. This new understanding has implications for beginning to form the foundation of a context physicians can utilize with California’s arts-educated, adolescent patients in order to better treat them as individuals. Further research with larger, more random, and more representative samples was recommended.

Online Health Information Seeking Behavior and Thriving Quotient in the COVID-19 Pandemic: The Mediating Role of Mental Toughness

Accurate and dependable health information has been shown to support students’ thriving capacity and overall well-being, especially during a pandemic, when students’ well-being is critical. The issue is unclear as to what truly supports the established link between students’ ability to thrive in the event of a COVID-19 pandemic. This study looks at the correlation between online health information seeking behavior (OHSIB) and thriving quotient (TQ) and the role of a positive construct known as mental toughness (MT). Researchers enrolled 830 males and females from universities in the Philippines. Online Health Seeking Information Behavior (OHSIB-12), the modified and adapted Mental Toughness Questionnaire (MTQ-18), and the Thriving Quotient (TQ-30) were used as accurate and legitimate research instruments. We discovered meager levels of MT and TQ subcomponents and a high level of OHSIB in most university students. Correlation analyses revealed a positive relationship between online health information seeking behavior, mental toughness, and the thriving quotient. Mediation analysis revealed a significant mediation effect, but only on a partial scale. Developing a healthy online information search can assist students in making healthier choices, which in turn helps them feel better, thrive in an uncertain world, and achieve academic success. Mental toughness is also critical for students to access reliable health information online and thus achieve their goals even in the event of a pandemic. Proper guidance from education and health authorities was recommended for students’ OHSIB. The implications of the findings for future research were discussed.

Social capital and health information seeking in China

BackgroundPeople’s potentials to seek health information can be affected by their social context, such as their social networks and the resources provided through those social networks. In the past decades, the concept of social capital has been widely used in the health realm to indicate people’s social context. However, not many such studies were conducted in China. Chinese society has its special quality that many Western societies lack: people traditionally render strong value to family relations and rely heavily on strong social ties in their social life. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the association between different types of social capital and health information-seeking behavior (HISB) in the Chinese context. The different types of social capital were primarily bonding and bridging, as well as cognitive and structural ones.MethodsOur analysis is based on a total of 3090 cases taken from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) – China, 2017. Dataset was weighted due to the overrepresentation of female respondents and hierarchical multiple regression analyses as well as binary logistic regression tests were operated to examine the associations between people’s social capital and their HISB.ResultsSome aspects of social capital emerged as positive predictors of HISB: information support (standing in for the cognitive component of social capital) promoted health information seeking, organization memberships (standing in for the structural component) encouraged cancer information seeking, and both the use of the internet and of traditional media for gaining health information were positively linked with bridging networks and organization memberships. Bonding networks (structural component) were not correlated with any other of the key variables and emotional support (cognitive social capital) was consistently associated with all health information-seeking indicators negatively.ConclusionsSocial capital demonstrated significant and complex relationships with HISB in China. Structural social capital generally encouraged HISB in China, especially the bridging aspects including bridging networks and organization memberships. On the other hand, emotional support as cognitive social capital damaged people’s initiatives in seeking health-related information.

Public knowledge and information sources for clinical trials among adults in the USA: evidence from a Health Information National Trends Survey in 2020

Lack of clinical trial awareness has been identified as a barrier to clinical trial recruitment. Identifying factors associated with clinical trial knowledge could inform ongoing efforts to improve diversity in clinical trials. Using data from the Health Information National Trends Survey, 2020, we examined the knowledge of clinical trials, associated characteristics, sources of clinical trial information and motives to participate in clinical trials among the general population in the USA. Of 3,772 US adults, 41.3% reported not knowing about clinical trials. Prevalence of having no knowledge of clinical trials was higher among Hispanic adults (51.8%) and non-Hispanic Black adults (41.8%) compared with non-Hispanic White adults (37.4%; p=0.013). Other significant predictors of knowledge about clinical trials included higher education, online health information-seeking behaviour and patient portal access. Most respondents (73.2%) reported that healthcare providers were the most trusted source of information. Helping other people (71.6%) was the primary motivation for clinical trial participation, followed by financial compensation (12.5%) and receiving better treatment (5.1%). There is a gap in knowledge about clinical trials among the US population. Development of multimodal approaches, including online and offline information broadcasting, is needed to improve knowledge and clinical trial recruitment in diverse populations.

Healthcare data integration using machine learning: A case study evaluation with health information-seeking behavior databases

BackgroundThe amount of data in health care is rapidly rising, leading to multiple datasets generated for any given individual. Data integration involves mapping variables in different datasets together to form a combined dataset which can then be used to conduct different types of analyses. However, with increasing numbers of variables, manual mapping of a dataset can become inefficient. Another approach is to use text classification through machine learning to classify the variables to a schema. ObjectivesOur aim was to create and evaluate the use of machine learning methods for the integration of data from datasets across health information-seeking behavior (HISB) databases. MethodsFour online databases relevant to the research field were selected for integration. Two experiments were designed for dataset mapping: intra-database mapping using the one data source, and inter-database mapping to map datasets between the four databases. We compared logistic regression (LR), a random forest classifier (RFC), and neural network (NN) models by F1-score for two methods of integration. A third experiment was an ablation study that used all the available data to create a model for classifying HISB variables in a dataset. ResultsIn intra-database mapping, the mean F1 score for an LR classifier (0.787) was better than the RFC score (0.767) and fully connected NN (0.735). In inter-database mapping, the LR (0.245) scored best, however, this was dependent on which database was used as a training source. Using all the databases, these top three models were able to correctly classify 90–91% of the variables. Removing one dataset improved scores and resulted in a model able to correctly classify 95–96% of the HISB variables. ConclusionsAs part of data integration, a neural network can be used as an approach to map the variables of a dataset. The developed models can be used to classify the HISB terms in a database.

Expanding the Health Information National Trends Survey Research Program Internationally to Examine Global Health Communication Trends: Comparing Health Information Seeking Behaviors in the U.S. and Germany

ABSTRACT The Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) is a well-established U.S.-based research program administered by the National Cancer Institute to track the public access to and use of health information. This paper introduces a German research initiative, part of the International Studies to Investigate Global Health Information Trends (INSIGHTS) research consortium. This adaptation of the HINTS is important for initiating analyses of global health communication practices and comparing health information seeking behaviors (HISB) across nations to pinpoint potentials and challenges of health information provision and contribute to a deeper understanding of socio-contextual determinants of HISB. First cross-country comparisons revealed that the share of residents seeking for health information is high in the U.S. (80%) and Germany (74%), but different primary sources are used. Whereas a clear majority of U.S. residents chose the Internet to gather health information (74.9%), Germans most often turn to health professionals (48.0%). Socio-structural and health(care)-related predictors were found to contribute to the explanation of HISB in both countries, whereas information-related predictors were only relevant in Germany. The results indicate the need to engage in patient-provider communication to initiate HISB and to improve the access to information for residents with lower socio-economic backgrounds.

Mental health-related internet use by people with a diagnosis of chronic psychiatric disorder, attending community mental health centres.

There is little information on Internet use for obtaining mental health information among individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders, who are receiving services from community mental health centres (CMHCs). To investigate the mental health information-seeking behaviour of individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders who attend CMHCs. This is a cross-sectional descriptive study. The data was collected by questionnaire (structured interview format) (n=135 participants). The collected data were analysed with descriptive statistics and chi-square test. It was found that 75.6% of the participants used the internet to search for information about mental health problems. Although the information retrieved from the internet was frequently or occasionally shared with the mental health team (19.6% and 40.2% of the participants, respectively), general online communication with professionals was rare (93.1% of the participants had not contacted mental health professionals). Most participants looked for information about their mental health on the internet. Therefore, mental health professionals should consider how to facilitate professional-patient therapeutic communication, with acknowledged Internet use by individuals with chronic psychiatric disorders.

Healthy lifestyle during pregnancy: Uncovering the role of online health information seeking experience

In the new era, many people seek their health-related information through the Internet due to the increasing access to this technology. Searching online health information can affect the health behavior. This study aimed to investigate the correlation between online health information-seeking behavior and a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy in a sample of Iranian pregnant women. This cross-sectional study was conducted among pregnant women admitted to health centers of Eghlid city, Fars province, Iran in 2019. A total of 193 women participated in the study. The required data were gathered using two validated questionnaires to measure the online health information-seeking behavior and the healthy lifestyle practices of the participants. The collected data were analyzed through descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation coefficient using SPSS version 22. Online health information experience and its subscales showed no statistical correlation with a healthy lifestyle. Age and education did not correlate with online health information-seeking behavior. Age had a statistical correlation with a healthy lifestyle, but education had the same correlation only with some subscales of a healthy lifestyle. The findings were surprising, suggesting that online health information-seeking behavior does not affect the lifestyle of pregnant women. These finding and probable explanations are discussed, but due to the limited literature on the subject, further studies are recommended to be conducted.

Model of Health Behaviour Changes among Students

Health is the primary key to the well-being of every human being. The healthcare practice should start from a young age and continue to be nurtured. However, the report of the Malaysian Youth Index 2015 (IBM '15) shows the overall health score of Malaysian youth is at a moderate level with a score of 68.42. Similarly, the nutrition practice score is at an alarming level of only 43.52 and needs to be given serious attention by all parties. A study conducted among IPTA students found that health literacy is a factor that predicts health information-seeking behaviour. Students with good health literacy (searching for health information through the Internet) can impact health management and are a determinant of good health quality. Therefore this study examines whether the search for health information through the Internet influences their health behaviours. In general, this study uses a survey method using a survey form on 261 respondents consisting of USAS students to determine factors that contribute to changes in health behaviours. It showed that the goal factor gave significant results with a value of F = 37.468, p <0.05, and a combination of goal factors with context factors (F = 21.584, p <0.05). Significantly that goal factor contributed 12.6% of the variance to health behaviour change (R2 = 0.126) for 261 students. These findings mean that goal factors are the main predictors that influence student health behaviours.

Cognitive Determinants of Health Information Seeking Behavior through Social Media Platforms among Malaysian Adults

Introduction: Health information-seeking behaviour is a process of gathering information for individuals to understand and cope with his/her health problems. Apart from the Internet or Web 1.0, Web 2.0 tools has been increasingly used as alternative to seek health information and one such tool is social media platform. This study aims to identify cognitive determinants of health information-seeking behaviour through social media platforms among Malaysian adults. Methods: A cross-sectional study by means of convenience sampling was conducted during a nationwide pandemic lockdown. Cognitive determinants were defined as respondent’s perceived usefulness, perceived ease of user, perceived benefit, perceived costs, perceived behavioural control, and perceived risk towards social media use. Questionnaires were distributed via Google Form link to multiple social media platforms and cross-platform messaging app. Differences between group of sociodemographic factors and other independent variables were tested with nonparametric tests while multiple linear regression was employed to determine the significant predictors of the health information seeking behavior. Results: A total of 705 individuals responded to the survey invitation, the majority of which were females (65%), Malay (93.6%), married (52.1%), and received tertiary education (88.5%). Multiple linear regression analysis showed that perceived benefit (β= 0.612, 95% CI: 0.517-0.708, p&lt;0.001), perceived usefulness (β= 0.653, 95% CI: 0.453-0.853, p&lt;0.001), and perceived risk (β= 0.131, 95% CI: 0.03-0.259, p=0.044) significantly predict health information seeking behavior through social media platform. Conclusion: Our findings provide fundamental grounds for stakeholders to better understand and influence online behavior. Staying abreast of the current online trend is crucial as more people have begun to rely on social media for health information.

Health information seeking behaviour of rural women in Perambalur District of Tamil Nadu, India

This paper aims to provide some findings of health information behavior of rural women in Perambalur District. The study revealed the health status, Health awareness, and Health Satisfaction and Health Information Seeking behavior of rural women in Perambalur Distirct. In this study, survey method has been used. Health Information Status questionnaire has been developed to assess the Health Information Status among Rural women from Perambalur District has been considered as a population of the study. The strata random sampling technique is used for this research study. This technique will be very useful in the case of a large population. In the present project, 498 rural women from 121 village panchayat comprise of four panchayat unions have been taken. Rural women in Perambalur district are having poor health information seeking behaviour in sanitation facilities and having less knowledge in understanding of health schemes and usage of health schemes. Most of the rural women in Perambalur District having fatal death, Gastrointestinal, lung diseases, and Urinary Tract Infections as in their family medical history. The rest of them are having other than these diseases. It could be inferred that they are not having much awareness about these diseases.

Maternal Health Literacy, Health information-seeking Behavior and Pregnancy Outcomes Among Iranian Pregnant Women: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background:Maternal health literacy (MHL) and health information-seeking behavior (HISB) could impact maternal health and pregnancy outcomes.Purpose and Research Design:This cross-sectional study investigated MHL, HISBs, and pregnancy outcomes in Iranian pregnant women. This study was also aimed to determine the predictors of MHL and pregnancy outcomes.Study smple andData Collection: In this study, 337 randomly selected postpartum women completed three questionnaires, including a demographics form, an obstetrics history checklist, and the Maternal Health Literacy and Pregnancy Outcome Questionnaire (MHLAPQ).Results:The mean MHL and pregnancy outcome scores were 60.80 ± 9.91 and 49.88 ± 5.69, respectively. Of the participants, 56% adopted both formal and informal HISB. Education and internet HISB was associated with the odds of being in the group with higher MHL. Participants with high MHL had more than twice higher odds for better pregnancy outcomes (OR = 2.25,p< 0.004).Conclusions:Continued efforts are required to make health information sources more accessible to pregnant women to improve their health literacy and pregnancy outcomes.

Health information-seeking internet behaviours among pregnant women: a narrative literature review

ABSTRACT Background Pregnant women often turn to the internet as a primary source of pregnancy-related information. However, there is great concern about the accuracy of health-related information on the internet, making research on women’s internet behaviours and decision-making critically important. Previous research has been conducted within a number of distinct but related fields, yet existing review papers have often failed to connect across the various disciplines. Objective This review aims to synthesise the large and cross-disciplinary body of literature on women’s health information-seeking internet behaviour regarding pregnancy and childbirth. Methods A narrative literature review, which includes research from both health and social sciences, was conducted. Results Findings address the ‘who, where, what, why, and how’ of information-seeking behaviour on the internet, with suggestions for future research in each area further discussed. Conclusions Additional research which addresses the remaining gaps in the literature can help providers be more aware of their patients’ informational needs. Providers can be an important source of information, while also helping guide their patients on how to evaluate information. Enhanced patient portals and communication platforms can help to provide more timely and reliable information. Providing their patients with guides can be important for fostering enhanced health literacy.

The Dispersion of Health Information-Seeking Behavior and Health Literacy in a State in the Southern United States: Cross-sectional Study.

BackgroundThe transmission of health information from in-person communication to web-based sources has changed over time. Patients can find, understand, and use their health information without meeting a health care provider and are able to participate more in their health care management. In recent years, the internet has emerged as the primary source of health information, although clinical providers remain the most credible source. The ease of access, anonymity, and busy schedules may be motivating factors to seek health information on the web. Social media has surfaced as a popular source of health information, as it can provide news in real time. The increase in the breadth and depth of health information available on the web has also led to a plethora of misinformation, and individuals are often unable to discern facts from fiction. Competencies in health literacy (HL) can help individuals better understand health information and enhance patient decision-making, as adequate HL is a precursor to positive health information–seeking behaviors (HISBs). Several factors such as age, sex, and socioeconomic status are known to moderate the association between HL and HISBs.ObjectiveIn this study, we aimed to examine the relationship between HL and HISBs in individuals living in a southern state in the United States by considering different demographic factors.MethodsParticipants aged ≥18 years were recruited using Qualtrics Research Services and stratified to match the statewide demographic characteristics of race and age. Demographics and source and frequency of health information were collected. The Health Literacy Questionnaire was used to collect self-reported HL experiences. SPSS (version 27; IBM Corp) was used for the analysis.ResultsA total of 520 participants met the criteria and completed the survey (mean age 36.3, SD 12.79 years). The internet was cited as the most used source of health information (mean 2.41, SD 0.93). Females are more likely to seek health information from physicians than males (r=0.121; P=.006). Older individuals are less likely to seek health information from the internet (r=−0.108; P=.02), social media (r=−0.225; P<.001), and friends (r=−0.090; P=.045) than younger individuals. Cluster analysis demonstrated that individuals with higher levels of HISBs were more likely to seek information from multiple sources than those with lower levels of HISBs (mean range 3.05-4.09, SD range 0.57-0.66; P<.001).ConclusionsAge and sex are significantly associated with HISB. Older adults may benefit from web-based resources to monitor their health conditions. Higher levels of HL are significantly associated with greater HISB. Targeted strategies to improve HISB among individuals with lower levels of HL may improve their access, understanding, and use of health information.

Exploring the socio-economic determinants of health information-seeking behaviour on the Internet in Turkey

Introduction. The digitisation of health care services has popularised Internet based health information-seeking behaviour. This research investigates the connection between the socio-demographic and economic characteristics of Turkish individuals and their online health information-seeking behaviour. Method. The study method was binary logistic regression on existing social datasets. Analysis. This study considered the dataset obtained from a survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute. The effects of age, sex, education level, working status, location, and frequency of Internet use on the health information-seeking behaviour on the Internet were examined. Results. Health information was sought more frequently by women than men, by people aged 26–35 and 36–45 than by those 25 and below, by people with higher income, and by those with higher levels of education. Health information searches were also conducted more often in developed regions than in less-developed regions. The habit of seeking health information online was also found to be more common among those who use the Internet more frequently. Conclusions. The current paper examined the effects of socio-demographic and economic characteristics of Turkish individuals on their online health information-seeking behaviour and contributes new insights on this behaviour.

Online health information-seeking behaviour: an empirical study of managerial-level employees in Sri Lanka

PurposeOver the past few years, the internet has expanded rapidly, and it has been considered a systematic way that consumers use to retrieve health-related information. However, the existing literature does not provide an articulated view of online health information-seeking behaviour through an in-depth understanding of users’ searching-related behaviour. The objectives of this study are to identify the factors affecting consumers’ health-related internet use and recognise the relationships between those specified and health-related internet use. Finally, the recommendations are made based on the findings.Design/methodology/approachAn amalgamated model of technology acceptance model and health belief model was used to hypothesise health-related internet use behaviour, which is then tested using a cross-sectional survey of 287 Sri Lankan managerial-level employees. The covariance-based structural equation modelling with AMOS was used to check the study hypotheses.FindingsFindings of this study depict five factors contributing to consumers’ health-related internet use as follows: perceived health risk towards chronic diseases consisting of perceived susceptibility and perceived severity; health consciousness; perceived usefulness of the internet; perceived ease of internet use; and attitude towards health-related internet use. As theorised, the internet’s perceived usefulness was positively and significantly related to consumers’ use of health-related internet and attitude towards health-related internet use. But as hypothesised, perceived ease of internet use did not directly affect consumers’ use of health-related internet. Further, findings reveal that health-related internet use is estimated by perceived health risk than health consciousness.Originality/valueFindings reveal that Sri Lankan managerial-level employees have a reactive health behaviour driven by the perceived health risk and the desire to seek online health information.

Mental Health Literacy and Mental Health Information-Seeking Behavior in Iranian University Students.

Background:Inadequate Mental health literacy (MHL) is a problem worldwide. Research is limited in developing countries and about positive MHL. This study measured the disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL and investigated their association. In addition, this study explored the mental health information-seeking behavior among undergraduate students in Iran.MethodsThis study recruited undergraduate students of Tehran public universities through multistage stratified random sampling to undertake an analytical cross-sectional study. MHL was measured using Mental Health Literacy Scale (MHLS) and Mental Health Positive Knowledge (MHPK). Participants' most used mental health information sources and their trust in them were also inspected.ResultsA total of 543 students participated in this study. On average, the participants achieved about 65% of the total possible MHLS score, and 71% of participants showed sufficient MHPK score. The “internet” was the most used source for receiving and searching for mental health information. The most trusted source was “health care staff”. This study detected no correlation between disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL.ConclusionsMental health literacy of Iranian students still seems to be insufficient. As disease-oriented MHL and positive MHL were not correlated, specific educational interventions for each domain are needed. Although the internet is the main source of mental health knowledge, the trust of student in it is low. This issue should be taken into consideration in designing online educational interventions.