Lietuvos 16–17 metų moksleivių nuomonė apie internetą kaip informacijos apie sveikatą šaltinį
LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Internetas; Moksleiviai; Moksleiviaipasitikėjimas; Pasitikėjimas; Sveikatos informacijos šaltinis; Health information source; Internet; Students; Trust.
ENThe aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of Lithuanian 16-17 age students about Internet as health information source. Material and methods. Questionnaire data were collected from 604 students in 2014. Differences in the distribution of participants’ characteristics were compared with the use of χ2 test. Results. The study showed that Internet is the main source of health information for students. Seven out of ten (71.7 %) students go online when looking for health information: women more often than men (81.6 % and 59.2 % respectively, p<0,001). 22.5 % of respondents say they generally find online health information "very useful". Most young people find better way of getting health information than Internet. Women were more likely than men to say visiting a clinic or doctor’s office is better than searching in the Internet (87.6 % versus 79.4 %, p=0,006), asking friends or family members is better (63.5 % versus 47.9 %, p<0,001), researching at the library is better (33.3 % versus 20.8 %, p=0,039) and reading magazines is better (16.8 % versus 9.8 %, p=0,007). 56.9 % students indicated, that looking up information online it‘s good because they can look things up without anybody knowing about it, 40.6 % liked using the Internet better than having to talk to someone in person, 46.3 % indicated that it was frustrating because it‘s often hard to find the information they are looking for, 38.1 % didn‘t feel private because they usually have to use the computer where people can see what they are doing, 32.3 % worried about it because the computer might keep a record of where they went online and 29.3 % were concerned that websites might sell or give away information about what they did online. Search engines are the most common route to health information: 60 % of online health seekers started out at a search engine the last time they looked up health information online. Females in the Internet.Females in the Internet more often than boys were searching for information about all health topics. Almost seven out of ten (66.3 %) talked with parent or other adult about health information they saw online, 54.4 % talked with a friend about health information they saw online, 37.6 % changed their behavior because of health information they saw online, 19.9 % have participated in a chat room or message board on a health issue and 15.7 % visited a doctor because of health information they saw online. Conclusions. Internet is the main source of health information for Lithuanian students, no matter that young people find better way than Internet of getting health information. Two out of ten students say they generally find online health information "very useful". More than half students indicated that looking up information online it‘s good because they can look things up without anybody knowing about it. Almost half students indicated that it was frustrating because it‘s often hard to find the information. Search engines are the most common route to health information, only 10,1 % went directly to a particular site. Health information found in Internet affects health-related behaviors: starting conversations with parents, friends about health information they saw online, taking action: change behavior, visit a doctor. [From the publication]
