Previously submitted to: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance (no longer under consideration since Jul 14, 2018)
Date Submitted: Jul 14, 2018
Open Peer Review Period: Jul 14, 2018 - Jul 14, 2018
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Health information seeking behavior among Saudi population
Background:
The way people approach and manage a health-related condition has changed immensely with the accessibility of information from the internet, medical TV shows and magazines. Despite the prevalence of health-seekers, few comprehensive studies were conducted in Saudi Arabia to assess this practice.
Objective:
identify the sources of preference for health information, the level of trust towards each source of information, and the prevalence of online health seekers
Methods:
A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, and Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 632 persons included. A questionnaire was designed, and its main purpose was to identify the sources of preference for health information, the level of trust towards each source of information, and the prevalence of online health seekers
Results:
Physicians and the Internet were the two sources that most respondents used in seeking health information. 72% of the responder reported using the internet for health information, Women were more likely than men to use the internet for health information, [78.3% vs. 60.6%]. For the majority of the participants physicians are still the most trusted source for health information (42%) followed by the Internet (39%).
Conclusions:
This study has shown that the sources of preference for health information differed significantly by gender, monthly income and educational level. It has also shown the high prevalence of online health-seekers in the Saudi population with 72% of the responder reported using the Internet for health information.
Citation
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