{"title":"加纳大学生使用网际网路寻求健康资讯:一项横断面研究。","authors":"Benedict Osei Asibey, Seth Agyemang, Augustina Boakye Dankwah","doi":"10.1155/2017/1756473","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>The aim of the study was to investigate university students' use of the Internet for health purpose in the Ghanaian context. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. A total of 650 out of 740 students selected from 3 different universities participated, giving a response rate of 87.7% (650/740). Data were obtained using questionnaires and frequency and percentages were used to analyze data. The results show that university students are active users of the Internet as 78.3% (509/650) used Internet daily and 67.7% (440/650) use Internet for health purposes, for reasons including availability and ease of accessing information, privacy, confidentiality, and affordability. Use of Internet was constrained by unreliable and slow connection, high cost of Internet, and unreliable power supply. Also, 72.4% (315/435) used the online health information obtained as a basis for lifestyle change and only 39.5% (170/430) consulted health professionals after obtaining online information. The study concludes that students use Internet to seek online health support. The use of Internet to communicate with young people in relation to their health must therefore be explored. There is the need to be aware of online safety issues for young adults, including the need to provide information on privacy options.</p>","PeriodicalId":45630,"journal":{"name":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":3.1000,"publicationDate":"2017-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2017/1756473","citationCount":"80","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"The Internet Use for Health Information Seeking among Ghanaian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.\",\"authors\":\"Benedict Osei Asibey, Seth Agyemang, Augustina Boakye Dankwah\",\"doi\":\"10.1155/2017/1756473\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<p><p>The aim of the study was to investigate university students' use of the Internet for health purpose in the Ghanaian context. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. A total of 650 out of 740 students selected from 3 different universities participated, giving a response rate of 87.7% (650/740). Data were obtained using questionnaires and frequency and percentages were used to analyze data. The results show that university students are active users of the Internet as 78.3% (509/650) used Internet daily and 67.7% (440/650) use Internet for health purposes, for reasons including availability and ease of accessing information, privacy, confidentiality, and affordability. Use of Internet was constrained by unreliable and slow connection, high cost of Internet, and unreliable power supply. Also, 72.4% (315/435) used the online health information obtained as a basis for lifestyle change and only 39.5% (170/430) consulted health professionals after obtaining online information. The study concludes that students use Internet to seek online health support. The use of Internet to communicate with young people in relation to their health must therefore be explored. There is the need to be aware of online safety issues for young adults, including the need to provide information on privacy options.</p>\",\"PeriodicalId\":45630,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":3.1000,\"publicationDate\":\"2017-01-01\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"https://sci-hub-pdf.com/10.1155/2017/1756473\",\"citationCount\":\"80\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"1085\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1756473\",\"RegionNum\":0,\"RegionCategory\":null,\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"2017/10/31 0:00:00\",\"PubModel\":\"Epub\",\"JCR\":\"Q2\",\"JCRName\":\"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1155/2017/1756473","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"2017/10/31 0:00:00","PubModel":"Epub","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"HEALTH CARE SCIENCES & SERVICES","Score":null,"Total":0}
The Internet Use for Health Information Seeking among Ghanaian University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study.
The aim of the study was to investigate university students' use of the Internet for health purpose in the Ghanaian context. The study employed a quantitative cross-sectional design. A total of 650 out of 740 students selected from 3 different universities participated, giving a response rate of 87.7% (650/740). Data were obtained using questionnaires and frequency and percentages were used to analyze data. The results show that university students are active users of the Internet as 78.3% (509/650) used Internet daily and 67.7% (440/650) use Internet for health purposes, for reasons including availability and ease of accessing information, privacy, confidentiality, and affordability. Use of Internet was constrained by unreliable and slow connection, high cost of Internet, and unreliable power supply. Also, 72.4% (315/435) used the online health information obtained as a basis for lifestyle change and only 39.5% (170/430) consulted health professionals after obtaining online information. The study concludes that students use Internet to seek online health support. The use of Internet to communicate with young people in relation to their health must therefore be explored. There is the need to be aware of online safety issues for young adults, including the need to provide information on privacy options.
期刊介绍:
The overall aim of the International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications is to bring together science and applications of medical practice and medical care at a distance as well as their supporting technologies such as, computing, communications, and networking technologies with emphasis on telemedicine techniques and telemedicine applications. It is directed at practicing engineers, academic researchers, as well as doctors, nurses, etc. Telemedicine is an information technology that enables doctors to perform medical consultations, diagnoses, and treatments, as well as medical education, away from patients. For example, doctors can remotely examine patients via remote viewing monitors and sound devices, and/or sampling physiological data using telecommunication. Telemedicine technology is applied to areas of emergency healthcare, videoconsulting, telecardiology, telepathology, teledermatology, teleophthalmology, teleoncology, telepsychiatry, teledentistry, etc. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications will highlight the continued growth and new challenges in telemedicine, applications, and their supporting technologies, for both application development and basic research. Papers should emphasize original results or case studies relating to the theory and/or applications of telemedicine. Tutorial papers, especially those emphasizing multidisciplinary views of telemedicine, are also welcome. International Journal of Telemedicine and Applications employs a paperless, electronic submission and evaluation system to promote a rapid turnaround in the peer-review process.