Introduction
Osteoporosis prevention is heavily reliant on education programs, which
are most effective when tailored to their intended audience. Most osteoporosis prevention
education is designed for older adults, making application of these programs to
younger adults difficult. Designing programs for young adults requires understanding
the information-seeking practices of young adults, so that knowledge about osteoporosis
can be effectively translated.
Methods
Individual interviews were conducted with 60 men and women—multiethnic,
Canadian young adults—to explore both the sources and types of information they
search for when seeking information on nutrition or bone health.
Results
The results of this study raised themes related to the sources participants use,
to their interests and to ways of engaging young adults. Prevention programs should
make use of traditional sources, such as peers, family members and medical professionals,
as well as emerging technologies, such as social media. Choice of sources was
related to the perceived authority of and trust associated with the source. Messaging
should relate to young adult interests, such as fitness and food—topics on which young
adults are already seeking information—rather than being embedded within specific
osteoporosis awareness materials. Engaging young adults means using relatable messages
that are short and encourage small changes. Small gender-based differences were
found in the information-seeking interests of participants. Differences related to age
were not examined.
Conclusion
Creating short, action-oriented messages that are designed to encourage
small changes in behaviour and are packaged with information that young adults are
actively seeking is more likely to result in active engagement in prevention behaviours.
The development and effectiveness of an osteoporosis prevention education intervention