scholarly journals Sources of Health Information and Their Impacts on Medical Knowledge Perception Among the Saudi Arabian Population: Cross-Sectional Study

10.2196/14414 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (3) ◽  
pp. e14414 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shatha A Alduraywish ◽  
Lamees A Altamimi ◽  
Rawan A Aldhuwayhi ◽  
Lama R AlZamil ◽  
Luluh Y Alzeghayer ◽  
...  

Background Having a reliable source for health information is vital to build a strong foundation of knowledge, especially with the current revolution of the internet and social media, which raises many concerns regarding harmful effects on the health of the public. However, there are no studies on how the Saudi Arabian population seeks health information. Details about the most used and trusted sources of health information among the public will help health authorities and public awareness accounts on social media to effectively disseminate health information. Objective To investigate the types of sources accessed by the Saudi Arabian population while seeking health information, as well as their level of trust in the sources and to assess the impact of these sources on their perception of medical knowledge and health decision-making. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted to meet the objectives. The study population included both men and women who were aged 16 years or more and visited primary care clinics at King Khalid University Hospital. Four hundred and thirteen participants were sampled using the simple random method, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (IBM Corp, Armonk, New York, USA). Results A total of 413 participants were included in this study, and of these, 99 (24.0%) were males and 206 (49.9%) had a bachelor’s degree. Doctors were chosen as the first source of information by 87.6% (283/323) of the participants, and they were completely trusted by most of the population (326/411, 79.3%). The second most commonly used source was pharmacists (112/194, 57.7%), and they were partially trusted by 41.4% (159/384) of the participants. Internet searches, social media, and traditional medicine were not prioritized by most of the participants as the first or second source of health information. The majority of the participants did not trust information obtained from social media, and WhatsApp was the most untrusted source. Almost half of the respondents (197/413, 47.7%) acknowledged that various sources of information can often help them understand their health problems. However, the majority disagreed on substituting a doctor’s prescription with information obtained from the internet or a friend or relative. Conclusions Although physicians were preferred and highly trusted, internet sources appeared to impact the medical knowledge of the population. The population still preferred to use internet search to obtain health information prior to a doctor’s visit.

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shatha A Alduraywish ◽  
Lamees A Altamimi ◽  
Rawan A Aldhuwayhi ◽  
Lama R AlZamil ◽  
Luluh Y Alzeghayer ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND Having a reliable source for health information is vital to build a strong foundation of knowledge, especially with the current revolution of the internet and social media, which raises many concerns regarding harmful effects on the health of the public. However, there are no studies on how the Saudi Arabian population seeks health information. Details about the most used and trusted sources of health information among the public will help health authorities and public awareness accounts on social media to effectively disseminate health information. OBJECTIVE To investigate the types of sources accessed by the Saudi Arabian population while seeking health information, as well as their level of trust in the sources and to assess the impact of these sources on their perception of medical knowledge and health decision-making. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted to meet the objectives. The study population included both men and women who were aged 16 years or more and visited primary care clinics at King Khalid University Hospital. Four hundred and thirteen participants were sampled using the simple random method, and a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (IBM Corp, Armonk, New York, USA). RESULTS A total of 413 participants were included in this study, and of these, 99 (24.0%) were males and 206 (49.9%) had a bachelor’s degree. Doctors were chosen as the first source of information by 87.6% (283/323) of the participants, and they were completely trusted by most of the population (326/411, 79.3%). The second most commonly used source was pharmacists (112/194, 57.7%), and they were partially trusted by 41.4% (159/384) of the participants. Internet searches, social media, and traditional medicine were not prioritized by most of the participants as the first or second source of health information. The majority of the participants did not trust information obtained from social media, and WhatsApp was the most untrusted source. Almost half of the respondents (197/413, 47.7%) acknowledged that various sources of information can often help them understand their health problems. However, the majority disagreed on substituting a doctor’s prescription with information obtained from the internet or a friend or relative. CONCLUSIONS Although physicians were preferred and highly trusted, internet sources appeared to impact the medical knowledge of the population. The population still preferred to use internet search to obtain health information prior to a doctor’s visit.


Cureus ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah K Almofada ◽  
Reem J Alherbisch ◽  
Nouf A Almuhraj ◽  
Bander N Almeshary ◽  
Bader Alrabiah ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
pp. 148-154
Author(s):  
Aneesa Abdul Rashid ◽  
Mohamad Imran Idris ◽  
Nurul Syeefa Zulkiflee ◽  
Ahmad Yusuf Yahaya ◽  
Prishalini Ramesh

Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic saw the involvement of many health non-governmental organisations (NGO) with volunteering work to help reduce the burden of healthcare workers (HCW). IMAM Response and Relief Team (IMARET) is one which is a chapter under the Islamic Medical Association of Malaysia (IMAM); which is also under the umbrella of the Federations of Islamic Medical Associations (FIMA). IMARET often aids HCWs during natural and manmade disasters to help reduce their burden during challenging times by providing manpower, equipment, and logistical assistance. IMARET utilizes social media (SM) for spreading information on their activities to the public, like the COVID-19 fundraising efforts. The objective of this research is to determine the correlation between their Facebook activities and fundraising outcome. Materials and Methods: This is a cross sectional study of Facebook posts and its engagement with Billplz, an online payment platform focused during the initial COVID-19 fundraising effort. Results and Discussion: During the study period, we report 346 Facebook posts with a median (IQR) of 8.00 (6.00,9.00) posts per day. As many as 4,823 donations, median (IQR) at RM34.50(18.75,86.00) was received per day. RM3425,50 (USD 830.52) (1369.00, 8376.25) was collected per day. ‘Organic Likes’ correlated significantly with the number of donations (r=0.419,p=0.006) and amount received (r=0.355,p=0.021). Both ‘Post Reach’ and ‘Shares’ significantly correlated with the number of donations (r=0.405,p=0.008)(r=0.515,p<0.01)and amount received (r=0.373,p=0.015) (r=0.453,p=0.003) respectively. Conclusion: The number of likes, reach and shares significantly correlated with the number and amount of donations received during the initial phase of the IMARET COVID-19 fundraising effort Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.20(5) 2021 p.148-154 


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (37) ◽  
pp. 2717-2721
Author(s):  
Sajna Ashraf ◽  
Vinod Babu Mathew ◽  
Farah Masaad ◽  
Shaheen Vilayil Shamsuddin ◽  
Jimly James Kunjappu ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 630-635
Author(s):  
Kostyantyn V. Balashov ◽  
Gennady O. Slabkiy ◽  
Olesya P. Hulchiy ◽  
Nadiia M. Zakharova ◽  
Solomiya M. Turianytsia

The aim: Is to investigate relationships between trusted sources of health information and people's behavior, including their attitudes toward vaccination and their willingness to seek medical care. Materials and methods: The responses of 4,354 mothers of children under 5 years of age from all regions of Ukraine, who participated in the Multi-Indicator Cluster Household Survey (MICS-2012) were analyzed. The respondents were divided into separate groups using two-step cluster analysis. Results: 6 clusters of respondents were identified, depending on the trusted source of health information identified by them, including those who trust only physicians (50.0%), friends (15.3%), all information channels (15.2%) or do not trust anyone (6.0%). The most important statistically significant differences in the level of vaccination coverage and willingness to seek medical care were found for a group of people who do not trust any source of information about health or trust only information from the Internet. People who trust information from physicians or pharmacy workers were the most active in vaccinating and seeking medical care. Conclusions: Communication with patients who do not trust anyone through social networks seems to be a promising way to raise awareness of this group of people about health and increase the level of trust in physicians or certain medical services.


2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Renato Mitsunori Nisihara ◽  
Ana Carolina Possebom ◽  
Luiza de Martino Cruvinel Borges ◽  
Ana Claudia Athanasio Shwetz ◽  
Fernanda Francis Benevides Bettes

ABSTRACT Objective To describe the profile of lawsuits related to drug requests filled at the Federal Justice of the State of Paraná. Methods A cross-sectional study, and the data were obtained through consulting the lawsuits at the online system of the Federal Justice of Paraná. Results Out of 347 lawsuits included in the study, 55% of plaintiffs were women, with a median age of 56 years. Oncology was the field with more requests (23.6%), and the highest mean costs. A wide variety of diseases and broad variety of requested drugs were found in the lawsuits. Approximately two-thirds of them were requested by the brand name, and the most often requested drugs were palivizumab and tiotropium bromide. Only 14.5% of the requested medicines were registered in the National Medication Register. The Public Defender’s Office filled actions in 89.6% of cases and all lawsuits had an interim relief. The mean time for approval was 35 days and 70% of requests were granted. Conclusion Oncology was the field with the highest demand for medicines at the Federal Justice of Paraná in 2014. A great variety of medications was requested. The Public Defender´s Office represented most lawsuits. All demands had an interim relief, and the majority of requests were granted, within an average of 35 days.


2017 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. e13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karan D'Souza ◽  
Lucy Henningham ◽  
Runyu Zou ◽  
Jessica Huang ◽  
Elizabeth O'Sullivan ◽  
...  

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