scholarly journals RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN THE SOURCE OF HEALTH INFORMATION AND THE BEHAVIOR OF MOTHERS OF CHILDREN UNDER 5 YEARS OLD: CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY ANALYSIS

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.

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.


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.


BMJ Open ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e045892
Author(s):  
Solomon Feleke ◽  
Gudina Egata ◽  
Firehiwot Mesfin ◽  
Gizachew Yilak ◽  
Abebaw Molla

ObjectiveThe study aimed to assess the prevalence of stunting, wasting, underweight and associated factors in orphaned children under 5 years old.DesignA cross-sectional study.SettingGambella City, Ethiopia.ParticipantsA sample of 419 under 5 orphaned children included in the study. Eligible households with orphans had selected using a systematic random sampling method. The lottery method was used when more than one eligible study participants live in the household. An OR with 95% CI was performed to measure the strength of association between each dependent variable and independent variables. Variables with p<0.05 were declared statistically significant.Primary outcomeThe main outcome of this study was the prevalence of undernutrition among orphaned under 5 and its associated factors.ResultsPrevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight in orphan children under 5 were 12.2%, 37.8% and 21.7%, respectively. The prevalnce of wasting peaks among age group of 36–47 months (42.5%), whereas underweight peaks in 48–59 months (27.7%). Food insecurity, wealth index, family size, vitamin A supplementation, diarrhoea, fever 2 weeks before the survey, children under 5 and parents’ death were associated with undernutrition.ConclusionThe prevalence of stunting, wasting and underweight among orphan children under 5 was significantly high. Multisectoral collaborative efforts towards access to health services, improving income-generating activities, micronutrient supplementation and social support and protection targeting orphan and vulnerable populations have to be built up.


2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dania Jaber ◽  
Rafat Abu Ghannam ◽  
Waleed Rashed ◽  
Mohammad Shehadeh ◽  
Sa’ed H. Zyoud

Abstract Background Generally, complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) are accepted methods of treatment by patients with various types of conditions. Their use is becoming especially prevalent among patients with eye problems even in developed countries. Thus, we aimed to determine the pattern of use of CAT in this patient population, to identify the patient characteristics associated with the use of CAT, and to assess the types of CAT used. Methods A descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted in Palestine at An-Najah National University Hospital between the time periods of October 2019 to May 2020, using questionnaire-based face to face interviews. Data were collected through convenience sampling. Patients responded to the questionnaire, which was focused on information adapted from previous research in this area, covering socio-demographic and clinical characteristics, types of CAT, source of information, and side effects on CAT use. Results A total of 86 patients were interviewed for our study. Over two thirds, 67% reported using CAT for the specific purpose of improving their eye condition, and about one third (29.1%) received more than one therapy. The most common therapies reported were duea’ (i.e. supplication) (47.1%) and herbal therapies (24.1%). It was shown that patients with bilateral involvement of their eyes were almost twice more likely to describe using CAT than patients with unilateral eye pathology (p = 0.006). Also, patients who underwent surgery as their route of treatment were significantly less likely to use CAT (p = 0.043). Most of our study participants mentioned a non-physician source as their source of information regarding CAT with family members being the most frequently mentioned (30.2%) followed by the internet (25.6%) and friends (19.8%). Conclusions The prevalence of CAT use among patients with eye disease is somewhat high in our study population. Because CAT may trigger adverse reactions, influence the progression of the disease, and interfere with conventional treatment, the ophthalmologist should frequently be asked patients with such diagnostics regarding the use of these therapies. Further work is required to analyze the mechanisms of action and to establish realistic guidelines for the use of these modalities.


2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (5) ◽  
pp. 27
Author(s):  
Ashraf Ahmad Zaghloul

INTRODUCTION: Marketing the hospital image through advertising shapes the sources of information upon which the patient takes a decision to purchase the service. Advertisement is considered to be one of the marketing activities geared towards promoting the hospital’s image. The aim of this study is to explore and investigate the determinants of consumer behavior toward newspaper advertising eye-catchers for hospitals and medical care in the UAE.METHODOLOGY: A cross-sectional study design was followed using the snowball technique to select a convenient sample of the population of Sharjah, UAE. The total number of questionnaires valid for statistical analysis accounted for a 402.RESULTS: The significant adjusted odds included in the model were occupation (Administrative) = 2.1 (CI 1.1-4.5), name and brand = 0.4 (CI 0.1-0.8), clinical staff photo = 0.2 (CI 0.1-0.7), and location = 3.9 (CI 1.3-11.9).  CONCLUSION: Healthcare organizations are required to further assess the feedback of their marketing plans especially newspaper advertisement budgets through the quality control activities performed at these organizations.


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