Searching for Covid - 19 information in the internet among first - year students of Hanoi Medical University
Main Article Content
Abstract
A cross-sectional study was conducted on first-year students of Hanoi Medical University to describe the status of searching for COVID-19 information in the Internet and analyze the differences in eHEALS scores among target groups. Among 346 participants, most people (94.8%) used the Internet to search for health information about COVID-19. The total mean score of eHEALS was high (31.19 ± 8.34). Among the students who searched online for COVID-19 information, smartphone users accounted for the majority (96.65%), students mainly searched for themselves (77.46%) with a frequency of several times a month (30.49%). The most searched health content is Disease situation in Vietnam and in the world (88.72%). The main reason is to improve knowledge or curiosity (75.61%). Social networks (69.21%) are the most popular sources of information chosen by the majority of subjects. The main reason for choosing these sources is easy to follow/use (53.66%). There was a statistically significant difference in eHEALS scores between the 2 groups of online searching frequency for COVID-19 information.
Article Details
Keywords
information searching, health information, Internet, COVID-19, eHEALS, medical students
References
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2. Li H, Liu S-M, Yu X-H, Tang S-L, Tang C-K. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19): current status and future perspectives. Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2020;55(5):105951. doi:10.1016/j.ijantimicag.2020.105951
3. Burki TK. The Russian vaccine for COVID-19. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine. 2020;8(11):e85-e86. doi:10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30402-1
4. Mahase E. Covid-19: Oxford vaccine is up to 90% effective, interim analysis indicates. BMJ. 2020;371:m4564. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4564
5. Mahase E. Covid-19: Pfizer and BioNTech submit vaccine for US authorisation. BMJ. 2020;371:m4552. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4552
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16. Tasnim S, Hossain MM, Mazumder H. Impact of Rumors and Misinformation on COVID-19 in Social Media. Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health. 2020;53(3):171-174. doi:10.3961/jpmph.20.094
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22. Park HW, Park S, Chong M. Conversations and Medical News Frames on Twitter: Infodemiological Study on COVID-19 in South Korea. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(5):e18897. doi:10.2196/18897
23. PhD CP, PhD EH. Health Information-Seeking in the Digital Age. Journal of American College Health. 2011;59(5):379-386. doi:10.1080/07448481.2010.513406
24. Wong DK-K, Cheung M-K. Online Health Information Seeking and eHealth Literacy Among Patients Attending a Primary Care Clinic in Hong Kong: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2019;21(3):e10831. doi:10.2196/10831
25. Oh H, Rizo C, Enkin M, Jadad A. What is eHealth (3): a systematic review of published definitions. J Med Internet Res. 2005;7(1):e1. doi:10.2196/jmir.7.1.e1
26. Norman C, Skinner H. eHEALS: the ehealth literacy scale. Journal of medical Internet research. 2006;8:e27. doi:10.2196/jmir.8.4.e27
27. Norman CD, Skinner HA. eHealth Literacy: Essential Skills for Consumer Health in a Networked World. J Med Internet Res. 2006;8(2). doi:10.2196/jmir.8.2.e9
28. Chung S, Park BK, Nahm E-S. The Korean eHealth Literacy Scale (K-eHEALS): Reliability and Validity Testing in Younger Adults Recruited Online. J Med Internet Res. 2018;20(4):e138. doi:10.2196/jmir.8759
29. Chung S-Y, Nahm E-S. Testing Reliability and Validity of the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) for Older Adults Recruited Online. Comput Inform Nurs. 2015;33(4):150-156. doi:10.1097/CIN.0000000000000146
30. Sharma S, Oli N, Thapa B. Electronic health–literacy skills among nursing students. Adv Med Educ Pract. 2019;10:527-532. doi:10.2147/AMEP.S207353
31. Geçer E, Yıldırım M, Akgül Ö. Sources of information in times of health crisis: evidence from Turkey during COVID-19. Z Gesundh Wiss. Published online October 13, 2020:1-7. doi:10.1007/s10389-020-01393-x
32. Nguyễn Lan Hoàng, Lê Thị Bích Thủy. E-Health Literacy of Medical Students at a University in Central Vietnam. Indian Journal of Public Health Research & Development. 2020;11(2):1299-1304-1304. doi:10.37506/v11/i2/2020/ijphrd/195001
33. Tsukahara S, Yamaguchi S, Igarashi F, et al. Association of eHealth Literacy With Lifestyle Behaviors in University Students: Questionnaire-Based Cross-Sectional Study. J Med Internet Res. 2020;22(6). doi:10.2196/18155
34. Tanaka J, Kuroda H, Igawa N, Sakurai T, Ohnishi M. Perceived eHealth Literacy and Learning Experiences Among Japanese Undergraduate Nursing Students: A Cross-sectional Study. Comput Inform Nurs. 2020;38(4):198-203. doi:10.1097/CIN.0000000000000611
35. Mengestie ND, Yilma TM, Beshir MA, Paulos GK. eHealth Literacy of Medical and Health Science Students and Factors Affecting eHealth Literacy in an Ethiopian University: A Cross-Sectional Study. Appl Clin Inform. 2021;12(2):301-309. doi:10.1055/s-0041-1727154
36. Dashti S, Peyman N, Tajfard M, Esmaeeli H. E-Health literacy of medical and health sciences university students in Mashhad, Iran in 2016: a pilot study. Electron Physician. 2017;9(3):3966-3973. doi:10.19082/3966
37. Park H, Lee E. Self-reported eHealth literacy among undergraduate nursing students in South Korea: a pilot study. Nurse Educ Today. 2015;35(2):408-413. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2014.10.022
38. Rathnayake S, Senevirathna A. Self-reported eHealth literacy skills among nursing students in Sri Lanka: A cross-sectional study. Nurse Education Today. 2019;78:50-56. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2019.04.006
39. Zakar R, Iqbal S, Zakar MZ, Fischer F. COVID-19 and Health Information Seeking Behavior: Digital Health Literacy Survey amongst University Students in Pakistan. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021;18(8). doi:10.3390/ijerph18084009
40. Horgan Á, Sweeney J. University students’ online habits and their use of the Internet for health information. Comput Inform Nurs. 2012;30(8):402-408. doi:10.1097/NXN.0b013e3182510703
41. Báo Lao động. Bộ Y tế cảnh báo tin giả về COVID-19, đề nghị người dân không chia sẻ. Accessed May 16, 2021. https://laodong.vn/y-te/bo-y-te-canh-bao-tin-gia-ve-covid-19-de-nghi-nguoi-dan-khong-chia-se-822606.ldo
42. Schäfer M, Stark B, Werner AM, et al. Health Information Seeking Among University Students Before and During the Corona Crisis—Findings From Germany. Front Public Health. 2021;8. doi:10.3389/fpubh.2020.616603
43. Tubaishat A, Habiballah L. eHealth literacy among undergraduate nursing students. Nurse Education Today. 2016;42:47-52. doi:10.1016/j.nedt.2016.04.003
44. Zhang MW, Tran BX, Le HT, et al. Perceptions of Health-Related Information on Facebook: Cross-Sectional Study Among Vietnamese Youths. Interact J Med Res. 2017;6(2). doi:10.2196/ijmr.8072
45. Dashti S, Peyman N, Tajfard M, Esmaeeli H. E-Health literacy of medical and health sciences university students in Mashhad, Iran in 2016: a pilot study. Electron Physician. 2017;9(3):3966-3973. doi:10.19082/3966