Use of the internet as a source of health information by Spanish adolescent

Use of the internet as a source of health
information by Spanish adolescents


Abstract
Background: The Internet is a fundamental part of the daily life of adolescents, they consider it as a safe and
confidential source of information on health matters. The aims is to describe the experience of Spanish adolescents
searching for health information on the Internet.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 811 school-age adolescents in Granada was carried out. An adapted and
piloted questionnaire was used which was controlled by trained personnel. Sociodemographic and health variables
were included together with those concerning the conditions governing access to and use of information and
communication technologies (ICT).
Results: 811 adolescents were surveyed (99.38% response rate), mean age was 17 years old. Of these, 88% used
the Internet; 57.5% used it on a daily or weekly basis and 38.7% used it occasionally. Nearly half the sample group
(55.7%) stated that they used the Internet to search for health-related information. The main problems reported in
the search for e-health were the ignorance of good web pages (54.8%) and the lack of confidence or search skills
(23.2%).
Conclusions: In conclusion, it seems plausible to claim that websites designed and managed by health services
should have a predominant position among interventions specifically addressed to young people


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