Internet utilization for health information and its associated factors among undergraduate university students in Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Among currently available technologies, only the Internet has the potential to deliver universal access to up-to-date health care information. This study aimed to assess the status of Internet utilization to access health information and its associated factors among university students i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Informatics in medicine unlocked Vol. 32; p. 101071
Main Authors:	Derseh, Mintesnot Hawaze, Gashu, Kassahun Dessie, Meshesha, Tekeba, Ashenafi, Baye, Wolde, Abebe Getachew, Umuro, Desta Samuel, Melaku, Mequannent Sharew, Wubante, Sisay Maru, Tadesse, Zelalem, Chernet, Nahom, Tegegne, Masresha Derese
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Elsevier 2022
Subjects:	Ethiopia Health information Internet University student Utilization
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Background: Among currently available technologies, only the Internet has the potential to deliver universal access to up-to-date health care information. This study aimed to assess the status of Internet utilization to access health information and its associated factors among university students in Ethiopia. Methods: A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted among 845 undergraduate students selected by Stratified multi-stage sampling from 19 randomly chosen departments of Addis Ababa University. A pretested structured interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect the data. The data were entered into EPI Info version 7 and exported to the SPSS version 23 for analysis. A binary logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between the study and outcome variables. Result: Almost all 761 (98.8%) university students have used the Internet. Among these, the overall proportion of Internet use for health information was 59.1% (95% CI: 55.5–62.7). Respondents with good eHealth literacy (AOR = 1.656, 95% CI: (1.143, 2.397), student's field of study (AOR = 0.025, 95% CI: (0.007, 0.087), year of study (AOR = 1.609, 95% CI: (1.130, 2.290), and owning computer device (AOR = 2.314, 95% CI: (1.392, 3.844) were found to be significantly associated with utilization of Internet for health information. Conclusion: This study confirms that nearly two-thirds of undergraduate university students use the Internet to access health information. eHealth literacy, the field of study, year of study, and ownership of electronic devices were significant predictors for Internet use for accessing health information. As a result, it is recommended that university students in Ethiopia have access to electronic devices and that eHealth literacy be promoted to use the Internet as a source of health information effectively.
ISSN:	2352-9148 2352-9148
DOI:	10.1016/j.imu.2022.101071