OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of Internet as a source of health information by adolescents, its reliability and the acceptability of an email service for their questions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Secondary schools. Gijón (Asturias). PARTICIPANTS: 475 students (1st and 4th Secondary, and 1st High School) selected by two-stage cluster sampling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-administered questionnaire of ten items. VARIABLES: Age, sex, availability of Internet at home, daily time use, subjects consulted, source health consultation, information obtained reliability, willingness to use e-mail health consultations. RESULTS: A total of 468 valid questionnaires, of which 88.5% had Internet at home, 42.5% use more than one hour daily on weekdays and 74% during the weekend. The most accessed topics were physical exercise (29.5%), self-image (23.3%) and piercing, and tattoos (18.4%). Internet is the fourth resource used for health concerns (13.9%), behind family, doctor and friends. The majority, 56%, gave a very low reliability to health information obtained on Internet. A total of 70.5% would use an email address that provided answers to health questions. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of Internet at home is above the national average. High usage but low for health information, which gives low credibility. It would be advisable to start a mail service for adolescents treated by a multidisciplinary team from Primary Care.
OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the use of Internet as a source of health information by adolescents, its reliability and the acceptability of an email service for their questions. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. SETTING: Secondary schools. Gijón (Asturias). PARTICIPANTS: 475 students (1st and 4th Secondary, and 1st High School) selected by two-stage cluster sampling. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-administered questionnaire of ten items. VARIABLES: Age, sex, availability of Internet at home, daily time use, subjects consulted, source health consultation, information obtained reliability, willingness to use e-mail health consultations. RESULTS: A total of 468 valid questionnaires, of which 88.5% had Internet at home, 42.5% use more than one hour daily on weekdays and 74% during the weekend. The most accessed topics were physical exercise (29.5%), self-image (23.3%) and piercing, and tattoos (18.4%). Internet is the fourth resource used for health concerns (13.9%), behind family, doctor and friends. The majority, 56%, gave a very low reliability to health information obtained on Internet. A total of 70.5% would use an email address that provided answers to health questions. CONCLUSIONS: Availability of Internet at home is above the national average. High usage but low for health information, which gives low credibility. It would be advisable to start a mail service for adolescents treated by a multidisciplinary team from Primary Care.
Authors: Nicola J Gray; Jonathan D Klein; Peter R Noyce; Tracy S Sesselberg; Judith A Cantrill Journal: J Adolesc Health Date: 2005-09 Impact factor: 5.012