Online Health Information Seeking Behavior in Hong Kong: An Exploratory Study

Yuk Yee Yan*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    77 Citations (Scopus)
    101 Downloads (Pure)

    Abstract

    This is an exploratory study that described the prevalence and patterns of internet health information seeking in Hong Kong. A convenient sample of 443 individuals completed the questionnaires. Only 44% (N= 195) of the respondents were identified as health surfers. Health surfers tended to be younger females (age group 20-29) and have higher education. Digital divide was evident by age and education. Professional health sites (78.0%) were the majority sites visited. Health topics searched ranged from women's/men's health to chronic diseases such as heart diseases, cancer and diabetes. Over 60% considered online health information useful, however, about 44%were uncertain about the reliability of this information. The major criteria for health websites were information from professionals and ease of understanding. The results underline the need for bridging the digital divide and the potential for pro-active use of the internet for health promotion.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)147-153
    Number of pages7
    JournalJournal of Medical Systems
    Volume34
    Issue number2
    Early online date18 Oct 2008
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Apr 2010

    User-Defined Keywords

    • Health information seeking
    • Hong Kong
    • Internet
    • Prevalence

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