. Pragyan Paramita Parija; . Poornima Tiwari; . Priyanka Sharma; . Sunil Kumar Saha
Volume 10, Issue 12 , December 2020, , Pages 1-5
Abstract
Background: In health care, the rapid proliferation of health information on the internet has resultedin more patients turning to the digital media as their first source of health information ...
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Background: In health care, the rapid proliferation of health information on the internet has resultedin more patients turning to the digital media as their first source of health information and acquiringknowledge. The present study was conducted to assess use of the digital medium as a medicalinformation resource in health-related states and to determine their experience and perceptions aboutthe quality and reliability of the information available among the participants.Methodology: The study was done in an urban settlement of Delhi among adults who use any digitalmedia. A sample of 321 were selected though convenient sampling. The information was collectedthrough a semi-structured, self-administered, pre-tested questionnaire which contained questionson socio-demographic profile, internet usage and awareness about Digital India. Bivariate analysiswas done to determine the association between various socio-demographic variables associatedwith internet usage for health information.Results: In the present study, 88.2% (283/321) were using the internet for health informationthrough digital media. This study found out that younger age group (18-30 years), literate andhigher socioeconomic group (upper middle and above) population were more likely to access healthinformation via digital media which was found out to be statistically significant.Conclusion: Access to health information through digitization can improve health literacy amongthe population and help in promoting a preventive aspect to health problems and disease. They canbe the building blocks to build “Swasth Bharat (Healthy India)”.