An Observational Study of How Young People Search for Online Sexual Health Information
- 30 September 2009
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal of American College Health
- Vol. 58 (2) , 101-111
Abstract
Little is known about the quality of online sexual health information, how young people access the Internet to answer their sexual health questions, or an individual's ability to sort through myriad sources for accurate information. Objective: The purpose of this study was to determine how college students search for online sexual health information and whether they retrieve accurate answers to sexual health questions. Participants: In fall 2007, the authors recruited 34 first-year, first-semester undergraduates to participate in an observational research study, using Camtasia Studio. Results: Most students found accurate answers to the 12 sexual health questions posed. Finding local information and resources online proved more difficult than finding answers to general sexual health questions. Conclusions: The Internet has become the leading source for sexual health information. Based on their findings, the authors argue that young people must be educated about how Web search engine results are prioritized/displayed and trained to evaluate Web sites for reliable information.Keywords
This publication has 24 references indexed in Scilit:
- Everyday Health Communication Experiences of College StudentsJournal of American College Health, 2008
- A short-term longitudinal study of Internet and computer game use by adolescent boys and girls: Prevalence, frequency of use, and psychosocial predictors.Developmental Psychology, 2008
- Internet Use for Health Information Among College StudentsJournal of American College Health, 2005
- Has the Internet become indispensable?Communications of the ACM, 2004
- How Adolescents Use Technology for Health Information: Implications for Health Professionals from Focus Group StudiesJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2003
- Adolescents Searching for Health Information on the Internet: An Observational StudyJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2003
- Adolescent Cybersurfing for Health InformationArchives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 2001
- Internet Use Among College Students: An Exploratory StudyJournal of American College Health, 2001
- Adolescents, the Internet, and health: issues of access and contentJournal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2001
- Information Economics and the InternetJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2000