Borzekowski Dina L G, Fobil Julius N, Asante Kofi O
Department of Population and Family Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Dev Psychol. 2006 May;42(3):450-8. doi: 10.1037/0012-1649.42.3.450.
In developed countries, adolescents go online to find information about health; however, little is known about the online practices of youth from developing countries. This study's purpose was to explore and provide current information, drawn from adolescents living in Ghana's capital city of Accra, on the use of the Internet as a health information source. Using a representative sample of in-school adolescents and a convenience sample of out-of-school adolescents, 778 15- to 18-year-olds completed a detailed media and health information survey. Two-thirds (66%) of the in-school youth and approximately half (54%) of the out-of-school youth had previously gone online. Of all these Internet users, 53% had sought online health information, and this percentage did not differ significantly by gender, age, ethnicity, or even school status. Youth reported great interest, high levels of efficacy, and positive perceptions of online health information. Although more research should be conducted, this study offers exciting data on the potential to deliver, via the Internet, health information to youth in developing countries.
在发达国家，青少年上网查找健康信息；然而，对于发展中国家青少年的上网行为却知之甚少。本研究的目的是探索并提供来自加纳首都阿克拉青少年关于将互联网用作健康信息来源的最新信息。通过对在校青少年的代表性样本和校外青少年的便利样本，778名15至18岁青少年完成了一项详细的媒体和健康信息调查。三分之二（66%）的在校青少年和大约一半（54%）的校外青少年此前曾上过网。在所有这些互联网用户中，53%曾寻求过在线健康信息，这一比例在性别、年龄、种族甚至学校状态方面并无显著差异。青少年报告称对在线健康信息兴趣浓厚、效能感高且看法积极。尽管应该进行更多研究，但本研究提供了有关通过互联网向发展中国家青少年提供健康信息潜力的令人振奋的数据。
