Lee Jason Wy, Theng Yin-Leng, Lee Shaun Wh
Teaching, Learning and Pedagogy Division, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Office of Education, Duke-NUS Medical School, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
Digit Health. 2020 Sep 11;6:2055207620956457. doi: 10.1177/2055207620956457. eCollection 2020 Jan-Dec.
The internet has become a primary source of information for many individuals especially those with chronic diseases. This study aims to understand and compare the health seeking behaviour using mobile devices among individuals with diabetes and between a high (Singapore) and middle (Malaysia) income country.
A cross sectional survey was conducted among people with diabetes in Malaysia and Singapore. Participants attending the primary health clinic for the treatment of diabetes were approached to participate in this survey. Data on demographics, health status and beliefs to health were collected and compared.
A total of 673 respondents were included in the study. Most of the respondents reported to have access to the Internet, with a high ownership of mobile phones (99.3%). However, only one in every three respondents sought information online. Younger individuals (≤50 years) and those with higher education more likely to seek information using mobile devices. Respondents in Singapore reported to be more likely to use mobile devices to monitor their health as compared to respondents in Malaysia. However, most respondents would seek health information from their healthcare professionals' especially physicians.
There was limited differences in the health-seeking behaviour among the respondents from both countries, suggesting for a need to identify for more effective means of distribution of health related information.
互联网已成为许多人尤其是慢性病患者的主要信息来源。本研究旨在了解和比较糖尿病患者在高收入国家（新加坡）和中等收入国家（马来西亚）使用移动设备寻求健康的行为。
在马来西亚和新加坡对糖尿病患者进行了横断面调查。研究人员联系了前往初级保健诊所治疗糖尿病的参与者以参与本次调查。收集并比较了人口统计学、健康状况和健康信念方面的数据。
共有673名受访者纳入研究。大多数受访者表示可以上网，手机拥有率很高（99.3%）。然而，每三名受访者中只有一人会在网上寻求信息。较年轻的个体（≤50岁）和受过高等教育的人更有可能使用移动设备寻求信息。与马来西亚的受访者相比，新加坡的受访者报告称更有可能使用移动设备监测自己的健康状况。然而，大多数受访者会从他们的医疗保健专业人员尤其是医生那里寻求健康信息。
两国受访者在寻求健康行为方面的差异有限，这表明需要确定更有效的健康相关信息传播方式。
