Background: Accessibility and use of the internet-based health information are vital concepts in healthcare delivery. The Internet is changing not only the way patients get health information, but the way they interact with their healthcare providers and others alike. Several studies have explored the use of the Internet by the healthcare providers. However little is known about the extent to which individual patients use the Internet for their own personal healthcare information needs. Objective: This present study determined basic IT knowledge, skills and access to internet-based health information to address personal healthcare needs of the University of Ibadan employees. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that deployed multi-stage sampling techniques. Result: Four hundred and two (82.0%) of the 488 questionnaires distributed were analyzed. There were more (292, 72.6%) non-teaching participants in the study. All (402, 100%) participants were conversant with internet-based health information which was reported to have met their basic health needs. They all (402, 100%) admitted that internet-based health information could be easily understood, and they mostly sought for it to equip themselves with prior knowledge on their ailments. However, the majority (398, 97.0%) searched for internet-based health information because they reported to have lost confidence in their healthcare providers. Conclusion: It is obvious from this study that most employees of University of Ibadan appreciated the importance of internet-based health information for personal healthcare and seek it for diverse personal reasons. The outcome of this study has the potentials to prepare healthcare professionals for dealing appropriately with internet-informed patients and restore their confidence. The Nigerian healthcare systems need to formulate policies on access and use of internet-based health information by their patients.
Published in |
American Journal of Health Research (Volume 3, Issue 1-1)
This article belongs to the Special Issue Health Information Technology in Developing Nations: Challenges and Prospects Health Information Technology |
DOI | 10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14 |
Page(s) | 25-31 |
Creative Commons |
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Copyright |
Copyright © The Author(s), 2014. Published by Science Publishing Group |
Academics, Access, Knowledge, Health Information, Internet-Based Health Information, Personal Healthcare, Use
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APA Style
Benson Macaulay Oweghoro, Ibrahim Taiwo Adeleke, Patricia Philip Mshelia, Lateef Mosebolatan Ogundiran, Aivonya Momoh Jimoh Yusuf, et al. (2014). Knowledge, Access and Use of Internet-Based Health Information for Personal Healthcare among Employees of the Foremost Nigerian University. American Journal of Health Research, 3(1-1), 25-31. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14
ACS Style
Benson Macaulay Oweghoro; Ibrahim Taiwo Adeleke; Patricia Philip Mshelia; Lateef Mosebolatan Ogundiran; Aivonya Momoh Jimoh Yusuf, et al. Knowledge, Access and Use of Internet-Based Health Information for Personal Healthcare among Employees of the Foremost Nigerian University. Am. J. Health Res. 2014, 3(1-1), 25-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14
AMA Style
Benson Macaulay Oweghoro, Ibrahim Taiwo Adeleke, Patricia Philip Mshelia, Lateef Mosebolatan Ogundiran, Aivonya Momoh Jimoh Yusuf, et al. Knowledge, Access and Use of Internet-Based Health Information for Personal Healthcare among Employees of the Foremost Nigerian University. Am J Health Res. 2014;3(1-1):25-31. doi: 10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14
@article{10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14, author = {Benson Macaulay Oweghoro and Ibrahim Taiwo Adeleke and Patricia Philip Mshelia and Lateef Mosebolatan Ogundiran and Aivonya Momoh Jimoh Yusuf and Deborah Ifeoluwa Adeoti}, title = {Knowledge, Access and Use of Internet-Based Health Information for Personal Healthcare among Employees of the Foremost Nigerian University}, journal = {American Journal of Health Research}, volume = {3}, number = {1-1}, pages = {25-31}, doi = {10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14}, url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14}, eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14}, abstract = {Background: Accessibility and use of the internet-based health information are vital concepts in healthcare delivery. The Internet is changing not only the way patients get health information, but the way they interact with their healthcare providers and others alike. Several studies have explored the use of the Internet by the healthcare providers. However little is known about the extent to which individual patients use the Internet for their own personal healthcare information needs. Objective: This present study determined basic IT knowledge, skills and access to internet-based health information to address personal healthcare needs of the University of Ibadan employees. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that deployed multi-stage sampling techniques. Result: Four hundred and two (82.0%) of the 488 questionnaires distributed were analyzed. There were more (292, 72.6%) non-teaching participants in the study. All (402, 100%) participants were conversant with internet-based health information which was reported to have met their basic health needs. They all (402, 100%) admitted that internet-based health information could be easily understood, and they mostly sought for it to equip themselves with prior knowledge on their ailments. However, the majority (398, 97.0%) searched for internet-based health information because they reported to have lost confidence in their healthcare providers. Conclusion: It is obvious from this study that most employees of University of Ibadan appreciated the importance of internet-based health information for personal healthcare and seek it for diverse personal reasons. The outcome of this study has the potentials to prepare healthcare professionals for dealing appropriately with internet-informed patients and restore their confidence. The Nigerian healthcare systems need to formulate policies on access and use of internet-based health information by their patients.}, year = {2014} }
TY - JOUR T1 - Knowledge, Access and Use of Internet-Based Health Information for Personal Healthcare among Employees of the Foremost Nigerian University AU - Benson Macaulay Oweghoro AU - Ibrahim Taiwo Adeleke AU - Patricia Philip Mshelia AU - Lateef Mosebolatan Ogundiran AU - Aivonya Momoh Jimoh Yusuf AU - Deborah Ifeoluwa Adeoti Y1 - 2014/12/31 PY - 2014 N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14 DO - 10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14 T2 - American Journal of Health Research JF - American Journal of Health Research JO - American Journal of Health Research SP - 25 EP - 31 PB - Science Publishing Group SN - 2330-8796 UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajhr.s.2015030101.14 AB - Background: Accessibility and use of the internet-based health information are vital concepts in healthcare delivery. The Internet is changing not only the way patients get health information, but the way they interact with their healthcare providers and others alike. Several studies have explored the use of the Internet by the healthcare providers. However little is known about the extent to which individual patients use the Internet for their own personal healthcare information needs. Objective: This present study determined basic IT knowledge, skills and access to internet-based health information to address personal healthcare needs of the University of Ibadan employees. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that deployed multi-stage sampling techniques. Result: Four hundred and two (82.0%) of the 488 questionnaires distributed were analyzed. There were more (292, 72.6%) non-teaching participants in the study. All (402, 100%) participants were conversant with internet-based health information which was reported to have met their basic health needs. They all (402, 100%) admitted that internet-based health information could be easily understood, and they mostly sought for it to equip themselves with prior knowledge on their ailments. However, the majority (398, 97.0%) searched for internet-based health information because they reported to have lost confidence in their healthcare providers. Conclusion: It is obvious from this study that most employees of University of Ibadan appreciated the importance of internet-based health information for personal healthcare and seek it for diverse personal reasons. The outcome of this study has the potentials to prepare healthcare professionals for dealing appropriately with internet-informed patients and restore their confidence. The Nigerian healthcare systems need to formulate policies on access and use of internet-based health information by their patients. VL - 3 IS - 1-1 ER -