Online search for health related information a case study

The increasing popularity of internet has unarguably bypassed traditional media in making the information and knowledge available to individuals, groups and communities. The phenomenon of using internet to gather and share health information is now mainstream among youth especially in urban India. Internet can be utilized effectively to empower, encourage and educate the youth in the bid for health protection, health development and health improvement. The purpose of this study is to understand how the university students use online resources to meet their health information needs. The result could be considered very crucial in assessing the potential role of the Internet in providing health information to this important section of populace. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data from 100 university students. The findings of the study indicate that a vast majority of students are accessing internet regularly and use it often to pursue general health, nutrition and fitness related information. The study shows that these college going students rely extensively on online resources and consider the health information so obtained, easy to access, reliable and trustworthy. Thus, internet could be chosen as a potential medium for public health education and health promotion activities involving youth.