Online health information-seeking behaviour and mental well-being among Finnish higher education students during COVID-19
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
Authors
Online health information-seeking behaviour has increased since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic in March 2020. This study examined whether health-related information on COVID-19 searched on the internet was associated with mental well-being among higher education students. A cross-sectional internet survey was conducted among 18- to 34-year-old students in Finland (N <FOR VERIFICATION>= <FOR VERIFICATION>2976; mean age 24.61 years and median 24) in the spring of 2020. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson's chi-square tests, Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric H tests, and a two-way ANOVA. The results indicated that most students (86% of females, 82% of males) used the internet to search for information on COVID-19. Students' self-perceived abilities to determine the relevance of online information on COVID-19 were associated with mental well-being.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | daad143 |
| Journal | Health Promotion International |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue number | 6 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| ISSN | 0957-4824 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 01.12.2023 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Tampere University’s Faculty of Social Sciences (SOC) for study’s data collection and data analysis processes, by Juho Vainio Foundation (18 February 2021) and by State Funding of university-level health research, Tampere University Hospital, Wellbeing Services County of Pirkanmaa.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).
- COVID-19, higher education student, internet, mental well-being, online health information-seeking
- Health sciences
- Psychology