The Influence of Gender and Level of Education on Motivations for Seeking Health Information Online among Parents

摘要

The rapid development of technology has transformed the way how to search for information. In the last decade, studies show that the use of the internet to access health-related information is rapidly increasing, despite the quality of health information provided on various online sources is doubtful. Searching for health-related information is often not only aimed at self-healing or self-improvement of health quality but also to improve the health quality of other people in our care, such as our children or other members of the family. Despite the reported increased use of the internet to access health information, there is limited research examined the factors that influence the extent of health information seeking among parents, especially in developing countries such as Malaysia. The study findings revealed the factors (such as gender, education, income, and occupation) that significantly associate with parents' drivers to search for health-related information online.