The Role of Family as a Source of Health Information Among College Students.

Abstract

The internet has increasingly become a major source of health information, especially for college-age adults, who spend a significant amount of time online. This article investigates sources used by US college students to acquire health information. College students aged 18-25 years old (n = 189) from 18 colleges were surveyed between November 2022 and February 2023. The survey was conducted using the online survey platform SurveyMonkey. Participants were asked to select their main sources of health information under three different categories: general medical, mental health, and Covid-19 related information. Survey data were analyzed using Microsoft Excel. The survey found that parents/guardians, the internet, and medical providers were the top information sources in each category. Although previous surveys have shown that the internet is the main source of health information for most adults, when asked about their primary source of information, college-age adults reported predominantly relying on family for general medical information. However, they turned to online sources for mental health information, with Instagram as the top social media resource. The internet was the primary source for Covid-19 information. These data suggest that including parents in health messaging for college- age adults could help with dissemination of health information to this age group particularly when addressing general medical information such as vaccines, medical care and seasonal illnesses like flu. They also suggest that this group seeks alternative sources-like peers and social media- for topics that have associated stigma, such as mental health. Providing shareable resources with mental health information through college communication programs and networks may help disseminate accurate information to students.