|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
By Suzanne Rostler
NEW YORK, Mar 23 (Reuters Health) - Embarrassment, the need for confidentiality and a desire to find easily accessible answers drive many teens to the Internet in search of health information, a new study reveals.
More than three-quarters of 10th-grade students surveyed used the Internet to answer questions about health. Nearly half (49%) accessed information for personal use and more than two-thirds (67%) accessed information for school projects, the survey found. Results of the survey, which included more than 400 students, are being presented this week at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine in San Diego, California.
"This suggests they are going to the Internet for school use but that may serve as an entr¿for personal use," Dr. Dina L.G. Borzekowski from Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City, said in an interview. "Kids realize what a resource the Internet can be. They are very savvy and understand what they can get from the Internet, more so than adults."
Topics most frequently researched include sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), diet, exercise, sexual behaviors, violence and alcohol use, among others. Boys were just as likely to turn on their computers in search of health-related answers as girls. Ethnicity, the mother's education, and the teen's own health status did not affect how often adolescents searched the Internet for answers.
Young people of different ethnic backgrounds did appear to research different topics, however. Whites and Asians more frequently searched for information on diets while Latinos and blacks were more likely to search for information on violence among peers and gangs, findings show.
While the Internet can allow teenagers to research their questions privately, it can also be used to self-diagnose medical problems, Borzekowski said.
"There is anecdotal evidence that kids use the Internet for health information and then go to their (health) provider with reams of information, which may or may not be relevant to their own health."
But adults, she concedes, may be just as likely to do the same.
| Health Topics | Drug Information | Dictionaries | Directories | Other Resources |
|
U.S. National Library of Medicine, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894
Copyright and Privacy Policy, We welcome your comments. Last updated: 24 March 2001 |