Level of awareness of Saudi medical students of the internet-based health-related information seeking and developing to support health services

• Published in: BMC medical informatics and decision making Vol. 20; no. 1; p. 209
• Main Authors: Aldebasi, Bader, Alhassan, Abdulaziz I, Al-Nasser, Sami, Abolfotouh, Mostafa A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BioMed Central Ltd 03.09.2020; BioMed Central; BMC
• Subjects: Analysis; Attitudes; Communication; Confidentiality; Cross-Sectional Studies; E-health application; E-health knowledge; E-health perception; E-health practice; Female; Gender; Health care industry; Health informatics; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health sciences; Health Services; Humans; Information professionals; Information Seeking Behavior; Internet; IT methods; Knowledge; Male; Medical education; Medical informatics; Medical students; Multiple regression analysis; Organizations; Patients; Saudi Arabia; Students; Students, Medical; Surveys; Saudi Arabia; E-health practice; IT methods; E-health knowledge; E-health application; E-health perception; Medical informatics
• ISSN: 1472-6947; 1472-6947
• DOI: 10.1186/s12911-020-01233-8

Many studies are available in the literature about e-health in Saudi Arabia, however, data is limited to a few organizations and does not necessarily reflect the current and potential use of e-health for health care organizations in the country. This study aimed to determine the level of awareness of Saudi medical students of the internet-based health-related information seeking and developing to support health services and significant predictors of their practice. A cross-sectional survey of 440 medical students in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was conducted, during October/November 2019, using a previously validated questionnaire, to assess: (1) knowledge in three domains; e-health definition (13 statements), fields of application of e-health (8 statements), methods of using e-health (7 statements), (2) attitude toward using e-health (8 statements) and (3) reported practice of e-health in medical training (5 statements). A scoring system was used to calculate the total and percentage score of knowledge, attitude, and practice for each student. Multiple regression analysis was applied to identify predictors of e-health practice. Significance was considered at p < 0.05. Of 440 medical students, the majority were females (55.7%) and from families whose monthly income was more than 10,000SR (82.8%). Overall knowledge about e-health was unsatisfactory (percentage mean score, PMS = 71.6%), with only 43.6% of students reporting a satisfactory level. However, this level was satisfactory for fields of application (Percentage mean score-PMS = 76.6%) and unsatisfactory for the definition of e-health (PMS = 70.7%) and methods of its use (PMS = 65.7%) domains. The overall attitude towards e-health use was positive (PMS = 82.3%), with nearly three-quarters of students (73.4%) reporting a positive attitude. Generally, a good level of practice of e-health was reported by students (PMS = 84.3%), with more than three-quarters of students (78.4%) reporting good practice. Adjusting for age, gender, stream, educational grade, and family monthly income, good practice was significantly predicted with higher knowledge (t = 2.22, p = 0.03) and attitude (t = 2.11, p = 0.04) scores. This study provides basic information regarding medical students' level of awareness of internet-based health-related information seeking and developing to support health services. More resources should be directed to elevate medical students' knowledge and to motivate them to practice e-health using the available tools.