Impact of the media on health behaviour of young adults
Journal Title: Medycyna Ogólna i Nauki o Zdrowiu - Year 2016, Vol 22, Issue 2
Abstract
[b]Introduction.[/b] The media are part of everyday life for most people. This wide access to the general population has been enabled by the dynamic development of technology, and they now represent an important source of obtaining information useful in daily life. [b]Objective[/b]. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of mass media on the behaviour of young adults’ health, according to age, gender and level of education. [b]Material and methods. [/b]The study was conducted in 2015 in Lodz province using a survey based on an author-designed questionnaire. The questionnaire itself was anonymous and consisted of 54 questions. The study included 260 people aged 18 – 35-years-old, mostly students of medical universities (N=149), and also Internet users (N=89) and employees of Lodz hospitals (N=22). [b]Results.[/b] According to the analysis, 67.7% of respondents indicated that the media had an impact on health behaviour (67.4% of all women and 68.6% of men): 34.2% of respondents indicated a positive impact, 6% negative, with the remained declaring either no opinion or neutrality. The respondents indicated that most common media searches regarding information on health concerned information about drugs and the consequences of their use, diet, disease diagnosis, and the significance of various symptoms. The most commonly used media were the Internet (91%), followed by television and magazines (42% each). Around 12% used books, 7.3% radio and 6% daily newspapers. [b]Conclusions.[/b] According to the respondents, the information provided by the media influenced the health behaviour of young adults. Of the media, the Internet, television and magazines have the largest influence on expanding knowledge regarding drugs, diet, disease diagnosis and symptomatology.[b]Key words:[/b] media, health, health behaviour, reliability of information, young adults
Authors and Affiliations
Kamil Ludwisiak, Michał Polguj, Agata Majos, Wojciech Drygas
Keywords
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- EP ID EP79561
- DOI 10.5604/20834543.1208221
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