Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study
Despite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2017-11-01
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| Series: | American Journal of Men's Health |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315626510 |
| _version_ | 1818954160845881344 |
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| author | Enmanuel Antonio Chavarria PhD, CHES Elizabeth Hensleigh Chaney PhD, MCHES Michael Leland Stellefson PhD J. Don Chaney PhD, MS, MCHES Nikita Chavarria PhD Virginia Jones Dodd PhD |
| author_facet | Enmanuel Antonio Chavarria PhD, CHES Elizabeth Hensleigh Chaney PhD, MCHES Michael Leland Stellefson PhD J. Don Chaney PhD, MS, MCHES Nikita Chavarria PhD Virginia Jones Dodd PhD |
| author_sort | Enmanuel Antonio Chavarria PhD, CHES |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Despite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that CMLF seek and (b) to determine the factors motivating OHI seeking among CMLF. Four 1- to 1.5-hour focus groups were conducted in two public universities in Florida with 41 college-aged Latino males in an established Latino fraternity. E-mails were used to recruit fraternity members. Qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts identified that CMLF search for a variety of OHI types including searches on symptoms, diagnoses, weight loss, and treatments for conditions or diseases among other types of OHI. Factors motivating OHI seeking included informational needs of others and concerns for others, worries due to lack of health insurance, preoccupations with health condition, concerns over physical appearance, and clarification through social media. CMLF may be elicited to serve as information conduits to increase access to health information on chronic diseases for older non-English-speaking Latino adults. Lack of health insurance along with other factors in this segment of the population have led to self-diagnosis and self-treatment of illness. Thus, empirical research and health promotion on the potential risks due to self-diagnosing and self-treatment of illness is warranted among CMLF. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:17:45Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-93c30c8172f644f1aeb07b07fd7b4ba8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1557-9883 1557-9891 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-20T10:17:45Z |
| publishDate | 2017-11-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | American Journal of Men's Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-93c30c8172f644f1aeb07b07fd7b4ba82022-12-21T19:44:00ZengSAGE PublishingAmerican Journal of Men's Health1557-98831557-98912017-11-011110.1177/1557988315626510Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative StudyEnmanuel Antonio Chavarria PhD, CHES0Elizabeth Hensleigh Chaney PhD, MCHES1Michael Leland Stellefson PhD2J. Don Chaney PhD, MS, MCHES3Nikita Chavarria PhD4Virginia Jones Dodd PhD5Department of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, 80 Fort Brown, SPH Building, Brownsville, TX, USADepartment of Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, 3104 Carol Belk Building, Greenville, NC, USADepartment of Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, 3104 Carol Belk Building, Greenville, NC, USADepartment of Health Education and Promotion, East Carolina University, 3104 Carol Belk Building, Greenville, NC, USADepartment of Medical Education, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, School of Medicine, 1210 W Schunior St, Edinburg, TX, USAUniverstiy of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USADespite the fact that a large percentage of Americans go online to seek health information, literature pertaining to online health information (OHI) seeking among college men in Latino fraternities (CMLF) has been nonexistent. Thus, the purpose of this study was to (a) identify the types of OHI that CMLF seek and (b) to determine the factors motivating OHI seeking among CMLF. Four 1- to 1.5-hour focus groups were conducted in two public universities in Florida with 41 college-aged Latino males in an established Latino fraternity. E-mails were used to recruit fraternity members. Qualitative analysis of the focus group transcripts identified that CMLF search for a variety of OHI types including searches on symptoms, diagnoses, weight loss, and treatments for conditions or diseases among other types of OHI. Factors motivating OHI seeking included informational needs of others and concerns for others, worries due to lack of health insurance, preoccupations with health condition, concerns over physical appearance, and clarification through social media. CMLF may be elicited to serve as information conduits to increase access to health information on chronic diseases for older non-English-speaking Latino adults. Lack of health insurance along with other factors in this segment of the population have led to self-diagnosis and self-treatment of illness. Thus, empirical research and health promotion on the potential risks due to self-diagnosing and self-treatment of illness is warranted among CMLF.https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315626510 |
| spellingShingle | Enmanuel Antonio Chavarria PhD, CHES Elizabeth Hensleigh Chaney PhD, MCHES Michael Leland Stellefson PhD J. Don Chaney PhD, MS, MCHES Nikita Chavarria PhD Virginia Jones Dodd PhD Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study American Journal of Men's Health |
| title | Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study |
| title_full | Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study |
| title_fullStr | Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study |
| title_short | Types and Factors Associated With Online Health Information Seeking Among College Men in Latino Fraternities: A Qualitative Study |
| title_sort | types and factors associated with online health information seeking among college men in latino fraternities a qualitative study |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/1557988315626510 |
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