Health information seeking and its associated factors in Ethiopia: Systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Universal health coverage demands universal access to health information. However, in developing nations, a lack of health information continues to be a significant obstacle to evidence-based health care. As a result, the objective of this study was to determine the pooled level of healt...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Masresha Derese Tegegne, Tesfahun Melese Yilma, Mequannent Sharew Melaku, Sisay Maru Wubante, Addisalem Workie Demsash, Agmasie Damtew Walle
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-01-01
Series:Informatics in Medicine Unlocked
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352914822001241
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Summary:Background: Universal health coverage demands universal access to health information. However, in developing nations, a lack of health information continues to be a significant obstacle to evidence-based health care. As a result, the objective of this study was to determine the pooled level of health information seekers in Ethiopia and its associated factors. Methods: Studies were found using search engines in Medline, PubMed, Scopus, EMBASE, and African journal online (AJOL), HINARI, Science direct, and web-science, all following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA). The study was performed using STATA version 11 software. The index of heterogeneity (I2) was used to assess heterogeneity amongst the included papers. A visual inspection of the funnel plot and Egger's regression test were used to search for potential publication bias. The pooled effect size of each study is estimated using a random-effect model meta-analysis with a 95% confidence interval. Results: Eight out of the 197 assessed studies met the inclusion criteria and were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. The estimated prevalence of health information seekers in Ethiopia was 50.45% (95% CI: 39.68–61.23). According to the subgroup analysis, health information seekers accounted for 52.48% in the Amhara area, 57.45% among health professionals, and 53.77% in studies conducted after 2015. Furthermore, having computer and internet access and being computer literate were significant associations with health information seeking in Ethiopia. Conclusion: The overall pooled prevalence of health information seekers in Ethiopia was relatively low. Having computer and internet access and being computer literate was a positive association with health information seeking. As a result, offering computer and internet access and a training package on basic computer skills could be recommended to raise the overall number of health information seekers in Ethiopia.
ISSN:2352-9148