Derek L. Hansen|Holly A. Derry|Paul Resnick|Caroline R. Richardson
Adolescents Searching for Health Information on the Internet: An Observational Study
University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|HealthMedia (United States)|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Ann Arbor VA Medical Center|University of Michigan–Ann Arbor|Health Services Research & Development
adolescents access health information internet partly function ability search find answers healthrelated questions adolescents may unique health computer literacy needs although many surveys interviews focus groups utilized understand informationseeking informationretrieval behavior adolescents looking health information online unable locate observations individual adolescents conducted contextthis study designed understand adolescents search health information using internet implications may access health informationa convenience sample 12 students age 1217 years 1 middle school 2 high schools southeast michigan provided 6 healthrelated questions asked look answers using internet researchers recorded 68 specific searches using software captured screen images well synchronized audio recordings recordings reviewed later specific search techniques strategies coded qualitative review verbal communication also performedout 68 observed searches 47 69 successful adolescent found correct useful answer health question majority sites students attempted access retrieved directly search engine results 77 search engines recommended links 10 small percentage directly accessed 5 linked another site 7 majority 83 followed links search engine results came first 9 results incorrect spelling 30 132 search terms number pages visited within site ranging 115 overall search strategy eg using search engine versus directly accessing site important determinants success qualitative analysis revealed participants used trialanderror approach formulate search strings scanned pages randomly instead systematically consider source content searching health informationthis study provides useful snapshot current adolescent searching patterns results implications constructing realistic simulations adolescent search behavior improving distribution usefulness web sites health information relevant adolescents enhancing educators knowledge specific pitfalls students likely encounter