Sources and reasons for seeking health information by Lithuanian adults

The aim of this study was to assess the attitudes of Lithuanian adults aged 20-64 years toward the reasons for accessing health information and to determine the main health information sources and their relation to sociodemographic factors.

The data for this study were gathered in 2008 within the framework of the International Project Finbalt Health Monitor evaluating health behavior in a Lithuanian adult population.

More than half of respondents searched for health information during the last year. Men were 2.7 times more likely to trust friends and family as a health information source compared with women. For each 1-year increase in age, the odds of using friends and family, and the Internet as the main sources of health information decreased, while the odds of using people with the same condition and different means of media increased. Marital status was associated with greater trust in health professionals and the Internet as health information sources. Higher education was positively associated with more frequent reporting courses and lectures, and the Internet as the sources of health information, while those with lower education preferred television and radio.

This study revealed the characteristics of the "risk group" in terms of the sources of health information that people, assigned to it, tend to use, and it is especially important when providing health information.