Measuring media use in college students with and without human immunodeficiency virus infection

Media applications have shown promise for health education. The aims of this study were to develop and evaluate a media survey measure and compare media use among college students with and without human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection.

Using a cross-sectional, descriptive design, a convenience sample of college students (N = 53) were recruited. Psychometric testing of the media instrument was performed, and the tool was then used to compare media use among HIV-infected undergraduates (n = 15), other undergraduates (n = 23), and nursing students (n = 15).

Psychometric testing of the media instrument demonstrated a high degree of reliability (intraclass correlation = .998; 95% confidence intervals = .997, .999). All respondents had computers with Internet access and cellular phones. Among HIV-infected undergraduate students, 86.7% reported spending 5 minutes or more viewing television during the previous 24 hours outside of school and or work, in comparison with 34.8% of the other undergraduate students with no known chronic illness and 46.7% of the nursing students (p = .002 and .05, respectively). Preferred modes to access health information and communicate with health care providers for all respondents were the Internet (86.8%) and telephone (62.3%), respectively.

Assessment of media use among adolescents and young adults will aid in planning for their health education needs.