Primary healthcare is an essential part of the 1978 Global Health for All, the year 2000 Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the 2016 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Internet, especially social media, now appeals to city people searching for well-being experts for border-free help and advice on healthcare information. This study examined the awareness, adoption and usage of social media to search for health-associated information by patients of suburban primary healthcare centres. The overall objective of this study was to investigate the perceived benefits of using social media to seek health-associated information. Adopting the quantitative methodology, this study used the survey design for a cross-sectional examination of 221 patients from three selected primary health care centres at Yaba, a major suburban area in Lagos, Nigeria. Results indicated that most patients in suburban primary healthcare centres in Yaba, Lagos, Nigeria, subscribed to more than one social media account, with the majority clustering around Facebook. A weekly search for healthcare information on the common cold (flu), tiredness and hypertension showed that the respondents were active on social media. However, the high risk of misinformation was identified as a major drawback of using social media to seek information on healthcare on the Internet. The study concluded that the use of social media for healthcare information by patients of suburban primary healthcare centres is increasing. Therefore, stakeholders need to examine this development for a purposeful repositioning of healthcare information dissemination, especially in suburban centres.
Loading....