The Association between Online Health-related Information Seeking Behavior and Self-care Activities among Patients with Diabetes Mellitus in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Objectives: Identify the association between online H.I. seeking behavior and the self-care practice among patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). Methods: This is a descriptive cross-sectional study. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 406 patients with DM. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data. Results: A total of 211 of the participants used the internet and/or social media to seek H.I. Most of the participants (44.4%) had been using the internet for the last 6 to 10 years. The majority used YouTube (72.7%) and Twitter (55.2%) when seeking H.I.. Significant association between seeking online H.I. and practicing self-care activities, includes testing blood sugar, drinking juice to treat hypoglycemia, having a glucagon kit at home, doing interventional action in case of severe hyperglycemia, checking their feet regularly, and visiting their doctors’ clinic periodically. Conclusions: Older age and low -educated people are less likely to seek online H.I. about DM management. The participants who were seeking online H.I. were more likely to do self-care activities to manage DM disease and prevent DM complications.