A Survey Study on the Impact of Contextual Variables on Medical Students’ Use of Health Messenger Media

Medical students receive health information from various media sources and messages. Receiving health information can have a significant impact on the students’ dietary habits and healthy lifestyles. This study aimed to investigate the status of medical students’ use of health media and messaging, as well as the contextual variables that affect it. A survey study was conducted on 500 students of Shiraz University of Medical Sciences during September to December 2022 that were selected by simple random sampling. The research tool was a researcher-made questionnaire consisting of 15 items and six domains on a 4-point Likert scale, with a cutting point of 2.5. The validity of the tool was assessed using the CVI and CVR index, and its reliability was confirmed by internal consistency of 0.818. Data were collected through an e-questionnaire and analyzed using one-sample t-tests, independent t-tests, and ANOVA, using SPSS v.24 software. About 40% of the participants were male. 36.4% were BS students, 27.8% MD, 20.5% MSc degree, and the remaining were in the PhD program. 73.3% of the participants were single, 43.8% lived with their parents, and 28.8% lived in the dormitory. Among the types of health media, Internet searches (M=2.950), verbal conversations (M=2.394), scientific resources (M=2.236), and official health information websites (M=2.128) had the highest means, while mass media like radio and television were the lowest. Contextual factors such as age, field of study, place of residence, marital status, and educational level had a significant effect on the students’ preference (P<0.05), but gender had no significant effect (P>0.05). Students have access to the Internet and receive most of their information through this medium. Monitoring the sources and content of health information websites, as well as strengthening health media literacy among students, are of great importance