Factors affecting online health information-seeking behavior in young and middle-aged patients with stroke

Ge Shi, Jiajia Yu, Jiaming Zhang, Jun Zhao, Zhen Peng, Li Shang

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the characteristics of online health information-seeking behavior and the influencing factors among young and middle-aged Chinese patients with stroke. The participants of this study were 230 young and middle-aged patients with stroke enrolled from a Class III Grade A hospital in Shandong Province, China.

Introduction

Stroke, a common neurological disorder, causes high morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. In 2022, the World Stroke Organization (WSO) reported more than 12.22 million new stroke cases worldwide each year, and the number of people who die from stroke is approximately 6.55 million [1].

Materials and Methods

This study was of a quantitative nature; research was conducted between October 31, 2023. Data were obtained from young and middle-aged patients with stroke receiving treatment at a Class III Grade A hospital in Shandong Province, China.

Results 

The demographic information is presented in Table 1. Of the 230 respondents, 13.91% had a primary school education or below (n=32), 23.04% had a junior high school education (n=53), 33.91% had a high school or technical secondary school education (n=78), and the remaining 29.13% had a college education or above (n=67).

Discussion

The results of this study showed that the OHISB scores of young and middle-aged patients with stroke (15.69±2.98). According to the OHISB scale score interval (4–20 points), the scores of young and middle-aged patients with stroke was at a medium-high level.

Conclusions

This study explored the current status of OHISB in young and middle-aged patients with stroke and identified the factors affecting OHISB. Although OHISB in young and middle-aged patients with stroke is at a medium-to-high level, many problems remain to be solved.

Citation: Shi G, Yu J, Zhang J, Zhao J, Peng Z, Shang L (2025) Factors affecting online health information-seeking behavior in young and middle-aged patients with stroke. PLoS One 20(4): e0321791. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0321791

Editor: Nicola Diviani, Swiss Paraplegic Research, SWITZERLAND

Received: August 23, 2024; Accepted: March 11, 2025; Published: April 28, 2025

Copyright: © 2025 Shi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Data Availability: All relevant data are within the manuscript and its Supporting Information files.

Funding: This study was supported by the fund for teaching reform and research of Binzhou Medical University (Grant No. 2019YD060).The project is named “The Effect of Community-Family Precision Care with the Involvement of Primary Caregivers on Stroke Hemiplegia Patients after Discharge” and the fund was awarded to the co-author Jiajia Yu of this article.

Competing interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.