Information seeking behaviour of parents and caregivers of children with mental illness in Tanzania

Abstract

Purpose – The aim of this paper is to assess information needs and information seeking behaviour of parents and caregivers of children with mental illness at the Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) in Tanzania. The study mainly assessed the information needs of parents and caregivers of children with mental illness, their preferable sources of health information, and their constraints on information seeking. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a case study research design, where 168 structured questionnaires were distributed to parents and caregivers of children with mental illness at the Neurological Pediatrics Outpatient Clinic of KCMC. The rate of response was 89.3 per cent. Findings – The study found that health information needs of parents and caregivers were mainly associated with health care (for example, nutrition, treatment) and health education. Parents and caregivers of children with mental illness used the internet as the main source of information about their children's health, which was followed by printed books and television. Health information seeking behaviour appeared similar across gender categories, but there were differences on the use of print and electronic information sources according to age and level of education. The main factors that hindered access to health information included low level of education, lack of funds and health information illiteracy. Practical implications – The paper provides useful suggestions that would facilitate information seeking and use among parents and caregivers of children with mental illness in Tanzania and other countries with similar conditions. Originality/value – Previous studies on the topic are scanty and, therefore, the paper provides important insights into the information needs and information seeking behaviour of parents and caregivers of children with mental illness in a developing country setting.

Perilaku Pencarian Informasi Mengenai Kebijakan Sekolah Tatap Muka oleh Orang Tua Siswa di kota Malang

“…Presentase mengenai beberapa cara mencari informasi yang dilakukan orang tua bisa dilihat pada tabel 5. Beberapa penelitian mengemukakan bahwa orang tua seringkali lebih banyak menggunakan sumber informasi yang bersifat personal seperti bertanya langsung dengan tenaga professional sebagai sumber informasi utama mereka (Lwoga & Mosha, 2013). Hal ini juga tercermin dalam penelitian ini, di mana dari tabel 5 di atas terlihat bahwa kebanyakan orang tua mencari informasi dengan bertanya langsung pada professional.…”

Research trends in mothers' health information seeking behaviors: A review of the literature

“…Criss et al, 2015), friends (e.g. Harmsen et al, 2013), libraries (Baker et al, 2007;Starke & Möller, 2002), books (Lwoga & Mosha, 2013;Willcox et al, 2015), newspapers (Liechty et al, 2015), and magazines (Bakar, 2011). There were also 12 studies (13.79%) that emphasized only offline resources as mothers' health information sources and 3 studies (3.44%) did not specifically mention their participants' information sources.…”

Caregivers of children feel confident about using the Internet for health information

“…As quick deteriorations in health status can occur in many chronic childhood illnesses, such as type one diabetes and asthma (Gentles et al, 2010), caregivers must continually monitor child health, relying on observation and intuition to determine when HCP support is needed. Often such caregivers require additional information to supplement that provided by HCPs (Baumann et al, 2020; Lwoga & Mosha, 2013). As caregivers of children encounter numerous logistic, financial and time barriers (Gutiérrez‐Colina et al, 2017), the speed and accessibility of online health information may be of particular value to this group.…”