Accessing Online Health-related Information by Parents of Children with Neurologic Disorders in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Background: Parental use of online search engines to get information about their children’s illnesses is a common practice in developed countries. This online search is becoming part of our society, especially in the face of chronic disorders.

Objectives: This study was undertaken to ascertain the proportion of parents of children with neurological disorders browsing the internet for medical information and factors associated with this behaviour.

Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in the paediatric neurology clinic of the Rivers State University Teaching Hospital, where 106 child-parent pairs were consecutively recruited. A questionnaire was used to collect information on biodata and their use of the internet to access information on their children’s diseases. Data was analysed with SPSS 23, with statistical significance set at P value < 0.05.

Results: The mean ages of the children, mothers and fathers were 5.5±4.6 years, 37.2±6.9 years and 44.6±6.9 years respectively. Most mothers (63.2%) and fathers (61.3%) had attained tertiary education and were of middle socioeconomic class. Of the 54(50.9%) parents who had browsed the internet, 49(90.7%) used Google, and 50(92.6%) browsed with their phones.

Among those who searched for information online, only 11(20.4%) discussed such information with a physician. Tertiary education among parents and middle socioeconomic status were significantly associated with browsing the internet.

Conclusion: A good proportion (50.4%) of educated parents are browsing the internet for more medical information on their children’s illnesses but few are verifying such information with physicians. There is therefore a need to counsel parents on the proper websites to get accurate information.