Everyday health communication experiences of college students

Abstract

Objective: The authors examined college students' day-to-day health communication experiences.

Participants: A convenience sample of 109 midwestern university students participated in the study.

Methods: The participants completed health communication diaries for 2 weeks, generating 2,185 records. Frequent health topics included nutrition and diet, minor health concerns, risky health practices, and body fitness.

Results: Approximately 27% of health communication experiences involved the proactive seeking of health-related information or advice. Interpersonal venues (face-to-face, telephone, and e-mail) were evident in about 75% of the records, which were dominated by exchanges with friends and family members. The authors found modest interactions of topic, channel, and purpose.

Conclusions: Congruent with the uses and gratifications theory, the authors found that satisfaction with and perceived impact of health communication experiences varied by topic, channel, relationship, and purpose.