英文摘要 |
Young people are found to be more sexually active and more likely to engage in sexually risky behavior than in the past. Soaring STDs and HIV/AIDS rates among young people have consequently raised their concerns about STDs and HIV/AIDS infection. Given the fact that seeking information on the Internet is interactive, anonymous and timely, young people who are Internet savvy and dependent may bypass traditional channels and turn to the Internet for STDs and HIV/AIDS information. This study, therefore, attempts to develop an integrated model for investigating factors influencing young people's STDs and HIV/AIDS information seeking on the Internet based on the findings of studies conducted in American. The integrated model addresses the roles that the social context, personal factors (e.g., demographics, direct experience of a disease/illness, salience, beliefs, attitude toward a behavior, perceived sufficiency of information, and personality traits), and information-seeking motives related to Internet characteristics and online STDs and HIV/AIDS information may play in determining young people's online STDs and HIV/AIDS information seeking. Through the exploration of how factors influence health information seeking among young people in America, this study will help Taiwanese researchers understand online STDs and HIV/AIDS information among young people in Taiwan where online STDs and HIV/AIDS information seeking studies are still insufficient. It will also enhance Taiwanese education administrators', health educators', public health practitioners', and health communication researchers' understanding of STDs and HIV/AIDS information seeking on the Internet among young people, which sequentially reinforces their notions about how to design effective online STDs and HIV/AIDS intervention/education programs. |