Wright HZ, MD, MPH, Wright SR, BA

University of Utah, Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Division of Public Health, Salt Lake City, UT/US

Background: In most societies around the world, women are responsible for the health decisions in a family (Hemard, et. al., 2008) and a mother’s level of education is an important predictor of child health (Gakidou, et al., 2010), making women a crucial source of health information and cues to health behavior.  The question of where Armenian women obtain their health information is therefore important, but is unknown.  

Methods:  Quantitative data was collected from a cross-sectional survey in Armenia over a two-week period from June 19 to July 04, 2012.  Face-to-face intercept interviews were conducted among 225 women, with ages ranging from 18 to 74, attending outpatient clinics using a standardized questionnaire administered by an interviewer.

Results:  The importance of getting more health information was identified as “very important” by 83.6% of participants.  For age groups 45-65, TV is a preferred future health information source over other age groups, whereas for age group 18-30, family is a preferred source among other age groups.  Among different levels of education, people with tech education or higher education had less preference for family as a source of health information sources over people with education up to secondary level.  For age group 18-30 getting more health information is more important than the rest of the age groups.  Married respondents had higher mean over those not married for having TV as an important source of health information.   The top three principle sources of health information are: doctor/medical professionals, television, and family.  However, the top three health information sources deemed most important are: doctor/medical professionals, family, and television.  Additionally, the top three most trusted health information sources are: doctor/medical professionals, family, and friends/community.  Participants identified their top three preferred future health information sources as: doctor/medical professionals, television, and family.

Conclusions:  The majority of women in Armenia agree that getting more health information is very important.  In order to communicate health information to women in Armenia, healthcare providers should focus on using television, which is a preferred health information source for the majority of women in Armenia.

References

Gakidou, E., Cowling, K., Lozano, R., Murray, C. (18 September 2010). Increased Educational Attainment and Its Effect on Child Mortality in 175 Countries Between 1970 and 2009: A Systematic Analysis. The Lancet, 376 (9745), 959–974. Retrieved on 03/24/2012 from http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736%2810%2961257-3/abstract

Hemard, J.B., Monroe, P.A., Atkinson, E.S., Blalock, L.B. (2008). Rural Women's Satisfaction and Stress as Family Health Care Gatekeepers. Women & Health, 28(2). Retrieved on 03/24/2012 from http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1300/J013v28n02_04 - preview

Author contact: sethrobertwright@gmail.com