Dog and cat owners' use of online Facebook groups for pet health information. (29th May 2021)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- Dog and cat owners' use of online Facebook groups for pet health information. (29th May 2021)
- Main Title:
- Dog and cat owners' use of online Facebook groups for pet health information
- Authors:
- Kogan, Lori R.
Little, Susan
Oxley, James - Abstract:
- Abstract: Background: Facebook is a frequently used social media platform and is often used for human health information, yet little research has been conducted on how pet owners use Facebook pet groups to obtain and share pet health information. Method: This study was designed to assess how pet owners use dog and cat Facebook groups to provide and receive pet health advice and their perception of these groups' trustworthiness. Two comparable questionnaires (dog and cat owners) were developed and distributed through an online survey platform. Results: Results suggest that Facebook groups are a common source of pet health information, with 56.2% of dog owners and 51.8% of cat owners reporting receiving health information through Facebook groups. Similar numbers report giving health information through Facebook groups: 55.0% of dog owners and 57.9% of cat owners. Dog health information most commonly exchanged related to dermatology, gastroenterology and orthopaedics and the most common cat health information focused on gastroenterology, renal and urinary‐related issues. While the majority of Facebook users report feeling that Facebook groups are not a trustworthy source of pet health information, a substantial minority of users do appear to be influenced by these groups. Conclusion: Approximately 50% of cat and dog owning respondents either give or receive pet health advice through Facebook groups. These results suggest that many owners deem Facebook groups as useful, but notAbstract: Background: Facebook is a frequently used social media platform and is often used for human health information, yet little research has been conducted on how pet owners use Facebook pet groups to obtain and share pet health information. Method: This study was designed to assess how pet owners use dog and cat Facebook groups to provide and receive pet health advice and their perception of these groups' trustworthiness. Two comparable questionnaires (dog and cat owners) were developed and distributed through an online survey platform. Results: Results suggest that Facebook groups are a common source of pet health information, with 56.2% of dog owners and 51.8% of cat owners reporting receiving health information through Facebook groups. Similar numbers report giving health information through Facebook groups: 55.0% of dog owners and 57.9% of cat owners. Dog health information most commonly exchanged related to dermatology, gastroenterology and orthopaedics and the most common cat health information focused on gastroenterology, renal and urinary‐related issues. While the majority of Facebook users report feeling that Facebook groups are not a trustworthy source of pet health information, a substantial minority of users do appear to be influenced by these groups. Conclusion: Approximately 50% of cat and dog owning respondents either give or receive pet health advice through Facebook groups. These results suggest that many owners deem Facebook groups as useful, but not entirely trustworthy, sources of information. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Health information and libraries journal. Volume 38:Number 3(2021)
- Journal:
- Health information and libraries journal
- Issue:
- Volume 38:Number 3(2021)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 38, Issue 3 (2021)
- Year:
- 2021
- Volume:
- 38
- Issue:
- 3
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2021-0038-0003-0000
- Page Start:
- 203
- Page End:
- 223
- Publication Date:
- 2021-05-29
- Subjects:
- information seeking behaviour -- social media -- surveys
Medical libraries -- Periodicals
Public health libraries -- Periodicals
Life sciences libraries -- Periodicals
Medical libraries -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
Public health libraries -- Great Britain -- Periodicals
Information science -- Periodicals
026.61094105 - Journal URLs:
- http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1471-1842 ↗
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1111/hir.12351 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 1471-1834
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - 4275.016950
British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 25779.xml