Settling-in or Unsettled: Refugees’ Online Health Information Seeking Behaviour

Abstract

Refugees are a high needs group at early settlement stage, requiring more intensive and frequent support. Globally, little is known about how refugees use online means to obtain health information - specifically, during settlement and the acculturation phase. Previous research studies have documented the way refugees use offline methods to obtain health information. Refugees use and prefer online sources, yet there is no information about what and how online sources are used to fulfil their health information needs. It is important to obtain answers to these key questions because using online means to obtain health information presents inherent difficulties with the likes of misinformation, which can negatively affect the online search experience. This proposed research study will be the first to contribute knowledge in this sphere. Results from this proposed research study will allow relevant authorities to proactively fulfill the health information requirements of refugees.