# Exploring the Digital Health Landscape: How adolescents living in urban and rural Vanuatu use social media to access health information

## TL;DR

This study examines how urban and rural adolescents in Vanuatu use social media to access health information, finding that they prefer social media over other digital tools despite a small overall usage rate.

## Contribution

The study provides new insights into digital health behavior among adolescents in Vanuatu, challenging assumptions about urban-rural divides in technology use.

## Key findings

- Social media is the preferred platform for health information among both urban and rural adolescents in Vanuatu.
- Rural students are more likely to use social media for health searches compared to urban students.
- Only 24% of participants reported using digital tools for health, highlighting the need for targeted digital health initiatives.

## Abstract

Investigating the use of online platforms by adolescents living in the Pacific Islands is important to understand how they navigate online resources to make informed decisions about their health. This study explores the use of online platforms, by adolescents in Vanuatu for health-related purposes.

A total of 197 students (58% from an urban school and 42% from a rural school) completed a survey which collected quantitative and qualitative data about their use of digital technologies for health.

Results show that 77% of participants owned a mobile phone, which was mostly used to listen to music (34%) and play games (22%). Only 24% (n= 47) reported to have used apps, social media or websites for their health. Social media was the preferred category to use for health information, among both urban (25%) and rural (11%) participants, with Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter being the most frequently mentioned platforms. Reasons included, to gain knowledge, watch videos, chat with friends and look at posts. To search for health information, social media was more commonly used by rural students (12%) compared to urban students (8%). Conversely, search engines were more popular among urban students (12%) than rural students (5%). For discussing health topics online, social media was the predominant platform in both urban (9%) and rural (8%) areas.

While reports often suggest a digital divide between urban and rural areas, results from our study challenge this with our findings showing similarities in the use of online platforms for health information between urban and rural adolescents in Vanuatu. Our paper considers the influencing factors of social media use for health-related purposes, reflects on cultural sensitivity, identifies the risks of misinformation and regards the role of policy and education as essential for effectively engaging this population with digital health tools, to promote positive health outcomes.

Young people are avid users of digital technology for information, but there is not a lot of research on their specific needs and how they use this technology for health in Vanuatu. With many sources available, it is important for researchers, healthcare providers, and educators to understand how adolescents in Vanuatu use online technology for health information. Our study found that in both urban and rural areas of Vanuatu, adolescents prefer using social media compared with other digital tools to access and discuss health information. These findings can help guide the inclusion of digital health literacy in school programs, improving knowledge in this group. Although only a small number of adolescents reported using digital health tools, their patterns of use are important as they highlight the need for tailored initiatives and help understand digital health trends among adolescents in Vanuatu.