{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,6]],"date-time":"2026-10-06T04:57:11Z","timestamp":1791262631298,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":42,"publisher":"Public Library of Science (PLoS)","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,11]],"date-time":"2024-10-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1728604800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.plosone.org"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["PLoS ONE"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Health promotion and disease prevention are crucial for improving public health and alleviating the burden of illness in the population. This study aimed to investigate, the sources of health information most used and trusted, and the health topics most searched, by means of a nationwide cross-sectional online survey of a representative sample of the adult Swiss general population. Overall, complete surveys of 2020 participants were analysed (mean age 47 years old, 51% male, and matching the Swiss population regarding age, sex, and language-speaking region). Sources\u2019 use were calculated with descriptive statistics per sex and age groups. The most frequently used sources were general practitioners (min: 46% to max: 73%), government websites (40% to 55%), family and friends (37% to 63%), pharmacy (33% to 46%), and television (21% to 57%). The most trusted sources were specialised physicians (94% to 98%) general practitioners (90% to 96%), and pharmacies (81% to 89%). Based on multivariable controlled regression, age (per five years increase) was associated with increased odds of using television (Odds Ratio (OR): 1.19, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.12 to 1.21), print media (OR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.10 to 1.19), radio (OR: 1.15, 95%CI: 1.10 to 1.20), and the general practitioner (OR: 1.11, 95% CI: 1.07 to 1.15), and decreased odds of using news websites (OR: 0.94, 95% CI:0.9 to 0.98), family and friends (OR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.9 to 0.98), foreign authorities websites (OR: 0.91, 95%CI: 0.86 to 0.97), and social media (OR: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.84 to 0.92). Women were more likely to seek health information in the pharmacy (OR: 1.39, 95% CI: 1.15 to 1.68), specialised physicians (OR: 1.39, 95% CI:1.13 to 1.72), television (OR: 1.41, 95% CI: 1.16 to 1.72), and books (OR: 1.9, 95% CI: 1.44 to 2.5). The most searched health topics, based on the International Classification of Primary Care, 2<jats:sup>nd<\/jats:sup> edition (ICPC2), were general and unspecified symptoms (20.9%) and musculoskeletal issues (19.4%). The use of these findings by policymakers and health care providers could potentially enhance the effectiveness of health-related education strategies, by aligning communication efforts with the populations\u2019 preferences and content needs, and allocating resources where they are most commonly accessed and trusted, namely in the general practice.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0312120","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,11]],"date-time":"2024-10-11T17:30:08Z","timestamp":1728667808000},"page":"e0312120","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1371\/journal.pone.corrections_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Health information, what do people search and where? a cross-sectional online survey study in the adult Swiss population"],"prefix":"10.1371","volume":"19","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3452-8797","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Laura","family":"Diaz Hernandez","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4894-3564","authenticated-orcid":true,"given":"Roland","family":"Fischer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Andreas","family":"Zeller","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"340","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,10,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"pone.0312120.ref001","volume-title":"Global status report on noncommunicable diseases 2010 [Internet]","author":"World Health Organization","year":"2011"},{"issue":"9","key":"pone.0312120.ref002","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e0256731","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0256731","article-title":"Health knowledge, health behaviors and attitudes during pandemic emergencies: A systematic review","volume":"16","author":"FA Rinc\u00f3n Uribe","year":"2021","journal-title":"PLoS One [Internet]."},{"key":"pone.0312120.ref003","first-page":"97","volume-title":"Low health literacy and health outcomes: An updated systematic review [Internet].","author":"ND Berkman","year":"2011"},{"key":"pone.0312120.ref004","first-page":"80","volume-title":"Health literacy and public health: A systematic review and integration of definitions and models [Internet].","author":"K S\u00f8rensen","year":"2012"},{"key":"pone.0312120.ref005","first-page":"e506","volume-title":"eHealth literacy: Essential skills for consumer health in a networked world [Internet].","author":"CD Norman","year":"2006"},{"issue":"12","key":"pone.0312120.ref006","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2072","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socscimed.2008.09.050","article-title":"The evolving concept of health literacy","volume":"67","author":"D. 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