Perceptions of students about the importance of the internet in the democratization of health knowledge

Ensuring information and communication in quality health to the population means being able to influence the behavior of a given community. In this context, social networks have gained considerable space when the discussion involves the desire for social change, since it is in everyday life that people act, interact, formulate and exchange ideas and opinions, including about health, which can lead to the transformation of behavior of society. The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of medical students about access to health information, focusing on the importance of this process not only for health education, but also as a tool for digital inclusion and citizenship. The work has as theoretical reference the Theory of Social Representations. This is an exploratory descriptive research, with a quantitative and qualitative approach. Questionnaires were applied to 150 medical students in 2017. Data analysis was done through the Collective Subject Discourse. Qualiquantisoft was used to tabulate the data. From the data collection and analysis, it was observed that the age range of the students interviewed ranged from 18 to 30 years of age in both questionnaires. Most of the students surveyed answered that they use information sources weekly (81%). 96% practice using the internet; 73% seek publications in the health area; and 63% consult health professionals for information. It was noticed that the most used places for access to information are the residence and university (80% and 69%, respectively). Regarding online tools, most students responded that they preferred websites with medical content/health portals (76%) and databases/journals (71%). These results, therefore, corroborate with the discussion about the presence of the internet in the daily life of students. Regarding the impact that health information has on their lives, students reported that information contributes to academic knowledge, personal and professional development, and the promotion of citizenship (85%, 80% and 78%, respectively). Most of the interviewees consider that the study on health information is beneficial and essential (80%) for the humanization process of health professionals, and specifically for the humanization of future physicians. Thus, it is observed that medical students recognize the importance of open science to guarantee access to information and communication in health