CONSUMERS’ HEALTH INFORMATION SEEKING BEHAVIOUR ON SOCIAL MEDIA: A CASE STUDY OF LAUTECH TEACHING HOSPITAL LIBRARY AND LAUTECH COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES MEDICAL LIBRARY IN OSOGBO, OSUN STATE, NIGERIA.

The study was conducted to investigate the consumers’ health seeking information behaviour on social media using LAUTECH Teaching Hospital Library and LAUTECH College of Health Sciences Medical Library as a case study. The web of Science Core Collection and healthcare database was searched for existing literature on consumer health information seeking on social media. The study employed the use of Quantitative research method. Survey research design was adopted for the study. The population of the study comprises 250 consumers of health information while 234 was retrieved and used for this study. Questionnaire containing structured question was designed and administered to the respondents. Data was collected on consumer’s health information seeking behaviour on social media. It was concluded base on the findings of this study that health information literacy skills of the consumers would enhance their health information seeking from social media. Therefore, roles of health information/sciences librarians are crucial to meeting the consumers’ health information needs and understanding their health information seeking behaviour (needs and sources) through social media in order to increase more access to mobile health (mHealth). The benefits of mHealth to consumers to meet their health-related information needs from social media with the aid of their level of health information literacy skills which include improve access; require little space, active 24/7, easy retrieval of information among others. The identified information literacy skills required to be developed by the health information seeking consumers from mHealth include active learning, information seeking and search skills, information retrieval skills, critical thinking, problem-solving skills, and information evaluating skills