JOHN ESEOSA OSAZEE

Background: The rapid proliferation of social media platforms has transformed how patients access health information, with significant implications for medication adherence among those managing chronic diseases. In Nigeria, where medication non-adherence rates range from 40% to 65% across chronic conditions, understanding how social media health information-seeking influences medication adherence and health decision-making is a critical public health priority.This study examined the patterns and determinants of social media health information-seeking and their relationship with medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 patients attending the Medical Out-Patient (MOP) clinic at UBTH, selected using a systematic sampling technique. Respondents were patients currently managing chronic health conditions on at least one regular medication and with prior social media exposure. Data were collected using a pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic and health characteristics, patterns and frequency of social media health information-seeking, and medication adherence assessed using the validated Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8). Data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0, with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression applied as appropriate. Results: The mean age of respondents was 45.63 ± 16.95 years and 53.1% were male. The majority had tertiary education (60.2%), were married (58.6%), and financed their healthcare out-of-pocket (82.6%). Cardiovascular system diseases were the most prevalent chronic condition (26.2%). All respondents (100%) used social media to seek health information, with Facebook (86.2%) and WhatsApp (58.3%) being the most commonly used platforms for health information-seeking. Nearly all, 408 (97.1%), had sought health information related to their current illness, most commonly for treatment options (87.6%), disease symptoms (56.0%), and medication side effects (46.0%). High use of social media for health information-seeking was found in 253 (60.2%) of respondents. Regarding medication adherence, 327 (77.9%) had low adherence, 63 (15.0%) had medium adherence, and only 30 (7.1%) had high adherence, with a mean MMAS-8 score of 4.36 ± 1.92. High social media health information-seeking was significantly associated with lower medication adherence (p=0.017). On multivariate logistic regression, independent predictors of high medication adherence included younger age (OR=0.942, p=0.005), being non-employed (OR=0.311, p=0.024), religion, and low use of social media for health information-seeking (OR=0.379, p=0.035). The most commonly reported challenges with social media health information-seeking were difficult medical terminology(44.6%), conflicting information (22.9%), and misinformation (19.4%). Conclusion: Social media health information-seeking is highly prevalent among patients with chronic diseases at UBTH. However, medication adherence levels were generally poor, and high social media health information-seeking was independently and significantly associated with lower medication adherence. While social media offers convenient access to health information and peer support, misinformation, conflicting content, and difficult medical terminology remain substantial concerns. Strengthened patient-provider communication, digital health literacy programmes, greater involvement of healthcare professionals in online health spaces, and regulatory frameworks governing health content on social media are urgently recommended to improve medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases in Nigeria. Keywords: Social media; health information-seeking; medication adherence; chronic diseases; MMAS-8; UBTH; Benin City; Nigeria

Background: The rapid proliferation of social media platforms has transformed how patients access health information, with significant implications for medication adherence among those managing chronic diseases. In Nigeria, where medication non-adherence rates range from 40% to 65% across chronic conditions, understanding how social media health information-seeking influences medication adherence and health decision-making is a critical public health priority. This study examined the patterns and determinants of social media health information-seeking and their relationship with medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Nigeria. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 420 patients attending the Medical Out-Patient (MOP) clinic at UBTH, selected using a systematic sampling technique. Respondents were patients currently managing chronic health conditions on at least one regular medication and with prior social media exposure. Data were collected using a pretested, structured, self-administered questionnaire covering sociodemographic and health characteristics, patterns and frequency of social media health information-seeking, and medication adherence assessed using the validated Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8). Data were analysed using IBM SPSS version 25.0, with descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression applied as appropriate.Results: The mean age of respondents was 45.63 ± 16.95 years and 53.1% were male. The majority had tertiary education (60.2%), were married (58.6%), and financed their healthcare 16 out-of-pocket (82.6%). Cardiovascular system diseases were the most prevalent chronic condition (26.2%). All respondents (100%) used social media to seek health information, with Facebook (86.2%) and WhatsApp (58.3%) being the most commonly used platforms for health information-seeking. Nearly all, 408 (97.1%), had sought health information related to their current illness, most commonly for treatment options (87.6%), disease symptoms (56.0%), and medication side effects (46.0%). High use of social media for health information-seeking was found in 253 (60.2%) of respondents. Regarding medication adherence, 327 (77.9%) had low adherence, 63 (15.0%) had medium adherence, and only 30 (7.1%) had high adherence, with a mean MMAS-8 score of 4.36 ± 1.92. High social media health information-seeking was significantly associated with lower medication adherence (p=0.017). On multivariate logistic regression, independent predictors of high medication adherence included younger age (OR=0.942, p=0.005), being non-employed (OR=0.311, p=0.024), religion, and low use of social media for health information-seeking (OR=0.379, p=0.035). The most commonly reported challenges with social media health information-seeking were difficult medical terminology (44.6%), conflicting information (22.9%), and misinformation (19.4%). Conclusion: Social media health information-seeking is highly prevalent among patients with chronic diseases at UBTH. However, medication adherence levels were generally poor, and high social media health information-seeking was independently and significantly associated with lower medication adherence. While social media offers convenient access to health information and peer support, misinformation, conflicting content, and difficult medical terminology remain substantial concerns. Strengthened patient-provider communication, digital health literacy programmes, greater involvement of healthcare professionals in online health spaces, and regulatory frameworks governing health content on social media are urgently recommended to improve medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases in Nigeria. Keywords: Social media; health information-seeking; medication adherence; chronic diseases;MMAS-8; UBTH; Benin City;Nigeria.