Resources used and trusted regarding child health information by culturally and linguistically diverse communities in Australia: An online cross-sectional survey

Background: Parents’ play a proactive role in seeking health information to ensure optimal growth and development for their children. To date, very little is known about the differences between information seeking behaviour for child health and engagement with resources between culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) and non-CALD parents. 

Objective: To investigate the differences in resources used and trusted for information related to child health behaviours and engagement with online features among CALD and non-CALD respondents in Australia. 

Methods: An analysis of a theory informed online cross-sectional survey was conducted using data from 122 CALD and 399 non-CALD parents who had a child younger than 24 months or were currently pregnant in Australia. Descriptive statistics and chi-squared were used to compare the differences, and logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with using health resources. 

Results: The most trusted sources for information reported by respondents were health professionals (76.2 %), websites run by health professionals (59.5 %), and government websites (53.2 %). Social media was significantly more trusted as a source of information for child health behaviours among CALD respondents than non-CALD respondents (odds ratio (OR) 1.92, P = 0.01). In contrast, booklets/ pamphlets and friends were significantly more trusted by non-CALD parents than for CALD parents (OR 0.54, P = 0.02). General search engines were used very frequently among CALD respondents for child health information (39.3 % vs 24.1 %, p = 0.013). Overall, the most common features respondents enjoyed on websites were images (81 %), videos (40.1 %), and discussion forums (39.9 %). CALD respondents significantly favoured videos (p = 0.003) while non-CALD respondents preferred obtaining information through attachments (p < 0.001). 

Conclusions: Despite parents’ reporting health professionals, websites run by health professionals, and government websites as trustworthy, general search engines and social media were still the most frequently used information source for parents with young children. Credible resources parents deem as trustworthy should take into account effective and engaging means of disseminating information that are accessible to both CALD and non-CALD communities.