Osteoporosis prevention is heavily reliant on education programs, which\nare most effective when tailored to their intended audience. Most osteoporosis prevention\neducation is designed for older adults, making application of these programs to\nyounger adults difficult. Designing programs for young adults requires understanding\nthe information-seeking practices of young adults, so that knowledge about osteoporosis\ncan be effectively translated.
\nIndividual interviews were conducted with 60 men and women\u2014multiethnic,\nCanadian young adults\u2014to explore both the sources and types of information they\nsearch for when seeking information on nutrition or bone health.
\nThe results of this study raised themes related to the sources participants use,\nto their interests and to ways of engaging young adults. Prevention programs should\nmake use of traditional sources, such as peers, family members and medical professionals,\nas well as emerging technologies, such as social media. Choice of sources was\nrelated to the perceived authority of and trust associated with the source. Messaging\nshould relate to young adult interests, such as fitness and food\u2014topics on which young\nadults are already seeking information\u2014rather than being embedded within specific\nosteoporosis awareness materials. Engaging young adults means using relatable messages\nthat are short and encourage small changes. Small gender-based differences were\nfound in the information-seeking interests of participants. Differences related to age\nwere not examined.
\nCreating short, action-oriented messages that are designed to encourage\nsmall changes in behaviour and are packaged with information that young adults are\nactively seeking is more likely to result in active engagement in prevention behaviours.
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