Health Information-Seeking Behaviour in the Digital Age: Trust, Misinformation and AI-Based Health Information among Young Adults in the Santal Community of West Bengal

Abstract

Background: The rapid expansion of smartphones, social media, search engines and artificial intelligence (AI)-based conversational systems has transformed how young adults obtain, evaluate and use health information. Although digital platforms can improve the accessibility and immediacy of health information, they may also expose users to misinformation, unreliable sources and AI-generated information of uncertain accuracy. These challenges may be particularly significant for socially and geographically disadvantaged communities, where access to reliable health-information services may be constrained by socioeconomic, linguistic and infrastructural factors.
Objective: This study aims to empirically examine health information-seeking behaviour among young adults in the Santal community of West Bengal, with particular emphasis on digital health-information sources, trust in information sources, exposure to health misinformation, use of AI-based health information and information-verification behaviour.
Methods: A community-based cross-sectional quantitative study will be conducted among Santal young adults aged 18–30 years in selected districts of West Bengal. A structured questionnaire will be administered to approximately 400 respondents using a multistage sampling strategy. The questionnaire will measure digital health-information-seeking behaviour, trust in health-information sources, exposure and susceptibility to health misinformation, AI-based health-information use, digital health literacy and verification behaviour. Descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, exploratory factor analysis, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling will be employed. Demographic and digital-access variables will be examined as potential moderators.
Expected Contribution: The study is expected to identify the factors that shape digital health-information seeking among young Santal adults and clarify the relationship between trust, misinformation exposure, AI-based information use and verification behaviour. The findings may contribute to the development of culturally and linguistically appropriate digital health-information services and information-literacy interventions for tribal communities.