{"id":1445,"date":"2026-08-04T16:06:22","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T16:06:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/research-project\/health-information-seeking-behavior-during-the-covid-19-outbreak-among-non-native-minorities-in-finland\/"},"modified":"2026-08-05T17:09:45","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T17:09:45","slug":"health-information-seeking-behavior-during-the-covid-19-outbreak-among-non-native-minorities-in-finland","status":"publish","type":"academic_project","link":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/research-project\/health-information-seeking-behavior-during-the-covid-19-outbreak-among-non-native-minorities-in-finland\/","title":{"rendered":"Health Information-Seeking Behavior During the COVID-19 Outbreak Among Non-Native Minorities in Finland"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Understanding how Persian-speaking minorities in Finland accessed health information during the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Conducted as part of my doctoral research at \u00c5bo Akademi University.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"0\" data-end=\"563\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1103 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/27.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/>As a <strong data-start=\"5\" data-end=\"54\">Doctoral Researcher at \u00c5bo Akademi University<\/strong>, I investigated <strong data-start=\"71\" data-end=\"184\">health information-seeking behavior among Persian-speaking minorities in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic<\/strong>. This research was part of my PhD study and was funded by the <strong data-start=\"247\" data-end=\"326\">OTTO A. MALM FOUNDATION and KAKS (Municipal Sector Development Foundation).<\/strong> The project aimed to provide <strong data-start=\"356\" data-end=\"467\">evidence-based insights into how non-native minorities accessed, evaluated, and utilized health information<\/strong> during a global health crisis, contributing to improved public health communication strategies.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"565\" data-end=\"596\">Specifically, I contributed to:<\/p>\n<ul data-start=\"598\" data-end=\"1140\">\n<li data-start=\"598\" data-end=\"789\"><strong data-start=\"600\" data-end=\"638\">Developing a theoretical framework<\/strong> based on the <strong data-start=\"652\" data-end=\"695\">extended Longo health information model<\/strong> to examine how Persian-speaking minorities sought and processed health-related information.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"790\" data-end=\"989\"><strong data-start=\"792\" data-end=\"827\">Conducting qualitative research<\/strong>, utilizing <strong data-start=\"839\" data-end=\"869\">semi-structured interviews<\/strong> to explore information-seeking behaviors, sources of trust, and challenges in navigating Finland\u2019s healthcare system.<\/li>\n<li data-start=\"990\" data-end=\"1140\"><strong data-start=\"992\" data-end=\"1043\">Analyzing barriers to health information access<\/strong>, including language, digital literacy, misinformation, and trust in public health authorities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-start=\"1142\" data-end=\"1527\">I designed and implemented <strong data-start=\"1169\" data-end=\"1211\">qualitative data collection strategies<\/strong>, ensuring methodological rigor in capturing <strong data-start=\"1256\" data-end=\"1309\">immigrants&#8217; lived experiences during the pandemic<\/strong>. Additionally, I applied <strong data-start=\"1335\" data-end=\"1367\">thematic analysis techniques<\/strong> to uncover patterns in health information-seeking behavior and identify key factors influencing <strong data-start=\"1464\" data-end=\"1526\">trust, misinformation exposure, and health decision-making<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p data-start=\"1529\" data-end=\"2097\" data-is-last-node=\"\" data-is-only-node=\"\">Findings from this research have been <strong data-start=\"1567\" data-end=\"1618\">published in high-impact peer-reviewed journals<\/strong>, including <strong data-start=\"1630\" data-end=\"1681\">Library &amp; Information Science Research (Jufo 3)<\/strong> and <strong data-start=\"1686\" data-end=\"1723\">Journal of Documentation (Jufo 3)<\/strong>. These publications contribute to academic discussions on <strong data-start=\"1782\" data-end=\"1870\">health communication, immigrant information behavior, and crisis response strategies<\/strong>. My work supports policymakers, healthcare providers, and public health institutions in <strong data-start=\"1959\" data-end=\"2096\">developing inclusive, evidence-based approaches to healthcare communication for minority populations, particularly in times of crisis<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a Doctoral Researcher at \u00c5bo Akademi University , I investigated health information-seeking behavior among Persian-speaking minorities in Finland during the COVID-19 pandemic . This research was part of my PhD study and was funded by the OTTO A. MALM FOUNDATION and KAKS (Municipal Sector Development Foundation). The project aimed to provide evidence-based insights into how non-native minorities accessed, evaluated, and utilized health information during a global health crisis, contributing to<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1103,"template":"","tags":[225,65,306,222],"class_list":["post-1445","academic_project","type-academic_project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-covid-19","tag-finland","tag-health-information","tag-persian-speaking-minorities"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academic_project\/1445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academic_project"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/academic_project"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academic_project\/1445\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1840,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/academic_project\/1445\/revisions\/1840"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1103"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ahmadinia.fi\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}