Educating patients to evaluate web-based health care information: theGATORapproach to healthy surfing

Commercialisation and commodification of breastfeeding: video diaries by first-time mothers

BACKGROUND

Many of aspects of our lives became increasingly commercialised in post-modern society. Although breastfeeding is perhaps a late comer to this process in recent years, it too has seen significant commercialisation facilitated by social media and our obsession with celebrity culture. This paper explores how the commercialisation and commodification of breastfeeding impacts mothers' experiences of breastfeeding.

METHODS

In a qualitative study, five mothers in the United Kingdom recorded their real-time breastfeeding experiences in video diaries. Using a multi-modal method of analysis, incorporating both visual and audio data, a thematic approach was applied.

FINDINGS

Women preparing for breastfeeding are exposed to increasing commercialisation. When things do not go to plan, women are even more exposed to commercial solutions. The impact of online marketing strategies fuelled their need for paraphernalia so that their dependence on such items became important aspects of their parenting and breastfeeding experiences.

CONCLUSIONS

The audio-visual data demonstrated the extent to which "essential" paraphernalia was used, offering new insights into how advertising influenced mothers' need for specialist equipment and services. Observing mothers in their video diaries, provided valuable insights into their parenting styles and how this affected their breastfeeding experience.

Australians with osteoarthritis: satisfaction with health care providers and the perceived helpfulness of treatments and information sources

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to evaluate the satisfaction of Australian patients who suffer from osteoarthritis (OA) with their health care providers and the perceived helpfulness of treatments and information sources.

METHODS

A self-administered questionnaire was conducted with a sample of 560 Australian patients who suffer from OA with questions about satisfaction with health care providers and the helpfulness of different treatment options and information sources. Logistic regression models were used to assess potential predictors of satisfaction. Thematic analysis was undertaken for attitudinal factors associated with satisfaction.

RESULTS

A total of 435 participants returned questionnaires (response rate 78%). Most respondents were highly satisfied with the care provided by their general practitioner (GP) (84%), communication with their GP (88%), time spent with their GP (84%), and their ability to talk freely with their GP about their medical problem (93%), but less satisfied with their ability to talk freely about associated emotional problems (77%). Satisfaction with pharmacists (80%), rheumatologists (76%), and orthopedic surgeons (72%) was high. Joint replacement surgery (91%), prescription anti-inflammatory medications (66%), aids and assistive devices (65%), intra-articular injections (63%), and prescription painkiller medications (62%) were perceived as effective treatments. Less highly rated treatments were exercise (48%), physiotherapy (43%), and complementary medicines (29%). A majority of patients were satisfied with the information to manage their OA (65%). From the multivariable logistic regression analysis, four GP satisfaction factors were found to be predictors of overall satisfaction with GP care: the amount of time that the GP spends with the patient (P=0.005), the information the GP provides about what to expect (P<0.001), the communication between patient and GP (P=0.001), and the information that the GP provides about medications (P=0.042).

CONCLUSION

The study showed that although patients with OA were generally satisfied with their health care providers, there was notable variation in the perceived helpfulness of therapeutic options. The importance to patients of having access to good quality information about their condition was emphasized.

Does Online Searching Cause or Enforce Health Information Disparity?

A growing number of people are seeking health information on the Internet. To meet demands, healthcare providers are increasingly disseminating information online. While online health information has enhanced the dissemination of health information and improved people's health-related knowledge, critics posit that such dissemination has widened knowledge disparities in health information and health benefits as a result. Drawing on existing studies, this study identified the main causes of such disparity, namely education, health literacy, computer self-efficacy (CSE) and usage of health-related social media. The finding showed that education resided at the centre of the disparity and impacted other elements. An interesting finding is although individuals possess high levels of CSE, the efficacy does not highly impact their health benefits, meaning that computer does not directly cause health information disparity but is the tool to promote health-related knowledge disparity.

Readability of menopause web sites: a cross-sectional study

More women are frequently referring to the Internet for health information, yet the readability of information about menopause on the Internet has not been widely studied. To address this gap, this study examined the readability of information about menopause on 25 Internet Web sites. Findings included that information on the Web sites had a reading level higher than the recommended sixth-grade level, and culturally appropriate health information was lacking. Health educators and practitioners are in a pivotal role to help women understand information useful for healthcare decisions. Several criteria are discussed to help practitioners evaluate Web sites.

Portrayal of complementary and alternative medicine for cancer by top online news sites

BACKGROUND

Medical research news provided through the World Wide Web is easily accessible to the general public. Thus, it is necessary to understand how research findings released from online news sources are portrayed.

METHODS

The sample includes articles (n=205) published between January 1, 2010 and June 18, 2010 in top online news sites with competitive traffic rankings in the United States as determined by Alexa.com. Google Reader was used to find health-related news articles corresponding to the relevant news sources. Data analysis was performed using SPSS with two-tailed significance values of the χ(2) statistic.

RESULTS

A content analysis (n=205 stories) revealed that the majority of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities for cancer discussed in top online news sources are classified as nutritional therapeutics, and the cancer topic that appeared most frequently was that of prevention. General oncology was the most frequently cited cancer type that was discussed with regard to CAM. Medical journals were the most frequently cited source in CAM/cancer news articles. The majority of news stories on CAM/cancer were neutral in tone, and the relationship between tone and evidence type reported was statistically significant. Observational studies rather than randomized controlled trials were the predominant form of evidence provided for research findings.

CONCLUSIONS

Overall, the quality of how online news sources report research findings on complementary and alternative medicine therapies for cancer is fairly high. However, certain top online media sources are more reliable and informative than others when it comes to reporting about CAM remedies for cancer.

Online information needs of cancer patients and their organizations

Increasingly patients, relatives and carers are accessing health information via the internet. However, the health profession and people affected by cancer are becoming concerned with the quality of that information. A European survey was conducted under the auspices of the FP7 European Commission funded Eurocancercoms project during the period September 2010-March 2011. Its aim was to assess current online information needs of people with cancer particularly those who seek information using online social media technologies and the internet more broadly. A literature review was undertaken to gain a greater understanding of health seeking behaviour regarding cancer patients' information needs and patient preferences for accessing different formats and media. This was used to inform the design and validation of online pan-European, multi-lingual questionnaires distributed via patient organizations and via specific Eurocancercoms partner organizations. This paper presents the results of this survey and suggests recommendations to be incorporated into the design of the online platform, ecancerHub, one of the intended outcomes of the Eurocancercoms project following this research. People want a wide variety of easy to find, easy to understand accurate information about cancer and how it is likely to impact on their everyday lives and on those close to them. They differ in the amount and detail of the information they would like and on their ability to identify quality information and understand it sufficiently to base their health-care decisions on. The majority of respondents raised the issue of quality of information and many requested recommendations of websites by the people who usually influence them most, the health professionals involved in their care.