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Mao T, Zhao X, Jiang K, Yang J, Xie Q, Fu J, Du B, Lei Z, Gao F. Evaluation of TikTok videos on acute pancreatitis: content quality and reliability analysis. BMC Public Health 2024; 24:1216. [PMID: 38698404 PMCID: PMC11067236 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-18708-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2023] [Accepted: 04/24/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common acute digestive system disorder, with patients often turning to TikTok for AP-related information. However, the platform's video quality on AP has not been thoroughly investigated. OBJECTIVE The main purpose of this study is to evaluate the quality of videos about AP on TikTok, and the secondary purpose is to study the related factors of video quality. METHODS This study involved retrieving AP-related videos from TikTok, determining, and analyzing them based on predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Relevant data were extracted and compiled for evaluation. Video quality was scored using the DISCERN instrument and the Health on the Net (HONcode) score, complemented by introducing the Acute Pancreatitis Content Score (APCS). Pearson correlation analysis was used to assess the correlation between video quality scores and user engagement metrics such as likes, comments, favorites, retweets, and video duration. RESULTS A total of 111 TikTok videos were included for analysis, and video publishers were composed of physicians (89.18%), news media organizations (13.51%), individual users (5.41%), and medical institutions (0.9%). The majority of videos focused on AP-related educational content (64.87%), followed by physicians' diagnostic and treatment records (15.32%), and personal experiences (19.81%). The mean scores for DISCERN, HONcode, and APCS were 33.05 ± 7.87, 3.09 ± 0.93, and 1.86 ± 1.30, respectively. The highest video scores were those posted by physicians (35.17 ± 7.02 for DISCERN, 3.31 ± 0.56 for HONcode, and 1.94 ± 1.34 for APCS, respectively). According to the APCS, the main contents focused on etiology (n = 55, 49.5%) and clinical presentations (n = 36, 32.4%), followed by treatment (n = 24, 21.6%), severity (n = 20, 18.0%), prevention (n = 19, 17.1%), pathophysiology (n = 17, 15.3%), definitions (n = 13, 11.7%), examinations (n = 10, 9%), and other related content. There was no correlation between the scores of the three evaluation tools and the number of followers, likes, comments, favorites, and retweets of the video. However, DISCERN (r = 0.309) and APCS (r = 0.407) showed a significant positive correlation with video duration, while HONcode showed no correlation with the duration of the video. CONCLUSIONS The general quality of TikTok videos related to AP is poor; however, the content posted by medical professionals shows relatively higher quality, predominantly focusing on clinical presentations and etiologies. There is a discernible correlation between video duration and quality ratings, indicating that a combined approach incorporating the guideline can comprehensively evaluate AP-related content on TikTok.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tianyang Mao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
- North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Xin Zhao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Kangyi Jiang
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Jie Yang
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Qingyun Xie
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Jinqiang Fu
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Bo Du
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China
| | - Zehua Lei
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China.
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China.
| | - Fengwei Gao
- Department of Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgery, The People's Hospital of Leshan, No.238, Baita Street, Leshan, 614000, China.
- Diagnosis and Treatment Center for Liver, Gallbladder, Pancreas and Spleen System Diseases of Leshan, Leshan, China.
- Liver Transplantation Center, State Key Laboratory of Biotherapy and Cancer Center, West China Hospital, Sichuan University and Collaborative Innovation Center of Biotherapy, Chengdu, China.
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Jongebloed H, Anderson K, Winter N, Nguyen L, Huggins CE, Savira F, Cooper P, Yuen E, Peeters A, Rasmussen B, Reddy S, Crowe S, Bhoyroo R, Muhammad I, Ugalde A. The digital divide in rural and regional communities: a survey on the use of digital health technology and implications for supporting technology use. BMC Res Notes 2024; 17:90. [PMID: 38549176 PMCID: PMC10976777 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-024-06687-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2023] [Accepted: 01/05/2024] [Indexed: 04/02/2024] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE A digital divide exists for people from rural and regional areas where they are less likely and confident to engage in digital health technologies. The aim of this study was to evaluate the digital health literacy and engagement of people from rural and regional communities, with a focus on identifying barriers and facilitators to using technology. RESULTS Forty adults living in rural/regional areas completed a survey consisting of the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) with additional items surveying participants' experience with a range of digital health technologies. All participants had used at least one digital health technology. Most (80%) participants had an eHEALS score of 26 or above indicating confidence in online health information. Commonly reported barriers to digital health technology use centred on product complexity and reliability, awareness of resources, lack of trust, and cost. Effective digital health technology use is becoming increasingly important, there may be a need to prioritise and support people with lower levels of digital health literacy. We present opportunities to support community members in using and accessing digital health technology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Jongebloed
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia.
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia.
| | - Kate Anderson
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Computing Technologies, STEM College, RMIT University, Melbourne, Australia
- School of Health & Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Natalie Winter
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Lemai Nguyen
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- Deakin Business School, Faculty of Business and Law, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Catherine E Huggins
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Health & Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Feby Savira
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Health & Social Development, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Paul Cooper
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Eva Yuen
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Anna Peeters
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
| | - Bodil Rasmussen
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
- Department of Public Health, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - Sandeep Reddy
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Sarah Crowe
- Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Geelong, Australia
| | - Rahul Bhoyroo
- Western Victoria Primary Health Network, Geelong, Australia
| | - Imran Muhammad
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Medicine, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
| | - Anna Ugalde
- Institute for Health Transformation, Deakin University, 1 Gheringhap Street, Geelong, 3220, Australia
- School of Nursing & Midwifery, Faculty of Health, Deakin University, Geelong, Australia
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Iesato A, Fushimi A, Tahara R, Terada M, Iwase M, Kawamura C, Yamashita N. A novel system to provide information via online YouTube videos and an evaluation of current online information about hereditary breast cancer. Breast Cancer 2024; 31:63-74. [PMID: 37995024 PMCID: PMC10764382 DOI: 10.1007/s12282-023-01512-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 10/07/2023] [Indexed: 11/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The internet, especially YouTube, has become a prominent source of health information. However, the quality and accuracy of medical content on YouTube vary, posing concerns about misinformation. This study focuses on providing reliable information about hereditary breast cancer on YouTube, given its importance for decision-making among patients and families. The study examines the quality and accessibility of such content in Japanese, where limited research has been conducted. METHODS A nonprofit organization called BC Tube was established in May 2020 to create informative videos about breast cancer. The study analyzed 85 YouTube videos selected using the Japanese keywords "hereditary breast cancer" and "HBOC", categorized into six groups based on the source of upload: BC Tube, hospitals/governments, individual physicians, public-interest organizations/companies, breast cancer survivors, and others. The videos were evaluated based on various factors, including content length, view counts, likes, comments, and the presence of advertisements. The content was evaluated using the PEMAT and DISCERN quality criteria. RESULTS BC Tube created high-quality videos with high scores on PEMAT understandability, significantly outperforming other sources. Videos from public-interest organizations/companies received the most views and likes, despite their lower quality. Videos from medical institutions and governments were of superior quality but attracted less attention. CONCLUSIONS Our study emphasizes the importance of promoting accessible, easy-to-understand, and widely recognized medical information online. The popularity of videos does not always correspond to their quality, emphasizing the importance of quality evaluation. BC Tube provides a peer-reviewed platform to disseminate high-quality health information. We need to develop high-quality online health information and encourage the promotion of evidence-based information on YouTube.
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Affiliation(s)
- Asumi Iesato
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan.
- NEXT-Ganken Program, Cancer Cell Diversity Project, Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, 3-8-31, Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan.
| | - Atsushi Fushimi
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
- Department of Surgery, The Jikei University School of Medicine, 3-25-8 Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 105-8461, Japan
| | - Rie Tahara
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
| | - Mitsuo Terada
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
- Department of Breast Surgery, Nagoya City University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, 1-Kawasumi, Mizuho-cho, Mizuho-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 467-8602, Japan
| | - Madoka Iwase
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
- Department of Breast and Endocrine Surgery, Nagoya University Hospital, 65 Tsurumai-cho, Showa-ku, Nagoya, Aichi, 466-8560, Japan
| | - Chihiro Kawamura
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
| | - Nami Yamashita
- General Incorporated Association BC Tube, 1-5-6 Kudan-minami, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, 102-0074, Japan
- Breast Oncology Center, Cancer Institute Hospital of Japanese Foundation for Cancer Research, 3-8-31, Ariake, Koto-ku, Tokyo, 135-8550, Japan
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Beas R, Cabanillas-Ramirez C, Izquierdo-Veraza D, Chapoñan-Lavalle A, Norwood D, Sato-Espinoza K, Riva-Moscoso A, Ribaudo I, Ramirez-Rojas M, Beran A, Montalvan-Sanchez EE. How Good Is Online Information for Patients on the Treatment for Luminal Gastrointestinal Cancers? A Comprehensive Evaluation in English and Spanish. J Cancer Educ 2023; 38:1801-1807. [PMID: 37393597 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-023-02335-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/22/2023] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
The internet has become a necessary communication platform for health information. The quality of online material for patients varies significantly, and this is not different for material on gastrointestinal cancers. We aimed to assess English and Spanish online patient information addressing esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer treatment. Six independent Google searches were conducted using the terms: esophageal cancer treatment, gastric cancer treatment, colorectal cancer treatment, and their translations in Spanish. Websites were included in the top 50 results for each search. Readability was assessed using two validated tests for each language. Understandability/actionability, quality, and cultural sensitivity were assessed using Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT), DISCERN, and Cultural Sensitivity Assessment Tool (CSAT), respectively. Pearson's chi-squared was used for categorical variables and Wilcoxon rank-sum (2 groups) or Kruskal-Wallis (> 2 groups) for continuous. One hundred twelve websites were analyzed. Readability levels were high in both languages (between 11th grade and university level) and significantly higher in English. Mean quality scores for English and Spanish were consistent with good quality. CSAT scores met the cultural acceptability with lower CSAT scores for gastric cancer treatment in English. Higher actionability scores were found in English for colorectal cancer. Also, there was a clear trend for higher cultural sensitivity and quality of Spanish material for gastric cancer treatment. Online patient information on esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancer treatment, in English and Spanish, were at a readability level above the average literacy level and even significantly higher in English. Initiatives to improve online information on gastrointestinal cancer treatments are warranted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Renato Beas
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1120 West Michigan Street, Gatch Hall 630, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA.
| | | | - Diego Izquierdo-Veraza
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1120 West Michigan Street, Gatch Hall 630, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
| | | | - Dalton Norwood
- Division of Preventive Medicine, Department of Medicine, The University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA
| | | | - Adrian Riva-Moscoso
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru
- Unidad de Investigación Y Docencia, Clínica Internacional, Lima, Peru
| | - Isabella Ribaudo
- Escuela de Medicina, Universidad Peruana de Ciencias Aplicadas, Lima, Peru
| | - Mirian Ramirez-Rojas
- Ruth Lilly Medical Library, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Azizullah Beran
- Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN, USA
| | - Eleazar E Montalvan-Sanchez
- Department of Medicine, Indiana University School of Medicine, 1120 West Michigan Street, Gatch Hall 630, Indianapolis, IN, 46202, USA
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Staubli SM, Ghani S, Walker HL, Fusai GK, Raptis DA. Assessment of Internet Available Patient Information on Chronic Pancreatitis Using the Ensuring Quality Information for Patients Tool: A Systematic Search and Evaluation. Dig Dis 2023; 42:70-77. [PMID: 37956655 DOI: 10.1159/000535073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2023] [Accepted: 11/06/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Chronic pancreatitis (CP) is a relevant chronic medical problem whereby delayed presentation and poor patient understanding can cause adverse effects. Quality of patient information available on the internet about CP is not known. METHODS A systematic review of the information about CP available online using the search term "chronic pancreatitis" in using the search engine Google has been conducted. The quality of the top 100 websites returned from this search term was analysed using the validated Ensuring Quality Information for Patients (EQIP) tool (maximum score 36). Additional items were included in the website analysis specific to CP. RESULTS In total, 45 websites were eligible for analysis. The median EQIP score of the websites was 16 (interquartile range 12-19.5). The majority of websites originated from the USA and the United Kingdom with 31 and 11 websites, respectively. Provision of additional information was inconsistent, with most websites covering information regarding aetiology and advocating alcohol and tobacco cessation, but only few reporting on more complex issues. CONCLUSION Internet available information about CP is of limited quality. There is an immediate need for high quality, patient targeted, and informative literature accessible on the internet about this topic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian M Staubli
- Clinical Service of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | - Shahi Ghani
- Clinical Service of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
| | | | - Giuseppe K Fusai
- Clinical Service of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Division of Surgery and Interventional Science, University College London, London, UK
| | - Dimitri A Raptis
- Clinical Service of HPB Surgery and Liver Transplantation, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK
- Organ Transplant Center of Excellence, King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Mohile JM, Luzon JB, Agrawal G, Malhotra NR, Kan KM. Assessment of readability and quality of patient education materials specific to nocturnal enuresis. J Pediatr Urol 2023; 19:558.e1-558.e7. [PMID: 37248162 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2023.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2023] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 05/01/2023] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Bedwetting, or nocturnal enuresis (NE), is a common childhood disease. Families increasingly turn to free online resources for health education in order to navigate treatment options. OBJECTIVE We aim to determine the readability and quality of online health information that families may encounter when searching for information on pediatric NE. STUDY DESIGN The search term 'bedwetting' was queried in commonly used search engines. Included articles were further categorized as institutional/reference, commercial, non-profit/charitable, or personal. An online readability platform calculated 3 commonly used readability assessments as well as a consensus score. Quality was assessed by two independent pediatric urologists using a validated DISCERN instrument. Differences in readability were further assessed by article category type. RESULTS 36 websites were reviewed, 3 did not include treatment options and were not included in quality assessment. 55.6% of the articles were categorized as institutional/reference, 27.8% as non-profit/charitable, 11.1% as personal, and 5.6% as commercial. The average, standard deviation, and range of readability level were as follows: overall consensus score = 9.56 ± 2.09, FK Grade Level Formula score = 9.38 ± 2.17 (range 5.8-14.1), SMOG Index score = 8.89 ± 1.79 (range 6.4-12.9), and the GF Index score = 11.86 ± 2.34 (range 8.4-16.9). The overall consensus score, 9.56, correlates to a 9th-grade reading level. 16 articles were considered to be of 'good' quality, 12 of 'fair' quality, and 5 of 'poor' quality; according to the DISCERN scoring. There was no statistically significant difference in readability scores across website categories. Two articles included the outdated treatment option of intranasal DDAVP. DISCUSSION These findings are concordant with the increasing body of literature demonstrating that patient education materials are too difficult to read. Pediatric urologists should be aware of the readability and quality of available online content for common clinical presentations. They can ensure that institutional articles online are useful to patients by participating in the development and design of these materials. CONCLUSION We demonstrated that online articles that families encounter via a search engine query for bedwetting are written at a higher level than recommended and the majority are of 'fair' quality. There is much room for improvement for institutions to provide high quality, readable content that supports the needs of families seeking information on NE.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Joan B Luzon
- Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 453 Quarry Road, Urology 5656, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
| | - Gunjan Agrawal
- Flushing Hospital Medical Center, 4500 Parsons Blvd, Flushing, NY 11533, USA.
| | - Neha R Malhotra
- Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Pl, New York, NY 10029, USA.
| | - Kathleen M Kan
- Department of Urology, Stanford University School of Medicine, 453 Quarry Road, Urology 5656, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA.
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Murphy EP, Sheridan GA, Page BJ, Greenstein MD, Hoellwarth JS, Fragomen AT, Rozbruch SR. Modern Internet Search Analytics and Osseointegration: What are Patients Asking and Reading Online? Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2023; 18:163-168. [PMID: 38404563 PMCID: PMC10891354 DOI: 10.5005/jp-journals-10080-1603] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/25/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2024] Open
Abstract
Background Osseointegration (OI) limb has been performed for over 30 years and is an example of an advance in technology and surgical technique which has led to improvements in patient mobility and quality of life. An increasing number of patients seek information about osseointegration. The aim of this study was to categorise the most frequently asked questions by patients using the Google search engine and the most frequently accessed websites with the highest return on answers. The secondary aims of this study were to assess the quality of the information provided on those websites and to stratify, by category, which websites provide the best quality information. Materials and methods Ten permutations and conjugations of the word 'osseointegration' were entered into Google. The first fifty 'People also ask' and associated websites by Google's machine learning and natural language processing engine were collected for each search term. The Rothwell classification system of questions by topic (Fact, Value, Policy) and websites by category was used (Commercial, Academic, Medical Practice, Single Surgeon Personal, Government, Social Media). Website quality was assessed using the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria (Likert-style rating 0-4). Pearson's Chi-squared and Student's t-tests were performed for statistical analysis as appropriate (significance, p < 0.05). Results The 10 search terms generated 454 questions and referenced 408 websites. Of the 454 questions generated, the most common question categories were fact (70.8%), value (19.2%), and policy (10%). The most common website type was social media (37.4%). The most common question types were technical details (30.4%), specific activity (20.6%), and cost (14.1%). Only 1.6% of questions related to risks and complications. Generally, website quality was poor with 64.1% having a JAMA score of 0 or 1. Websites that were categorised as 'Government' had the highest overall JAMA scores: 71.4% had a score of 4. Conclusion Based on Google search engine's results, the most commonly asked questions about osteointegration related to technical details, specific activities and cost; only 1.6% related to risks and complications. Interestingly, social media websites represented the highest volume of search result referrals. Overall, the quality of websites was poor with the most factual information coming from governmental websites. How to cite this article Murphy EP, Sheridan GA, Page BJ, et al. Modern Internet Search Analytics and Osseointegration: What Are Patients Asking and Reading Online? Strategies Trauma Limb Reconstr 2023;18(3):163-168.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Gerard A Sheridan
- University Hospital Galway, Galway, Ireland; Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States of America
| | - Brian J Page
- Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery; Maimonides Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York, United States of America Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States of America
| | - Michael D Greenstein
- Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York; University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, United States of America
| | - Jason S Hoellwarth
- Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States of America
| | - Austin T Fragomen
- Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States of America
| | - S Robert Rozbruch
- Limb Lengthening and Complex Reconstruction Service, Osseointegration Limb Replacement Center, Hospital for Special Surgery, New York, United States of America
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Kasthuri V, Homer A, Alsoof D, Hong J, McDonald CL, Diebo BG, Daniels AH. Modern internet search analytics and spine: what are patients asking and reading online? N Am Spine Soc J 2023; 14:100214. [PMID: 37214263 PMCID: PMC10192655 DOI: 10.1016/j.xnsj.2023.100214] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Revised: 03/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023]
Abstract
Background Google's People Also Ask feature uses various machine learning algorithms to distill the most frequently asked questions and link users to potential answers. The aim of this study is to investigate the most frequently asked questions related to commonly performed spine surgeries. Methods This is an observational study utilizing Google's People Also Ask feature. A variety of search terms were entered into Google for anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF), discectomy, and lumbar fusion. Frequently asked questions and linked websites were extracted. Questions were categorized by topic based on Rothwell's Classification system, and websites were categorized by type. Pearson's chi-squared and Student t tests were performed as appropriate. Results A total of 576 unique questions (181 ACDF, 148 discectomy, 309 lumbar fusion) were extracted with 372 unique websites and 177 domains. The most common website types were medical practice (41%), social media (22%), and academic (15%). The most popular question topics were specific activities & restrictions (22%), technical details (23%), and evaluation of surgery (17%). Questions related to technical details were more common in discectomy vs lumbar fusion (33% vs 24%, p=.03) and lumbar fusion vs ACDF (24% vs 14%, p=.01). Questions related to specific activities & restrictions were more common in ACDF vs discectomy (17% vs 8%, p=.02) and ACDF vs lumbar fusion (28% vs 19%, p=.016). Questions related to risks & complications were more common in ACDF vs lumbar fusion (10% vs 4%, p=.01). Conclusions The most frequently asked questions on Google regarding spine surgery are related to technical details and activity restrictions. Surgeons may emphasize these domains in consultations and direct patients to reputable sources of further information. Much of the linked information provided originates from nonacademic and nongovernment sources (72%), with 22% from social media websites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Viknesh Kasthuri
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - Alexander Homer
- Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - Daniel Alsoof
- Department of Orthopedics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - James Hong
- Department of Orthopedics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - Christopher L McDonald
- Department of Orthopedics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - Bassel G Diebo
- Department of Orthopedics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
| | - Alan H Daniels
- Department of Orthopedics, Warren Alpert Medical School, Brown University, 1 Kettle Point Ave, East Providence, RI, 02914, United States
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9
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Parmar GS, Das S, Ingledew PA. Quality of Online Information for Esophageal Cancer. J Cancer Educ 2023; 38:863-869. [PMID: 35854205 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-022-02198-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/04/2022] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
The Internet is a readily available source of information, and patients in North America frequently access it. Esophageal cancer is the 7th most common cancer worldwide, but there is a lack of studies examining esophageal cancer website quality. This current study looks to systematically analyze the quality of websites accessed by patients with esophageal cancer. A previously validated website evaluation tool was used to analyze the quality of online esophageal cancer resources for patients. The term "esophagus cancer" was used to retrieve hits from the search engine Google and the meta-search engines Dogpile and Yippy. A 100 website list was compiled using pre-specified inclusion and exclusion criteria. Websites were evaluated regarding administration, accountability, authorship, organization, readability, content, and accuracy. The term "esophagus cancer" returned over 500 websites from the search engines. Of the 100 websites included for analysis, 97% disclosed ownership, sponsorship, and advertising. Only 35% identified an author and even fewer (31%) gave the author's credentials. Only 31% declared updates to their information within the past 2 years. Readability scores revealed only 9%, and 12% of sites scored at an elementary level, according to the Flesch-Kincaid (FK) and SMOG scoring scales, respectively. The average FK and SMOG scores were 12.6 and 11.0, respectively. Detection was the most accurately described (70%). However, few websites provided accurate incidence/prevalence (28%), stage-specific prognosis (27%), or preventative information (17%). The quality of websites offering information on esophageal cancer is variable. While they overwhelmingly disclose website ownership interests, most do not identify authors, poorly describe important domains of esophageal cancer, and overall readability exceeds the commonly accepted level for non-healthcare professionals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gurjit S Parmar
- Department of Radiation Oncology, BC Cancer Agency-Vancouver Center, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4E6, Canada
| | - Samarpita Das
- Department of Anesthesiology & Pain Medicine, University of Toronto, 12th Floor, 123 Edward Street, Toronto, ON, M5G 1E2, Canada
| | - Paris-Ann Ingledew
- Department of Radiation Oncology, BC Cancer Agency-Vancouver Center, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5Z 4E6, Canada.
- Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, 11th Floor, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada.
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10
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Zubiena L, Lewin O, Coleman R, Phezulu J, Ogunfiditimi G, Blackburn T, Joseph L. Development and testing of the health information website evaluation tool on neck pain websites - An analysis of reliability, validity, and utility. Patient Educ Couns 2023; 113:107762. [PMID: 37087877 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2023.107762] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2022] [Revised: 08/30/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Online health information contributes to patient education and knowledge on disease management. The aims of this study were to design the Health Information Website Evaluation Tool (HIWET) to evaluate the quality of online information, and to investigate the reliability, validity, and utility of HIWET. METHODS HIWET was developed by a literature search and small-scale pilot testing. Upon development, psychometric properties of HIWET were evaluated on 20 neck pain websites. Reliability was analysed using Intra class correlation coefficient (ICC). Validity was analysed using Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients. Utility was analysed using an independent samples t-test. RESULTS HIWET demonstrated excellent intra-rater reliability (0.94 (0.98-0.99), p < .001) and fair inter-rater reliability (0.55 (0.88-0.10), p = .04). HIWET demonstrated validity with strong correlation against DISCERN (r = 0.656, n = 20, p = .002) and LIDA (r = 0.564, n = 20, p = 0.010). HIWET was time-efficient when compared to three comparison tools combined. CONCLUSION HIWET is a reliable and valid tool for evaluating the qualities of online health information. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS HIWET has the advantages of being a simple, quick to use and freely accessible tool. It can be implemented into clinical practice, education, and research to evaluate quality of online health information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luke Zubiena
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Olivia Lewin
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Robert Coleman
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - James Phezulu
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Gbemisola Ogunfiditimi
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Tiffany Blackburn
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom
| | - Leonard Joseph
- School of Sports and Health Science, University of Brighton, Eastbourne, East Sussex, United Kingdom.
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11
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Garland ME, Lukac D, Contreras P. A Brief Report: Comparative Evaluation of Online Spanish and English Content on Pancreatic Cancer Treatment. J Cancer Educ 2023; 38:664-668. [PMID: 35445292 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-022-02171-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/17/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The Internet is a major source of patient information on medical subjects. Several studies have evaluated the content of English medical material for patient use. However, few have focused on evaluating other languages, an important gap in a growing Spanish-speaking population. The aim of this study is to evaluate and compare English and Spanish online content related to pancreatic cancer treatment. We conducted a Google web search in English and Spanish using the following terms "pancreatic cancer treatment" and "tratamiento cancer de pancreas." The first 15 educational patient-directed websites for each language were included. Two independent reviewers assessed materials for quality and understandability using the DISCERN and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT)-validated tools. Readability was measured using two standardized tests. Wilcoxon rank sum test and unpaired Student's T-test were used for comparisons. Overall, websites in Spanish and English were understandable and had moderate to high quality. There were no significant differences in quality (p = 0.712) and understandability (p = 0.069) between languages. Readability level was significantly higher in English (p < 0.001) with content being at the university level, while Spanish was at the 12th grade level. Patient-directed online content on pancreatic cancer treatments exceeds the recommended reading level in both languages. Material is understandable with reasonable quality. Health content creators should acknowledge readability for information to be easily comprehended by those with lower health literacy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mateo E Garland
- Department of Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, 02215, USA.
| | - Danitza Lukac
- Department of Dermatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Pamela Contreras
- Department of Hematology/Oncology, St. Elizabeth's Medical Center - Dana Farber, Brighton, MA, USA
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12
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Li ZHJ, Kim I, Giuliani M, Ingledew PA. Navigating Radiation Therapy During COVID-19 Using YouTube as a Source of Information. J Cancer Educ 2023; 38:412-418. [PMID: 35028927 PMCID: PMC8758466 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-022-02133-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic brought considerable change to the practice of radiotherapy. In the meantime, patients are increasingly turning to online resources for health information, with YouTube being one of the biggest platforms. However, little is known about what information is being disseminated to cancer patients about radiotherapy in the context of COVID-19. Therefore, this study aims to characterize and assess YouTube videos on radiotherapy during COVID-19. A YouTube search using the terms "Radiation therapy COVID-19", "Radiation therapy coronavirus", "Radiotherapy COVID-19", and "Radiotherapy coronavirus" was completed using a clear-cache web browser. The top 50 videos were collected from each search. After applying pre-determined exclusion criteria, each video was assessed for general parameters, source, and content. Two raters were used to ensure interrater reliability. One hundred five unique videos resulted from the four searches. Ninety-eight per cent were published in the last year. The median video length was 6 min and 54 s, and the median number of views was 570. Most videos were from the USA (58%). The majority of videos were published by a commercial channel (31%), non-profit organization (28%), or healthcare facility (26%). Forty-two per cent of the videos covered a topic related to radiotherapy during the pandemic. Bias was identified in 6% of videos. YouTube information on radiotherapy during COVID-19 is non-specific and can be misleading. The results of this study highlight the need for healthcare providers to proactively address patient information needs and guide them to appropriate sources of information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhang Hao Jim Li
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Inhwa Kim
- Faculty of Medicine, Dalhousie University, 5849 University Ave, Halifax, B3H 4R2, Canada
| | - Meredith Giuliani
- Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 149 College St #504, Toronto, M5T 1P5, Canada
- Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University Ave, Toronto, M5G 2C1, Canada
| | - Paris-Ann Ingledew
- Division of Radiation Oncology, Department of Surgery, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, Canada.
- BC Cancer Agency Vancouver Centre, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, V5Z 4E6, Canada.
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13
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Li JZH, Kong T, Killow V, Wang L, Kobes K, Tekian A, Ingledew PA. Quality Assessment of Online Resources for the Most Common Cancers. J Cancer Educ 2023; 38:34-41. [PMID: 34365589 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-021-02075-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 07/18/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The internet is a common source of health information for patients with cancer. Despite research surrounding the quality of online resources for individual types of cancer, these results may not necessarily be easily extrapolated to cancer resources as a whole. Thus, we aim to use a standardized tool to produce generalizable results by analyzing the quality of online resources for the most common cancers. Educational websites pertaining to breast, lung, prostate, and colorectal cancers were searched using multiple search engines. After screening against pre-specified inclusion criteria, the most visible 100 websites for each cancer were extracted for analysis. A validated tool was then used to assess their quality. Pooled results were evaluated using descriptive and inferential statistics. Of the 400 analyzed websites, 43% were commercially affiliated, and these were significantly associated with greater use of biased language. Thirty percent of websites disclosed authorship, 47% cited at least one reliable source, and 43% were updated within the last 2 years. The average Flesch-Kincaid readability was determined to be at a grade 10.9 level, which is significantly more difficult than the recommended grade 6 level. Risk factors, symptoms, and detection were the most accurately covered topics. However, most websites did not cover prognosis. This study comprehensively examines the quality of online cancer resources for the four most common cancers. Our results could help guide the development of future resources, support patient education endeavors, and raise awareness among healthcare providers about the limitations of online cancer resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jim Zhang Hao Li
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Timothy Kong
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Department of Surgery, Division of Radiation Oncology, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, Canada
| | - Veronika Killow
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Department of Surgery, Division of Radiation Oncology, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, Canada
| | - Lisa Wang
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
- Department of Family Medicine, University of British Columbia, 5950 University Boulevard, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Kevin Kobes
- Faculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, 317 - 2194 Health Sciences Mall, Vancouver, V6T 1Z3, Canada
| | - Ara Tekian
- College of Medicine, University of Illinois At Chicago, 1853 W Polk St, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA
| | - Paris-Ann Ingledew
- Department of Surgery, Division of Radiation Oncology, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, Vancouver, V5Z 1M9, Canada.
- BC Cancer Agency - Vancouver Centre, 600 West 10th Avenue, Vancouver, V5Z 4E6, Canada.
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14
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Napierala H, Kopka M, Altendorf MB, Bolanaki M, Schmidt K, Piper SK, Heintze C, Möckel M, Balzer F, Slagman A, Schmieding ML. Examining the impact of a symptom assessment application on patient-physician interaction among self-referred walk-in patients in the emergency department (AKUSYM): study protocol for a multi-center, randomized controlled, parallel-group superiority trial. Trials 2022; 23:791. [PMID: 36127742 PMCID: PMC9490986 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-022-06688-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/24/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Due to the increasing use of online health information, symptom checkers have been developed to provide an individualized assessment of health complaints and provide potential diagnoses and an urgency estimation. It is assumed that they support patient empowerment and have a positive impact on patient-physician interaction and satisfaction with care. Particularly in the emergency department (ED), symptom checkers could be integrated to bridge waiting times in the ED, and patients as well as physicians could take advantage of potential positive effects. Our study therefore aims to assess the impact of symptom assessment application (SAA) usage compared to no SAA usage on the patient-physician interaction in self-referred walk-in patients in the ED population. Methods In this multi-center, 1:1 randomized, controlled, parallel-group superiority trial, 440 self-referred adult walk-in patients with a non-urgent triage category will be recruited in three EDs in Berlin. Eligible participants in the intervention group will use a SAA directly after initial triage. The control group receives standard care without using a SAA. The primary endpoint is patients’ satisfaction with the patient-physician interaction assessed by the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire. Discussion The results of this trial could influence the implementation of SAA into acute care to improve the satisfaction with the patient-physician interaction. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Registry DRKS00028598. Registered on 25.03.2022
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Affiliation(s)
- Hendrik Napierala
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marvin Kopka
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Informatics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Cognitive Psychology and Ergonomics, Department of Psychology and Ergonomics (IPA), Technische Universität Berlin, Straße des 17. Juni 135, 10623, Berlin, Germany
| | - Maria B Altendorf
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine and Health Services Research in Emergency Medicine (CVK, CCM), Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Myrto Bolanaki
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine and Health Services Research in Emergency Medicine (CVK, CCM), Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Konrad Schmidt
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Jena University Hospital, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Bachstr. 18, 07743, Jena, Germany
| | - Sophie K Piper
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Informatics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Biometry and Clinical Epidemiology, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin Institute of Health at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christoph Heintze
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of General Practice and Family Medicine, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Martin Möckel
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine and Health Services Research in Emergency Medicine (CVK, CCM), Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Felix Balzer
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Informatics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Anna Slagman
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Emergency and Acute Medicine and Health Services Research in Emergency Medicine (CVK, CCM), Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany
| | - Malte L Schmieding
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute of Medical Informatics, Charitéplatz 1, 10117, Berlin, Germany. .,docport Services GmbH, Tußmannstr. 75, 40477, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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15
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Taba M, Allen TB, Caldwell PHY, Skinner SR, Kang M, McCaffery K, Scott KM. Adolescents' self-efficacy and digital health literacy: a cross-sectional mixed methods study. BMC Public Health 2022; 22:1223. [PMID: 35725389 PMCID: PMC9207829 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-022-13599-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The internet and social media are increasingly popular sources of health information for adolescents. Using online health information requires digital health literacy, consisting of literacy, analytical skills and personal capabilities such as self-efficacy. Appraising trustworthiness and relevance of online health information requires critical health literacy to discriminate between sources, critically analyse meaning and relevance, and use information for personal health. Adolescents with poor digital health literacy risk using misinformation, with potential negative health outcomes. We aimed to understand adolescents' contemporary digital health literacy and compared self-efficacy with capability. METHODS Adolescents (12-17 years) completed an eHEALS self-report digital health literacy measure, a practical search task using a think-aloud protocol and an interview to capture perceived and actual digital health literacy. eHEALS scores were generated using descriptive statistics, search tasks were analysed using an observation checklist and interviews were thematically analysed based on Social Cognitive Theory, focussing on self-efficacy. RESULTS Twenty-one participants generally had high self-efficacy using online health information but perceived their digital health literacy to be higher than demonstrated. They accessed online health information unintentionally on social media and intentionally via search engines. They appraised information medium, source and content using general internet searching heuristics taught at school. Information on social media was considered less trustworthy than websites, but participants used similar appraisal strategies for both; some search/appraisal heuristics were insufficiently nuanced for digital health information, sometimes resulting in misplaced trust or diminished self-efficacy. Participants felt anxious or relieved after finding online health information, depending on content, understanding and satisfaction. They did not act on information without parental and/or health professional advice. They rarely discussed findings with health professionals but would welcome discussions and learning how to find and appraise online health information. CONCLUSIONS Whilst adolescents possess many important digital health literacy skills and generally feel self-efficacious in using them, their critical health literacy needs improving. Adolescents desire increased digital health literacy so they can confidently appraise health information they find online and on social media. Co-designed educational interventions with adolescents and health providers are required.
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Affiliation(s)
- Melody Taba
- Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Sydney Health Literacy Lab, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Tiffany B Allen
- Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Patrina H Y Caldwell
- Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - S Rachel Skinner
- Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,The Children's Hospital at Westmead, Westmead, NSW, Australia
| | - Melissa Kang
- Specialty of General Practice, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Kirsten McCaffery
- Sydney Health Literacy Lab, School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Karen M Scott
- Specialty of Child and Adolescent Health, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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16
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Petersen A, Schermuly A, Anderson A. 'A platform for goodness, not for badness': The heuristics of hope in patients' evaluations of online health information. Soc Sci Med 2022; 306:115115. [PMID: 35704982 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2022.115115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/14/2021] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 06/04/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Patient advocates and activists are increasingly relying on online health information that can assist them to manage their health condition. Yet once online, they will confront diverse information whose veracity and utility are difficult to determine. This article offers a sociological analysis of the practical methods, or heuristics, that patient advocates and activists use when making judgements about the credibility and utility of online information. Drawing on the findings from interviews with fifty Australian patient advocates and activists, it is argued that these individuals' use of these heuristics reflects their hopes that information can help them manage their condition which may, in some cases, override fears and uncertainties that arise during searches. The article identifies the common 'rules-of-thumb'-or what we call the 'heuristics of hope'-that patient advocates/activists may use to make judgements and highlights the dangers of over-reliance on them, especially regarding clinically unproven, potentially unsafe treatments. Analyses of the heuristics of hope, we conclude, can assist in understanding the dynamics of decision-making and the role that affect plays in online patient communities which is crucial in an age characterised by the rapid circulation of emotionally charged messages, often based on hope.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alan Petersen
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia 3800.
| | - Allegra Schermuly
- School of Social Sciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia 3800.
| | - Alison Anderson
- School of Society and Culture, University of Plymouth, Drake Circus, Devon, PL4 8AA, UK
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17
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Jiang Y, Sun P, Chen Z, Guo J, Wang S, Liu F, Li J. Patients' and healthcare providers' perceptions and experiences of telehealth use and online health information use in chronic disease management for older patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a qualitative study. BMC Geriatr 2022; 22:9. [PMID: 34979967 PMCID: PMC8721473 DOI: 10.1186/s12877-021-02702-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 12/03/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Telehealth and online health information provide patients with increased access to healthcare services and health information in chronic disease management of older patients with chronic diseases, addressing the challenge of inadequate health resources and promoting active and informed participation of older patients in chronic disease management. There are few qualitative studies on the application of telehealth and online health information to chronic disease management in older patients. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is one of the most common chronic diseases in older adults. Telehealth is widely used in the management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions and experiences of older patients and healthcare providers in the application of telehealth and online health information to chronic disease management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. METHODS A qualitative descriptive study with data generated from 52 individual semi-structured interviews with 29 patients [Law of the People's Republic of China on the protection of the rights and interests of older people (2018 Revised Version) = >60 years old] with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and 23 healthcare providers. The inductive thematic analysis method was used for data analysis. RESULTS Four themes and 16 sub-themes were identified in this study. Four themes included: faced with a vast amount of online health information, essential competencies and personality traits ensuring older patients' participation and sustained use, user experience with the use of technology, being in a complex social context. CONCLUSION The ability of patients to understand health information should be fully considered while facilitating access to online health information for older patients. The role of health responsibility and user experience in older patients' participation and sustained use of telehealth and online health information needs to be emphasised. In addition, the complex social context is a determining factor to be considered, particularly the complex impact of a reliance on offspring and social prejudice on the behaviour of older adults using telehealth and online health information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuyu Jiang
- Research office of chronic disease management and rehabilitation, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China.
| | - Pingping Sun
- Research office of chronic disease management and rehabilitation, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Zhongyi Chen
- Research office of chronic disease management and rehabilitation, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Jianlan Guo
- Research office of chronic disease management and rehabilitation, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, No. 1800 Lihu Avenue, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Shanshan Wang
- Department of Nursing, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
| | - Fenglan Liu
- School of Medicine, Liaocheng University, Liaocheng, 252000, Shandong Province, China
| | - Jinping Li
- Department of Public Health, Wuxi School of Medicine, Jiangnan University, Wuxi, 214122, Jiangsu Province, China
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Paguio JA, Yao JS, Reyes MSGL, Lee G, Dee EC. Bladder Cancer and Google Trends: Associations Between US Search Patterns and Disease Outcomes May Show Need for Improved Awareness Strategies. J Cancer Educ 2021; 36:1086-1092. [PMID: 32248345 DOI: 10.1007/s13187-020-01739-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
Interest in and awareness of bladder cancer may translate to better health-seeking behaviors and earlier detection, given modifiable risk factors such as smoking. We assessed bladder cancer interest in the USA over the past 15 years as reflected by Internet search trends, and correlated these trends with epidemiologic patterns in bladder cancer. Google Trends was used to estimate US bladder cancer interest in the unit search volume index (SVI), which estimates the volume of online search activity for a specified period relative to the highest volume of searches within a specified location. Between January 2004 and June 2019, SVIs were collected for the search term "bladder cancer" and other related search terms. To evaluate the effect of public awareness campaigns, the SVIs for the month of May (US bladder cancer awareness month) were compared with the SVIs of all other months. Correlations between "bladder cancer" SVI and incidence, mortality, and mortality-to-incidence ratio (proxy for survival) by state were evaluated. There was no increase in the relative search volumes for "bladder cancer" during the national bladder cancer awareness month compared with all other months (p = 0.27). By state, there were positive correlations between SVIs of "bladder cancer" and incidence (R = 0.72, p < 0.001) and mortality (R = 0.47, p < 0.001). However, there was no correlation between SVIs and mortality-to-incidence ratio (R = - 0.24, p = 0.08). Interest in bladder cancer is positively associated with disease incidence and mortality but not survival, suggesting interest is driven by new diagnoses or deaths, and not early detection that can improve survival. Our findings may show the need for better public education endeavors.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jasper Seth Yao
- University of the Philippines College of Medicine, Manila, Philippines
| | | | - Grace Lee
- Harvard Medical School, 25 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
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Wollmann K, der Keylen PV, Tomandl J, Meerpohl JJ, Sofroniou M, Maun A, Voigt-Radloff S. The information needs of internet users and their requirements for online health information-A scoping review of qualitative and quantitative studies. Patient Educ Couns 2021; 104:1904-1932. [PMID: 33563502 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2021.01.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/16/2021] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This scoping review has been conducted to summarise the information needs of internet users and their requirements for online health information. METHODS We searched MEDLINE, Web of Science and Scopus up to July 2019. Qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method studies were included and a thematic synthesis with category formation and exact description of the items was carried out. RESULTS 118 studies were included. To address all users' needs mentioned in the included studies, we grouped them into nine main categories: authority, comprehension, currency, evidence-based information, exchange with others, independence, purpose, services, user experience. The evaluation showed that website users wanted qualifications of authors to be cited. Users preferred health information that offered interactive elements and resources for relatives, whilst also providing an opportunity for online contact with others. The ease with which information was accessed and the intelligibility of texts were regarded as being very important to users. CONCLUSION Given the rapid evolvement and changes of online health information, it is crucial to provide up to date insights and a comprehensive overview of the range of criteria. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS With the results obtained through this scoping review, the creators of online health information could be assisted in providing user-specific resources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Wollmann
- Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Cochrane Germany, Cochrane Germany Foundation, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Piet van der Keylen
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of General Practice, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Johanna Tomandl
- Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg, Institute of General Practice, Erlangen, Germany.
| | - Joerg J Meerpohl
- Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; Cochrane Germany, Cochrane Germany Foundation, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Mario Sofroniou
- Institute for General Practice/Primary Care, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Andy Maun
- Institute for General Practice/Primary Care, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Germany; Section of Health Care Research and Rehabilitation Research, Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Sebastian Voigt-Radloff
- Institute for Evidence in Medicine, Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.
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Zhang D, Zhan W, Zheng C, Zhang J, Huang A, Hu S, Ba-Thein W. Online health information-seeking behaviors and skills of Chinese college students. BMC Public Health 2021; 21:736. [PMID: 33858389 PMCID: PMC8047546 DOI: 10.1186/s12889-021-10801-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2020] [Accepted: 04/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Seeking online health information (OHI) has become a common practice globally. The information seekers could face health risks if they are not proficient in OHI literacy. The OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of Chinese college students, the largest proportion of college students in the world, are understudied. This study was aimed to describe OHI-seeking behaviors and skills of college students in Guangdong, China. METHODS College students in the Guangdong province with OHI-seeking experience were invited via WeChat, QQ, and Sina Weibo using QR code posters and flyers for participation in this online anonymized questionnaire-based study. Data on demographics, OHI literacy, information resources, search approaches, and behaviors were collected. The relationship between perceived OHI literacy and high-risk behaviors was investigated by bivariate logistic regression analysis. RESULTS Respondents were 1203 college students with a mean age of 20.6 years, females (60.2%), and undergraduates (97.2%). They sought health information via websites (20.3%), WeChat (2.6%), or both (77.1%). Baidu was the main search engine, and baike.baidu.com (80.3%), Zhihu.com (48.4%), and Zhidao.baidu.com (35.8%) were top three among 20 searched websites for information about self-care (80.7%), general health (79.5%), disease prevention (77.7%), self-medication (61.2%), family treatment (40.9%), drugs (37.7%), western medications (26.6%), hospitals (22.7%), physicians (21.4%), and Traditional Chinese Medicine (15.6%). Despite most respondents (78%) lacked confidence in the evidence quality and satisfaction with the results, only 32.4% further consulted doctors. Many (> 50%) would recommend the retrieved information to others. About 20% experienced hacking/Internet fraud. Cronbach's alpha for the internal consistency of OHI literacy was 0.786. Bivariate logistic regression analysis showed that students who believed they can judge the evidence level of OHI were more likely to self-diagnose (OR = 2.2, 95%CI, 1.6-3.1) and look for drug usage (OR = 3.1, 95%CI, 1.9-5.0). CONCLUSIONS This study reveals Chinese college students' heavy reliance on OHI to manage their own and others' health without sufficient knowledge/skills to identify misinformation and disinformation. The apparent risky information-seeking behaviors of Chinese college students warrant the provision of regulated, accurate, and actionable health information; assurance of cybersecurity; and health information literacy promotion in colleges by concerned authorities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dangui Zhang
- Research Center of Translational Medicine, Second Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - Weixin Zhan
- Undergraduate Research Training Program (UGRTP), Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - Chunwen Zheng
- Undergraduate Research Training Program (UGRTP), Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - Jinsheng Zhang
- Undergraduate Research Training Program (UGRTP), Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - Anqi Huang
- Undergraduate Research Training Program (UGRTP), Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - Shuan Hu
- Undergraduate Research Training Program (UGRTP), Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, PR China
| | - William Ba-Thein
- Clinical Research Unit, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road 22, Shantou, 515041, PR China.
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Shantou University Medical College, Xinling Road 22, Shantou, 515041, PR China.
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Thapa DK, Visentin DC, Kornhaber R, West S, Cleary M. The influence of online health information on health decisions: A systematic review. Patient Educ Couns 2021; 104:770-784. [PMID: 33358253 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2020.11.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2020] [Revised: 09/23/2020] [Accepted: 11/12/2020] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This systematic review assessed the influence of online health information (OHI) search behaviour on health and medical decisions. METHODS Eligible studies were identified by searching electronic databases PubMed, Scopus, and CINAHL in February 2020 for studies reporting OHI search behaviour and its influence on health decisions. Information was extracted pertaining to either consumers' (self-reported) perceptions of the influence of OHI on decision-making or the association between online search behaviour and health decision-making. RESULTS A total of 3995 articles were screened, with 48 included in the final analysis. The reviewed studies indicated that OHI assisted in making subsequent health related decisions such as asking questions during a consultation, increased professional visits, improved adherence to the advice of a physician, being more compliant with taking medication, and improved self-care. CONCLUSION Consumers largely used OHI to support information provided by their physicians. The strength of the patient-provider relationship was considered important in moderating the potential negative outcomes of OHI. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Health care systems have a unique opportunity to direct OHI search behaviours towards empowering consumers to engage as an informed, active and joint decision-maker in their own health care.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deependra K Thapa
- College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Denis C Visentin
- College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Rachel Kornhaber
- College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Sancia West
- College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
| | - Michelle Cleary
- College of Health and Medicine, University of Tasmania, Sydney, NSW, Australia.
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22
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Song S, Zhang Y, Yu B. Interventions to support consumer evaluation of online health information credibility: A scoping review. Int J Med Inform 2020; 145:104321. [PMID: 33202372 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 10/25/2020] [Accepted: 10/26/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Various interventions have been designed to help consumers better evaluate the credibility of online health information (OHI). However, assessing information credibility remained the most widely reported challenge by online health consumers. This review aims to provide an overview of major intervention approaches for improving consumer ability to evaluate OHI credibility in order to identify opportunities for future interventions. METHODS A scoping review was performed. Seven relevant scientific databases were searched to identify articles that report the design and/or evaluation of interventions to support, facilitate, or assist consumers in assessing the credibility of OHI. Thirty-one articles met the inclusion criteria. Relevant content was extracted from the articles and all codes were validated by second coders. RESULTS Three major intervention approaches for enhancing consumers' ability to evaluate OHI credibility were identified: educational program, algorithm, and interactive interface. The design of most interventions (particularly the credibility evaluation component) lacked the guidance of theories, and very few studies systematically evaluated their effectiveness in real online search contexts. Few interventions can provide spontaneous support to consumers while they search online. CONCLUSION Our understanding of what theoretical constructs contribute to effective OHI credibility evaluation interventions and how intervention outcomes should be measured remained limited. Future efforts need to focus on the design, development, test, and evaluation of theory-guided OHI credibility evaluation interventions that are scalable, sustainable, and can provide real-time support to consumers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shijie Song
- School of Information Management, Nanjing University, Nanjing 210023, China
| | - Yan Zhang
- School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin, TX 78701, United States.
| | - Bei Yu
- School of Information Studies, Syracuse University, NY 13244, United States
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Shetty KR, Wong K, Hashemi S, Shetty A, Levi JR. Transoral robotic surgery: Differences between online information and academic literature. Am J Otolaryngol 2020; 41:102395. [PMID: 32008838 DOI: 10.1016/j.amjoto.2020.102395] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/26/2019] [Accepted: 01/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Evaluate the authorship, content, quality, and readability of information on Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) available to patients online. METHODS The technical search term "TORS Surgery" and layperson's term "robotic surgery of the mouth" were utilized to conduct a search of the top 50 websites on Google, Bing, and Yahoo. Websites were evaluated according to the HONcode evaluation of content and quality, and readability was assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease Formula, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Formula, SMOG readability formula, Coleman Liau Index formula, and Gunning Fog Index. Statistical analysis was conducted using the Fisher Freeman- Halton test to compare differences in authorship, quality, and content between the three search engines and the Fisher exact test was used to determine if there was a difference in these variables between the two search terms. RESULTS Overall, websites were predominantly from academic institutions with 97% mentioning benefits of TORS with 24% mentioning risks. 45% of TORS websites had no description of the TORS procedure, while 62% allowed individuals to make appointments. There was a significant difference in authorship with the layperson's terms yielding more news sources, but there were no significant differences in quality and content of information elicited through the technical and layperson search terms. The mean readability scores were Flesch Kincaid Grade Level 13.81(±3.32), Gunning-Fog Index 16.51(±3.39), SMOG 12.53(±2.40), and Automated Readability Index 14.05 (±4.17). CONCLUSIONS Current online information on TORS surgery may not provide balanced information for patients to make informed healthcare decisions. The current readability of online information regarding TORS far exceeds the average literacy level of average American adults.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kunal Ramanand Shetty
- Department of Otolaryngology, Boston University Medical Center, 800 Harrison Ave BCD 5th floor, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Kevin Wong
- Department of Otolaryngology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 1 Gustave L. Levy Pl, New York, NY, USA
| | - Sean Hashemi
- Department of Otolaryngology, Boston University Medical Center, 800 Harrison Ave BCD 5th floor, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Anisha Shetty
- Department of School of Medicine, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Jessica R Levi
- Department of Otolaryngology, Boston University Medical Center, 800 Harrison Ave BCD 5th floor, Boston, MA, USA
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Paguio JA, Yao JS, Dee EC. Silver lining of COVID-19: Heightened global interest in pneumococcal and influenza vaccines, an infodemiology study. Vaccine 2020; 38:5430-5435. [PMID: 32620371 PMCID: PMC7315971 DOI: 10.1016/j.vaccine.2020.06.069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2020] [Revised: 06/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/22/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Health-seeking behaviors change during pandemics and may increase with regard to illnesses with symptoms similar to the pandemic. The global reaction to COVID-19 may drive interest in vaccines for other diseases. OBJECTIVES Our study investigated the correlation between global online interest in COVID-19 and interest in CDC-recommended routine vaccines. DESIGN, SETTINGS, MEASUREMENTS This infodemiology study used Google Trends data to quantify worldwide interest in COVID-19 and CDC-recommended vaccines using the unit search volume index (SVI), which estimates volume of online search activity relative to highest volume of searches within a specified period. SVIs from December 30, 2019 to March 30, 2020 were collected for "coronavirus (Virus)" and compared with SVIs of search terms related to CDC-recommended adult vaccines. To account for seasonal variation, we compared SVIs from December 30, 2019 to March 30, 2020 with SVIs from the same months in 2015 to 2019. We performed country-level analyses in ten COVID-19 hotspots and ten countries with low disease burden. RESULTS There were significant positive correlations between SVIs for "coronavirus (Virus)" and search terms for pneumococcal (R = 0.89, p < 0.0001) and influenza vaccines (R = 0.93, p < 0.0001) in 2020, which were greater than SVIs for the same terms in 2015-2019 (p = 0.005, p < 0.0001, respectively). Eight in ten COVID-19 hotspots demonstrated significant positive correlations between SVIs for coronavirus and search terms for pneumococcal and influenza vaccines. LIMITATIONS SVIs estimate relative changes in online interest and do not represent the interest of people with no Internet access. CONCLUSION A peak in worldwide interest in pneumococcal and influenza vaccines coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic in February and March 2020. Trends are likely not seasonal in origin and may be driven by COVID-19 hotspots. Global events may change public perception about the importance of vaccines. Our findings may herald higher demand for pneumonia and influenza vaccines in the upcoming season.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jasper Seth Yao
- University of the Philippines College of Medicine, Philippines
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Colombo C, Confalonieri P, Rovaris M, La Mantia L, Galeazzi P, Silena Trevisan, Pariani A, Gerevini S, De Stefano N, Guglielmino R, Caserta C, Mosconi P, Filippini G. The IN-DEEP project "INtegrating and Deriving Evidence, Experiences, Preferences": a web information model on magnetic resonance imaging for people with multiple sclerosis. J Neurol 2020; 267:2421-2431. [PMID: 32361839 DOI: 10.1007/s00415-020-09864-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 04/22/2020] [Accepted: 04/23/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The IN-DEEP project aims to provide people with multiple sclerosis (PwMS) with evidence-based information on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosis and monitoring the disease through a website, and to collect their opinions on the clarity of the website's contents and its usefulness. METHODS AND ANALYSIS A multidisciplinary advisory board committee was set up. We investigated the experience, attitude and information needs on MRI through three meetings with 24 PwMS, facilitated by an expert researcher and an observer. We developed the website on the basis of input from PwMS and systematic reviews and guidelines, assessed with AMSTAR and AGREE II. We sought feedback from nine PwMS who pilot-tested the beta-version of the website, during a meeting and through phone interviews and judged whether the contents were clear, understandable and useful, and the website was easily navigable. The website is in Italian. RESULTS The website ( https://www.istituto-besta.it/in-deep-risonanza-magnetica2 ) provides two levels of information, different layouts and visualization of data covering MRI diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity and specificity, contents on how MRI can monitor PwMS over time to determine changes in the condition and evaluate treatment effects, practical information on how to prepare for the exam, educational tools and a glossary. The website was judged clear and useful by a sample of PwMS. CONCLUSIONS The website is a tool to address PwMS information needs on the role of MRI. It could be used by neurologists to facilitate communication with PwMS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cinzia Colombo
- Laboratory of Research and Consumer Involvement, Department of Public Health, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milan, Italy.
| | - Paolo Confalonieri
- Multiple Sclerosis Centre, Unit of Neuroimmunology and Neuromuscular Diseases, Fondazione IRCCS, Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco Rovaris
- IRCCS Don C. Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, Via Capecelatro 66, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | - Loredana La Mantia
- IRCCS Don C. Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, Via Capecelatro 66, 20148, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | | | - Simonetta Gerevini
- Unit of Neuroradiology, IRCCS San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan, Italy
| | - Nicola De Stefano
- Department of Medicine, Surgery, and Neurosciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy
| | - Roberta Guglielmino
- Scientific Research Area, Italian Multiple Sclerosis Foundation (FISM), Via Operai 40, 16149, Genoa, Italy
| | - Cinzia Caserta
- Multiple Sclerosis Center, Policlinico G. Rodolico, University of Catania, Catania, Italy
| | - Paola Mosconi
- Laboratory of Research and Consumer Involvement, Department of Public Health, Istituto Di Ricerche Farmacologiche Mario Negri IRCCS, Via Mario Negri 2, 20156, Milan, Italy
| | - Graziella Filippini
- Scientific Direction, Carlo Besta Foundation and Neurological Institute, via Celoria 11, 20133, Milan, Italy
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Grossman BR, Martínez Pérez AM, McNamara E, Politano P, Meza Jimenez R, Acharya K. Access to assistive technology (AT) information in Spanish on state and territory program websites: United States, 2018. Disabil Health J 2020; 13:100918. [PMID: 32317242 DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2020.100918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2019] [Revised: 11/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/23/2019] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Compared to non-Hispanic white individuals, assistive technology (AT) utilization is lower among Hispanic individuals.1-7 In the US, Spanish is the 2nd most frequently spoken language. Greater than one-fifth of Spanish-speaking households are limited English proficiencty (LEP) households (i.e., all individuals over age 14 in the household speak English less than "very well").8 Availability of AT materials in Spanish is one factor influencing knowledge about and utilization of AT among Spanish-speakers. OBJECTIVE To examine the availability of Spanish-language AT information on state AT program websites and to assess the relationship between availability and state demographic and linguistic characteristics. METHODS In 2018, we evaluated 56 state and territory AT program websites for the availability of AT information in Spanish. We calculated 4 measures (US Hispanic population in the state/territory; Hispanic individuals as a proportion of state population; overall Spanish-speaking households, and Spanish-speaking, limited English proficient households) from the 2016 American Community Survey and created ranked lists for each measure. Point biserial (rpb) correlations were calculated to test associations between each measure and availability of AT information in Spanish on each program's website. RESULTS Sixteen program websites (15 states, 1 territory) provided access to Spanish-language AT information. None of the 4 measures were strongly associated with this outcome (rpb ranged from 0.30 to 0.42). For any of the 4 measures, no more than half of states in the top 10 ranks offered online access to AT information in Spanish. CONCLUSIONS Improving the online availability of AT information in Spanish is necessary to increase equity in AT utilization among Spanish-speaking people with disabilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brian R Grossman
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Angélica M Martínez Pérez
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA; Assistive Technology Unit, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ellyn McNamara
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA; Assistive Technology Unit, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Patricia Politano
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA; Assistive Technology Unit, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Regina Meza Jimenez
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Kruti Acharya
- Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities, Chicago, IL, USA
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Shim M, Jo HS. What quality factors matter in enhancing the perceived benefits of online health information sites? Application of the updated DeLone and McLean Information Systems Success Model. Int J Med Inform 2020; 137:104093. [PMID: 32078918 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2020.104093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2019] [Revised: 12/27/2019] [Accepted: 01/31/2020] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Despite a growing need for designing and monitoring health information sites through comprehensive examination of the various elements of website quality, there is little research that systematically models and presents such examinations. OBJECTIVES Applying the updated DeLone and McLean Model of Information Systems Success, this research aimed to examine how health information sites' information quality, system quality, and service quality lead to user satisfaction and perceived benefits. METHODS This research was conducted in a specific context of the National Health Information Portal (NHIP), a governmental health information site in South Korea. We conducted online survey in 2017, with 506 adults from the NHIP consumer panel. Data were analyzed using a confirmatory factor analysis, hierarchical ordinary least squares regression, and bootstrapping approach for a mediation test. RESULTS Of the three quality factors, information quality had significant associations with all outcome variables: user satisfaction, intention to reuse the site, and perceived benefits of site use in health settings. There were also indirect paths from information quality to perceived benefits, one mediated through intention and the other mediated through satisfaction and then intention. Service quality had a significant association with user satisfaction, and its impact on perceived benefits occurred indirectly through user satisfaction and intention in serial. By contrast, the role of system quality received no empirical support. IMPLICATIONS The results offer theoretical and practical implications for how to enhance the effectiveness of online health information sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Minsun Shim
- Department of Communication & Information, Inha University, Incheon, South Korea.
| | - Heui Sug Jo
- Department of Health Policy and Management, Kangwon National University College of Medicine, Chuncheon, South Korea.
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Soleimaninejad A, Valizadeh-Haghi S, Rahmatizadeh S. Assessing the eHealth literacy skills of family caregivers of medically ill elderly. Online J Public Health Inform 2019; 11:e12. [PMID: 31632606 DOI: 10.5210/ojphi.v11i2.10149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Objectives The purpose of current research is to assess the eHealth literacy level in the family caregivers of the elderly with hypertension and type-II diabetes. Methods A total of 160 caregivers completed the eHEALS questionnaire. The effect of participants' gender, education, and age on eHealth literacy was evaluated. For evaluation of the correlation between the accession of health information importance and the internet usefulness for decision-making, Spearman's correlation coefficient was applied. Results The participants eHealth literacy mean score was 26.163(SD=8.83). The age of participants had a meaningful impact on the level of eHealth literacy (t=6.074; P<0.001). Furthermore, among variant education levels in terms of eHealth literacy score significant differences existed (F=5.222; P=0.001). Discussion The family caregivers have a poor level of eHealth literacy. eHealth information is more important for family caregivers with a higher eHealth literacy, which may be due to their higher skills in obtaining health and medical information from the internet. Caregivers' age should be considered once recommending them for the internet using to obtain health information, as the age was an affecting factor. Conclusion Health centers and authorities in charge of the elderly health are recommended to train caregivers with proper skills to use online health information, such that the elderly enjoy the benefits, including improved care conditions and savings in terms of treatment costs and time.
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Alasmari A, Zhou L. How multimorbid health information consumers interact in an online community Q&A platform. Int J Med Inform 2019; 131:103958. [PMID: 31521012 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2019.103958] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2019] [Revised: 08/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND There is an increasing population of health information consumers (HIC) with multiple conditions (multimorbid). Previous studies explored the online behavior of HIC in general or HIC with a specific disease; however, the behavior of multimorbid HIC remains poorly researched. OBJECTIVES This research aims to investigate the behaviors of the multimorbid HIC on community Q&A platforms. METHODS Using kidney disease, a prevalent disease with high likelihood of multimorbidity as a case, we analyzed the online interaction behaviors of HIC with multimorbidity in Quora, a community Q&A platform, and compared them to those of single-disease HIC. RESULTS The findings of this study reveal significant differences in the online interaction behavior between HIC of single vs. multimorbid diseases. Compared with single-disease HIC, multimorbid HIC are more active in multiple aspects, such as asking questions, following different topics or users, and providing suggestions for improvement of questions and answers. Additionally, multimorbid HIC are more likely to add topics to their questions, and their questions tend to attract more answers than those of single-disease HIC. On the other hand, questions and answers provided from single disease HIC had more views, followers, and upvotes than those from multimorbid HIC. CONCLUSION The high level of activity among multimorbid HIC can be explained by their complex needs for information, driving an increased number of questions and drawing more attention from the whole community in answering them. Multimorbid HIC appear to be valuable contributors to the online community and reasons for the reduced visibility and upvoting of their answers should be investigated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashwag Alasmari
- University of Maryland, Baltimore County, MD, United States; King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Lina Zhou
- University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC, United States
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Abstract
Cyberchondria denotes repeated online searches for health information that are associated with increasing levels of health anxiety. The aims of this study were to apply network analysis to investigate the extent to which cyberchondria is a distinct construct, ascertain which of the related constructs have the strongest relationships with cyberchondria and investigate whether some of the symptoms of cyberchondria are more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Questionnaires assessing the severity of cyberchondria, health anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder symptoms, intolerance of uncertainty, problematic Internet use, anxiety, depression and somatic symptoms were administered to 751 participants who searched for health information online during a previous 3-month period and were recruited from an online crowdsourcing platform. Network analyses were used to compute the networks, perform community detection tests and calculate centrality indices. Results suggest that cyberchondria is a relatively specific syndrome-like construct, distinct from all related constructs and consisting of interrelated symptoms. It has the strongest relationships with problematic Internet use and health anxiety. No symptom of cyberchondria emerged clearly as more central to the construct of cyberchondria. Future research should aim to deepen our understanding of cyberchondria and its links with psychopathology, especially its close relationship with problematic Internet use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vladan Starcevic
- Faculty of Medicine and Health, Sydney Medical School, Nepean Clinical School, Discipline of Psychiatry, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia. .,Department of Psychiatry, Nepean Hospital, PO Box 63, Penrith, NSW, 27151, Australia.
| | - Stéphanie Baggio
- Division of Prison Health, Geneva University Hospitals and University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.,Institute of Forensic Medicine, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - David Berle
- Discipline of Clinical Psychology, University of Technology Sydney, Sydney, Australia.,School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Yasser Khazaal
- Department of Mental Health and Psychiatry, Geneva University Hospitals, Geneva, Switzerland.,Research Centre, University Institute of Mental Health at Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Kirupamani Viswasam
- Department of Psychiatry, Nepean Hospital, PO Box 63, Penrith, NSW, 27151, Australia
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Shah AM, Yan X, Shah SAA, Shah SJ, Mamirkulova G. Exploring the impact of online information signals in leveraging the economic returns of physicians. J Biomed Inform 2019; 98:103272. [PMID: 31479747 DOI: 10.1016/j.jbi.2019.103272] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2018] [Revised: 08/21/2019] [Accepted: 08/22/2019] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION With the growth in Internet technology, online rating websites encourage patients to contribute actively in rating their physicians. These rating sites provide more information for patients, such as electronic word of mouth (eWOM) and physician trustworthiness. Although several studies in e-commerce have investigated the role of eWOM and seller trustworthiness in the consumer purchase decision-making process and the price premium for products or services, studies on the role of different information sources that reflect the service quality and delivery process in choosing a competent physician remain scarce. This research develops a two-equation model to examine the effect of different signals, i.e., patient-generated signals (PGSs) and system-generated signals (SGSs), on patient choice, which is an important predictor of physicians' economic returns. METHODS A secondary data econometric analysis and structural modeling using 2896 physicians' real data from a publicly available online physician rating site, i.e., Healthgrades.com, were conducted using a mixed-methods approach. A hybrid text mining approach was adopted to calculate the sentiment of each review. RESULTS We find that both PGSs and SGSs have a significant impact on patient choice at different stages of health consultation. Furthermore, disease risk negatively moderates the association between PGSs and information search, while the impact of both signals on patient willingness to pay a price premium is positively moderated by the disease risk. CONCLUSION Our study contributes to the unified framework of signaling theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory by making a clear distinction between PGSs or SGSs and their influence on patient decision-making across different disease risks. Moreover, PGSs and SGSs are two essential factors for physicians to increase their income.
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He X, Zhang R, Rizvi R, Vasilakes J, Yang X, Guo Y, He Z, Prosperi M, Huo J, Alpert J, Bian J. ALOHA: developing an interactive graph-based visualization for dietary supplement knowledge graph through user-centered design. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2019; 19:150. [PMID: 31391091 PMCID: PMC6686235 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-019-0857-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Dietary supplements (DSs) are widely used. However, consumers know little about the safety and efficacy of DSs. There is a growing interest in accessing health information online; however, health information, especially online information on DSs, is scattered with varying levels of quality. In our previous work, we prototyped a web application, ALOHA, with interactive graph-based visualization to facilitate consumers' browsing of the integrated DIetary Supplement Knowledge base (iDISK) curated from scientific resources, following an iterative user-centered design (UCD) process. METHODS Following UCD principles, we carried out two design iterations to enrich the functionalities of ALOHA and enhance its usability. For each iteration, we conducted a usability assessment and design session with a focus group of 8-10 participants and evaluated the usability with a modified System Usability Scale (SUS). Through thematic analysis, we summarized the identified usability issues and conducted a heuristic evaluation to map them to the Gerhardt-Powals' cognitive engineering principles. We derived suggested improvements from each of the usability assessment session and enhanced ALOHA accordingly in the next design iteration. RESULTS The SUS score in the second design iteration decreased to 52.2 ± 11.0 from 63.75 ± 7.2 in our original work, possibly due to the high number of new functionalities we introduced. By refining existing functionalities to make the user interface simpler, the SUS score increased to 64.4 ± 7.2 in the third design iteration. All participants agreed that such an application is urgently needed to address the gaps in how DS information is currently organized and consumed online. Moreover, most participants thought that the graph-based visualization in ALOHA is a creative and visually appealing format to obtain health information. CONCLUSIONS In this study, we improved a novel interactive visualization platform, ALOHA, for the general public to obtain DS-related information through two UCD design iterations. The lessons learned from the two design iterations could serve as a guide to further enhance ALOHA and the development of other knowledge graph-based applications. Our study also showed that graph-based interactive visualization is a novel and acceptable approach to end-users who are interested in seeking online health information of various domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xing He
- Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Rui Zhang
- Institute for Health Informatics and College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Rubina Rizvi
- Institute for Health Informatics and College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Jake Vasilakes
- Institute for Health Informatics and College of Pharmacy, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN USA
| | - Xi Yang
- Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Yi Guo
- Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
- Cancer Informatics and eHealth Core, University of Florida Health Cancer Center, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Zhe He
- School of Information, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL USA
| | | | - Jinhai Huo
- Cancer Informatics and eHealth Core, University of Florida Health Cancer Center, Gainesville, FL USA
- Department of Health Services Research, Management and Policy, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Jordan Alpert
- Cancer Informatics and eHealth Core, University of Florida Health Cancer Center, Gainesville, FL USA
- Department of Advertising, College of Journalism and Communications, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
| | - Jiang Bian
- Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL USA
- Cancer Informatics and eHealth Core, University of Florida Health Cancer Center, Gainesville, FL USA
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Diviani N, Fredriksen EH, Meppelink CS, Mullan J, Rich W, Sudmann TT. Where else would I look for it? A five-country qualitative study on purposes, strategies, and consequences of online health information seeking. J Public Health Res 2019; 8:1518. [PMID: 31044138 PMCID: PMC6478008 DOI: 10.4081/jphr.2019.1518] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2019] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Online health information (OHI) is widely available and consulted by many people in Western countries to gain health advice. The main goal of the present study is to provide a detailed account of the experiences among people from various demographic backgrounds living in high-income countries, who have used OHI. Design and methods Thematic analysis of 165 qualitative semi-structured interviews conducted among OHI users residing in Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, and Switzerland was performed. Results The lived experience of people using OHI seem not to differ across countries. The interviews show that searches for OHI are motivated from curiosity, sharing of experiences, or affirmation for actions already taken. Most people find it difficult to appraise the information, leading them to cross-check sources or discuss OHI with others. OHI seems to impact mostly some specific types of health behaviors, such as changes in diet or physical activity, while it only plays a complementary role for more serious health concerns. Participants often check OHI before seeing their GP, but are reluctant to discuss online content with health care personnel due to expected negative reception. Conclusions This study adds to the body of knowledge on eHealth literacy by demonstrating how OHI affects overall health behavior, strengthens patients’ ability to understand, live with, and prepare themselves for diverse health challenges. The increasing digitalization of health communication and health care calls for further research on digital divides and patient-professional relations. Health care professionals should acknowledge OHI seeking and engage in discussions with patients to enable them to appreciate OHI, and to support shared decision making in health care. The professionals can utilize patient’s desire to learn as a resource for health prevention, promotion or treatment, and empowerment. Significance for public health Health care professionals should acknowledge patient’s online health information (OHI) seeking behaviors and discuss this in their consultations, as people are hesitant to bring it up themselves. By incorporating OHI seeking in the consultations, professionals can utilize patient’s desire to learn as a resource for treatment and empowerment, fostering at the same timeshared decision-making in healthcare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Diviani
- Department of Health Sciences and Health Policy, University of Lucerne, Switzerland.,Swiss Paraplegic Research, Nottwil, Switzerland
| | | | - Corine S Meppelink
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Cisu TI, Mingin GC, Baskin LS. An evaluation of the readability, quality, and accuracy of online health information regarding the treatment of hypospadias. J Pediatr Urol 2019; 15:40.e1-40.e6. [PMID: 30449679 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpurol.2018.08.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/13/2018] [Accepted: 08/25/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Hypospadias is one of the most common genital anomalies. Treatment of hypospadias requires surgical repair, usually in childhood. Patients are increasingly using the internet to learn more about their health or that of their children, which can often empower patients to make well-informed healthcare decisions. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to evaluate not only the readability but also the quality and accuracy of available online health information for the treatment of hypospadias. STUDY DESIGN Search terms for hypospadias treatment were queried on major search engines. Each website was classified into one of four categories: institutional, commercial, charitable organization, or personal website. Content on each website discussing treatment options was analyzed for readability using three readability formulas. A validated tool, the DISCERN instrument, was used to measure the quality of online health information regarding hypospadias treatment. Accuracy was independently assessed by two pediatric urologists on a 1-5 scale, in which 1 and 5 correspond to 0% and 100% of the information in the text being accurate, respectively. RESULTS A total of 150 search engine results were acquired, of which 46 were analyzed for readability, quality, and accuracy. The mean readability scores across all websites were 14.89 (Gunning-Fog), 11.01 Simple Measure of Goddledygook (SMOG), and 8.44 (Dale-Chall), which correspond to an 11th- to 12th-grade reading level. Most websites (65.2%) were considered of 'good' quality. Readability and quality scores were not statistically different between website categories. Institutional and charitable websites had the highest mean accuracy scores (3.91 and 3.50, respectively), with institutional websites proving to have significantly more accurate information regarding hypospadias treatment than commercial websites (3.91 and 3.42, respectively; P = 0.001). DISCUSSION Pediatric urologists should know what information about hypospadias and its treatment exists on the Internet and understand if it is accurate and of good quality and, more importantly, if the material is written at a reading level comprehensible by the majority of parents. Limitations included analysis of only English-written websites regarding hypospadias treatment specifically, using search engines alone rather than other online resources, not evaluating online videos or illustrations, and not using more than two pediatric urologists for determining content accuracy. CONCLUSION This study demonstrates that online health materials regarding hypospadias and its treatment are written at a level far greater than the reading level of most adults. Most websites were considered of adequate quality, and websites from institutions or references had significantly more accurate information than those from commercial websites.
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Affiliation(s)
- T I Cisu
- Division of Urology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, 89 Beaumont Ave, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
| | - G C Mingin
- Division of Urology, University of Vermont College of Medicine, 89 Beaumont Ave, Burlington, VT 05405, USA.
| | - L S Baskin
- Department of Urology, UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, 1825 Fourth St, 5th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
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Robillard JM, Jun JH, Lai JA, Feng TL. The QUEST for quality online health information: validation of a short quantitative tool. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2018; 18:87. [PMID: 30340488 PMCID: PMC6194721 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-018-0668-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2017] [Accepted: 10/04/2018] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Online health information is unregulated and can be of highly variable quality. There is currently no singular quantitative tool that has undergone a validation process, can be used for a broad range of health information, and strikes a balance between ease of use, concision and comprehensiveness. To address this gap, we developed the QUality Evaluation Scoring Tool (QUEST). Here we report on the analysis of the reliability and validity of the QUEST in assessing the quality of online health information. METHODS The QUEST and three existing tools designed to measure the quality of online health information were applied to two randomized samples of articles containing information about the treatment (n = 16) and prevention (n = 29) of Alzheimer disease as a sample health condition. Inter-rater reliability was assessed using a weighted Cohen's kappa (κ) for each item of the QUEST. To compare the quality scores generated by each pair of tools, convergent validity was measured using Kendall's tau (τ) ranked correlation. RESULTS The QUEST demonstrated high levels of inter-rater reliability for the seven quality items included in the tool (κ ranging from 0.7387 to 1.0, P < .05). The tool was also found to demonstrate high convergent validity. For both treatment- and prevention-related articles, all six pairs of tests exhibited a strong correlation between the tools (τ ranging from 0.41 to 0.65, P < .05). CONCLUSIONS Our findings support the QUEST as a reliable and valid tool to evaluate online articles about health. Results provide evidence that the QUEST integrates the strengths of existing tools and evaluates quality with equal efficacy using a concise, seven-item questionnaire. The QUEST can serve as a rapid, effective, and accessible method of appraising the quality of online health information for researchers and clinicians alike.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie M Robillard
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada. .,BC Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada. .,Djavad Mowafaghian Centre for Brain Health, The University of British Columbia, 2215 Wesbrook Mall, Room 3450D, Vancouver, BC, V6T 2B5, Canada.
| | - Jessica H Jun
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Jen-Ai Lai
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
| | - Tanya L Feng
- Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.,BC Children's & Women's Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
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Xie DX, Wang RY, Chinnadurai S. Readability of online patient education materials for velopharyngeal insufficiency. Int J Pediatr Otorhinolaryngol 2018; 104:113-119. [PMID: 29287850 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2017.09.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2017] [Revised: 09/15/2017] [Accepted: 09/17/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Evaluate the readability of online and mobile application health information about velopharyngeal insufficiency (VPI). METHODS Top website and mobile application results for search terms "velopharyngeal insufficiency", "velopharyngeal dysfunction", "VPI", and "VPD" were analyzed. Readability was determined using 10 algorithms with Readability Studio Professional Edition (Oleander Software Ltd; Vandalia, OH). Subgroup analysis was performed based on search term and article source - academic hospital, general online resource, peer-reviewed journal, or professional organization. RESULTS 18 unique articles were identified. Overall mean reading grade level was a 12.89 ± 2.9. The highest reading level among these articles was 15.47-approximately the level of a college senior. Articles from "velopharyngeal dysfunction" had the highest mean reading level (13.73 ± 2.11), above "velopharyngeal insufficiency" (12.30 ± 1.56) and "VPI" (11.66 ± 1.70). Articles from peer-reviewed journals had the highest mean reading level (15.35 ± 2.79), while articles from academic hospitals had the lowest (12.81 ± 1.66). There were statistically significant differences in reading levels between the different search terms (P < 0.01) and article source types (P < 0.05). Only one mobile application was identified with VPI information, with a readability of 10.68. CONCLUSION Despite published reading level guidelines, online patient education materials for VPI are disseminated with language too complex for most readers. There is also a lack of VPI-related mobile application data available for patients. Patients will benefit if future updates to websites and disseminated patient information are undertaken with health literacy in mind. Future studies will investigate patient comprehension of these materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Deborah X Xie
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Ray Y Wang
- Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Department of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery, Nashville, TN, USA
| | - Sivakumar Chinnadurai
- Children's Hospital and Clinics of Minnesota, 2530 Chicago Ave, Suite #450, Minneapolis, MN, 55404, USA.
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Barbara AM, Dobbins M, Brian Haynes R, Iorio A, Lavis JN, Raina P, Levinson AJ. McMaster Optimal Aging Portal: an evidence-based database for geriatrics-focused health professionals. BMC Res Notes 2017; 10:271. [PMID: 28693544 PMCID: PMC5504718 DOI: 10.1186/s13104-017-2595-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/04/2016] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Objective The objective of this work was to provide easy access to reliable health information based on good quality research that will help health care professionals to learn what works best for seniors to stay as healthy as possible, manage health conditions and build supportive health systems. This will help meet the demands of our aging population that clinicians provide high quality care for older adults, that public health professionals deliver disease prevention and health promotion strategies across the life span, and that policymakers address the economic and social need to create a robust health system and a healthy society for all ages. Results The McMaster Optimal Aging Portal’s (Portal) professional bibliographic database contains high quality scientific evidence about optimal aging specifically targeted to clinicians, public health professionals and policymakers. The database content comes from three information services: McMaster Premium LiteratUre Service (MacPLUS™), Health Evidence™ and Health Systems Evidence. The Portal is continually updated, freely accessible online, easily searchable, and provides email-based alerts when new records are added. The database is being continually assessed for value, usability and use. A number of improvements are planned, including French language translation of content, increased linkages between related records within the Portal database, and inclusion of additional types of content. While this article focuses on the professional database, the Portal also houses resources for patients, caregivers and the general public, which may also be of interest to geriatric practitioners and researchers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela M Barbara
- Health Information Research Unit, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada.
| | | | - R Brian Haynes
- Health Information Research Unit, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - Alfonso Iorio
- Health Information Research Unit, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, 1280 Main Street West, Hamilton, ON, L8S 4K1, Canada
| | - John N Lavis
- McMaster Health Forum, Centre for Health Economics and Policy Analysis, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.,Department of Political Science, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.,Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Parminder Raina
- Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging, Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
| | - Anthony J Levinson
- Division of e-Learning Innovation, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada
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Mueller J, Jay C, Harper S, Davies A, Vega J, Todd C. Web Use for Symptom Appraisal of Physical Health Conditions: A Systematic Review. J Med Internet Res 2017; 19:e202. [PMID: 28611017 PMCID: PMC5487739 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.6755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2016] [Revised: 03/06/2017] [Accepted: 03/23/2017] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The Web has become an important information source for appraising symptoms. We need to understand the role it currently plays in help seeking and symptom evaluation to leverage its potential to support health care delivery. Objective The aim was to systematically review the literature currently available on Web use for symptom appraisal. Methods We searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ACM Digital Library, SCOPUS, and Web of Science for any empirical studies that addressed the use of the Web by lay people to evaluate symptoms for physical conditions. Articles were excluded if they did not meet minimum quality criteria. Study findings were synthesized using a thematic approach. Results A total of 32 studies were included. Study designs included cross-sectional surveys, qualitative studies, experimental studies, and studies involving website/search engine usage data. Approximately 35% of adults engage in Web use for symptom appraisal, but this proportion varies between 23% and 75% depending on sociodemographic and disease-related factors. Most searches were symptom-based rather than condition-based. Users viewed only the top search results and interacted more with results that mentioned serious conditions. Web use for symptom appraisal appears to impact on the decision to present to health services, communication with health professionals, and anxiety. Conclusions Web use for symptom appraisal has the potential to influence the timing of help seeking for symptoms and the communication between patients and health care professionals during consultations. However, studies lack suitable comparison groups as well as follow-up of participants over time to determine whether Web use results in health care utilization and diagnosis. Future research should involve longitudinal follow-up so that we can weigh the benefits of Web use for symptom appraisal (eg, reductions in delays to diagnosis) against the disadvantages (eg, unnecessary anxiety and health care use) and relate these to health care costs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia Mueller
- School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom.,School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Caroline Jay
- School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Simon Harper
- School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Alan Davies
- School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Julio Vega
- School of Computer Science, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
| | - Chris Todd
- School of Health Sciences, University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom.,Manchester Academic Health Science Centre, Manchester, United Kingdom
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Kim H, Xie B. Health literacy in the eHealth era: A systematic review of the literature. Patient Educ Couns 2017; 100:1073-1082. [PMID: 28174067 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2017.01.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 172] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2016] [Revised: 11/29/2016] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study aimed to identify studies on online health service use by people with limited health literacy, as the findings could provide insights into how health literacy has been, and should be, addressed in the eHealth era. METHODS To identify the relevant literature published since 2010, we performed four rounds of selection-database selection, keyword search, screening of the titles and abstracts, and screening of full texts. This process produced a final of 74 publications. RESULTS The themes addressed in the 74 publications fell into five categories: evaluation of health-related content, development and evaluation of eHealth services, development and evaluation of health literacy measurement tools, interventions to improve health literacy, and online health information seeking behavior. CONCLUSION Barriers to access to and use of online health information can result from the readability of content and poor usability of eHealth services. We need new health literacy screening tools to identify skills for adequate use of eHealth services. Mobile apps hold great potential for eHealth and mHealth services tailored to people with low health literacy. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Efforts should be made to make eHealth services easily accessible to low-literacy individuals and to enhance individual health literacy through educational programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henna Kim
- School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin, 1616 Guadalupe Suite #5.518, Austin, TX, 78701, USA.
| | - Bo Xie
- School of Nursing & School of Information, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, USA.
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Beaunoyer E, Arsenault M, Lomanowska AM, Guitton MJ. Understanding online health information: Evaluation, tools, and strategies. Patient Educ Couns 2017; 100:183-189. [PMID: 27595436 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2016.08.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 99] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2016] [Revised: 07/18/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Considering the status of the Internet as a prominent source of health information, assessing online health material has become a central issue in patient education. We describe the strategies available to evaluate the characteristics of online health information, including readability, emotional content, understandability, usability. METHODS Popular tools used in assessment of readability, emotional content and comprehensibility of online health information were reviewed. Tools designed to evaluate both printed and online material were considered. RESULTS Readability tools are widely used in online health material evaluation and are highly covariant. Assessment of emotional content of online health-related communications via sentiment analysis tools is becoming more popular. Understandability and usability tools have been developed specifically for health-related material, but each tool has important limitations and has been tested on a limited number of health issues. CONCLUSION Despite the availability of numerous assessment tools, their overall reliability differs between readability (high) and understandability (low). Approaches combining multiple assessment tools and involving both quantitative and qualitative observations would optimize assessment strategies. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Effective assessment of online health information should rely on mixed strategies combining quantitative and qualitative evaluations. Assessment tools should be selected according to their functional properties and compatibility with target material.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Beaunoyer
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada; Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Marianne Arsenault
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada; Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada
| | - Anna M Lomanowska
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada
| | - Matthieu J Guitton
- Faculty of Medicine, Laval University, Quebec City, QC, Canada; Institut Universitaire en Santé Mentale de Québec, Quebec City, QC, Canada.
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Bao Y, Hoque R, Wang S. Investigating the determinants of Chinese adult children's intention to use online health information for their aged parents. Int J Med Inform 2017; 102:12-20. [PMID: 28495340 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2017.01.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2016] [Revised: 01/02/2017] [Accepted: 01/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The increasing number of older people and the dissemination of health information via the Internet have emerged and both are challenging to Chinese society. Available online health information highlights the importance of decision making processes, specially in relation to the elderly who almost have no online presence and depend on their adult children's help. The researchers mostly focus on parents' health information search for their children, however, they overlook the adult children's intention to use online health information for their aged parents. OBJECTIVE This study fills this gap by extending the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to identify the determinants of adult children's intention to use online health information for their aged parents. METHOD Relying on survey method, the data were collected from teachers and students at different participating Universities in Wuhan, China. The Partial Least Squares (PLS), a structural equation modeling technique, was employed to test the research model. RESULTS This study found that attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control and risk (p<0.05) were the predictors of intention to use online health information, whereas, trust (p>0.05) was not listed among the predictors. CONCLUSIONS This study is a significant addition to the literature, in that it confirms the utility of the TPB with additional variables in predicting adults' children intention to use online health information for their aged parents.
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Novillo-Ortiz D, Hernández-Pérez T, Saigí-Rubió F. Availability of information in Public Health on the Internet: An analysis of national health authorities in the Spanish-speaking Latin American and Caribbean countries. Int J Med Inform 2017; 100:46-55. [PMID: 28241937 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2017.01.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2016] [Revised: 12/31/2016] [Accepted: 01/14/2017] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Access to reliable and quality health information and appropriate medical advice can contribute to a dramatic reduction in the mortality figures of countries. The governments of the Americas are faced with the opportunity to continue working on this challenge, and their institutional presence on their websites should play a key role in this task. In a setting where the access to information is essential to both health professionals and citizens, it is relevant to analyze the role of national health authorities. Given that search engines play such a key role in the access to health information, it is important to specifically know - in connection to national health authorities - whether health information offered is easily available to the population, and whether this information is well-ranked in search engines. METHODS Quantitative methods were used to gather data on the institutional presence of national health authorities on the web. An exploratory and descriptive research served to analyze and interpret data and information obtained quantitatively from different perspectives, including an analysis by country, and also by leading causes of death. A total of 18 web pages were analyzed. Information on leading causes of death was searched on websites of national health authorities in the week of August 10-14, 2015. RESULTS The probability of finding information of national health authorities on the 10 leading causes of death in a country, among the top 10 results on Google, is 6.66%. Additionally, ten out the 18 countries under study (55%) do not have information ranked among the top results in Google when searching for the selected terms. Additionally, a total of 33 websites represent the sources of information with the highest visibility for all the search strategies in each country on Google for the ten leading causes of death in a country. Two websites, the National Library of Medicine and Wikipedia, occur as a result with visibility in the total of eighteen countries of the sample. CONCLUSIONS Taking into consideration that providing reliable and quality information on these topics to the population should be one of the priorities of national health authorities, these results suggest that national health authorities need to take measures to try to better position their contents.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Novillo-Ortiz
- Office of Knowledge Management, Bioethics and Research, Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), United States.
| | - Tony Hernández-Pérez
- Department of Library Science and Documentation, University Carlos III de Madrid, Spain
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Affiliation(s)
- Braden O'Neill
- Department of Family and Community Medicine, North York General Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada; Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, Nuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, United Kingdom.
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Albarrak AI, Mohammed R, Zakaria N, Alyousef LM, Almefgai NB, Alqahtani HD, Alamer HS, Alsulaiman AA. The impact of obesity related websites on decision making among students in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Pharm J 2016; 24:605-610. [PMID: 27752234 PMCID: PMC5059827 DOI: 10.1016/j.jsps.2015.03.016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Background & Objectives: The present study was to investigate the use of the internet among university students accessing obesity health information and further to measure their satisfaction and in decision-making. Methods: A cross sectional study, among students at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This study received ethical clearance from Institutional Review Board, College of Medicine, KSU. Female and male of undergraduate and postgraduate, enrolled through a random sampling. The survey questionnaire was self-administered and consisted of two sections. Results: A total of 448 students (177 males and 271 females) participated in this study. The response rate was 66.86. The study showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was more common among male compared to female students. Majority of the students (58.7%) were of normal Body Mass Index (BMI). It also revealed that 187 (41.7%) reported always acquire obesity health information from the internet whereas 203 (45.35) sometimes use the internet. Half of the respondents reported using a search engine to seek information. Forty-five percent reported spending at least an hour per week. Nearly 52.2% of participants are taking decision related to their lifestyle and showed statistical significant (P = 0.0001). More than half of the students believed that the obesity information in the websites are very useful. Furthermore, 84.4% reported, language presented in the websites are easy to understand. With respect to quality, 46.9% rated as excellent whereas 39.5% as average. Interpretation & Conclusions: The present study findings have demonstrated that university students are using internet in higher rates for finding obesity health information and are satisfied with the decision they are making. Finally, the study concludes that the internet online health information considered as an essential tool for health promotion among student population regarding weight control or managing obesity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed I. Albarrak
- MIELU, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Vice Rector Planning, Quality and Development, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Rafiuddin Mohammed
- Department of Health Informatics, College of Health Sciences, Saudi Electronic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Nasriah Zakaria
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Lujain M. Alyousef
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Noura B. Almefgai
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hend D. Alqahtani
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hanan S. Alamer
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
| | - Ahlam A. Alsulaiman
- Medical Informatics and e-Learning Unit, Medical Education Department, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Tanis M, Hartmann T, Te Poel F. Online health anxiety and consultation satisfaction: A quantitative exploratory study on their relations. Patient Educ Couns 2016; 99:1227-1232. [PMID: 26873545 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/17/2014] [Revised: 01/26/2016] [Accepted: 01/29/2016] [Indexed: 06/05/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The present study explores how seeking online information may affect satisfaction with the doctor consultation and what role health anxiety plays in this context. METHODS A survey was conducted asking patients in doctors' offices about their online seeking for health information and measuring health anxiety prior to the consultation, and their satisfaction with the consultation afterwards (N= 239). RESULTS Results showed that health anxiety is positively related to seeking online health information and that health anxious people are less satisfied with the doctor consultation. Furthermore, people searching more extensively appreciated the duration of their physician's consultation less, but only if they were relatively health anxious. CONCLUSIONS The internet has significantly changed how patients can prepare themselves prior to the doctor consultation. This may have a negative effect on the satisfaction with the consultation, especially for people that are health anxious. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Doctors should be aware that online health information seeking affects the satisfaction with the consultation, especially for health anxious individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Martin Tanis
- Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Tilo Hartmann
- Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Fam Te Poel
- Department of Communication Science, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Diviani N, van den Putte B, Meppelink CS, van Weert JCM. Exploring the role of health literacy in the evaluation of online health information: Insights from a mixed-methods study. Patient Educ Couns 2016; 99:1017-25. [PMID: 26817407 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2016.01.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2015] [Revised: 12/15/2015] [Accepted: 01/15/2016] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To gain new insights into the relationship between health literacy and evaluation of online health information. METHODS Using a mixed-methods approach, forty-four semi-structured interviews were conducted followed by a short questionnaire on health literacy and eHealth literacy. Qualitative and quantitative data were merged to explore differences and similarities among respondents with different health literacy levels. RESULTS Thematic analysis showed that most respondents did not question the quality of online health information and relied on evaluation criteria not recognized by existing web quality guidelines. Individuals with low health literacy, despite presenting higher eHealth literacy scores, appeared to use less established criteria and to rely more heavily on non-established ones compared to those with high health literacy. CONCLUSION Disparities in evaluation ability among people with different health literacy might be related to differences in awareness of the issue and to the use of different evaluation criteria. Future research should quantitatively investigate the interplay between health literacy, use of established and non-established criteria, and ability to evaluate online health information. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS Communication and patient education efforts should aim to raise awareness on online health information quality and to promote use of established evaluation criteria, especially among low health literate citizens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicola Diviani
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research/ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
| | - Bas van den Putte
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research/ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Trimbos Institute, Netherlands Institute for Mental Health and Addiction, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Corine S Meppelink
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research/ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Julia C M van Weert
- Amsterdam School of Communication Research/ASCoR, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
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Ventura-DiPersia C, Rodriguez K, Kelvin EA. Failure of many United States Department of Health Web sites to provide accurate information about the female condom. Contraception 2015; 92:40-5. [PMID: 25797043 DOI: 10.1016/j.contraception.2015.03.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2014] [Revised: 03/16/2015] [Accepted: 03/16/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Uptake of the female condom (FC) in the United States has historically been low; inadequate promotion may be one barrier faced by potential users. We performed a content analysis of state and municipal health department Web sites to describe how the FC is being promoted for pregnancy and disease prevention. We found that only a slim majority (60.8%) of health department Web sites mention the FC at all and those that do include numerous inaccuracies in their messaging. These inaccuracies may discourage uptake of the FC or have a detrimental impact on the experience when using the product for the first time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina Ventura-DiPersia
- Doctor of Public Health Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York School of Public Health, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016; New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice, Department of Epidemiology and Community Health, Valhalla, NY 10595.
| | - Kristina Rodriguez
- Doctor of Public Health Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York School of Public Health, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016
| | - Elizabeth A Kelvin
- Doctor of Public Health Program, The Graduate Center, City University of New York School of Public Health, 365 5th Ave, New York, NY 10016; Epidemiology and Biostatistics Program, School of Urban Public Health, Hunter College & CUNY School of Public Health, City University of New York, 2180 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10035; HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York State Psychiatric Institute and Columbia University, 1051 Riverside Drive, Unit 15, New York, NY 10032, USA
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Warren E, Footman K, Tinelli M, McKee M, Knai C. Do cancer-specific websites meet patient's information needs? Patient Educ Couns 2014; 95:126-136. [PMID: 24447523 DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2013.12.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/22/2013] [Revised: 11/20/2013] [Accepted: 12/09/2013] [Indexed: 06/03/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To evaluate commonly used cancer websites' information provision, we developed and applied an Information Comprehensiveness Tool to breast and prostate cancer websites. METHODS We first collated questions from a systematic literature review on patient information needs. We then classified the questions in terms of spectrum of care, theme, and nature of question. "Breast cancer" and "prostate cancer" were typed into Google, and websites listed on the first page of results were selected. Two researchers, blind to each others' scores, assessed the same websites using the coding system. Each question was scored on a 3-point scale as not (0%), partially (50%) and fully (100%) answered by two researchers. Average scores were calculated across all questions. Inter-rater reliability was assessed. RESULTS We identified 79 general, 5 breast, and 5 prostate cancer questions. Inter-rater reliability was good, with an intraclass coefficient of 0.756 (95% CIs 0.729-0.781). 17 questions were not answered thoroughly by any website. Questions about "future planning", "monitoring", and "decision-making" were discussed least. Biomedical questions scored highest. CONCLUSIONS More comprehensive information needs to be provided on breast and prostate cancer websites. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS This ICT can improve cancer information online and enable patients to engage more actively regarding their information needs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emily Warren
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
| | - Katharine Footman
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
| | - Michela Tinelli
- LSE Health and Social Care, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE, UK.
| | - Martin McKee
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
| | - Cécile Knai
- Faculty of Public Health and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, 15-17 Tavistock Place, London WC1H 9SH, UK.
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