scholarly journals An evaluation of YouTube in disseminating dementia knowledge to older Chinese in Britain

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (10) ◽  
pp. 1575-1575 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin K.P. Woo

Chinese immigrants may dismiss pathological decline of dementia as part of normal aging (Woo and Mehta, 2017). While the internet may be a source of health information for Chinese immigrants, the quality of online dementia information was lower in Chinese than in English (Tsiang and Woo, 2017). Recent studies have demonstrated feasibility of YouTube videos in disseminating health information to the Chinese-speaking general public (Lam et al., 2017; Zheng and Woo, 2017). Therefore, we evaluated the performance of YouTube in targeting Chinese-speaking individuals in Britain who are in the high risk age group (e.g. aged 55 years and above) of developing dementia.

10.28945/2459 ◽  
2002 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simona Cerrato

There is an increasing demand for what we can call pop-science that is pertinent scientific information dedicated to the non-specialists. This demand comes both from professional categories and the general public. Simultaneously in the scientific community there is an increasing consciousness that diffusion of the scientific information is an asset the scientific community cannot afford to overlook. The Internet is a perfect tool to meet this demand. It reaches a large and ever-increasing number of people and permits an interactive and detailed exchange of information. As an experiment of how to combine high quality services and the information technology, we have set up Ulisse - In the net of science (http://ulisse.sissa.it), an innovative Italian project for the popularisation of science via the Internet. Its main purpose is to establish a connection between scientists and the general public. Ulisse is based on three major characteristics: a) high technology to create an efficient and friendly system, b) customisation of the services, c) a network of scientists, which guaranteed the quality of the materials.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anat Gesser-Edelsburg ◽  
Nour Abed Elhadi Shahbari ◽  
Ricky Cohen ◽  
Adva Mir Halavi ◽  
Rana Hijazi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND In the new media age, the public searches for information both online and offline. Many studies have examined how the public reads and understands this information but very few investigate how people assess the quality of journalistic articles as opposed to information generated by health professionals. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to examine how public health care workers (HCWs) and the general public seek, read, and understand health information and to investigate the criteria by which they assess the quality of journalistic articles. METHODS A Web-based nonprobability sampling questionnaire survey was distributed to Israeli HCWs and members of the public via 3 social media outlets: Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. A total of 979 respondents participated in the online survey via the Qualtrics XM platform. RESULTS The findings indicate that HCWs find academic articles more reliable than do members of the general public (44.4% and 28.4%, respectively, P<.001). Within each group, we found disparities between the places where people search for information and the sources they consider reliable. HCWs consider academic articles to be the most reliable, yet these are not their main information sources. In addition, HCWs often use social networks to search for information (18.2%, P<.001), despite considering them very unreliable (only 2.2% found them reliable, P<.001). The same paradoxes were found among the general public, where 37.5% (P<.001) seek information via social networks yet only 8.4% (P<.001) find them reliable. Out of 6 quality criteria, 4 were important both to HCWs and to the general public. CONCLUSIONS In the new media age where information is accessible to all, the quality of articles about health is of critical importance. It is important that the criteria examined in this research become the norm in health writing for all stakeholders who write about health, whether they are professional journalists or citizen journalists writing in the new media.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teaghan Pryor ◽  
Kristin Reynolds ◽  
Paige Kirby ◽  
Matthew Bernstein

BACKGROUND The Internet can increase the accessibility of mental health information and improve the mental health literacy of older adults. The quality of mental health information on the Internet can be inaccurate or biased, leading to misinformation OBJECTIVE This study’s objectives were to evaluate the quality, usability, and readability of websites providing information concerning depression in later life. METHODS Websites were identified through a Google search, and evaluated by assessing quality (DISCERN), usability (Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool; PEMAT) and readability (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook; SMOG). RESULTS The overall quality of late-life depression websites (N = 19) was moderate, usability was low, and readability was poor. No significant relationship was found between quality and readability of websites. CONCLUSIONS Websites can be improved by enhancing information quality, usability, and readability related to late-life depression. The use of high-quality websites may improve mental health literacy and shared treatment decision-making for older adults.


Author(s):  
Kleopatra Alamantariotou

Recent statistics show that the World Wide Web has now grown to over 100 million sites: a phenomenal expansion in only 15 years (Mulligan 2007). It has been estimated that there are 100,000 sites offering health related information (Wilson 2002). As the amount of health information increases, the public find it increasingly difficult to decide what to accept and what to reject (Burgess 2007). Searching for information on the internet is both deceptively easy and the same time frustratingly difficult (Kiley 2002). The challenge for consumers is to find high quality, relevant information as quickly as possible. There has been ongoing debate about the quality of information aimed at patients and the general public and opinions differ on how it can be improved (Stepperd 1999). The purpose of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the different perspectives on information quality and to review the main criteria for assessing the quality of health information on the internet. Pointers are provided to enable both clinicians and patients find high quality information sources. An understanding of these issues should help health professionals and patients to make effective use of the internet.


2020 ◽  
Vol 134 (2) ◽  
pp. 135-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
B Ward ◽  
R Bavier ◽  
C Warren ◽  
J Yan ◽  
B Paskhover

AbstractObjectiveThis study evaluated the quality of YouTube content focusing on common paediatric otolaryngology procedures, as this content can influence the opinions and medical decisions of patients.MethodsA total of 120 YouTube videos were compiled to review using the terms ‘adenoid removal’, ‘adenoidectomy’, ‘ear tubes’, ‘tympanostomy’, ‘tonsil removal’ and ‘tonsillectomy’. The Discern criteria was used to rate the quality of health information presented in each video.ResultsThe mean bias Discern score was 3.18 and the mean overall Discern score was 2.39. Videos including US board certified physicians were rated significantly higher (p < 0.001) than videos without (bias Discern score = 3.00 vs 2.38; overall Discern score = 3.79 vs 1.55). The videos had been viewed a total of 176 769 549 times.ConclusionUnbiased, high quality videos on YouTube are lacking. As patients may rely on this information when making medical decisions, it is important that practitioners continually evaluate and improve this video content. Otolaryngologists should be prepared to discuss YouTube content with patients.


Author(s):  
Izabella Lejbkowicz

The exponential development of Information Technologies revolutionized healthcare. A significant aspect of this revolution is the access to health information in the Internet. The Internet World Stats estimates that 56.8% of the world population used the Internet in March 2019, an increase of 1,066% from 2000. According to The Pew Research Center survey of 2012 81% of Americans used the internet and 72% of them searched for health information. Even though there is a lack in more recent data on the percentage of online health information seekers, it is clear that this trend is on the rise. This chapter focuses on the characteristics of the search for online health information by patients and providers, investigates features related to the quality of health web sites, and discusses the impact of these searches on healthcare.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (10) ◽  
pp. 1671-1679 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiaoping Lin ◽  
Christina Bryant ◽  
Jennifer Boldero ◽  
Briony Dow

ABSTRACTBackground:Few current studies explore psychological well-being among older Chinese immigrants in Australia. The study addressed this gap and provided preliminary data on psychological well-being among this group. Four indicators, namely depression, anxiety, loneliness, and quality of life, were used to present a comprehensive picture of psychological well-being.Methods:Participants were two groups of community-dwelling older people, specifically 59 Chinese immigrants and 60 Australian-born people (median age=77 and 73, respectively). Data were collected through standardized interviews. The Geriatric Depression Scale, the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale and the WHO Quality of Life questionnaire were used to measure depression, anxiety, loneliness, and quality of life, respectively.Results:Chinese participants’ median quality of life score was higher than the scale mid-point, indicating relatively high levels of quality of life. However, 10% exhibited symptoms of depression, 6% had symptoms of anxiety, and 49% felt lonely. Compared to Australian participants, Chinese participants reported poorer quality of life and higher levels of loneliness. Importantly, the difference in quality of life remained when the impact of socio-demographic factors was controlled for.Conclusions:This study was the first to use multiple indicators to explore psychological well-being among older Chinese immigrants in Australia. Its results suggest that their psychological well-being might be worse than that of Australian-born people when using loneliness and quality of life as indicators. In particular, loneliness is a common psychological problem among this group, and there is a need for public awareness of this problem.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peggy Liu ◽  
Ling-Ling Yeh ◽  
Jiun-Yi Wang ◽  
Shao-Ti Lee

BACKGROUND The increasing amount of health information available on the internet makes it more important than ever to ensure that people can judge the accuracy of this information to prevent them from harm. It may be possible for platforms to set up protective mechanisms depending on the level of digital health literacy and thereby to decrease the possibility of harm by the misuse of health information. OBJECTIVE This study aimed to create an instrument for digital health literacy assessment (DHLA) based on the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) to categorize participants by level of risk of misinterpreting health information into high-, medium-, and low-risk groups. METHODS This study developed a DHLA and constructed an online health information bank with correct and incorrect answers. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was used to detect the cutoff value of DHLA, using 5 items randomly selected from the online health information bank, to classify users as being at low, medium, or high risk of misjudging health information. This provided information about the relationship between risk group for digital health literacy and accurate judgement of online health information. The study participants were Taiwanese residents aged 20 years and older. Snowball sampling was used, and internet questionnaires were anonymously completed by the participants. The reliability and validity of DHLA were examined. Logistic regression was used to analyze factors associated with risk groups from the DHLA. RESULTS This study collected 1588 valid questionnaires. The online health information bank included 310 items of health information, which were classified as easy (147 items), moderate (122 items), or difficult (41 items) based on the difficulty of judging their accuracy. The internal consistency of DHLA was satisfactory (α=.87), and factor analysis of construct validity found three factors, accounting for 76.6% of the variance. The receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found 106 people at high risk, 1368 at medium risk, and 114 at low risk of misinterpreting health information. Of the original grouped cases, 89.6% were correctly classified after discriminate analysis. Logistic regression analysis showed that participants with a high risk of misjudging health information had a lower education level, lower income, and poorer health. They also rarely or never browsed the internet. These differences were statistically significant. CONCLUSIONS The DHLA score could distinguish those at low, medium, and high risk of misjudging health information on the internet. Health information platforms on the internet could consider incorporating DHLA to set up a mechanism to protect users from misusing health information and avoid harming their health.


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