Labeling and Filtering of Medical Information on the Internet

This study aimed to identify the role of Internet technology in transforming the role of its users to promoters of medical products in Jordan. The study found that there are statistically significant effects of independent variables (multipurpose and advanced Internet programs, reduced costs of the use of Internet programs, collective and interactive communication via the Internet, and Internet information abundance and variety of its resources) on the dependent factor, which is transformation of the role of Internet users to promoters of medical products in Jordan. The study recommended increasing attention on networks to promote medical products in Jordan. This is consistent with the fact that promotion via networks has become an effective way to support and enhance the image of products and its delivery to the target group in all markets around the world.

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Spatio-Temporal Based Personalization for Mobile Search

Next Generation Search Engines ◽

10.4018/978-1-4666-0330-1.ch017 ◽

2012 ◽

pp. 386-409 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Ourdia Bouidghaghen ◽

Lynda Tamine

Keyword(s):

Information Retrieval ◽

Contextual Information ◽

The Internet ◽

Search Results ◽

Search Result ◽

Retrieval Systems ◽

Information Retrieval Systems ◽

Spatio Temporal ◽

Mobile Context

The explosion of the information available on the Internet has made traditional information retrieval systems, characterized by one size fits all approaches, less effective. Indeed, users are overwhelmed by the information delivered by such systems in response to their queries, particularly when the latter are ambiguous. In order to tackle this problem, the state-of-the-art reveals that there is a growing interest towards contextual information retrieval (CIR) which relies on various sources of evidence issued from the user’s search background and environment, in order to improve the retrieval accuracy. This chapter focuses on mobile context, highlights challenges they present for IR, and gives an overview of CIR approaches applied in this environment. Then, the authors present an approach to personalize search results for mobile users by exploiting both cognitive and spatio-temporal contexts. The experimental evaluation undertaken in front of Yahoo search shows that the approach improves the quality of top search result lists and enhances search result precision.

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Trust Management for Public Key Infrastructures: Implementing the X.509 Trust Broker

Security and Communication Networks ◽

10.1155/2017/6907146 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 2017 ◽

pp. 1-23 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ahmad Samer Wazan ◽

Romain Laborde ◽

David W. Chadwick ◽

Francois Barrere ◽

Abdelmalek Benzekri ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trust Management ◽

Trust Model ◽

Third Party ◽

Public Key ◽

The Internet ◽

Certification Authority ◽

Policies And Procedures ◽

Implementation Approach ◽

Processing Resources

A Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is considered one of the most important techniques used to propagate trust in authentication over the Internet. This technology is based on a trust model defined by the original X.509 (1988) standard and is composed of three entities: the certification authority (CA), the certificate holder (or subject), and the Relying Party (RP). The CA plays the role of a trusted third party between the certificate holder and the RP. In many use cases, this trust model has worked successfully. However, we argue that the application of this model on the Internet implies that web users need to depend on almost anyone in the world in order to use PKI technology. Thus, we believe that the current TLS system is not fit for purpose and must be revisited as a whole. In response, the latest draft edition of X.509 has proposed a new trust model by adding new entity called the Trust Broker (TB). In this paper, we present an implementation approach that a Trust Broker could follow in order to give RPs trust information about a CA by assessing the quality of its issued certificates. This is related to the quality of the CA’s policies and procedures and its commitment to them. Finally, we present our Trust Broker implementation that demonstrates how RPs can make informed decisions about certificate holders in the context of the global web, without requiring large processing resources themselves.

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Online Information About Periviable Birth: Quality Assessment (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12524 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Adriane F Haragan ◽

Carly A Zuwiala ◽

Katherine P Himes

Keyword(s):

Medical Information ◽

The United States ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Information ◽

High Quality ◽

Comfort Care ◽

Treatment Choices ◽

News Stories ◽

Google Search

BACKGROUND Over 20,000 parents in the United States face the challenge of participating in decisions about whether to use life support for their infants born on the cusp of viability every year. Clinicians must help families grasp complex medical information about their baby’s immediate prognosis as well as the risk for significant long-term morbidity. Patients faced with this decision want supplemental information and frequently seek medical information on the Internet. Empirical evidence about the quality of websites is lacking. OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the quality of online information available about periviable birth and treatment options for infants born at the cusp of viability. METHODS We read a counseling script to 20 pregnant participants that included information typically provided by perinatal and neonatal providers when periviable birth is imminent. The women were then asked to list terms they would use to search the Internet if they wanted additional information. Using these search terms, two reviewers evaluated the content of websites obtained via a Google search. We used two metrics to assess the quality of websites. The first was the DISCERN instrument, a validated questionnaire designed to assess the quality of patient-targeted health information for treatment choices. The second metric was the Essential Content Tool (ECT), a tool designed to address key components of counseling around periviable birth as outlined by professional organizations. DISCERN scores were classified as low quality if scores were 2, fair quality if scores were 3, and high quality if scores were 4 or higher. Scores of 6 or higher on the ECT were considered high quality. Interreviewer agreement was assessed by calculated kappa statistic. RESULTS A total of 97 websites were reviewed. Over half (57/97, 59%) were for-profit sites, news stories, or personal blogs; 28% (27/97) were government or medical sites; and 13% (13/97) were nonprofit or advocacy sites. The majority of sites scored poorly in DISCERN questions designed to assess the reliability of information presented as well as data regarding treatment choices. Only 7% (7/97) of the websites were high quality as defined by the DISCERN tool. The majority of sites did not address the essential content defined by the ECT. Importantly, only 18% of websites (17/97) indicated that there are often a number of reasonable approaches to newborn care when faced with periviable birth. Agreement was strong, with kappa ranging from .72 to .91. CONCLUSIONS Most information about periviable birth found on the Internet using common search strategies is of low quality. News stories highlighting positive outcomes are disproportionately represented. Few websites discuss comfort care or how treatment decisions impact quality of life.

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Internet search engines and ways to improve quality of inquiries fulfillment when searching for scientific information on the Internet

Scientific and Technical Libraries ◽

10.33186/1027-3689-2016-9-79-87 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 79-87

Author(s):

Yury Smirnov

Keyword(s):

Search Engines ◽

Search Algorithm ◽

Scientific Information ◽

Information Organization ◽

The Internet ◽

Internet Search ◽

Popular Method ◽

Combined Use ◽

Internet Information

Existing Internet search engines are analyzed. Tagging, with its advantages and drawbacks, is examined as a popular method of Internet information organization and classification. The author concludes that every search engine is unique for its search algorithm, and combined use of many is seen and the most efficient for users.

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Development of the CUE-tool through an e-Delphi study: The Credible and Usable Evaluation of patient education tool for web-sites (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.22668 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Leonie Klompstra ◽

Maria Liljeroos ◽

Johan Lundgren ◽

Brynja Ingadottir

Keyword(s):

Web Sites ◽

Health Care Professionals ◽

Delphi Study ◽

Medical Information ◽

Medical Condition ◽

Information Source ◽

The Internet ◽

Clinical Tool ◽

Education Tool

BACKGROUND As patients are increasingly searching for information about their medical condition on the Internet, there is a need for health professionals to be able to guide patients towards reliable and suitable information sources on the Internet. OBJECTIVE To develop a clinical tool for healthcare professionals to assess the usability and quality of the content of websites containing medical information that could be recommended to patients. METHODS A three round modified e-Delphi study was conducted with 20 health care professionals RESULTS In round one of the e-Delphi study, of the 68 items initially created, 41 items (29 on usability, 12 on content) were rated as important or very important by more than half of the panel and selected for further evaluation in round two. In round two, of the 41 items left from round 1, 19 items were selected (9 usability, 10 content) as important or very important, by more than half of the panel, for further evaluation. As a result of round three, two items were put together as one, leaving the instrument with 18 items in total (8 usability, 10 content). We developed a webpage with the tool (which is free to access) available at: www.cesar-network.com. CONCLUSIONS The CUE-tool can be used to (a) evaluate the usability and reliability of the content of websites before recommending them to patients as a good information source; (b) identify websites that have not reliable content and/or may be difficult for patients to use; (c) develop quality websites by using the criteria in the CUE-tool; (d) identify different qualities between different websites. CLINICALTRIAL

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Quality of medical information on the Internet

JAMA ◽

10.1001/jama.278.8.632b ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 278 (8) ◽

pp. 632b-632 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

J. Mack

Keyword(s):

Medical Information ◽

The Internet

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Quality of information about mental disease on the Internet: A comparative and longitudinal study of entries form Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.32503 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Jing Ma ◽

Lisha Jiang ◽

Jianchen Luo ◽

Linli Zheng ◽

Meiou Wang ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Medical Information ◽

Mental Disease ◽

Information Service ◽

The Internet ◽

Positive Trend ◽

Online Information ◽

Disease Information ◽

Medical Network

BACKGROUND The Internet has evolved the approaches of medical information spread. Demands of online information searching on mental disease expanded. The Wikipedia and Baidu Encyclopedia are popular information source. Websites with information on mental disease have not been systematically evaluated. OBJECTIVE The research aimed to estimate the quality of mental disease information on the internet and to evaluate all aspects including timeliness to value the information quality from Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia to help users to make better choice. Besides, establishing a perfect relevant online health information examine and supervision system, in order to satisfy public self-help mental medical information service needs. METHODS We retrieved the entries on mental disease from the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems 10th Revision Version 2016 codes on Wikipedia (in English) and Baidu Encyclopedia (in Chinese) in 2018 and 2021. Subject sites were accessed by DISCERN. The comparison between 2 engines as well as 3 years follow-up and timeliness were calculated. RESULTS The number of entries on mental disease we found in 2018 is 34 on Baidu Encyclopedia and 36 on Wikipedia and 37 entries on both Baidu Encyclopedia and Wikipedia in 2021. In 2018, the DISCERN score of Baidu Encyclopedia entries in section 1 and section 3 were lower than those of Wikipedia articles (11.21±4.57 vs 26.25±3.21, p<.001; 2.06±.74 vs 2.53±.94, p<.05). Significantly differences can also be found in total score and all sections in 2021 between 2 engines (total score, 26.29±11.03 vs 44.31±9.77, all 3 sections, p<.001). The DISCERN score of Wikipedia articles during 3 years showed significant increase (all 3 sections, p<.001; total, p<.001). The mean update interval varies greatly from Baidu Encyclopedia (824.79 days in 2018; 945.73 days in 2021) to Wikipedia (34.17 days in 2018;50.46 days in 2021) (p<.001). CONCLUSIONS Despite the general poor quality of mental disease entries in both two engines, Wikipedia expressed to be a better source of online mental disease information compared to Baidu Encyclopedia, with higher reliability, better treatment advice and shorter update interval. Our findings reflected the existing deficit of general website mental health information, suggested a reference for further and better medical network information order. Based on this foundation, it is essential to encourage people to seek professional help rather than believe the ambiguous source information from Internet. The quality of these entries has been improved during 3 years. This positive trend is encouraging that we can expect better online information service in the coming future.

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