Sharing health information across online platforms: A systematic review

Burgess and Bruns (2015) have linked the computational turn in social media research to a rise in studies that focus exclusively on ‘easy’ data, such as the ‘low hanging fruit’ provided by Twitter hashtags. This paper set out to explore whether this preponderance of easy data and studies focused on the 2011-12 protests is evident in research between 1995 and 2019 through a systematic review of digital activism literature (N = 1444). A particular focus of the review was the extent to which digital activism research revolved around the use of computational digital methods, case studies based in Europe and North America and data gathered from single online platforms (e.g. Twitter). The review showed that most of these studies focused on social movements, campaigns, activists, and parties based in the United Kingdom and United States, and were conducted by researchers based in universities in these countries. In contrast, there were relatively few articles addressing activism, institutions and platforms in non-Western /Global South contexts with the exception of the Arab Spring in 2011. In terms of methodological approaches, traditional research methods and big data digital methods studies were prevalent. In response to the easy data hypothesis, the study found that Twitter was the most researched platform in the corpus, but that digital methods were not as commonly deployed in these articles as traditional methods. Thus, the paper concludes argues in favor of greater diversity in digital activism research in terms of its methods, participants, and countries of origin.

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The Online Health Information Needs of Family Physicians: Systematic Review of Qualitative and Quantitative Studies (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.18816 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Piet van der Keylen ◽

Johanna Tomandl ◽

Katharina Wollmann ◽

Ralph Möhler ◽

Mario Sofroniou ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Information Retrieval ◽

Health Information ◽

Full Text ◽

Information Needs ◽

Family Physicians ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Online Information ◽

Qualitative And Quantitative ◽

Quantitative Studies

BACKGROUND Digitalization and the increasing availability of online information have changed the way in which information is searched for and retrieved by the public and by health professionals. The technical developments in the last two decades have transformed the methods of information retrieval. Although systematic evidence exists on the general information needs of specialists, and in particular, family physicians (FPs), there have been no recent systematic reviews to specifically address the needs of FPs and any barriers that may exist to accessing online health information. OBJECTIVE This review aims to provide an up-to-date perspective on the needs of FPs in searching, retrieving, and using online information. METHODS This systematic review of qualitative and quantitative studies searched a multitude of databases spanning the years 2000 to 2020 (search date January 2020). Studies that analyzed the online information needs of FPs, any barriers to the accessibility of information, and their information-seeking behaviors were included. Two researchers independently scrutinized titles and abstracts, analyzing full-text papers for their eligibility, the studies therein, and the data obtained from them. RESULTS The initial search yielded 4541 studies for initial title and abstract screening. Of the 144 studies that were found to be eligible for full-text screening, 41 were finally included. A total of 20 themes were developed and summarized into 5 main categories: individual needs of FPs before the search; access needs, including factors that would facilitate or hinder information retrieval; quality needs of the information to hand; utilization needs of the information available; and implication needs for everyday practice. CONCLUSIONS This review suggests that searching, accessing, and using online information, as well as any pre-existing needs, barriers, or demands, should not be perceived as separate entities but rather be regarded as a sequential process. Apart from accessing information and evaluating its quality, FPs expressed concerns regarding the applicability of this information to their everyday practice and its subsequent relevance to patient care. Future online information resources should cater to the needs of the primary care setting and seek to address the way in which such resources may be adapted to these specific requirements.

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CHALLENGES IN THE USE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN PROCESSING OF HEALTH INFORMATION IN RESOURCE LIMITED SETTINGS: A COMPREHENSIVE SYSTEMATIC REVIEW

Africa Journal of Nursing and Midwifery ◽

10.25159/2520-5293/222 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 17 (3) ◽

pp. 71-89

Author(s):

Million Bimerew

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Information Technology ◽

Health Information ◽

Resource Limited Settings ◽

Resource Limited

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Understanding self-guided online educational platforms for patients with chronic health conditions: A systematic review of platforms’ features and adherence (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.18355 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Li Feng Xie ◽

Alexandra Itzkovitz ◽

Amelie Roy-Fleming ◽

Deborah Da Costa ◽

Anne-Sophie Brazeau

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Online Education ◽

Clinical Outcomes ◽

Chronic Diseases ◽

Goal Setting ◽

Cochrane Library ◽

Self Monitoring ◽

Chronic Respiratory Diseases ◽

Online Platforms ◽

Cochrane Reviews

BACKGROUND Chronic diseases contribute to 71% of deaths worldwide every year and an estimated 15 million people between the ages of 30 to 69 years die mainly due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, chronic respiratory diseases, or diabetes. Online education platforms may offer numerous health benefits on disease management and on related health consequences. It is also considered to be a flexible, lower cost method to deliver tailored information to patients. Previous studies concluded that the implementation of different features and degree of adherence to the platform are key factors in determining the success of the intervention. However, limited research has been done to understand the level of acceptability of the specific features and user adherence to self-guided online platforms. OBJECTIVE The aims of this systematic review are to understand how online platforms features are evaluated, to investigate which features have the greatest and lowest level of acceptability and to describe how adherence to online self-guided platforms is defined and measured. METHODS Studies published on self-guided online education platforms for people (≥14 years old) with chronic diseases published between January 2005 to June 2019 were reviewed following the PRISMA Statement protocol. The search was done using the databases of PubMed and Cochrane Library: Cochrane Reviews. The comparison of the interventions and analysis of the features were based on the published content from the selected articles. RESULTS A total of fifteen studies were included. Seven principal features were identified with goal setting, self-monitoring, and feedback being the most frequently used. The level of acceptability of the different features was measured based on the comments collected from users, their association with clinical outcomes and/or device adherence. The use of quizzes was positively reported by participants. Self-monitoring, goal setting, feedback, and discussion forums had mixed results. The negative acceptability was mainly related to the choice of the discussion topic, lack of face-to-face contact, and technical issues. This review also showed that evaluation of adherence to educational platform was inconsistent among the studies therefore limiting comparison. A clear definition of adherence to the platform is lacking. CONCLUSIONS This review suggests that features related to interaction and personalization provide better clinical outcomes and positive users’ experience. The negatively reported features were mainly related to not targeting the population’s needs, low human involvement within the platform, and technical barriers. Only six studies reported the level of acceptability of their features on users’ experience, clinical outcomes or device adherence, which highlights the needs for further studies. There is a lack of consensus on the method used for measuring the level of adherence to the platform, therefore we suggest to use a standardized framework to measure adherence.

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Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/19985 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (8) ◽

pp. e19985

Author(s):

Christian Kubb ◽

Heather M Foran

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Conceptual Model ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Related Information ◽

Health Related ◽

Online Health Information Seeking ◽

The Web

Background Parents commonly use the internet to search for information about their child’s health-related symptoms and guide parental health-related decisions. Despite the impact of parental online health seeking on offline health behaviors, this area of research remains understudied. Previous literature has not adequately distinguished searched behaviors when searching for oneself or one`s child. Objective The purpose of this review is to examine prevalences and associated variables of parent-child online health information seeking; investigate parents’ health-related online behavior regarding how they find, use, and evaluate information; and identify barriers and concerns that they experience during the search. Based on this analysis, we develop a conceptual model of potentially important variables of proxy online health information seeking, with a focus on building an agenda for further research. Methods We conducted a comprehensive systematic literature review of the PsycINFO, JMIR, and PubMed electronic databases. Studies between January 1994 and June 2018 were considered. The conceptual model was developed using an inductive mixed methods approach based on the investigated variables in the study sample. Results A total of 33 studies met the inclusion criteria. Findings suggest that parents worldwide are heavy online users of health-related information for their children across highly diverse circumstances. A total of 6 studies found high parental health anxiety, with prevalences ranging from 14% to 52%. Although parents reported wishing for more guidance from their pediatrician on how to find reliable information, they rarely discussed retrieved information from the web. The conceptual model of proxy online health information seeking includes 49 variables. Conclusions This systematic review identifies important gaps regarding the influence of health-related information on parents’ health behavior and outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to offer parents guidance on how to use the web for health purposes in an effective way, as well as solutions to the multifaceted problems during or after online health information seeking for their child. The conceptual model with the number of studies in each model category listed highlights how previous studies have hardly considered relational variables between the parent and child. An agenda for future research is presented.

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