Use of the Internet to Obtain Cancer Information Among Cancer Patients at an Urban County Hospital

2005 ◽  
Vol 23 (22) ◽  
pp. 4954-4962 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Helft ◽  
Rachael E. Eckles ◽  
Cynthia Stair Johnson-Calley ◽  
Christopher K. Daugherty

Purpose To evaluate rates, predictors, and barriers to use of the Internet to obtain cancer information among a cohort of cancer patients at an urban county hospital. Patients and Methods Of 208 cancer patients approached, 200 patients completed a structured interview study examining Internet use, perceptions of the accuracy of Internet information, and barriers to use. Results Only 10% of participants reported using the Internet themselves to obtain cancer information. Another 21% reported exposure to Internet information through proxies. The most common barrier to Internet use cited was lack of Internet access, with 44% reporting that they would use the Internet to obtain cancer information if they had Internet access. Younger age and more years of formal education were significantly associated with Internet use, although race and income were not. Less education, African American race, and female sex were associated with lower estimates of the accuracy of Internet information. Fewer years of formal education was associated with increased likelihood of reporting confusion after reading Internet information. Conclusion Very few cancer patients in this study of a cohort of generally disadvantaged individuals used the Internet themselves to obtain cancer information, although many more desired to do so. Significant opportunities for Web-based interventions aimed at improving cancer care outcomes in this population of cancer patients exist. However, further study will be needed to determine how to make such intervention accessible, trustworthy, and understandable to the disadvantaged.

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 342-350
Author(s):  
Suparna Parwodiwiyono

Abstrak: Bagi generasi pasca milenial penggunaan internet sangat akrab tetapi dengan berbagai tujuan penggunaan. Penelitian ini ingin melihat keterkaitan penggunaan internet oleh penduduk yang sedang sekolah untuk kepentingan penyelesaian tugas sekolah di Indonesia untuk mendapatkan hasil belajar yang baik. Analisis berdasarkan data sekunder dari Survei Sosial Ekonomi Nasional tahun 2018. Hanya saja data yang didapatkan tidak simetris dengan adanya pencilan. Regresi kuantil digunakan untuk meminimumkan pengaruh dari pencilan yang ada. Penelitian mendapatkan hasil bahwa terdapat kaitan yang erat antara akses internet dari penduduk yang sedang sekolah dengan penyelesaian tugas sekolah.  Hasil regresi kuantil menunjukkan bahwa proporsi akses internet untuk penyelesaian tugas sekolah berbeda antar golongan proporsi penggunaan internet. Proporsi penggunaan internet yang tinggi akan digunakan untuk penyelesaian tugas sekolah yang lebih tinggi pula. Abstract: For the post millennial generation the use of the internet is very familiar but with various purposes of use. This study wants to look at the relationship between the use of the internet by residents who are currently in school for the sake of completing school work in Indonesia to get good learning outcomes. Analysis based on secondary data from the 2018 National Socio-Economic Survey. It's just that the data obtained is not symmetrical with outliers. Quantile regression is used to minimize the effect of outliers. The study found that there was a close relationship between internet access from residents who were in school and completion of school work. The quantile regression results show that the proportion of internet access for completing school work differs between groups of proportions of internet use. A high proportion of internet use will be used for completing higher school work.


Comunicar ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 22 (43) ◽  
pp. 163-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastiano Costa ◽  
Francesca Cuzzocrea ◽  
Antonella Nuzzaci

Media use plays an important role in the social, emotional, and cognitive development of young individuals and accounts for a large portion of their time. For this reason it is important to understand the variables that contribute to improve the use of the Internet as a source of information and knowledge in formal and informal contexts. How is it possible to exploit the huge potential of this tool to help people learn? What are the cognitive and social characteristics that help individuals experience the Internet without being overwhelmed by its negative effects? What skills are needed to select and manage information and communication? What type of Internet use creates new relationships and ways of learning? A sample of 191 subjects was examined to determine certain characteristic differences between subjects with high and low levels of Internet use. The results show that individuals with high levels of Internet use have higher extroversion and openness scores. The research analyses the use of the Internet in informal contexts to determine the benefits that may result from Internet use in education which may include the development of the skill set necessary to evaluate information critically and analytically and build independent attitudes. El uso de Internet ofrece un importante espacio para el desarrollo social, emocional y cognitivo de los jóvenes y ocupa gran parte de su tiempo libre. Por lo tanto, es muy importante observar algunas variables que contribuyen a mejorar su uso como fuente de información y conocimiento en contextos formales e informales. ¿Cómo, entonces, aprovechar el enorme potencial de esta herramienta para ayudar a las personas en su aprendizaje?, ¿cuáles son las características cognitivas y sociales que ayudan a utilizarla sin que les afecte negativamente?, ¿qué habilidades se necesitan para seleccionar y gestionar la información y la comunicación?, ¿qué tipos de usos de Internet suscitan aprendizaje y nuevas y diferentes relaciones? En una muestra de 191 sujetos se examinan las diferentes características entre los sujetos con alto y bajo nivel de uso. Los resultados muestran que los individuos con alto nivel de uso de Internet tienen una puntuación más alta en lo que se refiere a las características de extroversión y apertura. La investigación se basa en un marco teórico que parte del análisis del uso de en un contexto informal para llegar a una reflexión sobre las posibilidades y ventajas que pueden derivarse de su uso en la educación, y del conjunto de habilidades que es necesario desarrollar para utilizar y evaluar la información de manera crítica y analítica y para construir una mente abierta y una actitud independiente.


2016 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 240-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Heaton ◽  
Bryan Combs ◽  
Russell Griffin

Because of their social isolation, irregular and unpredictable schedules, limited access to health care, and long periods of travel, long-haul truckers may benefit from the use of mobile health applications on Internet-capable devices. The purpose of this study was to determine Internet access and usage among a sample of long-haul truck drivers. In this cross-sectional study, truck drivers completed a pencil and paper survey with questions on demographics, work and health histories, and Internet access and usage for both personal and job reasons. A total of 106 truck drivers were recruited from trucking industry trade shows, by word of mouth, and directly from trucking companies. Overall, the truck drivers’ use of the Internet was limited. Their usage for personal and job-related reasons differed. Social connectivity and access to health and wellness information were important during personal usage time. Job-related Internet use was highly practical, and applied to seeking information for directions and maps, fuel stops and pricing, and communicating with employers or transmitting documents. Age and experience were associated with Internet use. Younger, less-experienced drivers used the Internet more than older, experienced drivers. Targeted mobile health messaging may be a useful tool to inform truck drivers of health conditions and plans, and may provide links to primary care providers needing to monitor or notify drivers of diagnostic results or treatment plans.


2019 ◽  
Vol 70 ◽  
pp. 06010
Author(s):  
Nadezhda Sivrikova ◽  
Svetlana Roslyakova ◽  
Nadezhda Sokolova ◽  
Elena Moiseeva

Emergence of a possibility of Internet access at school bears new opportunities and risks too. The tendency to growth of number of the pupils Internet use for non-class-related purposes in the classroom (Cyberloafing) causes concern. Studying of this new phenomenon at the Russian school is complicated due to the lack of reliable and valid techniques. Therefore, adaptation of a scale of a cyberloafing of Y. Akbulut, etc. became an objective of this research. We translated into Russian of 29 items of a technique which were estimated by school students by means of 5-point Laykert scales. Results of application of a scale showed that its items form 5 factors. These are online shopping, accessing online content, activity on social networks, sharing information, socialization. The items of a factor of playing online games did not receive confirmation of validity and internal consistency. They need to be reconsidered. The received factors have sufficient reliability (the Cronbach’s alpha (α) values of all the factors range from 0.77 to 0.881). Work makes a contribution to studying of a cyberloafing at school.


2003 ◽  
Vol 21 (5) ◽  
pp. 942-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul R. Helft ◽  
Fay Hlubocky ◽  
Christopher K. Daugherty

Purpose: Americans are turning more and more frequently to the Internet to obtain health information. The specific effects on patients, doctors, and the clinical encounter are not well known. Methods: A brief mail survey was sent to a systematic sample of 5% of medical oncologists and hematologist/oncologists listed in the membership directory of the American Society of Clinical Oncology. Results: Response rate to this mail survey was 46.2%. Oncologists’ median estimate of the proportion of their patients using the Internet to obtain cancer information was 30%. Subjects responded that, on average, 10 minutes were added to each patient encounter in which Internet information was discussed. Responding oncologists reported that use of the Internet had the ability to simultaneously make patients more hopeful, confused, anxious, and knowledgeable. Forty-four percent of responding oncologists reported that they sometimes or rarely had difficulty discussing Internet information, and only 9% of subjects reported that they sometimes or always felt threatened when patients brought Internet information to discuss. In narrative responses, oncologists reported both positive and negative effects of Internet use by patients. Conclusion: In this brief mail survey to a systematic sample of American oncologists in academic and community practice, respondents reported that a significant proportion of their patients use the Internet to obtain cancer information. Oncologists viewed Internet information as having both positive and negative effects on the clinical encounter. Further research is needed on the effects of patients’ use of the Internet to obtain cancer information involving both patients and oncologists.


2006 ◽  
Vol 24 (18_suppl) ◽  
pp. 18561-18561 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Verma ◽  
J. Fralick ◽  
J. Sue ◽  
M. Wu ◽  
G. Dranitsaris ◽  
...  

18561 Background: Understanding the nature of Internet use among cancer patients is important to facilitate patient-education interventions and for providing optimal patient care. This questionnaire study is designed to evaluate Internet use by cancer patients at a cancer centre. Methods: Cancer patients attending ambulatory clinics at a single Canadian cancer centre were approached by their health care staff. Participants filled out self-administered questionnaire collecting information on demographics, frequency of Internet usage, timing of Internet use during treatment course, type of information sought, and information on patient’s comfort level and satisfaction with Internet use. Results: Of the total 250 participants, 174 (70%) had used the Internet before and 76 (30%) had never used the Internet. Users were more likely to be younger, female, have English as their first language, and be of Caucasian descent. Individuals with breast cancer were also more likely to have used the Internet than pts with other malignancies. Of the Internet users (n = 174), the majority (87%, n = 152) accessed the Internet once per week or more, and felt strongly confident (44%, n=76) in navigating the Internet. 29 users (17%) felt that the information on the Internet was not trustworthy. Of the users, 136 (78%) used the Internet to access information on cancer, and reportedly more often before visiting the cancer centre (50%, n = 70) and before starting initiating cancer treatment (78%, n = 106). The users seeking information on cancer were most likely to look for information on cancer treatment (87%, n = 118) and side effects (74%, n = 100). The top three visited sites were those for Canadian cancer society, Google, and American cancer society. Conclusions: Despite wide availability and accessibility of Internet, it is still not being used as a cancer information tool by many of our patients. By ensuring that accurate and comprehensive information is available on the Internet, perhaps even more patients will use this medium as their information resource, to better understand their diagnosis and make optimal treatment decisions. No significant financial relationships to disclose.


2004 ◽  
Vol 118 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Tassone ◽  
Christos Georgalas ◽  
Nimesh N. Patel ◽  
Esther Appleby ◽  
Bhik Kotecha

The Internet has become a very important source of health information. We wanted to determine otolaryngology patients’ access to, and use of, the Internet as a medical information resource, to identify factors that make patients more likely to use it, and to determine how useful they find this information.A questionnaire survey was completed by patients while waiting for their consultation in the out-patient department of the Royal National Throat Nose and Ear Hospital in London. Five hundred and thirty-five questionnaires were completed. Sixty-four per cent (344/535) reported having access to the Web. Of the 344 with access, 62 (18 per cent) had searched the Web for medical information prior to their consultation. Higher education (p <0.001) and age between 18 and 40 years (p = 0.001) correlated significantly with higher Internet use. Ninety-five per cent planned to use the Internet again.Approximately one out of five otolaryngology out-patients with Internet access reported having obtained medical information from the Web before their consultation. The majority found it helpful to some degree and were planning to use it again. As clinicians we should be aware ofthis use and the onus should be on ourselves to review these sites in order to guide our patients to sources of reliable and helpful medical information on the Internet.


2012 ◽  
pp. 242-258 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary Gozza-Cohen ◽  
Deborah May

This entry examines the use of the internet by individuals with disabilities. Before people with disabilities can use the Internet for socializing, communicating, gathering information, learning, or working, they must first be able to access the Internet. This may require additional assistance by either people or modified hardware and software. Some authors have expressed concern that there is a digital divide, with many people with disabilities not accessing the Internet. The differing needs of people with disabilities, and how their needs may be met with technology and adaptations are explored. Examples of various uses of the Internet by people with disabilities are presented. This field does not have a large research base; it is difficult to do controlled large group studies with such diverse populations, so much of the information comes from position papers, demographic reports, case studies, or exploratory research.


Cyber Crime ◽  
2013 ◽  
pp. 1220-1244
Author(s):  
A.D. Rensel ◽  
J.M Abbas ◽  
H.R. Rao

Businesses and governments continue to expand the use of the internet to access and provide a wide range services to consumers. This change in service delivery presents a potential access barrier for people who do not have access to the internet available in their homes. Publicly available computers attempt to bridge this gap; however, it is not clear if people are willing to use computers in these environments to engage in the full range of web-based activities, particularly online transactions. We expand Triandis’ modified TRA model to consider user characteristics and the impact of the physical and virtual environment on public transactional use of websites. Results indicate that people are sensitive to the physical environment surrounding the computer and that Internet self-efficacy supports public transactional use while individual need for privacy deters transactional use in a public environment. In addition, people without personal internet access do complete transactions at other non-public locations and that completing transactions from non-public locations is a strong determinant of public transactional use.


Author(s):  
Christopher McConnell ◽  
Joseph Straubhaar

Digital-inclusion policy in the United States has historically emphasized home broadband access as both its policy priority and goal. Supplying households with broadband access may not do much to improve the ability of individuals to make meaningful use of the Internet, however, since it provides Internet access with little social context beyond the family. Drawing on Bourdieu's concepts of disposition, habitus, and multiple forms of capital, this paper endeavors to situate Internet use in its broader social context and explores the importance of institutional access, Internet use at work or school, in developing the dispositions and competencies needed to use the Internet in instrumental ways, such as applying for educational programs or communicating with governments. Through descriptive statistics, it identifies which segments of a US city lack institutional access, and, using multivariate analysis, it highlights the role institutional access plays in developing these abilities and its role in further inequality.


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