scholarly journals Exploring pregnant women interest and anxiety to use the Internet and their perception and trust toward online information

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Ahmadian ◽  
Reza Khajouei ◽  
Sudabeh Kamali ◽  
Moghaddameh Mirzaee

Abstract Background The Internet often represents a source of accessible information. The aim of this study was to examine pregnant women’s interest and anxiety when they use the Internet and also to determine the criteria by which they evaluated the correctness and reliability of the information on the Internet.Methods A descriptive study was conducted between April and July 2015. The pregnant women at the offices of obstetricians/gynecologists were invited to participate in the study by filling out a questionnaire.Results Of the 450 distributed questionnaires, 420 were completed and analyzed. The mean of interest and anxiety scores respectively was 12.21 and 6.69 out of 20. The most important criteria for judging the reliability and trustworthiness of a website were whether its information is continuously updated (69.2%), or it is recommended by a doctor, nurse or other health professionals (63.1%).Conclusions : Since the interest to a website lowers the anxiety of pregnant women to use it, it is recommended to consider pregnant women’s preferences and needs and follow user-centered approaches when designing websites. Medical content of the websites also should be carefully reviewed by a multidisciplinary board of medical specialists for the correctness and reliability of the information.

2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 69
Author(s):  
Ni Made Dwi Purnamayanti ◽  
Gusti Ayu Eka Utarini

Nyeri pinggang dan panggul merupakan keluhan yang umum dirasakan oleh wanita hamil terutama pada akhir kehamilan. Olah raga termasuk yoga prenatal merupakan strategi yang efektif dan disarankan untuk mengatasi nyeri pinggang dan panggul. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mendapatkan gambaran intensitas nyeri pinggang dan panggul pada ibu hamil trimester III yang melaksanakan yoga prenatal di Kota Denpasar. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian deskriptif observasional dengan pendekatan cross sectional terhadap 96 ibu hamil trimester III yang melaksanakan yoga prenatal di kota Denpasar. Didapatkan hasil rerata intensitas nyeri pinggang dan panggul yang dirasakan adalah 1.88 (SD ±2.202). Sebagian besar responden (41.7%) merasakan nyeri pada area tulang belakang disekitar lumbal hingga diatas sacrum.Intensitas nyeri pinggang dan pelvis pada ibu hamil trimester III di Kota Denpasar yang melaksanakan yoga prenatal tergolong nyeri intensitas ringan.Lumbopelvic pain are common complaints felt by pregnant women. Exercise, including prenatal yoga, is an effective strategy and is recommended for treating pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain. The purpose of the syudi is to know the intensity of pregnancy-related lumbopelvic painamong woman who performe prenatal yoga in Denpasar. This study was an observational descriptive study with a cross sectional approach. The subjeck study was 96 third trimester pregnant women who performed prenatal yoga in Denpasar. The mean pain intensity was 1.88 (SD ± 2.202). Most respondents (41.7%) felt pain in the spinal area around the lumbar to above the sacrum. The intensity of pregnancy-related lumbopelvic pain among third trimester pregnant women in Denpasar who performe prenatal yoga is mild pain.


2019 ◽  
Vol 32 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B R O’Connor ◽  
E Doherty ◽  
F Friedmacher ◽  
L Vernon ◽  
T S Paran

Abstract Introduction Increasingly in pediatric surgical practice, patients, their parents, and surgeons alike use the Internet as an easily and quickly accessible source of information about conditions and their treatment. The quality and reliability of this information may often be unregulated. We aim to objectively assess the online information available relating to esophageal atresia and its management. Methods We performed searches for ‘oesophageal atresia’ and ‘esophageal atresia’ using the Google, Yahoo, and Bing engines to encompass both European and American spellings. We assessed the first 20 results of each search and excluded duplicates or unrelated pages. The DISCERN score and the Health on the Net Foundation Code (HONcode) toolbar were utilized to assess the quality of information on each website. We evaluated readability with the Flesch reading ease (FRE) and the Flesch–Kincaid grade (FKG). Results Of the original 120 hits, 61 were excluded (51 duplicates, 10 unrelated). Out of 59 individual sites reviewed, only 13 sites were HONcode approved. The mean overall DISCERN score was 52.55 (range: 22–78). The mean DISCERN score for the search term ‘oesphageal atresia’ was 57 (range: 22–78) in comparison to 59.03 for ‘esophageal atresia’ (range: 27–78). Google search had the lowest overall mean DISCERN score at 54.83 (range: 35–78), followed by Yahoo at 58.03 (range: 22–78), and Bing with the highest overall mean score of 61.2 (range: 27–78). The majority of websites were graded excellent (≥63) or good (51–62), 43% and 27%, respectively; 20% were scored as fair (39–50), with 10% being either poor (27–38) or very poor (≤26). In terms of readability, the overall Flesch Reading Ease score was 33.02, and the overall Flesch–Kincaid grade level was 10.3. Conclusions The quality of freely available online information relating to esophageal atresia is generally good but may not be accessible to everyone due to being relatively difficult to read. We should direct parents towards comprehensive, high-quality, and easily readable information sources should they wish to supplement their knowledge about esophageal atresia and its management.


2013 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 69-87
Author(s):  
Eimi Lev

Abstract: In recent years, the internet has become a popular medium for pregnant women seeking pregnancy-related information (Gao et al., 2012; Lagan, Sinclair & Kernohan, 2010; Romano, 2007; Song, West, Lundy & Smith-Dahmen, 2012). This study which utilized a qualitative approach explores Israeli women’s online information seeking during pregnancy. Israel is an especially interesting and important case study for exploring pregnancy-related internet use, because Israel has the highest rate of prenatal testing in the world (Lavi, 2010). The findings of this study indicated that the most prominent type of information sought by Israeli pregnant women online was focused on prenatal tests. The internet as a source of pregnancy-related information seems to function not just as a means to fulfill personal informational needs, but also to represent a broader social phenomenon of a highly medicalized pregnancy that seem to intensify uncertainty and therefore, to increase the need to rely on the internet during pregnancy.


Pharmacia ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 68 (2) ◽  
pp. 333-337
Author(s):  
Kristina Kilova ◽  
Lily Peikova ◽  
Nonka Mateva

The application of telepharmacy opens new perspectives in the provision of health services and contributes to limiting the problem of reduced availability of pharmacists. The aim of the present study is to examine the attitudes towards offering and using telepharmaceutical services in Bulgaria. The study included 379 people, mostly health professionals. The mean age of respondents was 44.38±12.39. Statistical analyses were performed using IBM SPSS Statistics v.23. Over 90% of the respondents use the Internet to search for health information. Many of them read the package leaflet before use. For the most part, respondents are distrustful of food supplements sold on the Internet. More than 56% claim they would not buy prescription medicines online or via a mobile app, even if it was allowed by law. Quite a few would consult a pharmacist for a therapy prescribed at a distance as well as use a mobile application to monitor drug therapy. The spread and acceptance of telepharmacy is a challenge involving cooperation between the public and private sectors, as well as scientific institutions and academia, which is essential for achieving appropriate results and effectively improving health services.


JMIR Cancer ◽  
10.2196/13240 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e13240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rei Kobayashi ◽  
Masato Ishizaki

Background Online information seeking on medical topics by patients can have beneficial effects by helping them decide on treatment options and fostering better relationships with doctors. The quality of websites and processes of seeking information online have mostly been studied, with a focus on the accuracy and reliability of websites; however, few studies have examined the relationship between other aspects of quality and the processes of seeking medical information online. Objective This exploratory study aimed to shed light on the quality of websites used for information seeking from the perspective of understanding medical information in combination with seeking it online. Methods The study participants were 15 Japanese university students with no problem using the internet. A questionnaire survey about health literacy (47 items on a 4-point Likert scale) and information navigation skills on the internet (8 items on a 5-point Likert scale) was conducted before participants engaged in online information seeking and qualitative interviews. The students searched for information on a disease and its treatment. The websites viewed were gathered from search behavior recorded by software and browser logs. Follow-up interviews were conducted to elicit explanations from the participants about the assignments and their views of online information seeking. The explanations were evaluated by 55 health care professionals on a 3-point Likert scale and then assessed based on their comments and the participant interviews. Results The mean age of the participants was 20.6 years (median 21; SD 1.06). All participants were able to access reliable websites with information relevant to the assignments. The mean ratings of the students’ explanations were 108.6 (median 109; range=83-134) for the disease and 105.6 (median 104; range=87-117) for its treatment. The inter-rater reliability were 0.84 (95% CI 0.77-0.90) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.93-0.97), indicating good and excellent, respectively. The mean of the sum of the health literacy skills was 115.1 (median 115; range=80-166) and the mean for information navigation skills was 25.9 (median 26; range=17-36), respectively. Health literacy and information navigation skills were moderately correlated (r=0.54; 95% CI 0.033-0.822; P=.04). Among the four stages of health literacy, understanding and appraising (r=0.53; 95% CI 0.025-0.820; P=.04) were moderately correlated with information navigation skills (r=0.52; 95% CI 0.013-0.816; P=.046). The participants had no difficulties operating and browsing the internet and considered medical and public institution websites to be reliable; however, due to unfamiliarity with medical terms, they had difficulties choosing a site from the results obtained and comparing and synthesizing information provided by different sites. They also looked for sites providing orderly information in plain language but provided explanations from sites that gave inadequate interpretations of information. Conclusions This study revealed interactions between searching the internet for, and understanding, medical information by analyzing the processes of information seeking online, physicians’ evaluations and comments about the participants’ explanations, and the participants’ perceptions.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rei Kobayashi ◽  
Masato Ishizaki

BACKGROUND Online information seeking on medical topics by patients can have beneficial effects by helping them decide on treatment options and fostering better relationships with doctors. The quality of websites and processes of seeking information online have mostly been studied, with a focus on the accuracy and reliability of websites; however, few studies have examined the relationship between other aspects of quality and the processes of seeking medical information online. OBJECTIVE This exploratory study aimed to shed light on the quality of websites used for information seeking from the perspective of understanding medical information in combination with seeking it online. METHODS The study participants were 15 Japanese university students with no problem using the internet. A questionnaire survey about health literacy (47 items on a 4-point Likert scale) and information navigation skills on the internet (8 items on a 5-point Likert scale) was conducted before participants engaged in online information seeking and qualitative interviews. The students searched for information on a disease and its treatment. The websites viewed were gathered from search behavior recorded by software and browser logs. Follow-up interviews were conducted to elicit explanations from the participants about the assignments and their views of online information seeking. The explanations were evaluated by 55 health care professionals on a 3-point Likert scale and then assessed based on their comments and the participant interviews. RESULTS The mean age of the participants was 20.6 years (median 21; SD 1.06). All participants were able to access reliable websites with information relevant to the assignments. The mean ratings of the students’ explanations were 108.6 (median 109; range=83-134) for the disease and 105.6 (median 104; range=87-117) for its treatment. The inter-rater reliability were 0.84 (95% CI 0.77-0.90) and 0.95 (95% CI 0.93-0.97), indicating good and excellent, respectively. The mean of the sum of the health literacy skills was 115.1 (median 115; range=80-166) and the mean for information navigation skills was 25.9 (median 26; range=17-36), respectively. Health literacy and information navigation skills were moderately correlated (<italic>r</italic>=0.54; 95% CI 0.033-0.822; <italic>P</italic>=.04). Among the four stages of health literacy, understanding and appraising (<italic>r</italic>=0.53; 95% CI 0.025-0.820; <italic>P</italic>=.04) were moderately correlated with information navigation skills (<italic>r</italic>=0.52; 95% CI 0.013-0.816; <italic>P</italic>=.046). The participants had no difficulties operating and browsing the internet and considered medical and public institution websites to be reliable; however, due to unfamiliarity with medical terms, they had difficulties choosing a site from the results obtained and comparing and synthesizing information provided by different sites. They also looked for sites providing orderly information in plain language but provided explanations from sites that gave inadequate interpretations of information. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed interactions between searching the internet for, and understanding, medical information by analyzing the processes of information seeking online, physicians’ evaluations and comments about the participants’ explanations, and the participants’ perceptions.


2019 ◽  
pp. 473-477 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aysel Gürcan Atci

Background: This study analyzes the botox injection on spastisite videos that have the highest views and likes on YouTube, and attempts to reveal the video qualities in order to contribute to the literature. Methods: For review, “botox injection on spastisite” was written to the standard YouTube search bar, and the videos with the highest views were ranked using advanced search preferences. The 69 most widely viewed videos were watched and scored by one physician. Results: The mean Modified DISCERN Score of the videos was 2,66+/-1,032 (the lowest: 1; the highest: 4) while the mean GQS score was 2,876+/-1,06 (the lowest: 1; the highest:4). In addition, the mean DISCERN score and the mean GQS value were 3,51 and 3,82, respectively, for the informational videos that were uploaded by health professionals but did not contain actual surgery. Conclusion: We think that medical associations and state authorities in medicine should check the validity and accuracy of the information on the internet and should support the society in access to the most correct information.


2016 ◽  
Vol 21 (03) ◽  
pp. 374-381 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mujtaba Nassiri ◽  
Osama Mohamed ◽  
Arvids Berzins ◽  
Yasser Aljabi ◽  
Talat Mahmood ◽  
...  

Background: Patients seeking information and advice on treatment of scaphoid fractures unknowingly confront longstanding medical controversies surrounding the management of this condition. However, there are no studies specifically looking into the quality and reliability of online information on scaphoid fractures. Methods: We identified 44 unique websites for evaluation using the term “scaphoid fractures”. The websites were categorized by type and assessed using the DISCERN score, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) benchmark criteria and the Health on the net (HON) code. Results: The majority of websites were commercial (n = 13) followed by academic (n = 12). Only seven of the websites were HON certified. The mean DISCERN score was 43.8. Only 4 websites scored 63 or above representing excellent quality with minimal shortcomings but 13 websites scored 38 or below representing poor or very poor quality. The mean JAMA benchmark criteria score was 2.2. The Governmental and Non-Profit Organizations category websites had the highest mean JAMA benchmark score. The websites that displayed the HON-code seal had higher mean DISCERN scores and higher mean JAMA benchmark scores compared to websites that did not display the seal. Conclusions: Good quality health information is certainly available on the Internet. However, it is not possible to predict with certainty which sites are of higher quality. We suggest clinicians should have a responsibility to educate their patients regarding the unregulated nature of medical information on the internet and proactively provide patients with educational resources and thus help them make smart and informed decisions.


Crisis ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-209 ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Arendt ◽  
Sebastian Scherr

Abstract. Background: Research has already acknowledged the importance of the Internet in suicide prevention as search engines such as Google are increasingly used in seeking both helpful and harmful suicide-related information. Aims: We aimed to assess the impact of a highly publicized suicide by a Hollywood actor on suicide-related online information seeking. Method: We tested the impact of the highly publicized suicide of Robin Williams on volumes of suicide-related search queries. Results: Both harmful and helpful search terms increased immediately after the actor's suicide, with a substantial jump of harmful queries. Limitations: The study has limitations (e.g., possible validity threats of the query share measure, use of ambiguous search terms). Conclusion: Online suicide prevention efforts should try to increase online users' awareness of and motivation to seek help, for which Google's own helpline box could play an even more crucial role in the future.


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