Profiles of a Health Information–Seeking Population and the Current Digital Divide: Cross-Sectional Analysis of the 2015-2016 California Health Interview Survey

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Eye conditions are common presentations in Australian general practice, with the potential for serious sequelae. Pre-vocational ophthalmology training for General Practitioner (GP) trainees is limited. AIM To describe the rate, nature and associations of ophthalmic problems managed by Australian GP trainees, and derive implications for education and training. METHODS Cross-sectional analysis from an ongoing cohort study of GP trainees’ clinical consultations. Trainees recorded demographic, clinical and educational details of consecutive patient consultations. Descriptive analyses report trainee, patient and practice demographics. Proportions of all problems managed in these consultations that were ophthalmology-related were calculated with 95% confidence intervals (CI). Associations were tested using simple logistic regression within the generalised estimating equations (GEE) framework. RESULTS In total, 884 trainees returned data on 184,476 individual problems or diagnoses from 118,541 encounters. There were 2649 ophthalmology-related problems, equating to 1.4% (95% CI: 1.38–1.49) of all problems managed. The most common eye presentations were conjunctivitis (32.5% of total problems), eyelid problems (14.9%), foreign body (5.3%) and dry eye (4.7%). Statistically significant associations were male trainee; male patient and patient aged 14 years or under; the problem being new and the patient being new to both trainee and practice; urban and of higher socioeconomic status practice location; the practice nurse not being involved; planned follow up not arranged; referral made; in-consultation information sought; and learning goals generated. DISCUSSION Trainees have comparable ophthalmology exposure to established GPs. However, associations with referral and information-seeking suggest GP trainees find ophthalmic problems challenging, reinforcing the critical importance of appropriate training.

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Web-Based Health Information Seeking Among Students at Kuwait University: Cross-Sectional Survey Study

JMIR Formative Research ◽

10.2196/14327 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 3 (4) ◽

pp. e14327 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Hasan Ashkanani ◽

Rabab Asery ◽

Fajer Bokubar ◽

Noor AlAli ◽

Shahad Mubarak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Survey Study ◽

The Internet ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Kuwait University ◽

Web Based ◽

Factors Associated ◽

The Web

Background Owing to the revolution in technology, the internet has become an important aspect of people’s lives. Modern technology is enabling people from diverse educational backgrounds to use the internet for several purposes, one of which is health information seeking. Recently, Web-based health information has become more popular among patients all over the world and among the general public. Objective This study aimed to investigate the use of Web-based health resources among undergraduate students from different faculties at Kuwait University. Methods The study employed a cross-sectional design with students selected from 8 faculties of Kuwait University, 4 faculties of Literature and 4 faculties of Science. Data were collected using structured questionnaires, and analysis was done using a chi-square test and binary logistic regression to determine the factors associated with seeking health information on the Web. Results The sample size obtained was 1132 with a response rate of 90.27% (1132/1254). Overall, the prevalence of students seeking Web-based health information was 92.66%. (1049/1132) The most significant factors associated with seeking health information on the Web were age, gender, faculty, year of study, primary source of internet, and level of experience with internet use. In total, 90.0% (325/361) of students who were aged older than 21 years used Web-based health information compared with 82.8% (275/332) of those who were aged 18 years. In addition, female students showed a higher prevalence (829/934, 88.8%) of Web-based health information seeking than males (210/270, 77.8%). Students who majored in faculties of Science were more likely to seek health information than those who majored in faculties of Literature. All the differences found in the study were statistically significant (P<.05). Conclusions The study concluded that many people use the internet for seeking health information. Sociodemographic factors have a significant association with Web-based health information seeking. Therefore, doctors must educate the public about the health information websites that can be trusted.

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The Digital Divide and Seeking Health Information on Smartphones in Asia: A Profile of Users (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.24086 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Xiaohui Wang ◽

Jingyuan Shi ◽

Kwan Min Lee

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Digital Divide ◽

Health Information ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Health Information Seeking ◽

Asian Countries ◽

Technological Factors ◽

Country Level ◽

Health Related

BACKGROUND Although recent developments in mobile health (mHealth) have elevated the importance of assessing the extent to which smartphones empower individuals to seek information online, research in Asian countries investigating the behavior of seeking health information on smartphones has been rare. OBJECTIVE The twofold goal of our study was to provide a comprehensive profile of mobile health information seekers in 10 Asian countries and to examine the individual- and country-level digital divide in mobile health information seeking in Asia. METHODS With survey data from 10 Asian countries (N = 9,086), we ran multilevel regression models to assess the effects of sociodemographic factors, technological factors, and country-level disparity on using smartphones to seek health information. RESULTS Respondents who were women (β = .14, p < .001), parents (β = .16, p < .001), employed (β = .07, p = .009), of higher social status (β = .10, p < .001), and/or from countries with less health expenditure (β = .20, p = .002) were more likely to use smartphones to seek health information. Technological factors, especially the technology innovativeness (β = .11, p < .001) and frequency of smartphone use (β = .41, p < .001), were important factors of such information-seeking behavior. CONCLUSIONS Among smartphone users in Asia, health information seeking varies according to individuals’ socioeconomic status, their concerns with the quality of online information, their innovativeness towards technology, and the government’s health-related expenditure in their respective countries. Although smartphones widen the digital divide among individuals with different socioeconomic status, they also bridge the divide between countries with varying health expenditures. Especially in developing areas, smartphones appear to be a particularly useful complement to seeking health-related information.

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Oral health information for Appalachia-West Virginia children: a cross-sectional analysis

Research ◽

10.13070/rs.en.1.993 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 1 ◽

Author(s):

R Constance Wiener ◽

Alcinda Trickett Shockey ◽

Regina Wiener-Pla

Keyword(s):

Oral Health ◽

West Virginia ◽

Health Information ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Cross Sectional Analysis ◽

Sectional Analysis

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