The Importance of Health Information on the Internet: How It Saved My Life and How it Can Save Yours (Preprint)

Mapping Intimacies ◽

10.2196/preprints.16690 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Andre Kushniruk

Keyword(s):

Patient Outcome ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Needs ◽

The Internet ◽

Related Factors ◽

Patient Journey ◽

Joint Decision ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Good Patient Outcome ◽

Access To Health

UNSTRUCTURED The Internet holds the promise of helping to lead to improved patient outcomes, especially when one is faced with a critical or life-threatening disease or condition. Appropriate and timely access to health information can support more informed negotiation of optimal treatments, optimal management and expedited recovery and ultimately an improved patient outcome. However, there are many human and technical barriers that may prevent or hinder the application of the best possible information for both patient and provider alike, making the patient journey complex and potentially dangerous. In this editorial the author reflects on a personal patient journey where use of the Internet facilitated a means to reach a good patient outcome in the face of a variety of informational and organizational limitations and gaps. The journey illustrates the importance of human related factors affecting access to health information. The application of a range of Internet information resources, applied at critical points can result in a positive patient outcome, as the case illustrates. This editorial reflects on how the experience highlights a number of information needs and concerns. It also highlights the need for improved access to appropriate health information along the patient journey that can support patient and provider joint decision making. This access to information can literally make the difference between positive clinical outcomes and death, illustrating how health information on the Internet can be both critical and life saving.

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The Importance of Health Information on the Internet: How It Saved My Life and How it Can Save Yours

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/16690 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 21 (10) ◽

pp. e16690 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Andre Kushniruk

Keyword(s):

Patient Outcome ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Needs ◽

The Internet ◽

Related Factors ◽

Patient Journey ◽

Joint Decision ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Good Patient Outcome ◽

Access To Health

The internet holds the potential promise of improved patient outcomes, especially when one is faced with a critical or life-threatening disease or condition. Appropriate and timely access to health information can support informed negotiation of optimal treatments, optimal management, and expedited recovery, and to an improved outcome for a patient. However, there are many human and technical barriers that may prevent the application of the best possible information for both patient and provider alike, making the patient journey complex and potentially dangerous. In this viewpoint paper, the author (who is also a JMIR editor) reflects on a personal patient journey, where use of the internet facilitated a means of reaching a good patient outcome in the face of a variety of informational and organizational limitations and gaps. This journey illustrates the importance of human-related factors affecting access to health information. The application of a range of internet information resources at critical points can result in a positive patient outcome, as this case illustrates. This paper reflects on how the experience highlights several information needs and concerns. It also highlights the need for improved access to appropriate health information along the patient journey that can support patient and provider joint decision-making. This access to information can make the difference between positive clinical outcomes and death, illustrating how health information on the internet can be both critical and life saving.

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Health information needs, sources, and barriers of primary care patients to achieve patient-centered care: A literature review

Health Informatics Journal ◽

10.1177/1460458215602939 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 22 (4) ◽

pp. 992-1016 ◽

Cited By ~ 63

Author(s):

Martina A Clarke ◽

Joi L Moore ◽

Linsey M Steege ◽

Richelle J Koopman ◽

Jeffery L Belden ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Primary Care ◽

Health Information ◽

Information Search ◽

Information Needs ◽

Information Sources ◽

Medical Condition ◽

Information Access ◽

The Internet ◽

Common Information ◽

Primary Care Patients

To synthesize findings from previous studies assessing information needs of primary care patients on the Internet and other information sources in a primary care setting. A systematic review of studies was conducted with a comprehensive search in multiple databases including OVID MEDLINE, CINAHL, and Scopus. The most common information needs among patients were information about an illness or medical condition and treatment methods, while the most common information sources were the Internet and patients’ physicians. Overall, patients tend to prefer the Internet for the ease of access to information, while they trust their physicians more for their clinical expertise and experience. Barriers to information access via the Internet include the following: socio-demographic variables such as age, ethnicity, income, education, and occupation; information search skills; and reliability of health information. Conclusion: Further research is warranted to assess how to create accurate and reliable health information sources for both Internet and non-Internet users.

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Multidimensional Feature Classification of the Health Information Needs of Patients With Hypertension in an Online Health Community Through Analysis of 1000 Patient Question Records: Observational Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research ◽

10.2196/17349 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 22 (5) ◽

pp. e17349

Author(s):

Aijing Luo ◽

Zirui Xin ◽

Yifeng Yuan ◽

Tingxiao Wen ◽

Wenzhao Xie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Classification System ◽

Information Needs ◽

Service Providers ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Clinical Findings ◽

The Internet ◽

Good Doctor ◽

Web Based ◽

Symptoms And Signs

Background With the rapid development of online health communities, increasing numbers of patients and families are seeking health information on the internet. Objective This study aimed to discuss how to fully reveal the health information needs expressed by patients with hypertension in their questions in a web-based environment and how to use the internet to help patients with hypertension receive personalized health education. Methods This study randomly selected 1000 text records from the question data of patients with hypertension from 2008 to 2018 collected from Good Doctor Online and constructed a classification system through literature research and content analysis. This paper identified the background characteristics and questioning intention of each patient with hypertension based on the patient’s question and used co-occurrence network analysis and the k-means clustering method to explore the features of the health information needs of patients with hypertension. Results The classification system for the health information needs of patients with hypertension included the following nine dimensions: drugs (355 names), symptoms and signs (395 names), tests and examinations (545 names), demographic data (526 kinds), diseases (80 names), risk factors (37 names), emotions (43 kinds), lifestyles (6 kinds), and questions (49 kinds). There were several characteristics of the explored web-based health information needs of patients with hypertension. First, more than 49% of patients described features, such as drugs, symptoms and signs, tests and examinations, demographic data, and diseases. Second, patients with hypertension were most concerned about treatment (778/1000, 77.80%), followed by diagnosis (323/1000, 32.30%). Third, 65.80% (658/1000) of patients asked physicians several questions at the same time. Moreover, 28.30% (283/1000) of patients were very concerned about how to adjust the medication, and they asked other treatment-related questions at the same time, including drug side effects, whether to take the drugs, how to treat the disease, etc. Furthermore, 17.60% (176/1000) of patients consulted physicians about the causes of clinical findings, including the relationship between the clinical findings and a disease, the treatment of a disease, and medications and examinations. Fourth, by k-means clustering, the questioning intentions of patients with hypertension were classified into the following seven categories: “how to adjust medication,” “what to do,” “how to treat,” “phenomenon explanation,” “test and examination,” “disease diagnosis,” and “disease prognosis.” Conclusions In a web-based environment, the health information needs expressed by Chinese patients with hypertension to physicians are common and distinct, that is, patients with different background features ask relatively common questions to physicians. The classification system constructed in this study can provide guidance to health information service providers for the construction of web-based health resources, as well as guidance for patient education, which could help solve the problem of information asymmetry in communication between physicians and patients.

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Revisiting the Issue of Trust in E-Health

Advances in Psychology, Mental Health, and Behavioral Studies - Web-Based Behavioral Therapies for Mental Disorders ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-3241-5.ch009 ◽

2017 ◽

pp. 241-259

Author(s):

Elizabeth Sillence ◽

Pam Briggs ◽

Peter R. Harris

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Mobile Health ◽

Information Needs ◽

The Internet ◽

Sources Of Information ◽

Information Models ◽

Health Advice ◽

Mobile Health Applications ◽

Health Field ◽

Health Applications

As people continue to go online for their health information needs we revisit the issue of trust in relation to e-health. This chapter begins by briefly presenting an overview of e-health and describing current ways in which people are using the Internet for health advice and information. Models of trust are revisited and we then explore two emerging areas within the e-health field: peer resources and mobile health applications. Finally, we revisit and update our guidelines and point to further sources of information in this field.

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Web-Based Information for Patients and Providers

Advances in Medical Technologies and Clinical Practice - Impacts of Information Technology on Patient Care and Empowerment ◽

10.4018/978-1-7998-0047-7.ch002 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 19-33

Author(s):

Izabella Lejbkowicz

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Web Sites ◽

Information Technologies ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

World Population ◽

Web Based ◽

Access To Health ◽

The Impact

The exponential development of Information Technologies revolutionized healthcare. A significant aspect of this revolution is the access to health information in the Internet. The Internet World Stats estimates that 56.8% of the world population used the Internet in March 2019, an increase of 1,066% from 2000. According to The Pew Research Center survey of 2012 81% of Americans used the internet and 72% of them searched for health information. Even though there is a lack in more recent data on the percentage of online health information seekers, it is clear that this trend is on the rise. This chapter focuses on the characteristics of the search for online health information by patients and providers, investigates features related to the quality of health web sites, and discusses the impact of these searches on healthcare.

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The Frequency and Related Factors of Internet Addiction in Externship and Internship Students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences, 2018

The Journal of Tolooebehdasht ◽

10.18502/tbj.v19i5.5170 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Mina Danaei ◽

Ali Akbar Rohani ◽

Ali Sajadi ◽

Mohsen Momeni

Keyword(s):

Medical Students ◽

Internet Addiction ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

The Internet ◽

Medical Sciences ◽

Chi Square ◽

Related Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Factors Affecting ◽

Chi Square Test

Introduction: Internet addiction is a global phenomenon with an increasing trend in university students. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency and factors affecting internet addiction in externship and internship medical students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2018. Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out on externship and internship medical students of Kerman University of Medical Sciences in 2018 during a 6-month period using convenience sampling method. In this study, the valid and reliable self-administered questionnaire of “Kimberly-Young internet addiction questionnaire” was used to collect the research data. The attainable scores in this questionnaire range from 20 to 100, so that higher scores show greater dependence on the Internet. Data were analyzed by SPSS version 20 using the Chi-square test. A significant level was set at lower than 0.05. Results: Among the participants, 46 participants (18.4%) were normal users, 127 (50.8%) were at risk, and 77 (30.8%) were addicted to the Internet. Among the demographic factors, a significant relationship was found between gender (p = 0.041) and educational level (p = 0.024) with Internet addiction. Conclusion: policymakers should pay particular attention to the issue of Internet addiction in medical students, since Internet addiction may cause these students to neglect their critical duties during externship and internship. In this regard, holding effective training courses can be helpful.

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Online health information seeking behaviours of parents of children undergoing surgery in a pediatric hospital in Rome, Italy: a survey

10.21203/rs.3.rs-23335/v1 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Luisa Russo ◽

Ilaria Campagna ◽

Beatrice Ferretti ◽

Elisabetta Pandolfi ◽

Marta Luisa Ciofi Degli Atti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Surgical Procedures ◽

Information Seeking ◽

Information Needs ◽

Demographic Data ◽

Major Surgery ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Information ◽

Pediatric Hospital ◽

Cross Sectional Survey

Abstract Background People increasingly search online for health information. Particularly, parents of patients often use the Internet as a source for health information. We conducted a survey to investigate the online searching behavior of parents of patients < 18 years, admitted for surgery in an Italian pediatric hospital. Methods The cross-sectional survey was nested in a prospective cohort study on surgical procedures. Parents of patients undergoing surgical procedures at Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital, Rome, Italy, were enrolled and contacted by phone after the procedure. We recorded socio-demographic data, sex, length of stay following surgery, proximity of residence to the hospital, use of the internet to search for information on the surgery before and after the intervention and effect of information found online. Results The majority (91%) of parents of children undergoing surgical intervention used the internet. Of these, 74.3% of parents searched for information before surgery, and 26.1% searched for information after. Most parents searched for information on the care provider’s website. Two thirds of parents reported that information found online had increased their understanding of the child’s condition. Multivariate analyses indicated that families living far from the hospital (> 43 km) were more likely to search for health information (OR 2.3; 95% CI 1.34–4.00), as were families of patients undergoing a major surgery (OR = 2.1; 95% CI 1.04–4.11). Conclusions Parents of children undergoing surgery often search online for information on their child’s intervention, in particular those whose child is scheduled for a major surgery and those living far from the hospital. A survey like the present one allows to understand parents’ information needs, to better guide them in online information seeking and to better tailor information provided on the care provider’s website.

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