Reliability of Online Information on Self-Examination and Oral Cancer

Introduction: Periodic dental consultations and oral self-examination can increase the chances of an early diagnosis of oral cancer. However, the restricted population access to health services in Brazil added to the greater scope of the internet has increased the use of this resource as a source of information on signs, symptoms and treatments of several diseases, including oral cancer. Objective: To assess the reliability of the information on self-examination and oral cancer available on the web in Portuguese for Brazilian population. Methodology: In December 2018, independent searches were performed for the terms "mouth cancer", "oral cancer", "oral self- examination/ self-examination" and "buccal self- examination / self-examination", on Google Search (Portuguese terms). The first fifty pages were selected for each term, and those that included prevention, diagnosis of oral cancer or described verbally and visually the oral self-examination were included in the study. The quality of the information was assessed according to the criteria of the American Medical Association and Health on the Net. Of the 108 sites evaluated, 87% did not inform the author's training, 24.1% did not inform the complementary nature of the information and 64.8% provided guidance consult a doctor or dentist. Scientific references were not present in 39.8% of the sites and the “accurate and complete” content was observed in only 35.2% of the evaluated pages. Conclusion: The low quality of the information available on the evaluated pages, suggests low reliability of the content about oral cancer and oral self-examination available on the web, indicating that access to this content may bring risk to the health of the Brazilian population.

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Use of and access to health services in Brazil, 2013 National Health Survey

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s1518-8787.2017051000074 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 51 (suppl 1) ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Sheila Rizzato Stopa ◽

Deborah Carvalho Malta ◽

Camila Nascimento Monteiro ◽

Célia Landmann Szwarcwald ◽

Moisés Goldbaum ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Health Services ◽

National Health ◽

Health Survey ◽

National Health Survey ◽

Brazilian Population ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Level Of Education ◽

Head Of Household ◽

Access To Health ◽

Use Of Health Services

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To analyze the use of health services in the Brazilian population by sociodemographic factors, according to data from the 2013 Brazilian National Health Survey. METHODS The study analyzed data from 205,000 Brazilian citizens in all age groups who participated in the Brazilian National Health Survey, a cross-sectional study carried out in 2013. Prevalence and confidence intervals were estimated for indicators related to access to and use of health services according to age group, level of education of head of household, and Brazilian macroregions. RESULTS Among individuals who sought health services in the two weeks prior to the survey, 95.3% (95%CI 94.9–95.8) received care in their first visit. Percentages were higher in the following groups: 60 years of age and over; head of household with complete tertiary education; living in the South and Southeast regions. In addition, 82.5% (95%CI 81.2–83.7) of individuals who received health care and prescriptions were able to obtain all the necessary medicines, 1/3 of them from SUS. Less than half the Brazilian population (44.4%; 95%CI 43.8–45.1) visited a dentist in the 12 months prior to the survey, with smaller percentages among the following groups: 60 years of age or older; head of household with no education or up to incomplete elementary; living in the North region of Brazil. CONCLUSIONS People living in the South and Southeast regions still have greater access to health services, as do those whose head of household has a higher level of education. The (re)formulation of health policies to reduce disparities should consider differences encountered between regions and social levels.

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Socioeconomic inequalities in the access to and quality of health care services

Revista de Saúde Pública ◽

10.1590/s0034-8910.2014048005388 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 48 (6) ◽

pp. 968-976 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Bruno Pereira Nunes ◽

Elaine Thumé ◽

Elaine Tomasi ◽

Suele Manjourany Silva Duro ◽

Luiz Augusto Facchini

Keyword(s):

Health Care ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Health Care Services ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Socioeconomic Groups ◽

Care Services ◽

Access To Health ◽

To Receive ◽

Use Of Health Care

OBJECTIVE To assess the inequalities in access, utilization, and quality of health care services according to the socioeconomic status. METHODS This population-based cross-sectional study evaluated 2,927 individuals aged ≥ 20 years living in Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, in 2012. The associations between socioeconomic indicators and the following outcomes were evaluated: lack of access to health services, utilization of services, waiting period (in days) for assistance, and waiting time (in hours) in lines. We used Poisson regression for the crude and adjusted analyses. RESULTS The lack of access to health services was reported by 6.5% of the individuals who sought health care. The prevalence of use of health care services in the 30 days prior to the interview was 29.3%. Of these, 26.4% waited five days or more to receive care and 32.1% waited at least an hour in lines. Approximately 50.0% of the health care services were funded through the Unified Health System. The use of health care services was similar across socioeconomic groups. The lack of access to health care services and waiting time in lines were higher among individuals of lower economic status, even after adjusting for health care needs. The waiting period to receive care was higher among those with higher socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS Although no differences were observed in the use of health care services across socioeconomic groups, inequalities were evident in the access to and quality of these services.

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DOZ047.115: Quality and readability of esophageal atresia information on the Internet

Diseases of the Esophagus ◽

10.1093/dote/doz047.115 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 32 (Supplement_1) ◽

Author(s):

B R O’Connor ◽

E Doherty ◽

F Friedmacher ◽

L Vernon ◽

T S Paran

Keyword(s):

Esophageal Atresia ◽

Oesophageal Atresia ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Information ◽

Search Term ◽

Flesch Reading Ease ◽

Ease Score ◽

The Mean ◽

Google Search

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.

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Factors associated with access to health services and quality of life in knee osteoarthritis patients: a multilevel cross-sectional study

BMC Health Services Research ◽

10.1186/s12913-019-4441-2 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Siriwan Choojaturo ◽

Siriorn Sindhu ◽

Ketsarin Utriyaprasit ◽

Chukiat Viwatwongkasem

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Life ◽

Health Service ◽

Health Services ◽

Self Management ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Patient Factors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Knee Oa ◽

Access To Health

Abstract Background The main purpose of health service systems is to improve patients’ quality of life (QoL) and to ensure equitable access to health services. However, in reality, nearly half of knee osteoarthritis (OA) patients present to the health system do not have access to health services, and their QoL remains poor. These circumstances raise important questions about what (if any) factors can improve health care accessibility and QoL for knee OA patients. Methods A multicenter, cross-sectional survey was performed with 618 knee OA patients who received care at 16 hospitals in Thailand. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to investigate the association of health service factors and patient factors with access to health services and QoL. Results The QoL of knee OA patients was very poor (mean score = 33.8). Only 2.1% of the knee OA patients found it easy to obtain medical care when needed. Approximately 39.4% of them were able to access appropriate interventions before being referred for knee replacement. More than 85% of orthopedic health services had implemented chronic disease management (CDM) policy into practice. However, the implementation was basic, with an average score of 5.9. SEM showed that QoL was determined by both health system factors (β = .10, p = .01) and patient factors (β = .29, p = .00 for self-management and β = −.49, p = .00 for disease factors). Access to health services was determined by self-management (β = .10, p = .01), but it was not significantly associated with QoL (β = .00, p = 1.0). Conclusions This study provides compelling information about self-management, access to health services and QoL from the individual and health service system perspectives. Furthermore, it identifies a need to develop health services that are better attuned to the patient’s background, such as socioeconomic status, disease severity, and self-management skills.

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OPTIMASI RISET KEYWORD DENGAN TEKNIK ALLINTITLLE PADA MESIN PENCARI GOOGLE

Journal Of Computer Networks, Architecture and High Performance Computing ◽

10.47709/cnapc.v1i1.1 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 1 (1) ◽

pp. 1-5

Author(s):

Hengki Tamando Sihotang

Keyword(s):

Search Engine ◽

Information Needs ◽

Research Question ◽

Online Information ◽

Web Based ◽

Development Method ◽

Government Services ◽

Search Results ◽

Google Search ◽

The Web

Online information needs have evolved in the real direction. These needs include the latest information, government services, and commercial products. The research question is how to describe and optimize keyword research with the allintitle technique on the google search engine. The development method used in this research is the prototype method because it is considered able to be evaluated directly on the user. The system testing is done for 3 months by placing keywords on several websites on Google. The conclusion that can be taken is to use the allintitle technique, the search results for the web are easier to find. And this web-based allintitle technique can overcome the challenges of captcha verification from the Google search engine. Keywords: Allintitle, Google's Search Engine, Keyword competition.

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CREMOR: CREdibility Model on Online Reviews-How people Consider Online Reviews Believable

International Business Research ◽

10.5539/ibr.v10n7p56 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 10 (7) ◽

pp. 56 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Patrizia Grifoni ◽

Fernando Ferri ◽

Tiziana Guzzo

Keyword(s):

Purchase Intention ◽

Source Credibility ◽

Online Reviews ◽

Online Information ◽

Perceived Credibility ◽

Product Service ◽

Fake Reviews ◽

The Impact ◽

The Web

The Internet is deeply changing how buyers and sellers interact in the marketplace. The Web enables consumers to be informed on their purchases both online and offline thanks to crowdsourced reviews. However, recent studies have found evidence that online consumers review could be not truthful as some users such as owners, competitors, paid users, sometimes post fake reviews. In this context the question of credibility is becoming more and more relevant in the Web 2.0 environment in which the concepts of social influence and electronic word of mouth are acquiring a great importance. The user’s perception of online reviews can influence source credibility and the perception of the quality of a product/service, as well as the likelihood that someone will purchase the product/service. This study proposes a model that analyses elements that influence online information credibility and the impact of the perceived credibility on purchase intention.

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Analisa dan Aplikasi Konsep Risiko pada Populasi Wanita Hamil

Jurnal Keperawatan Indonesia ◽

10.7454/jki.v6i1.117 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

pp. 28-34

Author(s):

Wiwin Wiarsih

Keyword(s):

At Risk ◽

Maternal Mortality ◽

Well Being ◽

Personal Health ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Lack Of Information ◽

Access To Health ◽

Health And Development ◽

The Impact

Angka kematian ibu ditentukasn oleh tingkat kesejahteraan individu wanita hamil dalam keluarga. Kondisi ini akan menentukan tingkat kesehtan dan perkembangan anak sebagai satu faktor yang menentukan kesehatan dan menjadi satu indicator dari keejahteraan suatu Negara. Penyebab utama tingginya angka kematian ibu di Negara-negara berkembang adalah belum optimalnya penanganan kasus-kasus berisiko. Penatalaksanaan kasus-kasus berisiko dilakukan terlambat karena kurangnya kesadaran klien untuk mengatasi masalah-masalah kesehatannya, kurangnya informasi, kurangnya jangkauan pelayanan kesehata, dan kurang berkualitasnya sumber daya manusia khususnya pada petugas pelayan kesehatan. Wanita hamil adalah salah satu populasi yang seharusnya diberikan perhatian lebh karena setiap wanita hamil mempunyai kesempatan yang sama untuk mendapatkan penanganan masalah-masalah kesehatan. Faktor-faktor risiko memungkinkanseorang wanita hamil menjadi berisiko tinggi untuk mempunyai masalah-masalah kesehatan, termasuk status sosial ekonomi dan sosio demografi, stress dan gaya hidup, dan praktek kesehatan personal. Untuk menurunkan pengaruh label atau stigma “risiko’ dalam masyarakat adalah suatu tantangan untuk profesi kesehatan mengembangkan pendekatan yang efektif dalam pelayanan kesehatan sehingga akan didapatkab suatu hasil yang optimal. The level of individual well being in a family determines the maternal mortality rate. This condition will determine the level of child health and development as an important determinant of health that is an indicator of well being in a country. The main cause of high levels of of maternal mortality in developing countries as a lack of case management of the “at risk’ individual or population; management of “at risk” cases is too late. This is because of lack awareness of “at risk” client in overcoming the problems, lack of information, lack of access to health services, and lack of quality of human resource especially of health care every pregnant woman has the same probability of developing problems. The risk factors enable of pregnant women to become hig risk to have the health problems including socioeconomic status, sociodemographic status, life style and life events, and personal health practices. To decrease the impact of the “at risk” label or stigma in the community, a challenge for the health professional is to develop partnership and multisectoral approach with community so that an optimal outcome will be attained.

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Online Information About Periviable Birth: Quality Assessment (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.12524 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Adriane F Haragan ◽

Carly A Zuwiala ◽

Katherine P Himes

Keyword(s):

Medical Information ◽

The United States ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Information ◽

High Quality ◽

Comfort Care ◽

Treatment Choices ◽

News Stories ◽

Google Search

BACKGROUND Over 20,000 parents in the United States face the challenge of participating in decisions about whether to use life support for their infants born on the cusp of viability every year. Clinicians must help families grasp complex medical information about their baby’s immediate prognosis as well as the risk for significant long-term morbidity. Patients faced with this decision want supplemental information and frequently seek medical information on the Internet. Empirical evidence about the quality of websites is lacking. OBJECTIVE We sought to evaluate the quality of online information available about periviable birth and treatment options for infants born at the cusp of viability. METHODS We read a counseling script to 20 pregnant participants that included information typically provided by perinatal and neonatal providers when periviable birth is imminent. The women were then asked to list terms they would use to search the Internet if they wanted additional information. Using these search terms, two reviewers evaluated the content of websites obtained via a Google search. We used two metrics to assess the quality of websites. The first was the DISCERN instrument, a validated questionnaire designed to assess the quality of patient-targeted health information for treatment choices. The second metric was the Essential Content Tool (ECT), a tool designed to address key components of counseling around periviable birth as outlined by professional organizations. DISCERN scores were classified as low quality if scores were 2, fair quality if scores were 3, and high quality if scores were 4 or higher. Scores of 6 or higher on the ECT were considered high quality. Interreviewer agreement was assessed by calculated kappa statistic. RESULTS A total of 97 websites were reviewed. Over half (57/97, 59%) were for-profit sites, news stories, or personal blogs; 28% (27/97) were government or medical sites; and 13% (13/97) were nonprofit or advocacy sites. The majority of sites scored poorly in DISCERN questions designed to assess the reliability of information presented as well as data regarding treatment choices. Only 7% (7/97) of the websites were high quality as defined by the DISCERN tool. The majority of sites did not address the essential content defined by the ECT. Importantly, only 18% of websites (17/97) indicated that there are often a number of reasonable approaches to newborn care when faced with periviable birth. Agreement was strong, with kappa ranging from .72 to .91. CONCLUSIONS Most information about periviable birth found on the Internet using common search strategies is of low quality. News stories highlighting positive outcomes are disproportionately represented. Few websites discuss comfort care or how treatment decisions impact quality of life.

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A cross-sectional study on quality of diabetes information identified from the Internet (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.14757 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Jingchun Fan ◽

Jean Craig ◽

Na Zhao ◽

Fujian Song

Keyword(s):

Health Information ◽

Search Engine ◽

Search Engines ◽

The Internet ◽

Online Health Information ◽

Online Information ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Content Coverage ◽

Google Search

BACKGROUND Increasingly people seek health information from the Internet, in particular, health information on diseases that require intensive self-management, such as diabetes. However, the Internet is largely unregulated and the quality of online health information may not be credible. OBJECTIVE To assess the quality of online information on diabetes identified from the Internet. METHODS We used the single term “diabetes” or equivalent Chinese characters to search Google and Baidu respectively. The first 50 websites retrieved from each of the two search engines were screened for eligibility using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria. Included websites were assessed on four domains: accessibility, content coverage, validity and readability. RESULTS We included 26 websites from Google search engine and 34 from Baidu search engine. There were significant differences in website provider (P<0.0001), but not in targeted population (P=0.832) and publication types (P=0.378), between the two search engines. The website accessibility was not statistically significantly different between the two search engines, although there were significant differences in items regarding website content coverage. There was no statistically significant difference in website validity between the Google and Baidu search engines (mean Discern score 3.3 vs 2.9, p=0.156). The results to appraise readability for English website showed that that Flesch Reading Ease scores ranged from 23.1 to 73.0 and the mean score of Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level ranged range from 5.7 to 19.6. CONCLUSIONS The content coverage of the health information for patients with diabetes in English search engine tended to be more comprehensive than that from Chinese search engine. There was a lack of websites provided by health organisations in China. The quality of online health information for people with diabetes needs to be improved to bridge the knowledge gap between website service and public demand.

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The reported benefits of telehealth for rural Australians

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah09794 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 276 ◽

Cited By ~ 139

Author(s):

Jennifer J. Moffatt ◽

Diann S. Eley

Keyword(s):

Professional Development ◽

Cost Effectiveness ◽

Health Services ◽

Rural Health ◽

Health Professionals ◽

Access To Health Services ◽

Rural And Remote ◽

Remote Locations ◽

Access To Health

Objective.A literature review was conducted to identify the reported benefits attributed to telehealth for people living and professionals working in rural and remote areas of Australia. Data sources.Scopus and relevant journals and websites were searched using the terms: telemedicine, telehealth, telepsychiatry, teledermatology, teleradiology, Australia, and each state and territory. Publications since 1998 were included. Study selection.The initial search resulted in 176 articles, which was reduced to 143 when research reporting on Australian rural, regional or remote populations was selected. Data synthesis.A narrative review was conducted using an existing ‘benefits’ framework. Patients are reported to have benefited from: lower costs and reduced inconvenience while accessing specialist health services; improved access to services and improved quality of clinical services. Health professionals are reported to have benefited from: access to continuing education and professional development; provision of enhanced local services; experiential learning, networking and collaboration. Discussion.Rural Australians have reportedly benefited from telehealth. The reported improved access and quality of clinical care available to rural Australians through telemedicine and telehealth may contribute to decreasing the urban–rural health disparities. The reported professional development opportunities and support from specialists through the use of telehealth may contribute to improved rural medical workforce recruitment and retention. What is known about the topic?An extensive international literature has reported on the efficacy of telehealth, and to a lesser extent the clinical outcomes and cost-effectiveness of telemedicine. Systematic reviews conclude that the quality of the studies preclude definitive conclusions being drawn about clinical and cost-effectiveness, although there is some evidence of effective clinical outcomes and the potential for cost-benefits. Little attention has been paid to the benefits reported for people who live in rural and remote Australia, despite this being a rationale for the use of telehealth in rural and remote locations. What does this paper add?Patients in rural and remote locations in Australia are reported to benefit from telehealth by increased access to health services and up-skilled health professionals. Health professionals are reported to benefit from telehealth by up-skilling from increased contact with specialists and increased access to professional development. The review findings suggest that one strategy, the increased use of telehealth, has the potential to reduce the inequitable access to health services and the poorer health status that many rural Australians experience, and contribute to addressing the on-going problem of the recruitment and retention of the rural health workforce. What are the implications for practitioners?The use of telehealth appears to be a path to up-skilling for rural and remote practitioners.

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