The Internet, Health Information, and Managing Health

Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This article examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behaviors from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them to manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings toward online health information would use it more to manage their health.

2011 ◽  
pp. 1495-1513
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This article examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behaviors from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them to manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings toward online health information would use it more to manage their health.


Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This article examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behaviors from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them to manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings toward online health information would use it more to manage their health.


2009 ◽  
pp. 1687-1706
Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This article examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behaviors from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them to manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings toward online health information would use it more to manage their health.


Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This chapter examines the use of the Internet for gathering health information by boomers and seniors. This study attempts to determine whether online health seekers (individuals that have Internet access and have searched for health information online) have changed their behavior from the information they found online. Essentially, has online health information helped them manage their health more effectively? This research analyzes the Kaiser Family Foundation e-Health and the Elderly public opinion dataset of access by boomers and seniors to online health information. The major results indicate that boomers marginally use online health information more than seniors for the management of their health. The most significant results indicated that boomers and seniors who are more aware and have positive feelings towards online health information would use it more to manage their health.


2008 ◽  
Vol 32 (3) ◽  
pp. 559 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared Dart

A survey questionnaire was designed and implemented across three different communities to determine the current utilisation, importance, trust and future preference for the internet as a source of health information in three different socioeconomic groups. The following were the key results. Fewer respondents in the low socioeconomic group accessed online health information than the mid-high socioeconomic or university samples. The internet was a much more important source of health information for the university sample. The use of online health information and the importance ascribed to the internet as a source of health information was related to home internet access and the frequency of internet use in all three populations. Most respondents do not bring online health information to their doctor (>70% of those who access online health information). Age alone did not relate to the current use of the internet as a source of health information. Most respondents in all populations did not trust the internet. In all populations the internet was a more preferred source of health information than its current use would suggest, especially among those with home internet access and frequent users of the internet.


BMJ Open ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (8) ◽  
pp. e024188
Author(s):  
Maureen Seguin ◽  
Laura Hall ◽  
Helen Atherton ◽  
Rebecca Barnes ◽  
Geraldine Leydon ◽  
...  

IntroductionMany patients now turn to the internet as a resource for healthcare information and advice. However, patients’ use of the internet to manage their health has been positioned as a potential source of strain on the doctor–patient relationship in primary care. The current evidence about what happens when internet-derived health information is introduced during consultations has relied on qualitative data derived from interview or questionnaire studies. The ‘Harnessing resources from the internet to maximise outcomes from GP consultations (HaRI)’ study combines questionnaire, interview and video-recorded consultation data to address this issue more fully.Methods and analysisThree data collection methods are employed: preconsultation patient questionnaires, video-recorded consultations between general practitioners (GP) and patients, and semistructured interviews with GPs and patients. We seek to recruit 10 GPs practising in Southeast England. We aim to collect up to 30 patient questionnaires and video-recorded consultations per GP, yielding up to 300. Up to 30 patients (approximately three per participating GP) will be selected for interviews sampled for a wide range of sociodemographic characteristics, and a variety of ways the use of, or information from, the internet was present or absent during their consultation. We will interview all 10 participating GPs about their views of online health information, reflecting on their own usage of online information during consultations and their patients’ references to online health information. Descriptive, conversation and thematic analysis will be used respectively for the patient questionnaires, video-recorded consultations and interviews.Ethics and disseminationEthical approval has been granted by the London–Camden & Kings Cross Research Ethics Committee. Alongside journal publications, dissemination activities include the creation of a toolkit to be shared with patients and doctors, to guide discussions of material from the internet in consultations.


Author(s):  
Christopher G. Reddick

This chapter examines the role that citizens play when using the internet for gathering information. It is vital to understand the use of the Internet by citizens to address the issue of access to homeland security information. This chapter also provides information on how terrorism information is presented online and citizens’ use of this information is discussed. Jones, Hackney, and Irani (2007) believe that the key to the successful development of e-government is its citizens. There needs to be efforts to engage citizens in the adoption of e-government. These authors believe that this engagement will truly create a transformation of e-government that was envisioned by earlier writers in the field. This chapter discusses this level of engagement and shows that citizens are the least likely to use Internet for homeland security information if a terrorist attack occurs. Existing research on the adoption of e-government tends to focus on the supply of e-government in terms of the breadth and sophistication of government Websites. However, Streib and Navarro (2006) have examined the role the internet plays in public organizations using public opinion data, examining the demand for e-government. There is a need for more research on the demand for e-government and that is the focus of this chapter. The argument made in this chapter is that you need to understand citizens, and why they go online, to more effectively cater homeland security information to their needs. This chapter first discusses the important issue of the digital divide, the disparity between those that have Internet access and those that do not. This is followed by a discussion of citizen trust and satisfaction with e-government Websites. Followed this, there is a discussion of the citizen-initiated contacts literature as a framework that helps us understand why citizens contact government for information and services.


2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S296-S296
Author(s):  
Eunjin Yang ◽  
Sun Ju Chang ◽  
Kyoung-eun Lee ◽  
Hyunju Ryu

Abstract Although the internet is helpful and considered a preferred channel to get health information, some vulnerable populations such as the elderly have a digital divide. The purpose of this study was to test the development and intervention of the eHealth program based on the Information-Motivation-Behavioral Skills (IMB) model for improving internet health information seeking, understanding and utilization behaviors in the elderly. This study was a single group pretest-posttest design, and the eleven elderly aged 67-87 (mean74.6, SD 6.9) participated in 5 session program at a senior welfare center from 25 January to 22 February 2019. Each theory-based constructs of IMB model such as computer/web knowledge (p<.01), attitude toward the internet health information usage (p<.01), and eHealth literacy (p<.01) was significantly improved at posttest than pretest. More than half of the participants (6 of 11) gave up on searching internet health information on pretest; however, all of the participants searched the internet health information accurately on the posttest. Regarding health information understanding, a significant difference was found (p=.03), and participants reported positive behavioral change after the program (6.54 ± 2.42). This pilot study indicated that the theory-based eHealth program might be an effective way to decrease a digital divide for the elderly. Therefore, the preliminary findings show promise for the use of the IMB model-based eHealth program as an intervention to improve internet health information seeking, understanding, and utilization behaviors in the elderly.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucinda Roper ◽  
Nancy Sturman

Medical professionals are in an ideal position to mediate between the benefits and harms of internet-sourced medical information, but there is reluctance by patients to discuss with their doctors information found online. This is the first study undertaken in a rural Australian context, where service limitations mean patients’ use of the internet may be especially important. Patients attending general practice clinics (n = 33) were interviewed to discover how they used the internet for health information and how they discussed this with their doctors. Analysis used a constant comparison method, informed by grounded theory and a dramaturgical framework. Most participants used a range of tactics when discussing internet-sourced medical information, including concealment, disguise or upfront apologetic disclosures to avoid undermining the expertise of the doctor. These findings do not confirm predictions made in the past that patients’ acquisition of internet health information would alter the power dynamic of the medical consultation. Potentially, proactive, doctor-initiated inquiry about internet medical information may help to normalise patients’ internet use, allowing open discussion, so doctors can maximise benefits and reduce harms of internet health information. Further study is required to see if this will be an effective strategy and impact health outcomes.


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