Abstract
Health information, provided through the Internet, has recently received attention from consumers and healthcare providers as an efficient method of motivating people to get screened for colorectal cancer (CRC). In this study, the primary purpose was to investigate the extent to which consumers were better educated about CRC screening information because of the information available on the Internet. Another purpose was to identify how better-informed consumers, with reliable and trustworthy health information, were enabled to make sound decisions regarding CRC screening. The data used in this study was taken from the 2003 Health Information National Trends Survey. People aged 55 and older were classified based on their compliance with recommended CRC screening. The study applied the PRECEDE-PROCEED model to evaluate the effects of health information taken from the Internet regarding CRC screening. The credibility and reliance of cancer related information on the Internet was significantly associated with patient compliance to be screened for CRC. Experience and knowledge of Internet use had a significant impact on the utilization of CRC screening. This analysis suggests that the design and publishing websites concerning CRC should emphasize credibility and reliance. Websites providing information about CRC must also contain the most current information so that people are able to make educated decisions about CRC screening.
Highlights
The rapid growth in the population of senior citizens with chronic illnesses has generated a marked increase in health care service utilization [1,2,3,4]
The results indicated that quantity oriented cancer information seeking from the Internet was among the most important factors for the decision to do colorectal cancer (CRC) screening
This study interweaves health economic theory with the extended PRECEDE-PROCEED model to analyze cancer related health information found on the Internet, and the behavioral decision over CRC
Summary
The rapid growth in the population of senior citizens with chronic illnesses has generated a marked increase in health care service utilization [1,2,3,4]. Health and medical related information found on the Internet has recently been identified by consumers and health care providers as a powerful means of communication which can improve the health outcomes in all segments of the population [5,6,7,8]. Health professionals, and the pharmaceutical industry encourage the use of various health intervention methods to improve the quality of health, the availability of health information on the Internet [9,10,11]. In the ageing population in particular, the Internet provides a significant means for dispensing important health information [12,13,14,15]. The Internet has emerged as a popular source of health related information and is one of the top two sources (i.e., websites and healthcare providers) [17]. People prefer utilizing the Internet before other methods when seeking information about cancer, and Internet users tend to be younger and better educated adults [18,19]
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