Online Health Information Sources Research Articles

In-Home Respite Care Services Available to Families With Palliative Care Needs in Quebec: Novel Digital Environmental Scan.

Caregiving dyads in palliative care are confronted with complex care needs. Respite care services can be highly beneficial in alleviating the caregiving burden, supporting survivorship and dying at home. Yet, respite care services are difficult to locate and access in the province of Quebec, Canada, particularly when navigating ubiquitous sources of online health information of varying quality. This project aimed to (1) compile a list of at-home palliative respite care services in Quebec, Canada; (2) describe key accessibility features for each respite care service; (3) identify accessibility gaps and opportunities; and (4) describe a novel method for conducting environmental scans using internet search engines, internet-based community health databases, and member checking. A novel environmental scan methodology using 2 internet-based targeted databases and 1 internet search engine was conducted. Results were screened and data were extracted, descriptively analyzed, and geographically schematized. A total of 401 services were screened, and 52 at-home respite care services specific to palliative populations were identified, compiled, and analyzed. These respite care services were characterized by various types of assistance, providers, fees, and serviced geographical regions. Accessibility was explored through the lens of service amenability, availability, eligibility, and compatibility. The data revealed important barriers to accessing respite care services, such as a lack of readily available information on service characteristics, limited availability, and a time-consuming, technical search process for potential respite care users and clinicians to identify appropriate services. Both methodological and contextual knowledge have been gained through this environmental scan. Few methodologies for conducting internet-based environmental scans have been clearly articulated, so we applied several learnings from other scans and devised a methodology for conducting an environmental scan using the mixed methods of internet search engines, internet-based community health databases, and member checking. We have carefully reported our methods, so that others conducting community health environmental scans may replicate our process. Furthermore, through this scan, we identified assorted respite care services and pinpointed needs in the provision of these services. The findings highlighted that more easily accessible and centralized information about respite care services is needed in Quebec. The data will enable the creation of a user-friendly tool to share with community support services across Quebec and ultimately help alleviate the added burden caregivers and clinicians face when looking for respite care services in fragmented and complex digital spaces.

The impact of online health information source preference on intolerance to uncertainty and cyberchondria in a youthful generation.

The increasing utilization of the Internet to access health-related information is believed to heighten anxiety and trigger cyberchondria due to the presence of conflicting and sometimes overly detailed information. To investigate the levels of cyberchondria and intolerance of uncertainty among university students and their relationship with different online health information sources. Between June and July 2022, 420 university students (mean age = 21.5 ± 2 years, 54% female) participated in this cross-sectional study. The socio-demographic form, Uncertainty Intolerance Scale (IUS), and Cyberchondria Severity Scale (CSS) were used in data collection. Pearson correlation test and binary logistic regression analysis were used to identify factors associated with cyberchondria. Forums and private hospital/clinic websites were the most frequently utilized online health information sources, while governmental websites were the least. The mean scores for CSS and IUS were 81.5 and 41.0, respectively. There was no significant gender-based difference in CSS and IUS scores. Students who used newspapers/magazines and social media for health information had significantly higher scores on both scales. Cyberchondria had a negative association with age [odds ratio (OR) = 0.90], a positive significant relationship with newspaper/magazine website use (OR = 7.24), and IUS score (OR = 1.09). There was a positive and moderate correlation between CSS and IUS scores (r = 0.39, P < 0.001). Our results underline the susceptibility to cyberchondria and intolerance of uncertainty among young adults who used less reliable online health information sources and highlight promoting online health literacy to reduce vulnerabilities and the need for further research on socio-demographic determinants in both mental problems.

Evaluation of YouTube As A Source For Graves' Disease Information: Is High-Quality Guideline-Based Information Available?

To understand the quality of informational Graves' disease (GD) videos on YouTube for treatment decision-making quality and inclusion of American Thyroid Association (ATA) treatment guidelines. Cross-sectional cohort. Informational YouTube videos with subject matter "Graves' Disease treatment." The top 50 videos based on our query were assessed using the DISCERN instrument. This validated algorithm discretely rates treatment-related information from excellent (≥4.5) to very poor (<1.9). Videos were also screened for ATA guideline inclusion. Descriptive statistics were used for cohort characterization. Univariate and multivariate linear regressions characterized factors associated with DISCERN scores. Significance was set at P < .05. The videos featured 57,513.43 views (SD = 162,579.25), 1054.70 likes (SD = 2329.77), and 168.80 comments (SD = 292.97). Most were patient education (52%) or patient experience (24%). A minority (40%) were made by thyroid specialists (endocrinologists, endocrine surgeons, or otolaryngologists). Under half did not mention all 3 treatment modalities (44%), and 54% did not mention any ATA recommendations. Overall, videos displayed poor reliability (mean = 2.26, SD = 0.67), treatment information quality (mean = 2.29, SD = 0.75), and overall video quality (mean = 2.47, SD = 1.07). Physician videos were associated with lower likes, views, and comments (P < .001) but higher DISCERN reliability (P = .015) and overall score (P = .019). Longer videos (P = .015), patient accounts (P = .013), and patient experience (P = .002) were associated with lower scores. The most available GD treatment content on YouTube varies significantly in the quality of medical information. This may contribute to suboptimal disease understanding, especially for patients highly engaged with online health information sources.

Wikipedia page views for health research: a review.

Wikipedia is an open-source online encyclopedia and one of the most-read sources of online health information. Likewise, Wikipedia page views have also been analyzed to inform public health services and policies. The present review analyzed 29 studies utilizing Wikipedia page views for health research. Most reviewed studies were published in recent years and emanated from high-income countries. Together with Wikipedia page views, most studies also used data from other internet sources, such as Google, Twitter, YouTube, and Reddit. The reviewed studies also explored various non-communicable diseases, infectious diseases, and health interventions to describe changes in the utilization of online health information from Wikipedia, to examine the effect of public events on public interest and information usage about health-related Wikipedia pages, to estimate and predict the incidence and prevalence of diseases, to predict data from other internet data sources, to evaluate the effectiveness of health education activities, and to explore the evolution of a health topic. Given some of the limitations in replicating some of the reviewed studies, future research can specify the specific Wikipedia page or pages analyzed, the language of the Wikipedia pages examined, dates of data collection, dates explored, type of data, and whether page views were limited to Internet users and whether web crawlers and redirects to the Wikipedia page were included. Future research can also explore public interest in other commonly read health topics available in Wikipedia, develop Wikipedia-based models that can be used to predict disease incidence and improve Wikipedia-based health education activities.

Keeping Dr. Google under control: how to prevent and manage cyberchondria.

Keeping Dr. Google under control: how to prevent and manage cyberchondria.

Ethnic differences in utilization of online health information sources: A test of the social inequality hypotheses

The goal of the current study was to understand ethnic differences in use of online health information sources. Social stratification and social diversification hypotheses were used as study’s theoretical framework. The data were obtained from the 2017 Israel Social Survey (N = 2166). Multinomial and logistic regression techniques were used for the multivariate analysis. The results suggest that Israeli Arab respondents were less likely than Israeli-born Jewish respondents to seek health information using the Health Funds’ call centers or websites, other websites, and to utilize any number of the online health information sources. The findings provide a strong support for the social stratification hypothesis. The findings imply that members of minority population should be more encouraged to use (public) online health information sources as a means of taking greater responsibility for their health as well as for the health of their communities.

Online Health Information Seeking Among Patients With Chronic Conditions: Integrating the Health Belief Model and Social Support Theory.

Chronic diseases are the leading causes of death and disability. With the growing patient population and climbing health care expenditures, researchers and policy makers are seeking new approaches to improve the accessibility of health information on chronic diseases while lowering costs. Online health information sources can play a substantial role in effective patient education and health communication. However, some contradictory evidence suggests that patients with chronic conditions may not necessarily seek online health information. This study aims to integrate 2 theories (ie, the health belief model and social support theory) and a critical health literacy perspective to understand online health information seeking (OHIS) among patients with chronic conditions. We used the survey method to collect data from online chronic disease communities and groups on social media platforms. Eligible participants were consumers with at least 1 chronic condition and those who have experience with OHIS. A total of 390 valid questionnaires were collected. The partial least squares approach to structural equation modeling was employed to analyze the data. The results suggested that perceived risk (t=3.989, P<.001) and perceived benefits (t=3.632, P<.001) significantly affected patients' OHIS. Perceived susceptibility (t=7.743, P<.001) and perceived severity (t=8.852, P<.001) were found to influence the perceived risk of chronic diseases significantly. Informational support (t=5.761, P<.001) and emotional support (t=5.748, P<.001) also impacted the perceived benefits of online sources for patients. In addition, moderation analysis showed that critical health literacy significantly moderated the link between perceived risk and OHIS (t=3.097, P=.002) but not the relationship between perceived benefits and OHIS (t=0.288, P=.774). This study shows that the health belief model, when combined with social support theory, can predict patients' OHIS. The perceived susceptibility and severity can effectively explain perceived risk, further predicting patients' OHIS. Informational support and emotional support can contribute to perceived benefits, thereby positively affecting patients' OHIS. This study also demonstrated the important negative moderating effects of critical health literacy on the association between perceived risk and OHIS.

Readability of online health information pertaining to migraine and headache in the UK.

An estimated 46% of the worldwide adult population live with an active headache disorder, and it is thought that there is a proportion of headache and migraine sufferers who do not attend for medical care, instead choosing to manage their symptoms at home. The internet continues to act as a source of online health information for self-management, however, it is important that this information can be understood by the user. Research indicates that most health information online is written at a level too difficult for much of the UK population to understand. The aim of this study was to investigate the readability of online health information pertaining to headache and migraine for a UK-based internet user accessing the top four search engines. Searches for 'headache' and 'migraine' were performed on each search engine and results from the first page were selected for analysis. Five validated readability tests were used to analyse readability; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index. We found that the majority of online health information about migraine and headache is too difficult for the UK adult population to read. Findings highlight work is required to ensure that information from a wider variety of sources is easier to comprehend for much of the population in order for individuals to make informed decisions about health seeking and self-management of headache and migraine. Health information providers should weave readability analysis into their content design process, incorporating shorter sentences and simpler words in their description of conditions and treatment.

Can online health information sources really improve patient satisfaction?

Internet information has become the main way for individuals to obtain health information. The purpose of this paper is to explore the role online information sources play in health decision-making. Specifically, we investigated the relationship between online information sources and patient satisfaction, as well as their moderating effects as compared to those of other information sources. Using logistical regression analysis, we conducted the longitudinal data on 54,027 doctors and 952,877 online doctor reviews from 3,525 hospitals in 31 provinces to test a proposed research model. The results showed that patient satisfaction was generally lower for individuals who found a doctor through online information sources. Therefore, we suggest that patients consider the doctor quality, the doctor popularity, and patient involvement. In addition, we found that the doctor popularity had a negative moderating effect between online information sources and patient satisfaction, while patient involvement had a positive moderating effect between online information sources and patient satisfaction. The study provides strategic guidance and practical implications for policies, online healthcare community managers, and patients.

Factors Affecting eHealth Literacy of Early Adolescents: School-based Research

ABSTRACT The purpose of the research were to describe eHealth literacy and identify factors affecting the eHealth literacy of early adolescents. This descriptive and correlational study was conducted in a government secondary school in the west of Turkey. The research sample consisted of 1347 adolescents in the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades in the academic year 2016–2017. An adolescents’ description form and the eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS) were used to collect the data. The mean score on eHEALS was 23.81 ± 6.94. Multiple regression analysis showed that being in the 11–12 year age group (β = 0.528, p < 0.001), having a father with a high school or university level education (β = 0.055, p = 0.038), and carrying out research in the internet on health related topics (β = 0.118, p < 0.001) were determinant at 32% (F = 56.901, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.32) on the adolescents’ eHealth literacy. The mean eHEALS score in the study demonstrated that the e-health literacy of the adolescents was rather low and inadequate, and that there were gaps in the adolescents’ knowledge and skills about how and where to find quality eHealth information. Nurses are expected to provide eHealth literacy training that will help to find information on the internet and interpret and assess it, and this will develop eHealth literacy of adolescents. Integrating online health information sources into the school health education curriculum in line with developed strategies can be suggested because it is an attempt to improve the eHealth literacy of adolescents.

Exploring the Role of the Internet, Care Quality and Communication in Shaping Mental Health: Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey.

Determinants of user mental health are diverse, interrelated, and often multifaceted. This study explores how internet use, perceived care quality, patient education, and patient centered communication influence mental health, using structural equation modeling. Findings suggest that increased internet use even for health purposes negatively impacts mental health .On the other hand, education level, patient centered-communication (PC-Com) and perception of care quality impact mental health positively [Formula: see text]. Moreover, we also explored the changes across various demographics. The influence of patient education on PC-Com was only significant for Hispanic respondents . Internet use for health purposes influenced PC-Com negatively for White American respondents (β = -0.047, P=0.015). The study reinstated that the internet use, patient centered communication, patient education, and perceived care quality might influence mental health. The society will increasingly seek health information from online sources, so our study provides recommendations to make online health information sources more user friendly and trustworthy, ultimately to minimize negative impact on mental health.

Factors influencing millennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic

PurposeDuring Covid-19 pandemic, Millennials, which are familiar with the Internet, may contribute in facing the pandemic by consistently sharing healthy food information. Thus, it is important to improve Millennials online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic. This research aims to examine the simultaneous effects of e-health literacy, knowledge of the digital health communication media (DHCM) use, facilitating conditions, information quality and source credibility on Millennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachA survey was performed to collect the data. The respondents of the survey are 205 DHCM millennial users who lived in Tangerang Regency and Tangerang City, Indonesia. This research performed a multiple regression analysis to test the conceptual model and proposed hypotheses.FindingsMillennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic was significantly affected by perceived threat of Covid-19, knowledge of the DHCM use and the facilitating conditions. However, it was not significantly affected by e-health literacy, information quality and source credibility.Research limitations/implicationsThis research employed a purposive sampling technique. This research also was conducted only in Tangerang Regency and Tangerang City, Indonesia. In order to test the stability of the research findings, future research should be conducted in other contexts.Practical implicationsIn order to improve Millennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic, it was essential to educate Millennials on the importance of healthy food consumption during the Covid-19 pandemic and their relationships. It is also important to enrich Millennials' knowledge of reliable and trustworthy online health information sources, such as the DHCM, and the search method. Furthermore, the facilitating conditions of online healthy food information-sharing behaviour should be improved.Originality/valueIt is well known that online healthy food information-sharing behaviour is important during Covid-19 pandemic. However, there is lack of study that specifically focused on Millennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic. This paper is the first that develops and tests a model of Millennials' online healthy food information-sharing behaviour during the Covid-19 pandemic. The model can be used to understand the behaviour and develop intervention strategy.

Perceived Efficiency Outcomes, Sources and Awareness of Online Health Information among the Elderly during COVID-19.

The Internet and social media are crucial platforms for health information. Factors such as the efficiency of online health information, the outcomes of seeking online health information and the awareness of reliable sources have become increasingly important for the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to examine differences between elderly individuals’ income above and below the average monthly wage in relation to their online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; to evaluate types of online information sources with online health information efficiency and the outcomes of seeking online health information; and to explore online health information efficiency as a mediator between health status and awareness of online sources. A cross-sectional study design was conducted with 336 elderly participants age 65 or older. The participants volunteered to complete a questionnaire. No differences were found between the two groups regarding efficiency in retrieving health information from official online health sites and Google. Perceived efficiency mediated health status and awareness of online sources. In these challenging times, it is important to provide a tailor-made education strategy plan for reliable sources of online health information for the elderly, in order to enhance their technology safety skills. It is also important to explore other mediating variables between health status and awareness of online sources.

Wikipedia, The Free Online Medical Encyclopedia Anyone Can Plagiarize: Time to Address Wiki-Plagiarism

Plagiarism and self-plagiarism are widespread in biomedical publications, although journals are increasingly implementing plagiarism detection software as part of their editorial processes. Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia written by its users, has global public health importance as a source of online health information. However, plagiarism of Wikipedia in peer-reviewed publications has received little attention. Here, I present five cases of PubMed-indexed articles containing Wiki-plagiarism, i.e. copying of Wikipedia content into medical publications without proper citation of the source. The true incidence of this phenomenon remains unknown and requires systematic study. The potential scope and implications of Wiki-plagiarism are discussed.

Lifestyle Segmentation to Explain the Online Health Information-Seeking Behavior of Older Adults: Representative Telephone Survey.

BackgroundAs a result of demographic changes, the number of people aged 60 years and older has been increasing steadily. Therefore, older adults have become more important as a target group for health communication efforts. Various studies show that online health information sources have gained importance among younger adults, but we know little about the health-related internet use of senior citizens in general and in particular about the variables explaining their online health-related information–seeking behavior. Media use studies indicate that in addition to sociodemographic variables, lifestyle factors might play a role in this context.ObjectiveThe aim of this study was to examine older people’s health-related internet use. Our study focused on the explanatory potential of lifestyle types over and above sociodemographic variables to predict older adults’ internet use for health information.MethodsA telephone survey was conducted with a random sample of German adults aged 60 years and older (n=701) that was quota-allocated by gender, age, educational status, and degree of urbanity of their place of residence.ResultsThe results revealed that participants used the internet infrequently (mean 1.82 [SD 1.07]), and medical personnel (mean 2.89 [SD 1.11]), family and friends (mean 2.86 [SD 1.21]), and health brochures (mean 2.85 [SD 1.21]) were their main sources of health information. A hierarchical cluster analysis based on values, interests, and leisure time activities revealed three different lifestyle types for adults aged over 60 years: the Sociable Adventurer, the Average Family Person, and the Uninterested Inactive. After adding these types as second-step predictors in a hierarchical regression model with sociodemographic variables (step 1), the explained variance increased significantly (R2=.02, P=.001), indicating that the Average Family Person and the Sociable Adventurer use the internet more often for health information than the Uninterested Inactive, over and above their sociodemographic attributes.ConclusionsOur findings indicate that the internet still plays only a minor role in the health information–seeking behavior of older German adults. Nevertheless, there are subgroups including younger, more active, down-to-earth and family-oriented males that may be reached with online health information. Our findings suggest that lifestyle types should be taken into account when predicting health-related internet use behavior.

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach. Part 3

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach. Part 3

P64 Does pain peak at night? The daily rhythm of musculoskeletal searches on the NHS website

Abstract Background With the advent of smartphone technology and the constant availability of information on the internet, it is suspected that searches for clinical symptoms or medical conditions could be a real time indication of the timing of these symptoms. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the daily timing of visits to musculoskeletal pages compared to mental health pages on the NHS website (a major source of online health information in the UK). Methods In collaboration with NHS Digital we acquired 6 months of data on visits to the NHS website and visits to individual webpages relevant to pain management (“Managing chronic pain”, “10 ways to ease pain”) musculoskeletal conditions (Rheumatoid arthritis, Osteoarthritis, Arthritis”), anatomical pain (Neck, Back, Shoulder, Elbow or Arm, Foot, Hip, Knee, and Hand pain) and an assortment of mental health pages, (Clinical depression, Generalised Anxiety Disorder). In order to adjust for the overall traffic to the NHS website (which peaks strongly at 9-10pm) the mean numbers of webpage visits per hour of the day over the 6 month period were calculated and divided by the mean number of NHS website visits per hour of the day over the 6 month period. Fourier analysis was used to shape appropriate models and assess daily rhythm. Analysis were performed using STATA version 15. Results There were a total of 400 million visits to the NHS website over the 6-month period of data collection. The overall trends for traffic to the website included a marked peak in visits in the evening at 9-10pm and a distinct trough overnight. Visits to ‘pain management’ pages peaked at 11-4am, whereas visits to ‘musculoskeletal conditions’ pages had a bimodal distribution with the largest peak at 6-7am (and a lesser peak at 9-10pm). This bimodal distribution was echoed on the ‘anatomical pain’ pages with a greater peak at 6-7am and lesser peak at 9-10pm, except for ‘neck pain’ and ‘back pain’ which had higher peaks at 9-10pm and lesser peak at 6-7am. In comparison, visits to ‘mental health’ pages peaked clearly at 12-1am. Conclusion Through this investigation of visits to the NHS website we saw clear differences in the distribution of visits relating to ‘musculoskeletal conditions’, ‘anatomical pain’ and ‘pain management’. These profiles differed substantially to the distribution of ‘mental health’ page visits. It is interesting that searches for pain management (including the page “10 ways to ease pain” which is the top NHS webpage listed on Google when searching the word “pain”) peaked overnight between 11-4am, as this replicates our previous finding from Google search data. These findings provide an insight into the circadian rhythm of interactions with online health data and may even hint at patterns of symptom experience over a 24-hour period. Disclosures N.R. Fuggle None. N. Masefield None. E.M. Dennison None. C. Cooper None.

Laypeople's source selection in online health information‐seeking process

AbstractFor laypeople, searching online health information resources can be challenging due to topic complexity and the large number of online sources with differing quality. The goal of this article is to examine, among all the available online sources, which online sources laypeople select to address their health‐related information needs, and whether or how much the severity of a health condition influences their selection. Twenty‐four participants were recruited individually, and each was asked (using a retrieval system called HIS) to search for information regarding a severe health condition and a mild health condition, respectively. The selected online health information sources were automatically captured by the HIS system and classified at both the website and webpage levels. Participants' selection behavior patterns were then plotted across the whole information‐seeking process. Our results demonstrate that laypeople's source selection fluctuates during the health information‐seeking process, and also varies by the severity of health conditions. This study reveals laypeople's real usage of different types of online health information sources, and engenders implications to the design of search engines, as well as the development of health literacy programs.

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach: Part 2

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach: Part 2

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach: Part I

Evaluating online health information sources using a mixed methods approach: Part I