Health-related Internet use by patients with somatic diseases: Frequency of use and characteristics of users

Uden–Kraan, Cornelia F. van; Drossaert, Constance H.C.; Taal, Erik; Smit, Willem A.; Moens, Hein J. Bernelot; Siesling, Sabine; Seydel, E.R.; Laar, Mart A F J van de

doi:10.1080/17538150902773272

Cited by 91 publications

(91 citation statements)

References 41 publications

(71 reference statements)

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“…But it is about 10% greater than that reported in a sample of Dutch patients (that included breast cancer patients) conducted a year earlier [18]. This may be because of the unique characteristics of the sample.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 43%

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What is the role of online support from the perspective of facilitators of face-to-face support groups? A multi-method study of the use of breast cancer online communities

Bender

Katz

Ferris

et al. 2013

Patient Education and Counseling

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 43%

“…Specifically, 37% read someone else's experience of a health issue on an online group, website or blog compared to 31% of those reporting no chronic conditions. A hospital-based survey of 679 Dutch patients with breast cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or fibromyalgia published in 2009 found that 15% of the patients surveyed had used an online community [18].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

What is the role of online support from the perspective of facilitators of face-to-face support groups? A multi-method study of the use of breast cancer online communities

Bender

Katz

Ferris

et al. 2013

Patient Education and Counseling

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“…The relatively low levels of health-related online activity among patients with chronic diseases may be a potential obstacle for their acceptance of more advanced e-health applications. The prevalence of information searching among health-related activities in the Internet was seen in the survey reported by van Uden-Kraan et al 44 This also applies to the infrequent use of more advanced forms of interaction (e.g., joining online patient support groups or posing questions about the patient's medical condition to experts). The responses to items listed here were ranked on a 5-point Likert scale.…”

Section: Health-related Activities Performed Onlinementioning

confidence: 78%

“…44 The effect of higher education has also been reported for specific patient populations by many authors. 35,45,47,[49][50][51][52] This effect was also seen in surveys carried out in the general population.…”

Section: Factors Affecting the Acceptance Of E-health Applicationsmentioning

confidence: 81%

The Acceptance of e-Health Solutions Among Patients with Chronic Respiratory Conditions

Duplaga

2013

Telemedicine and e-Health

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Objective: The main objective of this study was to assess the acceptance of the use of e-health applications by patients suffering from bronchial asthma and other chronic respiratory conditions. Subjects and Methods: The questionnaire, consisting of 73 items, was distributed among 200 patients remaining under the care of a tertiary-care pulmonology center in Krakow, Poland (return rate, 82.5%; n = 165). Results: The mean age (standard deviation) of respondents was 50.8 (14.9) years. Of the respondents, 48.5% (n = 80) suffered from bronchial asthma, 29.1% (n = 48) from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and 32.1% (n = 53) from other respiratory diseases. The Internet was used by 58.2% (n = 96) of respondents. The most frequent types of health-related information searched for online included diseases (59.4%) and treatments (medication, 54.2%; treatment options, 58.3%), as well as information about physicians and healthcare institutions (32.3% and 31.3%, respectively). The differences between acceptance scores for specific e-health applications were significant (analysis of variance, Friedman chi-squared = 166.315, p < 0.001). The respondents revealed the highest acceptance of e-health solutions allowing them to book appointments with physicians, access laboratory test results, view educational resources, and renew prescriptions. The acceptance of the most popular e-health applications depended on the duration of disease, respondent's age and education, and his or her use of computers and the Internet. Conclusions: Patients suffering from chronic respiratory conditions demonstrate higher levels of acceptance of e-health applications such as appointment booking, prescription renewal, and access to information (laboratory test results, educational resources) than of solutions directly related to medical care (communication with healthcare providers, disease monitoring).

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“…2,38 While physicians are the preferred source of information, 9,13,22,35,40 in reality, caregivers turn to the Internet for answers first, especially for rare and chronic conditions. 9,13 While Internet use is becoming nearly universal, the Pew Internet and American Life Project, 8,11,18,36 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), 22,26,28 and disease-specific studies 2,6,20,34,37,39 have found that socioeconomic disparities create a digital divide between patient populations. Interestingly, use of social media is reported to permeate all race, economic, and educational strata.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Technology preferences among caregivers of children with hydrocephalus

Naftel¹,

Safiano²,

Falola³

et al. 2013

PED

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Object The Internet and social media are powerful disseminators of medical information, providing new portals for patient care. The authors of this study evaluated current technology hardware, Internet, and social media use and their socioeconomic relationships among caregivers of children with hydrocephalus. Methods A written survey was completed in the neurosurgical clinics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham by 300 parents of children with shunted hydrocephalus between October 26, 2010, and July 26, 2011. Results Computer use (94.6%), Internet use (91.7%), smartphone use (56.9%), and Internet research on hydrocephalus (81.9%) were prevalent. However, for each of these four utilizations there was significantly lower access by caregivers of minority races (p = 0.04, 0.03, 0.002, and < 0.0001, respectively), lower income (p = 0.02, 0.01, < 0.0001, and < 0.0001, respectively), and lower level of education (p = 0.001, 0.002, < 0.0001, and 0.001, respectively). Personal use of social media was prevalent (95.1% of all Internet users) with use being more prevalent among less-educated than higher-educated caregivers (p = 0.017). Hydrocephalus-related social media use (59.5% of Internet users) was not associated with socioeconomic factors. For hydrocephalus education on the Internet, caregivers chose information websites such as Wikipedia or the Hydrocephalus Association as preferred platforms; these preferences were followed by use of social media websites. Facebook and YouTube were the preferred social media platforms for personal and hydrocephalus-related use. Parents indicate moderate skepticism about the trustworthiness of the Internet; only 21.7% always trust the online sources. Most parents (89.8%) say that they would visit neurosurgeon-recommended websites. Of Internet-using caregivers, 28.6% use the Internet or social media to find hydrocephalus support groups, and 34.8% have used the Internet to communicate with other caregivers who have children with similar conditions. Conclusions Technology hardware, the Internet, and social media are widely used with some skepticism by parents of children with shunted hydrocephalus. Caregivers are interested in physician-recommended Internet resources. Socioeconomic factors including race, income, and level of education reveal a disparity in access to some of these resources, although all groups have relatively high use. Unlike typical technology use, social media use is breaking down the digital divide among ethnic and socioeconomic groups.

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Health-related Internet use by patients with somatic diseases: Frequency of use and characteristics of users

Cited by 91 publications

References 41 publications

What is the role of online support from the perspective of facilitators of face-to-face support groups? A multi-method study of the use of breast cancer online communities

What is the role of online support from the perspective of facilitators of face-to-face support groups? A multi-method study of the use of breast cancer online communities

The Acceptance of e-Health Solutions Among Patients with Chronic Respiratory Conditions

Technology preferences among caregivers of children with hydrocephalus

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