Internet use by patients with bipolar disorder: Results from an international multisite survey

Bauer, Rita; Conell, Jörn; Glenn, Tasha; Alda, Martin; Ardau, Raffaella; Baune, Bernhard T.; Berk, Michael; Bersudsky, Yuly; Bilderbeck, Amy C.; Bocchetta, Alberto; Bossini, Letizia; Castro, Angela Marianne Paredes; Cheung, Eric Yat Wo; Chillotti, Caterina; Choppin, Sabine; Zompo, Maria Del; Dias, Rebecca; Dodd, Seetal; Duffy, Anne; Étain, Bruno; Fagiolini, Andrea; Hernandez, Miryam Fernández; Garnham, Julie; Geddes, John; Gildebro, Jonas; González-Pinto, Ana; Goodwin, Guy M.; Grof, Paul; Harima, Hirohiko; Hassel, Stefanie; Henry, Chantal; Hidalgo‐Mazzei, Diego; Kapur, Vaisnvy; Kunigiri, Girish; Lafer, Beny; Larsen, Erik Roj; Lewitzka, Ute; Licht, Rasmus W; Lund, Anne Hvenegaard; Misiak, Błażej; Monteith, Scott; Muñoz, Rodrigo A.; Nakanotani, Takako; Nielsen, René Ernst; O′Donovan, Claire; Okamura, Yasushi; Osher, Yamima; Piotrowski, Patryk; Reif, Andreas; Ritter, Philipp; Rybakowski, Janusz; Sagduyu, Kemal; Sawchuk, Brett; Schwartz, Elon; Scippa, Ângela M.; Slaney, Claire; Sulaiman, Ahmad Hatim; Suominen, Kirsi; Suwalska, Aleksandra; Tam, Peter; Tatebayashi, Yoshitaka; Tondo, Leonardo; Vieta, Eduard; Vinberg, Maj; Viswanath, Biju; Volkert, Julia; Zetin, Mark; Whybrow, Peter C.; Bauer, Michael

doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2016.05.055

Cited by 43 publications

(46 citation statements)

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“…This was investigated using an anonymous patient survey completed by 1222 patients with bipolar disorder in 17 countries. Our initial findings, reported previously, were that the patients used the Internet at a percentage that was similar to the general public (81 %), and that 78 % of the Internet users looked online for information on bipolar disorder or 63 % of the total sample (Bauer et al 2016). The patients who looked online for information also consulted medical professionals plus other information sources, such as printed media, physician handouts, television, and other patients with bipolar disorder.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The survey was completed by 1222 patients, with 51 more surveys received since the first analysis (Bauer et al 2016). With 1212 valid responses, 976 (81 %) patients used the Internet.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“… a See survey for details and exact wording b Overall mean of country means c Standard deviation of country means d Survey questions 1–16 on demographics; questions 17-20 analyzed previously (Bauer et al 2016) e More than one response allowed f Only completed by those who attempt to verify information ( N = 485)…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Questions 21–35 about online information seeking were analyzed here. The questions on Internet access were analyzed previously (Bauer et al 2016). The survey was translated into 12 local languages: Chinese, Danish, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, and English (versions for US/Canada, UK and Australia).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Automated logic checking of numeric fields was implemented as appropriate. More details about the survey methodology and validation were published previously (Bauer et al 2016). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Online information seeking by patients with bipolar disorder: results from an international multisite survey

Conell

Bauer

Glenn³

et al. 2016

Int J Bipolar Disord

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BackgroundInformation seeking is an important coping mechanism for dealing with chronic illness. Despite a growing number of mental health websites, there is little understanding of how patients with bipolar disorder use the Internet to seek information.MethodsA 39 question, paper-based, anonymous survey, translated into 12 languages, was completed by 1222 patients in 17 countries as a convenience sample between March 2014 and January 2016. All patients had a diagnosis of bipolar disorder from a psychiatrist. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and generalized estimating equations to account for correlated data.Results976 (81 % of 1212 valid responses) of the patients used the Internet, and of these 750 (77 %) looked for information on bipolar disorder. When looking online for information, 89 % used a computer rather than a smartphone, and 79 % started with a general search engine. The primary reasons for searching were drug side effects (51 %), to learn anonymously (43 %), and for help coping (39 %). About 1/3 rated their search skills as expert, and 2/3 as basic or intermediate. 59 % preferred a website on mental illness and 33 % preferred Wikipedia. Only 20 % read or participated in online support groups. Most patients (62 %) searched a couple times a year. Online information seeking helped about 2/3 to cope (41 % of the entire sample). About 2/3 did not discuss Internet findings with their doctor.ConclusionOnline information seeking helps many patients to cope although alternative information sources remain important. Most patients do not discuss Internet findings with their doctor, and concern remains about the quality of online information especially related to prescription drugs. Patients may not rate search skills accurately, and may not understand limitations of online privacy. More patient education about online information searching is needed and physicians should recommend a few high quality websites.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40345-016-0058-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 52%

“…The survey was completed by 1222 patients, with 51 more surveys received since the first analysis (Bauer et al 2016). With 1212 valid responses, 976 (81 %) patients used the Internet.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Automated logic checking of numeric fields was implemented as appropriate. More details about the survey methodology and validation were published previously (Bauer et al 2016). …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations