Online Health Resource Use by Individuals With Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Analysis Using the National Health Interview Survey

Abstract

Background The internet has enabled convenient and efficient health information searching which is valuable for individuals with chronic conditions requiring some level of self-management. However, there is little research evaluating what factors may impact the use of the internet for health-related tasks for specific clinical populations, such as individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases. Objective Our goal was to investigate the factors that influence internet use in acquiring health information by individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases. Specifically, we identified factors associated with internet searching behavior and using the internet for completing health-related tasks. Methods We used 2016 National Health Interview Survey weighted data to develop logistic regression models to predict the likelihood that individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases would use the internet for 2 types of tasks: seeking health information through online searches and using the internet to perform health-related tasks including scheduling appointments and emailing care providers. Results 2016 National Health Interview Survey weighted data include more than 3 million weighted adult respondents with inflammatory bowel diseases (approximately 1.29% of adults in the weighted data set). Our results suggest that approximately 66.3% of those with inflammatory bowel diseases reported using the internet at least once a day, and approximately 14.7% reported being dissatisfied with their current health care. About 62.3% of those with inflammatory bowel diseases reported that they had looked up health information online, 16.3% of those with inflammatory bowel diseases reported that they had scheduled an appointment with a health care provider online, and 21.6% reported having used a computer to communicate with a health provider by email. We found that women who were self-regulating their care were more likely to look up health information online than others. Both middle-aged and older adults with inflammatory bowel diseases who were unsatisfied with their current health care were less likely to look up health information online. Frequent internet users who were worried about medical costs were more likely to look up health information online. Similarly, the results from our statistical models suggest that individuals with inflammatory bowel diseases who were frequent internet users were more likely to use the internet for specific health-related tasks. Additionally, women with inflammatory bowel diseases who reported being married were less likely to use the internet for specific health-related tasks. Conclusions For those with inflammatory bowel diseases, there are additional socioeconomic and behavioral factors that impact the use of the internet for health information and health-related tasks. Future research should evaluate how these factors moderate the use of the internet and identify how online resources can support clinical populations in ways that improve access to information, support health self-management, and subsequently improve health outcomes.

Does the Internet Use Improve the Mental Health of Chinese Older Adults?

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Who is using a mobile app and who is using a computer to access their patient portals?

“…The data analysis was conducted in R version 4.1.2. A multivariate logistic regression model was built using the 'svyglm' function of the 'survey' package (Lumley & Scott, 2017), which takes into consideration of complex survey design and has been used in multiple studies (Cassy, Natário, & Martins, 2016;Ukwajunor, Akarawak, Abiala, & Adebayo, 2020;Yin & Neyens, 2020). The 'svyglm' function also enabled us to include the sample weights in order to generate a conclusion that can be generalized to the U.S. adult population.…”

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“…Ensuing recommendations should lead to the development of evidence-based explanations that help guide discussions with patients and introduce shared sensemaking and shared decision making into practice. These explanations should be easily adaptable to specific symptom presentations and different health literacy levels, and may potentially be supported by pamphlets, online resources, 43 and multidisciplinary care teams. 44 Explanations may be informed by what we already know from pain education.…”