Parents of Urban Adolescents in Harlem, New York, and the Internet: A Cross-sectional Survey on Preferred Resources for Health Information

Abstract

Background Vulnerable populations suffer disproportionately from a variety of health conditions. Access to health information is an important component of health promotion. Reports suggest that while health providers and print media are traditional sources of information, the Internet may be becoming an increasingly important resource for consumers. Particularly, for parents of urban adolescents of color, the Internet could prove to be a valuable asset in helping them understand adolescent health and behavioral issues.Objective To determine the types of adolescent health and behavioral issues of concern to parents of color and to assess their preference for sources of health information, including the Internet.Methods A confidential, self-administered survey was administered to parents (largely of African American and Hispanic descent) of 9th-grade students over a 2-year period during 2001-2002 in Harlem, NY. The instrument assessed health and behavioral topics of concern, preferred resources for information, ownership and utilization patterns of computers and the Internet, and interest in obtaining additional computer/Internet training.Results A total of 419 surveys were completed; 165 in 2001 (67% response rate) and 254 in 2002 (no response rate available). Analysis of responses indicated a substantial degree of interest in obtaining information about a variety of adolescent health issues, including: HIV, sexually transmitted infections, , mental health concerns and relationships with family and peers. While home ownership of computers (84%) and access to the Internet were reasonably high (74%), use of the Internet for health information was low (14%). However, 62% of parents indicated a strong desire to have more instruction on computers and the Internet.Conclusions Compared to other sources of health information, the Internet is underutilized by urban parents of color. Additional research is needed to identify strategies to improve utilization and assess subsequent impact on parenting activities.

Examining Digital Differences: Parents' Online Activities

“…Linebarger and Chernin (2003) found that parents reported feeling more comfortable using a computer if they owned one and more strongly agreed that people got left behind if they did not know about computers. However, in another study, African American and Latino parents who largely had access to the Internet reported they did not search much for health information online (Cohall et al, 2004). This gap between access and use may be due to a lack of comfort with technology as many of these parents expressed a desire to learn more about the Internet.…”

“…While some studies have found disparities in technology access by race, others have found differences disappear at higher income levels (Plantin & Daneback, 2009). In one study, urban families of color tended to have high levels of access to the Internet (77%) even though 46% of the families were considered low income; however, only 14% of the families searched the Internet for health information (Cohall, Cohall, Dye, Dini, & Vaughan, 2004).…”

“…Comfort may be another important factor: parents who reported feeling comfortable with technology tended to use the Internet frequently (Walker, Dworkin, & Connell, 2011). Rather than a lack of interest, it may be a lack of comfort and familiarity with technology that keeps some parents from engaging with online resources (Cohall et al, 2004;Linebarger & Chernin, 2003). These findings suggest that complex processes accompany differences in digital use that go beyond demographic characteristics such as income and education.…”

Social Networking Among Upper Extremity Patients

“…Cohall et al documented computer ownership in more than 84% of urban adolescents in Harlem. 8 Similarly, studies have described expanding computer access among other minority and underserved populations. 9 Among patients in an urban, tertiary-care center, we found that 78% of upper extremity patients reported owning a computer.…”

Patients' perceptions of Internet usage and their opportunity to obtain health information

“…In real life, there is also a great variation in patients regarding how they want to receive health information: there are patients who have already started to require e-mail and/or wireless application protocol communication to be included in hospital-patient communication [6,31], while there are patients who do not benefit or have enough motivation to use computers to find health information [32]. One solution to this wide variation is a systematic evaluation of patients' educational needs.…”