The Impact of the Internet on Pediatric Medicine

Kim, George R.; Lehmann, Christoph U.

doi:10.2165/00128072-200305070-00001

Cited by 11 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 13 publications

(3 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In recent decades, many pediatric diabetes practitioners have made efforts to enhance peer-to-peer support and learning with activities such as group education, evening meetings, parent groups, camps for adolescents, mailing list discussion groups, and chat rooms [3-7]. Meanwhile, information technology has undergone rapid development impacting significantly on social life and modes of communication [8]. Technical advances provide a foundation for proactive health systems that use information from multiple sources for support aimed improved health and avoidance of health risks [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient and Parent Views on a Web 2.0 Diabetes Portal—the Management Tool, the Generator, and the Gatekeeper: Qualitative Study

Nordfeldt¹,

Hanberger²,

Berterö³

2010

J Med Internet Res

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundThe Internet has undergone rapid development, with significant impact on social life and on modes of communication. Modern management of type 1 diabetes requires that patients have access to continuous support and learning opportunities. Although Web 2.0 resources can provide this support, few pediatric clinics offer it as part of routine diabetes care.ObjectiveWe aimed to explore patients’ and parents’ attitudes toward a local Web 2.0 portal tailored to young patients with type 1 diabetes and their parents, with social networking tools such as message boards and blogs, locally produced self-care and treatment information, and interactive pedagogic devices. Opportunities and obstacles to the implementation of Web 2.0 applications in clinical practice were sought.MethodsParticipants were 16 mothers, 3 fathers, and 5 young patients (ages 11-18 years; median 14 years) who each wrote an essay on their experience using the portal, irrespective of frequency and/or their success in using it. Two main guiding questions were asked. A qualitative content analysis was conducted of the essays as a whole.ResultsThree main categories of portal users’ attitudes were found; we named them “the management tool,” “the generator,” and “the gatekeeper.” One category was related to the management tool functionality of the portal, and a wide range of concrete examples was found regarding useful facts and updates. Being enabled to search when necessary and find reliable information provided by local clinicians was regarded as a great advantage, facilitating a feeling of security and being in control. Finding answers to difficult-to-ask questions, questions portal users did not know they had before, and questions focusing on sensitive areas such as anxiety and fear, was also an important feature. A second category was related to the generator function in that visiting the portal could generate more information than expected, which could lead to increased use. Active message boards and chat rooms were found to have great value for enhancing mediation of third party peer-to-peer information. A certain level of active users from peer families and visible signs of their activity were considered necessary to attract returning users. A third category was related to the gatekeeper function of the password requirement, which created various access problems. This and other unsuccessful experiences caused users to drop the portal. A largely open portal was suggested to enhance use by those associated with the child with diabetes, such as school personnel, relatives, friends and others, and also by young users somewhat unwilling to self-identify with the disease.ConclusionsWeb 2.0 services have great potential for supporting parents and patients with type 1 diabetes by enhancing their information retrieval and disease management. Well-developed services, such as this one, may generate continued use and should, therefore, be carefully maintained and updated by health care professionals who are alert and active on the site with new informat...

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient and Parent Views on a Web 2.0 Diabetes Portal—the Management Tool, the Generator, and the Gatekeeper: Qualitative Study

Nordfeldt¹,

Hanberger²,

Berterö³

2010

J Med Internet Res

130

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…While providing accurate and comprehensible information, internet sites can equally provide misleading or difficult to understand information that can cause undue anxiety, appropriately termed 'cyberchondria' [1,3,4]. This raises concerns for both patient and doctor alike as the patient-doctor relationship can potentially be altered on the basis of the internet search [5][6][7]. We aimed to ascertain the level of internet use to search for information regarding scoliosis by parents of children attending the outpatient service in our hospital.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internet use by parents of children attending a dedicated scoliosis outpatient clinic

et al. 2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Purpose No information exists on the level of internet use among parents of pediatric patients with scoliosis. The internet may represent a medium through which to provide information to augment the outpatient consultation. The aim of this research was to establish the prevalence of internet use amongst a cohort of parents attending a pediatric scoliosis outpatient clinic. Methods A previously used questionnaire (Baker et al., Eur Spine J, 19:1776-1779, 2010) was distributed to parents attending a dedicated scoliosis outpatient clinic with their children. Demographic data and details about use of the internet were collected. Results Fifty-eight percent of respondents had used the internet to search for information on scoliosis, and 94 % were interested in a local internet provided information provision. A positive history of corrective surgery and possession of health insurance were independent positive predictors of internet use. Conclusions As surgeons we need to be aware of our patients' use of the internet, and there is the opportunity to use this medium to provide additional education.

show abstract

“…For individuals with a chronic health problem, the Internet has evolved from being a source for medical information retrieval (Web 1.0) to being a dynamic resource for living with a chronic disease, one that is created and maintained in part by third-party apomediation (Web 2.0) [1-3]. The broadened scope of information in the Web 2.0 context has been followed by a parallel evolution of information practices (eg, the introduction of new types of quality criteria for evaluating the presentation and trustworthiness of medical advice) [4].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Professionals’ Attitudes Towards Using a Web 2.0 Portal for Child and Adolescent Diabetes Care: Qualitative Study

Nordqvist¹,

Hanberger²,

Timpka³

et al. 2009

J Med Internet Res

121

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background The Internet, created and maintained in part by third-party apomediation, has become a dynamic resource for living with a chronic disease. Modern management of type 1 diabetes requires continuous support and problem-based learning, but few pediatric clinics offer Web 2.0 resources to patients as part of routine diabetes care.Objectives To explore pediatric practitioners’ attitudes towards the introduction of a local Web portal for providing young type 1 diabetes patients with interactive pedagogic devices, social networking tools, and locally produced self-care and treatment information. Opportunities and barriers related to the introduction of such systems into clinical practice were sought.Methods Twenty clinicians (seven doctors, nine nurses, two dieticians, and two social welfare officers) from two pediatric diabetes teams participated in the user-centered design of a local Web 2.0 portal. After completion of the design, individual semi-structured interviews were performed and data were analyzed using phenomenological methods.Results The practitioners reported a range of positive attitudes towards the introduction of a local Web 2.0 portal to their clinical practice. Most interviewees were satisfied with how the portal turned out, and a sense of community emerged during the design process and development of the portal’s contents. A complementary role was suggested for the portal within the context of health practice culture, where patients and their parents would be able to learn about the disease before, between, and after scheduled contacts with their health care team. Although some professionals expected that email communication with patients and online patient information would save time during routine care, others emphasized the importance of also maintaining face-to-face communication. Online peer-to-peer communication was regarded as a valuable function; however, most clinicians did not expect that the portal would be used extensively for social networking amongst their patients. There were no major differences in attitudes between different professions or clinics, but some differences appeared in relation to work tasks.Conclusions Experienced clinical practitioners working in diabetes teams exhibited positive attitudes towards a Web 2.0 portal tailored for young patients with type 1 diabetes and their parents. The portal included provision of third-party information, as well as practical and social means of support. The practitioners’ early and active participation provides a possible explanation for these positive attitudes. The findings encourage close collaboration with all user groups when implementing Web 2.0 systems for the care of young patients with chronic diseases, particularly type 1 diabetes. The study also highlights the need for efforts to educate clinical practitioners in the use of Web publishing, social networking, and other Web 2.0 resources. Investigations of attitudes towards implementing similar systems in the care of adults with chronic diseases are warranted.

show abstract

The Impact of the Internet on Pediatric Medicine

Cited by 11 publications

References 13 publications

Patient and Parent Views on a Web 2.0 Diabetes Portal—the Management Tool, the Generator, and the Gatekeeper: Qualitative Study

Patient and Parent Views on a Web 2.0 Diabetes Portal—the Management Tool, the Generator, and the Gatekeeper: Qualitative Study

Internet use by parents of children attending a dedicated scoliosis outpatient clinic

Health Professionals’ Attitudes Towards Using a Web 2.0 Portal for Child and Adolescent Diabetes Care: Qualitative Study

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About