People with stigmatized illnesses often avoid seeking health care and education. The internet may be a useful health education and outreach tool for this group. This study examined patterns of internet use for health information among those with and without stigmatized illnesses.
A national survey of internet users in the USA was conducted. Respondents who self-reported a stigmatized condition - defined as anxiety, depression, herpes, or urinary incontinence - were compared to respondents who reported having at least one other chronic illness, such as cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and back pain. The analytical sample consisted of 7014 respondents. Cross-sectional associations between stigmatized illness and frequency of internet use for information about health care, use of the internet for communication about health, changes in health care utilization after internet use, and satisfaction with the internet were determined.
After controlling for a number of potential confounders,
those with stigmatized illnesses were significantly more likely to have used the internet for health information,
to have communicated with clinicians about their condition using the internet, and to have increased utilization of health care based on information found on the internet, than those with non-stigmatized conditions. Length of time spent online, frequency of internet use, satisfaction with health information found on the internet, and discussion of internet findings with health care providers did not significantly differ between the two groups.
Results from this survey suggest that the internet may be a valuable health communication and education tool for populations who are affected by stigmatized illnesses.
Social Science & Medicine
Volume 61, Issue 8, October 2005, Pages 1821-1827
Abstract Full Text + Links PDF (201 K)
Related Articles in ScienceDirect
Influences, usage, and outcomes of Internet health info...
International Journal of Medical Informatics
Influences, usage, and outcomes of Internet health information searching: Multivariate results from the Pew surveys
International Journal of Medical Informatics, Volume 75, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 8-28
Ronald E. Rice
Abstract
Summary
This paper provides results from seven major nationally representative datasets (two in detail) from the Pew Internet and American Life Project to answer two primary questions: (1) what influences people to seek online health information and (2) what influences their perceived outcomes from having access to this information? Cross-tabulations, logistic regressions, and multidimensional scaling are applied to these survey datasets. The strongest and most consistent influences on ever, or more frequently, using the Internet to search for health information were sex (female), employment (not fulltime), engaging in more other Internet activities, more specific health reasons (diagnosed with new health problem, ongoing medical condition, prescribed new medication or treatment), and helping another deal with health issues. Internet health seeking is consistently similar to general Internet activities such as email, news, weather, and sometimes hobbies. A variety of outcomes from or positive assessments of searching for Internet health information are predicted most strongly by sex (female), engaging in other Internet activities, Internet health information seeking including more frequent health seeking, more specific health reasons, belonging to an online support group sharing health interests, and helping another deal with an illness or major health condition.Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (266 K)
Patient Internet use for health information at three ur...
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Patient Internet use for health information at three urban primary care clinics
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Volume 11, Issue 6, November-December 2004, Pages 499-504
Suzanne Dickerson, Amber M. Reinhart, Thomas Hugh Feeley, Rakesh Bidani, Ellen Rich, Vinod K. Garg and Charles O. Hershey
Abstract
Objective
To survey a cross section of patients presenting to three urban primary care clinics to understand online health information search behaviors.
Design and analysis
At three urban primary care clinics affiliated with University at Buffalo, School of Medicine, 315 patients were interviewed. Interview questions included items on education, demographic information, employment, number of current prescriptions, insurance, online access, and specifics of health-searching behaviors. Chart review determined patient body mass index and number of chronic illnesses. Logistic regression and χ2 statistics were used to investigate the relationship between patient characteristics and the proportion of patients who use the Web for seeking health information.
Results
Approximately 53% of respondents reported using Web or e-mail in the past year and 68% (33% of total sample) of those who accessed the Web used it to search for health information.
The two most commonly cited search areas included information about a physical illness and nutrition/fitness.
Education and race significantly predicted online health-seeking behavior when considering all factors in the study. Many patients (22%) relied on friends and family to navigate the Web, and 45% of patients reported that the information that they sought was unrelated to their clinical visit.
Conclusion
Current use of the Internet for health information was limited among more disadvantaged patient groups. More research is needed to examine the relationship between health-seeking behavior and patients' management of their health and well-being.
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (103 K)
Federal regulations governing health information securi...
AORN
Federal regulations governing health information security published
AORN, Volume 68, Issue 5, November 1998, Pages 866-868
Susan E. Ziel
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (188 K)
A call for standardization of fertility clinic websites
Fertility and Sterility
A call for standardization of fertility clinic websites
Fertility and Sterility, Volume 83, Issue 3, March 2005, Pages 556-557
Jack Y.J. Huang, Federico Discepola and Togas Tulandi
Abstract
Websites for Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology–affiliated clinics fail to meet most American Medical Association health information guidelines. Professional organizations in reproductive medicine need to standardize the accuracy and appropriateness of online reproductive health information.
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (44 K)
The Web and the New Generation of Medical Information S...
Outcome Prediction in Cancer
The Web and the New Generation of Medical Information Systems
Outcome Prediction in Cancer, 2007, Pages 391-414
José Manuel Fonseca, André Damas Mora and Pedro Barroso
Abstract
Summary
The advent of the Internet has allowed physicians, patients and other healthcare providers to access an unprecedented volume of information in an easy and cost-effective way. This new scenario opens up new frontiers to medical activity and changes the way physicians act with obvious repercussions on healthcare services, quality and effectiveness. However, despite the perspectives that information systems offer to healthcare professionals, their implementation is not easy. In fact, there are many difficult problems to overcome in the design of medical information systems for efficient knowledge extraction. The huge amount of information on patients accumulated in modern healthcare institutions is difficult to manage and often not as useful as it should be, because it is either inaccessible, too slow to be clinically used or too difficult to access justifying the need for more effective information management techniques and statistical analysis for knowledge discovery and extraction. The privacy of information required both for legal and ethical issues, and the quality and reliability of information are also important issues in this kind of systems. Also, in many real-world situations information is still kept on paper due to the unavailability of adequate computer support or to the traditional technophobia of many users, pushing the need for better, more appealing and user-friendly human interfaces. The interoperability of information between different healthcare institutions with different cultures and languages is another important problem that must be overcome by the use of adequate technology. New technologies such as mobile computing and wireless internet access also open up new frontiers in medical information systems by enabling the establishment of ubiquitous information networks that can be accessed virtually anywhere and anytime.
Abstract
View More Related Articles
View Record in Scopus
Cited By in Scopus (12)
doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.03.025
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Internet use and stigmatized illness
Magdalena Bergera, Todd H. Wagnera, b, c, , and Laurence C. Bakerb, c
aVA Health Economics Resource Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
bDepartment of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
cCenter for Health Policy and Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Available online 26 April 2005.
Abstract
People with stigmatized illnesses often avoid seeking health care and education. The internet may be a useful health education and outreach tool for this group. This study examined patterns of internet use for health information among those with and without stigmatized illnesses. A national survey of internet users in the USA was conducted. Respondents who self-reported a stigmatized condition—defined as anxiety, depression, herpes, or urinary incontinence—were compared to respondents who reported having at least one other chronic illness, such as cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and back pain. The analytical sample consisted of 7014 respondents. Cross-sectional associations between stigmatized illness and frequency of internet use for information about health care, use of the internet for communication about health, changes in health care utilization after internet use, and satisfaction with the internet were determined. After controlling for a number of potential confounders, those with stigmatized illnesses were significantly more likely to have used the internet for health information, to have communicated with clinicians about their condition using the internet, and to have increased utilization of health care based on information found on the internet, than those with non-stigmatized conditions. Length of time spent online, frequency of internet use, satisfaction with health information found on the internet, and discussion of internet findings with health care providers did not significantly differ between the two groups.
http://healthpolicy.stanford.edu/publications/internet_use_and_stigmatized_illness/
A national survey of internet users in the USA was conducted. Respondents who self-reported a stigmatized condition - defined as anxiety, depression, herpes, or urinary incontinence - were compared to respondents who reported having at least one other chronic illness, such as cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and back pain. The analytical sample consisted of 7014 respondents. Cross-sectional associations between stigmatized illness and frequency of internet use for information about health care, use of the internet for communication about health, changes in health care utilization after internet use, and satisfaction with the internet were determined.
After controlling for a number of potential confounders,
those with stigmatized illnesses were significantly more likely to have used the internet for health information,
to have communicated with clinicians about their condition using the internet, and to have increased utilization of health care based on information found on the internet, than those with non-stigmatized conditions. Length of time spent online, frequency of internet use, satisfaction with health information found on the internet, and discussion of internet findings with health care providers did not significantly differ between the two groups.
Results from this survey suggest that the internet may be a valuable health communication and education tool for populations who are affected by stigmatized illnesses.
Social Science & Medicine
Volume 61, Issue 8, October 2005, Pages 1821-1827
Abstract Full Text + Links PDF (201 K)
Related Articles in ScienceDirect
Influences, usage, and outcomes of Internet health info...
International Journal of Medical Informatics
Influences, usage, and outcomes of Internet health information searching: Multivariate results from the Pew surveys
International Journal of Medical Informatics, Volume 75, Issue 1, January 2006, Pages 8-28
Ronald E. Rice
Abstract
Summary
This paper provides results from seven major nationally representative datasets (two in detail) from the Pew Internet and American Life Project to answer two primary questions: (1) what influences people to seek online health information and (2) what influences their perceived outcomes from having access to this information? Cross-tabulations, logistic regressions, and multidimensional scaling are applied to these survey datasets. The strongest and most consistent influences on ever, or more frequently, using the Internet to search for health information were sex (female), employment (not fulltime), engaging in more other Internet activities, more specific health reasons (diagnosed with new health problem, ongoing medical condition, prescribed new medication or treatment), and helping another deal with health issues. Internet health seeking is consistently similar to general Internet activities such as email, news, weather, and sometimes hobbies. A variety of outcomes from or positive assessments of searching for Internet health information are predicted most strongly by sex (female), engaging in other Internet activities, Internet health information seeking including more frequent health seeking, more specific health reasons, belonging to an online support group sharing health interests, and helping another deal with an illness or major health condition.Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (266 K)
Patient Internet use for health information at three ur...
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association
Patient Internet use for health information at three urban primary care clinics
Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, Volume 11, Issue 6, November-December 2004, Pages 499-504
Suzanne Dickerson, Amber M. Reinhart, Thomas Hugh Feeley, Rakesh Bidani, Ellen Rich, Vinod K. Garg and Charles O. Hershey
Abstract
Objective
To survey a cross section of patients presenting to three urban primary care clinics to understand online health information search behaviors.
Design and analysis
At three urban primary care clinics affiliated with University at Buffalo, School of Medicine, 315 patients were interviewed. Interview questions included items on education, demographic information, employment, number of current prescriptions, insurance, online access, and specifics of health-searching behaviors. Chart review determined patient body mass index and number of chronic illnesses. Logistic regression and χ2 statistics were used to investigate the relationship between patient characteristics and the proportion of patients who use the Web for seeking health information.
Results
Approximately 53% of respondents reported using Web or e-mail in the past year and 68% (33% of total sample) of those who accessed the Web used it to search for health information.
The two most commonly cited search areas included information about a physical illness and nutrition/fitness.
Education and race significantly predicted online health-seeking behavior when considering all factors in the study. Many patients (22%) relied on friends and family to navigate the Web, and 45% of patients reported that the information that they sought was unrelated to their clinical visit.
Conclusion
Current use of the Internet for health information was limited among more disadvantaged patient groups. More research is needed to examine the relationship between health-seeking behavior and patients' management of their health and well-being.
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (103 K)
Federal regulations governing health information securi...
AORN
Federal regulations governing health information security published
AORN, Volume 68, Issue 5, November 1998, Pages 866-868
Susan E. Ziel
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (188 K)
A call for standardization of fertility clinic websites
Fertility and Sterility
A call for standardization of fertility clinic websites
Fertility and Sterility, Volume 83, Issue 3, March 2005, Pages 556-557
Jack Y.J. Huang, Federico Discepola and Togas Tulandi
Abstract
Websites for Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology–affiliated clinics fail to meet most American Medical Association health information guidelines. Professional organizations in reproductive medicine need to standardize the accuracy and appropriateness of online reproductive health information.
Abstract | Full Text + Links | PDF (44 K)
The Web and the New Generation of Medical Information S...
Outcome Prediction in Cancer
The Web and the New Generation of Medical Information Systems
Outcome Prediction in Cancer, 2007, Pages 391-414
José Manuel Fonseca, André Damas Mora and Pedro Barroso
Abstract
Summary
The advent of the Internet has allowed physicians, patients and other healthcare providers to access an unprecedented volume of information in an easy and cost-effective way. This new scenario opens up new frontiers to medical activity and changes the way physicians act with obvious repercussions on healthcare services, quality and effectiveness. However, despite the perspectives that information systems offer to healthcare professionals, their implementation is not easy. In fact, there are many difficult problems to overcome in the design of medical information systems for efficient knowledge extraction. The huge amount of information on patients accumulated in modern healthcare institutions is difficult to manage and often not as useful as it should be, because it is either inaccessible, too slow to be clinically used or too difficult to access justifying the need for more effective information management techniques and statistical analysis for knowledge discovery and extraction. The privacy of information required both for legal and ethical issues, and the quality and reliability of information are also important issues in this kind of systems. Also, in many real-world situations information is still kept on paper due to the unavailability of adequate computer support or to the traditional technophobia of many users, pushing the need for better, more appealing and user-friendly human interfaces. The interoperability of information between different healthcare institutions with different cultures and languages is another important problem that must be overcome by the use of adequate technology. New technologies such as mobile computing and wireless internet access also open up new frontiers in medical information systems by enabling the establishment of ubiquitous information networks that can be accessed virtually anywhere and anytime.
Abstract
View More Related Articles
View Record in Scopus
Cited By in Scopus (12)
doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.03.025
Copyright © 2005 Elsevier Ltd All rights reserved.
Internet use and stigmatized illness
Magdalena Bergera, Todd H. Wagnera, b, c, , and Laurence C. Bakerb, c
aVA Health Economics Resource Center, VA Palo Alto Health Care System, Palo Alto, CA, USA
bDepartment of Health Research and Policy, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
cCenter for Health Policy and Center for Primary Care and Outcomes Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA
Available online 26 April 2005.
Abstract
People with stigmatized illnesses often avoid seeking health care and education. The internet may be a useful health education and outreach tool for this group. This study examined patterns of internet use for health information among those with and without stigmatized illnesses. A national survey of internet users in the USA was conducted. Respondents who self-reported a stigmatized condition—defined as anxiety, depression, herpes, or urinary incontinence—were compared to respondents who reported having at least one other chronic illness, such as cancer, heart problems, diabetes, and back pain. The analytical sample consisted of 7014 respondents. Cross-sectional associations between stigmatized illness and frequency of internet use for information about health care, use of the internet for communication about health, changes in health care utilization after internet use, and satisfaction with the internet were determined. After controlling for a number of potential confounders, those with stigmatized illnesses were significantly more likely to have used the internet for health information, to have communicated with clinicians about their condition using the internet, and to have increased utilization of health care based on information found on the internet, than those with non-stigmatized conditions. Length of time spent online, frequency of internet use, satisfaction with health information found on the internet, and discussion of internet findings with health care providers did not significantly differ between the two groups.
http://healthpolicy.stanford.edu/publications/internet_use_and_stigmatized_illness/