Beyond access: barriers to internet health information seeking among the urban poor

McCloud, Rachel F.; Okechukwu, Cassandra A.; Sorensen, Glorian; Viswanath, Kasisomayajula

doi:10.1093/jamia/ocv204

Cited by 113 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…First, the dissemination tool users had a significantly higher income level compared to those in the RCT phase, suggesting that a higher income population may be more likely to seek information and online help when making a health insurance plan decision. Barriers that may hinder low income populations from seeking online insurance help could be limited time to access the internet, lack of interest seeking online information, lack of familiarity with tools or discomfort entering personal information online [27][28][29]. To better facilitate the dissemination of this tool to a wide target audience, future work could incorporate the tool information into other assistant programs and websites to increase the visibility of the tool.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissemination of a Web-Based Tool for Supporting Health Insurance Plan Decisions (Show Me Health Plans): Cross-Sectional Observational Study (Preprint)

Zhao¹,

Mir²,

Ackermann³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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Background: The rate of uninsured has decreased dramatically since the passage of the Affordable Care Act. To make an informed decision, consumers need assistance to understand the advantages and disadvantages of health insurance plans and select a suitable plan. The Show Me Health Plans (SMHP) web-based decision support tool was developed to improve health insurance decision quality. In response to the promising effectiveness of SMHP in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and the growing need for web-based health insurance decision support, the study team used expert recommendations for dissemination and implementation processes, engaged external stakeholders, and released the SMHP tool so that it was available to the general public.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dissemination of a Web-Based Tool for Supporting Health Insurance Plan Decisions (Show Me Health Plans): Cross-Sectional Observational Study (Preprint)

Zhao¹,

Mir²,

Ackermann³

et al. 2018

Preprint

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Inequalities in health information seeking have also been documented by others showing that that younger people, those with higher socioeconomic status, higher level of education, and higher Internet skills are more likely to report the use of online sources for health information (Jacobs, Amuto, & Jeon, 2017). In addition to limited Internet access, socioeconomically disadvantaged populations seeking online health information experience other barriers to information gathering such as connectivity problems and frustration during health information searches (McCloud, Okechukwu, Sorensen, & Viswanath, 2016). Health literacy, defined as “the capacity of individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions” (National Center for Health Statistics, 2011), may also play a role in determining use of the Internet for health information searches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health-related internet use among opioid treatment patients

Masson

Chen

Levine

et al. 2019

Addictive Behaviors Reports

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The Internet and smartphones have become commonplace and can be effective in overcoming traditional barriers to accessing health information about substance use disorders (SUD), and their prevention or treatment. Little is known, however, about specific factors that may influence the use of these technologies among socioeconomically disadvantaged populations with SUDs. This study characterized the use of digital technologies and the Internet among individuals receiving treatment for opioid use disorder, focusing on identifying predictors of Internet use for health-related purposes. Participants came from an urban opioid replacement therapy program and completed a face-to-face survey on Internet and technology use. We examined the association between online health information seeking and technology acceptance variables, including perceived usefulness, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitating conditions (e.g., availability of devices/services and technical support). Participants ( N = 178, ages 18–64) endorsed high rates of current smartphone ownership (94%) and everyday Internet use (67%). 88% of participants reported searching online for information about health or medical topics in the past 3 months. Predictors of Internet use for health-related purposes were higher technology acceptance for mobile Internet use, younger age, current employment, and less bodily pain. Our results demonstrate high acceptance and use of mobile technology and the Internet among this sample of socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals with SUDs. However, these findings also highlight the importance of identifying barriers that disadvantaged groups face in using mobile technologies when designing technology-based interventions for this population.

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“…However, despite the development of Internet-based services, individuals commonly fail to obtain useful health information related to their illness in OHCs. The reason is that most health-related websites emphasize providing pure news and social functions, rather than decision-making support for patients with health-care knowledge, thereby negatively affecting their personal health [8]. Therefore, studies on effective social and knowledge-based support in OHCs are crucial to online patients' well-being and overall quality of life [9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Online Patient Support through Health-Care Knowledge in Online Health Communities: A Descriptive Study

et al. 2018

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Online health communities (OHCs) should utilize health-care knowledge for enhancing online patient support. To examine the use of existing OHCs to identify the challenges and strategies of enhancing online patients’ decision-making support, we conducted a descriptive study to evaluate the information availability, user availability and knowledge usability in 100 carefully-selected health-related websites. On the basis of criteria for effective OHCs, we used three evaluation instruments for health-care professionals to review and score the websites. Questionnaire results were examined from the perspective of information, user and knowledge support. Results corroborate that over 80% of the websites facilitate effective social functions, whereas only 33% provide health-care decision-making services to online patients. Approximately 46% of them satisfy four or five effective OHCs’ criteria. Three of them only offer the functions of patients’ charts and journals to support health data management. Although the existing OHCs are facilitated with good social interaction and support, only a few can assist patients in making effective health-care decisions, not to mention properly using health-care knowledge support.

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Beyond access: barriers to internet health information seeking among the urban poor

Abstract: After initial internet access, a second-level digital divide emerged due to connectivity issues, highlighting the need to understand the complex network of barriers experienced by low-SEP internet users.

Cited by 113 publications

References 32 publications

Dissemination of a Web-Based Tool for Supporting Health Insurance Plan Decisions (Show Me Health Plans): Cross-Sectional Observational Study (Preprint)

Dissemination of a Web-Based Tool for Supporting Health Insurance Plan Decisions (Show Me Health Plans): Cross-Sectional Observational Study (Preprint)

Health-related internet use among opioid treatment patients

Enhancing Online Patient Support through Health-Care Knowledge in Online Health Communities: A Descriptive Study

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