Information on the Internet for asplenic patients: a systematic review

Downing, Mark; Omar, A.K. Mohd; Sabri, Elham; McCarthy, Anne

doi:10.1503/cjs.005510

Cited by 23 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 14 publications

(8 reference statements)

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“…However, the operationalised subitems of the content guideline were not considered by the websites owners, in spite of having the highest rank (rank 1) and weighted multiplier (6) in the Bomba scoring system. The weakness in content and non-compliance with the standards of quality-assessment instruments were also indicated in other studies (3, 5, 8, 20, 25, 41, 42). Moreover, there was a negative, low, and significant correlation between content and availability guidelines; therefore, availability subitems such as the URL accessibility, home page load time, link checking and browser compatibility should be considered in addition to the procedures performed for content improvement.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Health Information on Internet: Quality, Importance, and Popularity of Persian Health Websites

Samadbeik¹,

Ahmadi²,

Mohammadi³

et al. 2014

Iran Red Crescent Med J

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Background:The Internet has provided great opportunities for disseminating both accurate and inaccurate health information. Therefore, the quality of information is considered as a widespread concern affecting the human life. Despite the increasingly substantial growth in the number of users, Persian health websites and the proportion of internet-using patients, little is known about the quality of Persian medical and health websites.Objectives:The current study aimed to first assess the quality, popularity and importance of websites providing Persian health-related information, and second to evaluate the correlation of the popularity and importance ranking with quality score on the Internet.Materials and Methods:The sample websites were identified by entering the health-related keywords into four most popular search engines of Iranian users based on the Alexa ranking at the time of study. Each selected website was assessed using three qualified tools including the Bomba and Land Index, Google PageRank and the Alexa ranking.Results:The evaluated sites characteristics (ownership structure, database, scope and objective) really did not have an effect on the Alexa traffic global rank, Alexa traffic rank in Iran, Google PageRank and Bomba total score. Most websites (78.9 percent, n = 56) were in the moderate category (8 ≤ x ≤ 11.99) based on their quality levels. There was no statistically significant association between Google PageRank with Bomba index variables and Alexa traffic global rank (P > 0.05).Conclusions:The Persian health websites had better Bomba quality scores in availability and usability guidelines as compared to other guidelines. The Google PageRank did not properly reflect the real quality of evaluated websites and Internet users seeking online health information should not merely rely on it for any kind of prejudgment regarding Persian health websites. However, they can use Iran Alexa rank as a primary filtering tool of these websites. Therefore, designing search engines dedicated to explore accredited Persian health-related Web sites can be an effective method to access high-quality Persian health websites.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Health Information on Internet: Quality, Importance, and Popularity of Persian Health Websites

Samadbeik¹,

Ahmadi²,

Mohammadi³

et al. 2014

Iran Red Crescent Med J

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“…In 2004 Wallace et al 13 found that only 7% of the American Academy of Family Practice's PEMS were written below an 8 th grade reading level. Various subspecialties such as cardiology 14,15 , infectious disease, 16 plastic surgery, 17 dermatology, 18 orthopedics, 19,20 palliative care, 21 oncology 22,23 and obstetrics and gynecology 24,25 have studied the readability of the PEMs utilized in their fields, and findings consistently indicate that 9 th -12 th grade reading levels are necessary to read and comprehend these documents.…”

Section: Patient Education Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability of Patient Education Materials Available at the Point of Care

et al. 2012

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“…After their visit, patients look for more detailed or reassuring information [ 20 ]. While this is an example of self-efficacy and therefore a potentially important source of patient empowerment, poor-quality information found online can lead to possible adverse effects [ 21 - 23 ]. In addition, there are concerns about the dangers of using the Internet to obtain medicines outside the official medical system [ 24 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Empowerment of patients in online discussions about medicine use

Berkel

Lambooij

Hegger

2015

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

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BackgroundPatient empowerment is crucial in the successful self-management of people with chronic diseases. In this study, we investigated whether discussions about medicine use taking place on online message boards contribute to patient empowerment and could subsequently result in the more effective use of medicines. We discuss the extent to which patient empowerment processes occur in discussions on online message boards, focusing on patients with three disorders with different characteristics: diabetes, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Because information is an important factor in both patient empowerment and self-management, we also evaluate the quality of the information being exchanged.MethodsWe used a deductive thematic analysis method based on pre-existing categories. We gathered and analysed 5532 posts related to the conditions ADHD, ALS and diabetes from seven message boards (three for ADHD, three for diabetes, and one for ALS). We coded the posts for empowerment processes and the quality of the information exchanged.ResultsWe identified patient empowerment processes in posts related to all three disorders. There is some variation in the frequency of these processes, but they show a similar order in the results: patients used the online message boards to exchange information, share personal experiences and for empathy or support. The type of information shared in these processes could contribute to the patient’s self-efficacy when it comes to medicine use. The exchanged information was either correct or largely harmless. We also observed a tendency whereby participants correct previously posted incorrect information, and refer people to a healthcare professional following a request for medical advice, e.g. concerning the choice of medicines or dosage.ConclusionsOur findings show that patient empowerment processes occur in posts related to all three disorders. The type of information shared in these processes can contribute to the patient’s self-efficacy when it comes to medicine use. The tendency to refer people to a healthcare professional shows that patients still reserve an important role for healthcare professionals in the care process, despite the development towards more self-management.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12911-015-0146-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Information on the Internet for asplenic patients: a systematic review

Cited by 23 publications

References 14 publications

Health Information on Internet: Quality, Importance, and Popularity of Persian Health Websites

Health Information on Internet: Quality, Importance, and Popularity of Persian Health Websites

Readability of Patient Education Materials Available at the Point of Care

Empowerment of patients in online discussions about medicine use

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