Dataset Information

Are Parents Getting it Right? A Survey of Parents' Internet Use for Children's Health Care Information.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The use of the Internet to search for medical and health-related information is increasing and associated with concerns around quality and safety.

Objective

We investigated the current use and perceptions on reliable websites for children's health information by parents.

Methods

Following institutional ethics approval, we conducted a survey of parents/guardians of children presenting for day surgery. A 20-item survey instrument developed and tested by the investigators was administered.

Results

Ninety-eight percent of respondents reported that they used the Internet to search for information about their child's health. Many respondents reported beginning their search at public search engines (80%); less than 20% reported starting their search at university/hospital-based websites. Common conditions such as colds/flu, skin conditions and fever were the most frequently searched, and unique conditions directly affecting the child were second. Despite low usage levels of university/hospital-based websites for health information, the majority of respondents (74%) regarded these as providing safe, accurate, and reliable information. In contrast, only 24% of respondents regarded public search engines as providing safe and reliable information. Fifty percent of respondents reported that they cross-checked information found on the internet with a family physician.

Conclusions

An unprecedented majority of parents and guardians are using the Internet for their child's health information. Of concern is that parents and guardians are currently not using reliable and safe sources of information. Health care providers should begin to focus on improving access to safe, accurate, and reliable information through various modalities including education, designing for multiplatform, and better search engine optimization.

SUBMITTER: Pehora C

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4526953 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Are Parents Getting it Right? A Survey of Parents' Internet Use for Children's Health Care Information.

Pehora Carolyne C Gajaria Nisha N Stoute Melyssa M Fracassa Sonia S Serebale-O'Sullivan Refilwe R Matava Clyde T CT

Interactive journal of medical research 20150622 2

<h4>Background</h4>The use of the Internet to search for medical and health-related information is increasing and associated with concerns around quality and safety.<h4>Objective</h4>We investigated the current use and perceptions on reliable websites for children's health information by parents.<h4>Methods</h4>Following institutional ethics approval, we conducted a survey of parents/guardians of children presenting for day surgery. A 20-item survey instrument developed and tested by the investi ...[more]

PMID: 26099207

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Project description:BACKGROUND:People often search the internet to obtain health-related information not only for themselves but also for family members and, in particular, their children. However, for a minority of parents, such searches may become excessive and distressing. Little is known about excessive web-based searching by parents for information regarding their children's health. OBJECTIVE:This study aimed to develop and validate an instrument designed to assess parents' web-based health information searching behavior, the Children's Health Internet Research, Parental Inventory (CHIRPI). METHODS:A pilot survey was used to establish the instrument (21 items). CHIRPI was validated online in a second sample (372/384, 96.9% mothers; mean age 32.7 years, SD 5.8). Item analyses, an exploratory factor analysis (EFA), and correlations with parents' perception of their children's health-related vulnerability (Child Vulnerability Scale, CVS), parental health anxiety (modified short Health Anxiety Inventory, mSHAI), and parental cyberchondria (Cyberchondria Severity Scale, CSS-15) were calculated. A subset of participants (n=73) provided retest data after 4 weeks. CHIRPI scores (total scores and subscale scores) of parents with a chronically ill child and parents who perceived their child to be vulnerable (CVS+; CVS>10) were compared with 2×2 analyses of variances (ANOVAs) with the factors Child's Health Status (chronically ill vs healthy) and perceived vulnerability (CVS+ vs CVS-). RESULTS:CHIRPI's internal consistency was standardized alpha=.89. The EFA identified three subscales: Symptom Focus (standardized alpha=.87), Implementing Advice (standardized alpha=.74) and Distress (standardized alpha=.89). The retest reliability of CHIRPI was measured as rtt=0.78. CHIRPI correlated strongly with CSS-15 (r=0.66) and mSHAI (r=0.39). The ANOVAs comparing the CHIRPI total score and the subscale scores for parents having a chronically ill child and parents perceiving their child as vulnerable revealed the main effects for perceiving one's child as vulnerable but not for having a chronically ill child. No interactions were found. This pattern was observed for the CHIRPI total score (η2=0.053) and each subscale (Symptom Focus η2=0.012; Distress η2=0.113; and Implementing Advice η2=0.018). CONCLUSIONS:The psychometric properties of CHIRPI are excellent. Correlations with mSHAI and CSS-15 indicate its validity. CHIRPI appears to be differentially sensitive to excessive searches owing to parents perceiving their child's health to be vulnerable rather than to higher informational needs of parents with chronically ill children. Therefore, it may help to identify parents who search excessively for web-based health information. CHIRPI (and, in particular, the Distress subscale) seems to capture a pattern of factors related to anxious health-related cognitions, emotions, and behaviors of parents, which is also applied to their children.

Project description:BackgroundParents of children with rare conditions increasingly use the Internet to source information on their child's condition. This study reports on part of a larger study whose overall aim was to identify the Internet use by parents when seeking information on their child's rare condition, with the specific purpose of using the findings to aid in the development of a website specifically designed to meet the parents' needs. It presents findings on why these parents use the Internet, the information and support content they source, and the impact these resources have on their capacity to care for and manage their child's condition.ObjectiveTo (1) ascertain parents' general Internet usage patterns, (2) identify the nature of the information parents most frequently searched for, and (3) determine the effect the Internet-sourced information had on parents of children with rare conditions.MethodsData collection was conducted in 2 parts: Part 1 was a focus group interview (n=8) to inform the development of the questionnaire, and Part 2 was a questionnaire (Web- and paper-based). All respondents (N=128) completed the questionnaire using the Internet.ResultsParents frequently and habitually used the Internet and social media to gather information on their child's condition. These Web-based resources provide parents with a parent-to-parent support platform that allows them to share their experiences and information with other parents, which, the respondents considered, improved their knowledge and understanding of their child's condition. The respondents also reported that these resources positively impacted on their decision making, care, and management of their child's condition. However, they reported receiving mixed responses when wishing to engage and share with health care professionals their Internet and social media interactions and information outcomes.ConclusionsThis study adds to the emerging body of research on the Internet use by parents of children with rare conditions to source information on their child's condition. The evolving and ever increasing parent-to-parent support systems via social media are impacting on parents' capacity to manage their children. Implications for practice include health care professionals' response to this knowledge and capacity shift, and the significance of these changes when interacting with parents. The key message of this study was that parents of children with rare conditions are habitual users of the Internet to source information about their children's conditions. Social media, especially Facebook, has an increasing role in the lives of these parents for information and support. Parents' interest in information gathering and sharing includes a desire for shared dialogue with health care professionals.

Project description:BackgroundStudies of factors associated with the use of Internet-based health information generally focus on general, rather than migrant populations. This study looked into the reasons why Internet-based health information is used and the effects of migration-related factors, other socio-demographic characteristics and health-related factors on the tendency to consult the Internet.MethodsIn a cross-sectional survey conducted in eight superdiverse neighbourhoods - two each in Birmingham, United Kingdom; Bremen, Germany; Lisbon, Portugal and Uppsala, Sweden - participants were presented with six scenarios and asked to indicate the resources they most relied on when addressing a health concern from a given list. The scenarios included establishing the underlying causes of a health concern and seeking information about prescription drugs, treatments and services available as part of the public healthcare system. The list of resources included the public healthcare system, alternative medicine, family and friends, and the Internet. Frequencies for which the Internet was consulted for each different scenario were calculated and compared across the participating cities. The association between consulting Internet-based health information and migration-related factors, and further socio-demographic characteristics as well as health-related factors such as self-reported health and health literacy was assessed using multivariable logistic regressions.ResultsOf the 2570 participants from all four cities who were included in the analyses, 47% had a migrant background and 35% originated from non-EU countries. About a third reported relying on Internet-based health information for at least one of the given scenarios. The two most frequently chosen scenarios were to find out about other possible treatments and prescription drugs. Generally, using Internet-based health information was negatively associated with being a first generation migrant (OR 0.65; 95% CI 0.46-0.93), having poor local language competency (OR 0.25; 95% CI 0.14-0.45), older age (≥60 years, OR 0.21; 95% CI 0.15-0.31), low education (OR 0.35; 95% CI 0.24-0.50) and positively associated with low trust in physicians (OR 2.13; 95% CI 1.47-3.10).ConclusionOur findings indicate the need to consider migration background and language competency when promoting the provision of healthcare services via the Internet so that information and services are widely accessible.

Dataset Information

Are Parents Getting it Right? A Survey of Parents' Internet Use for Children's Health Care Information.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Are Parents Getting it Right? A Survey of Parents' Internet Use for Children's Health Care Information.

Similar Datasets

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