Dataset Information

Evaluation of Online Consumer Health Information for Idiopathic Scoliosis Identified by a GoogleTM Search.

ABSTRACT: Introduction:This study sought to assess the quality of online consumer health information about idiopathic scoliosis. Previous studies showed that quality of online health information varies and often lacks adherence to expert recommendations and guidelines. Nevertheless, 72% of internet users seek health information online. A 2005 analysis of online scoliosis information found that the information was limited and of poor quality. Methods:Two reviewers vetted the top 10 websites resulting from a GoogleTM search for "scoliosis." Content was organized into categories and rated by three physician evaluators using a 1 - 5 scale based on quality, accuracy, completeness of information, readability, and willingness to recommend. Additional information, such as number of ads and Flesch-Kinkaid reading level, also was collected. Results:The average overall physician score was 47.6 (75 possible). All websites included content that was mostly accurate but varied in completeness. Physicians unanimously recommended Mayo Clinic, MedicineNet, and Kids Health; none recommended the GoogleTM Knowledge Graph. The Scoliosis Research Society website reached the highest overall physician score. Readability ranged from 7th grade to college level; only that of Kids Health was below 10th grade level. Conclusions:Most essential information provided by the websites was accurate and generally well rated by physicians. Website ranking by physicians was inconsistent with the ranking order by GoogleTM, indicating that health seekers reviewing the top GoogleTM-ranked websites may not be viewing the websites rated highest by physicians. Physicians should consider patient literacy in website recommendations, as many have an above average literacy level.

SUBMITTER: Heady SC

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6276971 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Evaluation of Online Consumer Health Information for Idiopathic Scoliosis Identified by a Google<sup>TM</sup> Search.

Heady Sarah C SC Weaver Marissa A MA Berg Gina M GM Manlove Emily M EM Thuener Jennifer E JE Burton Douglas C DC

Kansas journal of medicine 20181129 4

<h4>Introduction</h4>This study sought to assess the quality of online consumer health information about idiopathic scoliosis. Previous studies showed that quality of online health information varies and often lacks adherence to expert recommendations and guidelines. Nevertheless, 72% of internet users seek health information online. A 2005 analysis of online scoliosis information found that the information was limited and of poor quality.<h4>Methods</h4>Two reviewers vetted the top 10 websites ...[more]

PMID: 30937148

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Project description:BACKGROUND:There has been an exponential increase in the general population's usage of the internet and of information accessibility; the current demand for online consumer health information (OCHI) is unprecedented. There are multiple studies on internet access and usage, quality of information, and information needs. However, few studies explored negative outcomes of OCHI in detail or from different perspectives, and none examined how these negative outcomes could be reduced. OBJECTIVE:The aim of this study was to describe negative outcomes associated with OCHI use in primary care and identify potential preventive strategies from consumers', health practitioners', and health librarians' perspectives. METHODS:This included a two-stage interpretive qualitative study. In the first stage, we recruited through a social media survey, a purposeful sample of 19 OCHI users who had experienced negative outcomes associated with OCHI. We conducted semistructured interviews and performed a deductive-inductive thematic analysis. The results also informed the creation of vignettes that were used in the next stage. In the second stage, we interviewed a convenient sample of 10 key informants: 7 health practitioners (3 family physicians, 2 nurses, and 2 pharmacists) and 3 health librarians. With the support of the vignettes, we asked participants to elaborate on (1) their experience with patients who have used OCHI and experienced negative outcomes and (2) what strategies they suggest to reduce these outcomes. We performed a deductive-inductive thematic analysis. RESULTS:We found that negative outcomes of OCHI may occur at three levels: internal (such as increased worrying), interpersonal (such as a tension in the patient-clinician relationship), and service-related (such as postponing a clinical encounter). Participants also proposed three types of strategies to reduce the occurrence of these negative outcomes, namely, providing consumers with reliable OCHI, educating consumers on how to assess OCHI websites, and helping consumers present and discuss the OCHI they find with a health professional in their social network or a librarian for instance. CONCLUSIONS:We examined negative outcomes associated with using OCHI from five complementary perspectives (consumers, family physicians, pharmacists, nurses, and health librarians). We identified a construct of OCHI use-related tension that included and framed all negative outcomes. This construct has three dimensions (three interdependent levels): internal, interpersonal, and service-related tensions. Future research can focus on the implementation and effectiveness of the proposed strategies, which might contribute to reducing these tensions.

Project description:BackgroundParents often search the web for health-related information for themselves or on behalf of their children, which may impact their health-related decision-making and behaviors. In particular, searching for somatic symptoms such as headaches, fever, or fatigue is common. However, little is known about how psychological and relational factors relate to the characteristics of successful symptom-related internet searches. To date, few studies have used experimental designs that connect participant subjective search evaluation with objective search behavior metrics.ObjectiveThis study aimed to examine the features of web-based health-related search behaviors based on video-coded observational data, to investigate which psychological and relational factors are related to successful symptom search appraisal, and to examine the differences in search-related outcomes among self-seekers and by-proxy seekers.MethodsIn a laboratory setting, parents living in Austria (N=46) with a child aged between 0 and 6 years were randomized to search their own (n=23, 50%) or their child's (n=23, 50%) most recent somatic symptom on the web. Web-based activity was recorded and transcribed. Health anxiety, eHealth literacy, attitude toward web-based health information, relational variables, state of stress, participants' search appraisals, and quantitative properties of the search session were assessed. Differences in search appraisals and search characteristics among parents who searched for themselves or their children were examined.ResultsAcross both groups, searches were carried out for 17 different symptom clusters. Almost all parents started with Google (44/46, 96%), and a majority used initial elaborated key phrases with >1 search keyword (38/45, 84%) and performed on average 2.95 (SD 1.83) search queries per session. Search success was negatively associated with health anxiety (rs=-0.39, P=.01), stress after the search (rs=-0.33, P=.02), and the number of search queries (rs=-0.29, P=.04) but was not significantly associated with eHealth literacy (rs=0.22, P=.13). Of note, eHealth literacy was strongly and positively correlated with satisfaction during the search (rs=0.50, P<.001) but did not significantly correlate with search characteristics as measured by search duration (rs=0.08, P=.56), number of performed search queries (rs=0.20, P=.17), or total clicks (rs=0.14, P=.32). No differences were found between parents searching for their own symptoms and parents searching for their child's symptoms.ConclusionsThis study provides exploratory findings regarding relevant dimensions of appraisals for symptom-based information seeking on the web. Consistent with previous literature, health anxiety was found to be associated with poorer search evaluation. Contrary to expectations, eHealth literacy was related neither to search success nor to search characteristics. Interestingly, we did not find significant differences between self-seekers and by-proxy seekers, suggesting similar search and evaluation patterns in our sample. Further research with larger samples is needed to identify and evaluate guidelines for enhanced web-based health information seeking among parents and the general public.

Dataset Information

Evaluation of Online Consumer Health Information for Idiopathic Scoliosis Identified by a GoogleTM Search.

Publications

Evaluation of Online Consumer Health Information for Idiopathic Scoliosis Identified by a Google<sup>TM</sup> Search.

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