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- Limited doctor consultation time and barriers to accessing professional health services were the main reasons for using the Internet. Convenience and coverage were regarded as the main advantages, whereas credibility and trustworthiness of health information were noted as limitations.
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29233802/
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Dec 12, 2017 · The number of individuals using the Internet to search for health information, ranging from healthy lifestyle advice to treatment and diseases, continues to grow. Scholars have emphasized the need to give greater voice and influence to health consumers.
- Joanna Tw Chu, Man Ping Wang, Chen Shen, Kasisomayajula Viswanath, Tai Hing Lam, Sophia Siu Chee Cha...
- 2017
Dec 12, 2017 · The prevalent and increasing use of the Internet for health information seeking suggests the need for health care professionals to understand how it can be optimally utilized to improve health outcomes.
- Joanna Tw Chu, Man Ping Wang, Chen Shen, Kasisomayajula Viswanath, Tai Hing Lam, Sophia Siu Chee Cha...
- 2017
- Introduction
- Public Health Interest in Consumer Health-Information Seeking Via The Internet
- Potential Benefits of Consumer Online Health-Information Seeking
- Roadblocks, Bumpy Roads and Hazards on The Information Super-Highway
- Evaluating Health Information on The Internet
- Directions For Future Research: Challenges and Opportunities
Increasingly, professionals and consumers engage in interactive health communication. Robinson et al. define `interactive health communication' as `the interaction of an individual—consumer, patient, caregiver or professional—with or through an electronic device or communication technology to access or transmit health information or to receive guid...
Public health professionals need to focus on health-information seeking via the Internet for a variety of reasons. These include magnitude and diversity of use; diversity of users; and, ultimately, implications for the health care system, in terms of structure, health care interaction and quality of medical outcomes.
>From the Internet's inception, health care was understood to be `a major potential beneficiary' [(Lindberg and Humphreys, 1995), p. 158]. Potentialbenefits to consumers are many.
Despite potential benefits of interactive health communication, limitations and cautions abound. Roadblocks to access, navigational difficulties and quality concerns constitute potential downfalls of relying on the Internet for health-related information.
The problem
The uneven and often indeterminate quality of online health information raises concerns (McLeod, 1998). The Internet is composed of over 30 million pages lacking consistent peer review, editorial systems or safeguards, placing consumers and professionals in need of quality assessment standards (McGrath, 1997; Rudin and Littleton, 1997; McKinley et al., 1999). Silberg et al.'s warning captures the problem: `caveant lector et viewor—let the reader and viewer beware' [(Silberg et al., 1997), p....
Criteria for evaluating health information websites
Numerous authors bemoan the difficulty and limitations of establishing quality standards [e.g. (McLeod, 1998)], yet a review of literature yields substantial consensus regarding such criteria. Health-related websites should be judged by the quality of health information found on them and by design features that may facilitate or impede use. Quality should be based on a comprehensive assessment rather than any single criterion. A readily navigable or updated site may contain inaccurate informa...
Design features
Format characteristics may enhance delivery of information, but do not affect the quality of message content (Ambre et al., 1997). Design features vary widely, making sites more or less facilitative when seeking particular information or locating specific sites. Facilitative design features include: 1. Accessibility. Websites should facilitate navigation through large quantities of information while maintaining simplicity of technology, operation, and format. Complex sites with high-end techn...
This review of literature regarding consumer online health-information seeking mirrors health information on the Internet; the literature often has little evidence base for its claims. Challenges to consumers, public health professionals and researchers alike include the rapidity of change of content, structure and technology embedded in the Intern...
- R. J. W. Cline, K. M. Haynes
- 2001
To identify major determinants of why individuals seek health information online, we conducted a meta-analysis that systematically accumulates the existing research findings.
- Xiaohui Wang, Jingyuan Shi, Hanxiao Kong
- 2021
Mar 13, 2017 · The main advantages and attractions for health information seeking online have been found to include access, anonymity, potential for interactivity, and social support (Cline & Haynes, Citation 2001). Online HISB is explained by both psychological and social factors (Mills & Todorova, Citation 2016; Wang, Viswanath, Lam, Wang, & Chan, Citation ...
- Wura Jacobs, Ann O. Amuta, Kwon Chan Jeon
- 2017
Apr 1, 2021 · Ease of access to information means those seeking health related information are more likely to first search the Internet for advice before consulting health professionals [2], with one survey finding online use for health information by 72% of Internet users [3].
Feb 23, 2011 · Given increasing resource constraints, the health care community needs to seek ways of promoting efficient and appropriate health service use, and should aim to harness the potential benefits of the Internet, informed by an understanding of how and why people go online for health.
