Journal of medical Internet research
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There has been a significant increase in the availability of online programs for alcohol problems. A systematic review of the research evidence underpinning these programs is timely. ⋯ The available evidence suggests that users can benefit from online alcohol interventions and that this approach could be particularly useful for groups less likely to access traditional alcohol-related services, such as women, young people, and at-risk users. However, caution should be exercised given the limited number of studies allowing extraction of effect sizes, the heterogeneity of outcome measures and follow-up periods, and the large proportion of student-based studies. More extensive RCTs in community samples are required to better understand the efficacy of specific online alcohol approaches, program dosage, the additive effect of telephone or face-to-face interventions, and effective strategies for their dissemination and marketing.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2010
Randomized Controlled TrialEffectiveness of a web-based brief alcohol intervention and added value of normative feedback in reducing underage drinking: a randomized controlled trial.
Current insights indicate that Web-based delivery may enhance the implementation of brief alcohol interventions. Previous research showed that electronically delivered brief alcohol interventions decreased alcohol use in college students and adult problem drinkers. To date, no study has investigated the effectiveness of Web-based brief alcohol interventions in reducing alcohol use in younger populations. ⋯ The present study demonstrated that exposure to a Web-based brief alcohol intervention generated a decrease in weekly drinking among 15- to 20-year-old binge drinkers but did not encourage moderate drinking in the total sample. Additional analyses revealed that intervention effects were most prominent in males resulting in less weekly alcohol use and higher levels of moderate drinking among 15- to 20-year-old males over a period of 1 to 3 months.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2010
Consumers' perceptions about and use of the internet for personal health records and health information exchange: analysis of the 2007 Health Information National Trends Survey.
Personal health records (PHRs) and the sharing of health information through health information exchange (HIE) have been advocated as key new components in the effective delivery of modern health care. It is important to understand consumer attitudes toward utilization of PHRs and HIE to evaluate the public's willingness to adopt these new health care tools. ⋯ Despite widespread positive appraisal of electronic access to PHRs as important, Internet use for tracking PHRs remains uncommon. To promote PHR adoption, the digital divide associated with the gap in health literacy must be improved, and cultural issues and the doctor-patient relationship need to be studied. Further work also needs to address consumer concerns regarding the security of HIE.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2010
Attitudes of heart failure patients and health care providers towards mobile phone-based remote monitoring.
Mobile phone-based remote patient monitoring systems have been proposed for heart failure management because they are relatively inexpensive and enable patients to be monitored anywhere. However, little is known about whether patients and their health care providers are willing and able to use this technology. ⋯ Patients and clinicians want to use mobile phone-based remote monitoring and believe that they would be able to use the technology. However, they have several reservations, such as potential increased clinical workload, medicolegal issues, and difficulty of use for some patients due to lack of visual acuity or manual dexterity.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Dec 2009
Web usage data as a means of evaluating public health messaging and outreach.
The Internet is increasingly utilized by researchers, health care providers, and the public to seek medical information. The Internet also provides a powerful tool for public health messaging. Understanding the needs of the intended audience and how they use websites is critical for website developers to provide better services to the intended users. ⋯ The utilization of the CFS website reflects a high level of interest in the illness by visitors to the site. The high utilization shows the website to be an important online resource for people seeking basic information about CFS and for those looking for professional health care and research information. Public health programs should consider analytic methods to further public health by understanding the characteristics of those seeking information and by evaluating the outcomes of public health campaigns. The website was an effective means to provide health information about CFS and serves as an important public health tool for community outreach.