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Pan P, Yu C, Li T, Dai T, Tian H, Xiong Y, Lv J, Hu X, Ma W, Yin W. Evaluating the Quality of Cancer-Related WeChat Public Accounts: Cross-Sectional Study. JMIR Cancer 2024; 10:e52156. [PMID: 38814688 DOI: 10.2196/52156] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2023] [Revised: 11/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/31/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND WeChat (Tencent) is one of the most important information sources for Chinese people. Relevantly, various health-related data are constantly transmitted among WeChat users. WeChat public accounts (WPAs) for health are rapidly emerging. Health-related WeChat public accounts have a significant impact on public health. Because of the rise in web-based health-seeking behavior, the general public has grown accustomed to obtaining cancer information from WPAs. Although WPAs make it easy for people to obtain health information, the quality of the information is questionable. OBJECTIVE This study aims to assess the quality and suitability of cancer-related WeChat public accounts (CWPAs). METHODS The survey was conducted from February 1 to 28, 2023. Based on the WPA monthly list provided by Qingbo Big Data, 28 CWPAs in the WeChat communication index were selected as the survey sample. Quality assessment of the included CWPAs was performed using the HONcode instrument. Furthermore, suitability was measured by using the Suitability Assessment of Materials. A total of 2 researchers conducted the evaluations independently. RESULTS Of the 28 CWPAs, 12 (43%) were academic and 16 (57%) were commercial. No statistical difference was found regarding the HONcode scores between the 2 groups (P=.96). The quality of the academic and commercial CWPAs evaluated using the HONcode instrument demonstrated mean scores of 5.58 (SD 2.02) and 5.63 (SD 2.16), respectively, corresponding to a moderate class. All CWPAs' compliance with the HONcode principles was unsatisfactory. A statistically significant difference between the 2 groups was observed in the Suitability Assessment of Materials scores (P=.04). The commercial WPAs reached an overall 55.1% (SD 5.5%) score versus the 50.2% (SD 6.4%) score reached by academic WPAs. The suitability of academic and commercial CWPAs was considered adequate. CONCLUSIONS This study revealed that CWPAs are not sufficiently credible. WPA owners must endeavor to create reliable health websites using approved tools such as the HONcode criteria. However, it is necessary to educate the public about the evaluation tools of health websites to assess their credibility before using the provided content. In addition, improving readability will allow the public to read and understand the content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peng Pan
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Changhua Yu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Tao Li
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Tingting Dai
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Hanhan Tian
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Yaozu Xiong
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Jie Lv
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Xiaochu Hu
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Weidong Ma
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
| | - Wenda Yin
- Department of Radiation Oncology, The Affiliated Huaian No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Huai'an, China
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Xue K, Li W, Liu F, Liu X, Wong J, Zhou M, Cai C, Long J, Li J, Zhang Z, Hou W, Nie G, Wang Y. Evaluation of activities of daily living using an electronic version of the Longshi Scale in patients with stroke: reliability, consistency, and preference. BMC Med Inform Decis Mak 2024; 24:125. [PMID: 38750562 PMCID: PMC11094909 DOI: 10.1186/s12911-024-02508-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2023] [Accepted: 04/15/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The Longshi Scale is a pictorial assessment tool for evaluating activities of daily living (ADL) in patients with stroke. The paper-based version presents challenges; thus, the WeChat version was created to enhance accessibility. Herein, we aimed to validate the inter-rater and test-retest reliabilities of the WeChat version of the Longshi Scale and explore its potential clinical applications. METHODS We recruited 115 patients with stroke in the study. The ADL results of each patient were assessed using both the WeChat and paper-based version of the Longshi Scale; each evaluation was conducted by 28 health professionals and 115 caregivers separately. To explore the test-retest reliability of the WeChat version, 22 patients were randomly selected and re-evaluated by health professionals using the WeChat version. All evaluation criteria were recorded, and all evaluators were surveyed to indicate their preference between the two versions. RESULTS Consistency between WeChat and the paper-based Longshi Scale was high for ADL scores by health professionals (ICC2,1 = 0.803-0.988) and caregivers (ICC2,1 = 0.845-0.983), as well as for degrees of disability (κw = 0.870 by professionals; κw = 0.800 by caregivers). Bland-Altman analysis showed no significant discrepancies. The WeChat version exhibited good test-retest reliability (κw = 0.880). The WeChat version showed similar inter-rater reliability in terms of the ADL score evaluated using the paper-based version (ICC2,1 = 0.781-0.941). The time to complete assessments did not differ significantly, although the WeChat version had a shorter information entry time (P < 0.001, 95% confidence interval: -43.463 to -15.488). Health professionals favored the WeChat version (53.6%), whereas caregivers had no significant preference. CONCLUSIONS The WeChat version of the Longshi Scale is reliable and serves as a suitable alternative for health professionals and caregivers to assess ADL levels in patients with stroke. The WeChat version of the Longshi Scale is considered user-friendly by health professionals, although it is not preferred by caregivers. TRIAL REGISTRATION This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen (approval number: 20210812003-FS01) and registered on the Clinical Trial Register Center website: clinicaltrials.gov on January 31, 2022 (registration no.: NCT05214638).
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Affiliation(s)
- Kaiwen Xue
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weihao Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Fang Liu
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiangxiang Liu
- National Clinical Research Center for Infectious Disease of Shenzhen; Shenzhen Third People's Hospital, Shenzhen, China
| | - John Wong
- School of Nursing and Department of Occupational Therapy, MGH Institute of Health Professions, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Mingchao Zhou
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Chunli Cai
- Operation Department, Shenzhen Yilanda Technology Co. Ltd., Shenzhen, China
| | - Jianjun Long
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jiehui Li
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
- School of Rehabilitation Medicine, The Shandong University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Shandong, China
| | - Zeyu Zhang
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China
| | - Weilin Hou
- Department of Rehabilitation, Changzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu, China.
| | - Guohui Nie
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China.
| | - Yulong Wang
- Department of Rehabilitation, The Second People's Hospital of Shenzhen, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University Health Science Centre, Shenzhen, China.
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Bayani A, Ayotte A, Nikiema JN. Automated Credibility Assessment of Web-Based Health Information Considering Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode): Model Development and Validation Study. JMIR Form Res 2023; 7:e52995. [PMID: 38133919 PMCID: PMC10770789 DOI: 10.2196/52995] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2023] [Revised: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 12/13/2023] [Indexed: 12/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND An increasing number of users are turning to web-based sources as an important source of health care guidance information. Thus, trustworthy sources of information should be automatically identifiable using objective criteria. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to automate the assessment of the Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct (HONcode) criteria, enhancing our ability to pinpoint trustworthy health information sources. METHODS A data set of 538 web pages displaying health content was collected from 43 health-related websites. HONcode criteria have been considered as web page and website levels. For the website-level criteria (confidentiality, transparency, financial disclosure, and advertising policy), a bag of keywords has been identified to assess the criteria using a rule-based model. For the web page-level criteria (authority, complementarity, justifiability, and attribution) several machine learning (ML) approaches were used. In total, 200 web pages were manually annotated until achieving a balanced representation in terms of frequency. In total, 3 ML models-random forest, support vector machines (SVM), and Bidirectional Encoder Representations from Transformers (BERT)-were trained on the initial annotated data. A second step of training was implemented for the complementarity criterion using the BERT model for multiclass classification of the complementarity sentences obtained by annotation and data augmentation (positive, negative, and noncommittal sentences). Finally, the remaining web pages were classified using the selected model and 100 sentences were randomly selected for manual review. RESULTS For web page-level criteria, the random forest model showed a good performance for the attribution criterion while displaying subpar performance in the others. BERT and SVM had a stable performance across all the criteria. BERT had a better area under the curve (AUC) of 0.96, 0.98, and 1.00 for neutral sentences, justifiability, and attribution, respectively. SVM had the overall better performance for the classification of complementarity with the AUC equal to 0.98. Finally, SVM and BERT had an equal AUC of 0.98 for the authority criterion. For the website level criteria, the rule-based model was able to retrieve web pages with an accuracy of 0.97 for confidentiality, 0.82 for transparency, and 0.51 for both financial disclosure and advertising policy. The final evaluation of the sentences determined 0.88 of precision and the agreement level of reviewers was computed at 0.82. CONCLUSIONS Our results showed the potential power of automating the HONcode criteria assessment using ML approaches. This approach could be used with different types of pretrained models to accelerate the text annotation, and classification and to improve the performance in low-resource cases. Further work needs to be conducted to determine how to assign different weights to the criteria, as well as to identify additional characteristics that should be considered for consolidating these criteria into a comprehensive reliability score.
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Affiliation(s)
- Azadeh Bayani
- Centre de recherche en santé publique, Université de Montréal et Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Laboratoire Transformation Numérique en Santé, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Alexandre Ayotte
- Centre de recherche en santé publique, Université de Montréal et Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Laboratoire Transformation Numérique en Santé, Montreal, QC, Canada
| | - Jean Noel Nikiema
- Centre de recherche en santé publique, Université de Montréal et Centre intégré universitaire de santé et de services sociaux du Centre-Sud-de-l'Île-de-Montréal, Montréal, QC, Canada
- Laboratoire Transformation Numérique en Santé, Montreal, QC, Canada
- Department of Management, Evaluation and Health Policy, School of Public Health, Université de Montréal, Montéal, QC, Canada
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Chang L, Li W, Xin X, Wang J. Strategies for Assessing Health Information Credibility Among Older Social Media Users in China: A Qualitative Study. HEALTH COMMUNICATION 2023:1-12. [PMID: 38016925 DOI: 10.1080/10410236.2023.2288372] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2023]
Abstract
The fact that social media gives users easy access to online health information raises the question of what information evaluation strategies older adults use to distinguish trustworthy from unreliable health information. Identifying how older adults assess the credibility of health information that they acquire on social media is an important step toward understanding and reducing their susceptibility to health misinformation. In this study, we investigated the credibility assessment strategies used by older WeChat users in China. Following a qualitative approach, we conducted in-depth interviews with 40 WeChat users 65-85 years old (M = 71.75, SD = 6.65) in China who had acquired health information on WeChat. Results of theoretical thematic analysis revealed five source-based and content-based evaluative strategies: (1) determining the communicative orientation of the source, (2) assessing source reputation, (3) confirming content based on life experiences, (4) checking for exaggeration in claimed effects, and (5) assessing the consistency of content across sources. Older WeChat users' reliance on certain heuristic cues and their self-reliant approach to assessing information credibility provide contextual explanations for the link between heuristic processing and susceptibility to health misinformation. The findings have implications for anti-misinformation interventions targeting the older population in China and potentially beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leanne Chang
- Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
| | - Wenshu Li
- Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong
| | - Xin Xin
- Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
| | - Jingyuan Wang
- Department of Communication Studies, Hong Kong Baptist University
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Sahin E, Seyyar M. Assessing the scientific quality and reliability of YouTube videos about chemotherapy. Medicine (Baltimore) 2023; 102:e35916. [PMID: 37960752 PMCID: PMC10637493 DOI: 10.1097/md.0000000000035916] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/12/2023] [Indexed: 11/15/2023] Open
Abstract
No studies have evaluated the interaction, quality, and reliability of chemotherapy-related videos published on YouTube. The aim was to evaluate the content of YouTube videos about chemotherapy using 5 different scoring tools. In this cross-sectional register-based study, popular videos on YouTube about the following keywords were examined; "chemotherapy," "what is chemotherapy," "types of chemotherapy," "chemotherapy side effects" and "chemotherapy treatments." Quality and reliability of video content were measured using the modified DISCERN (mDISCERN), the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the Global Quality Score (GQS), the Video Information Quality Index (VIQI), and Health on the Net code (HONcode) scores. A total of 108 videos were analyzed in the study. The median duration was 200 (30-2020) seconds and the median total number of views was 17500 (61-8615000). Among the video publishers, private hospitals were the most (n = 36, 33%). The most (n = 71, 66%) populer category of videos were patient education videos. Half (n = 55, 51%) of the narrators in the videos were only oncology professionals. Mean DISCERN, JAMA, GQS, VIQI, and HONcode scores were 2.73 ± 1.18, 1.97 ± 1.05, 2.94 ± 1.08, 14.03 ± 3.73, and 4.68 ± 2.46, respectively. A positive correlation was found between the 5 scoring points (P < .001 for all pairwise comparisons). There was a significant difference between video quality scores according to video categories and video publishers (P < .001 for both). Although most YouTube videos about chemotherapy were helpful to patients, content quality and reliability were moderate-low. Cancer patients looking for information on chemotherapy may find YouTube videos beneficial, but clinicians must be cautious to clear up any misunderstandings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elif Sahin
- Department of Medical Oncology, Kocaeli City Hospital, Kocaeli, Turkey
| | - Mustafa Seyyar
- Department of Medical Oncology, Gaziantep Dr. Ersin Arslan Training and Research Hospital, Gaziantep, Turkey
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Yang W, Li B, Liu M, Tong D, Zou Y, Li X, Xie L. Quality evaluation of health information about breast cancer treatment found on WeChat public accounts. Arch Public Health 2023; 81:170. [PMID: 37715269 PMCID: PMC10503205 DOI: 10.1186/s13690-023-01184-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/24/2022] [Accepted: 09/05/2023] [Indexed: 09/17/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND With growing cases of breast cancer, WeChat public account, an important information publishing platform of WeChat, has become a breast cancer treatment health information provider to a huge audience. It is essential for health information to possess high-level accuracy and reliability. This work evaluates the quality of health information on breast cancer treatment in WeChat public accounts (WPAs), to benefit the patients while making treatment decisions and provide WPA authors with suggestions on publishing high-quality treatment health information. METHODS With "breast cancer" as keywords, searches were implemented on weixin.sogou.com and the WeChat app. The WPAs oriented to patients with breast cancer were selected, and the four latest articles of each WPA were included in a set to be evaluated with DISCERN. RESULTS A total of 37 WPAs and 136 articles published by them were included. The accounts operated by individual users were 54%. The median of overall quality of 136 articles was 44 (interquartile range = 10.75) and ranked as "fair", of which only 28 (21%) were of "good" or higher quality. Among these articles, 74 (54%) were related to medical treatments, and 13 of them mentioned clinical trials; 36 (27%) dealt with surgery. 101 (74.26%) omitted additional sources of information; 102 (75%) did not explicitly suggest shared decision-making. A significant difference was not found in the dimensions "reliability of the articles" and "specific details of information on treatment choices" between the distinct categories of account subjects and various treatment options (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The quality of the articles on breast cancer treatment health information in WPAs was moderate. WPA producers should focus on improving the reliability of information and providing more details on treatment options, to assist patients in making optimal decisions during treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenjuan Yang
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Bingyan Li
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Min Liu
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Dongtong Tong
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Yang Zou
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Xing Li
- The First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China
| | - Lunfang Xie
- School of Nursing, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, China.
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Wu J, Meng J, Li H. WeChat-platform-based education and care program as a candidate approach to relieve anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder in parents of pediatric and adolescent patients with osteosarcoma. Front Psychol 2022; 13:913940. [PMID: 36092098 PMCID: PMC9453747 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.913940] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 08/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Background WeChat is the main social platform in China, characterized by its versatility and ease of communication. This study aimed to explore the effect of a WeChat-platform-based education and care (WBEC) program on relieving anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in parents of pediatric and adolescent patients with osteosarcoma. Methods In total, 48 patients and 86 parents were enrolled in this randomized, controlled study and then assigned to the WBEC program (24 patients and 45 parents) and the usual education and care (UEC) program (22 patients and 41 parents) for 6 months as a 1:1 ratio. Results Parents in the WBEC group had lower Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) for anxiety (HADS-A) scores at M3 (7.8 ± 2.2 vs. 9.1 ± 2.5; p = 0.010) and M6 (7.7 ± 2.5 vs. 8.9 ± 2.4; p = 0.027) when compared to the UEC group, while anxiety rate was only decreased at M3 (43.2% vs. 63.4%; p = 0.049) in the WBEC group. Meanwhile, parental HADS for depression (HADS-D) scores were reduced at M3 (7.0 ± 2.0 vs. 8.0 ± 2.1; p = 0.047) and M6 (7.1 ± 1.9 vs. 8.0 ± 2.4; p = 0.045) in the WBEC group when compared with the UEC group; while depression rate remained the same. Parental Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R) scores were slightly reduced among the WBEC group at M6 when compared with the UEC group [12.0 (interquartile range (IQR): 10.0–20.8] vs. 15.0 (IQR: 9.5–25.0; p = 0.077)], but not statistically significant. Conclusion WeChat-platform-based education and care is considered a feasible intervention to reduce anxiety and depression in parents of pediatric and adolescent patients with osteosarcoma, while also providing mild relief from PTSD.
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Peng L, Hu S, Yu Q, Chen Y. Challenging the Surge of Inflammatory Bowel Disease: The Role of the China Crohn's and Colitis Foundation in the Healthcare Landscape of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Inflamm Bowel Dis 2022; 28:S9-S15. [PMID: 34984463 DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izab344] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2021] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic and lifelong disease, and patients must ultimately learn to live with and manage the condition. With advances in diagnostics and treatment in IBD, healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients are now concerned with both quality of care (QOC) and quality of life (QOL). The China Crohn's and Colitis Foundation (CCCF) is committed to improving the QOC and QOL for IBD patients by garnering social resources. This paper details how CCCF has worked for better IBD management over the past 5 years. The foundation has 4 main projects: education programs for IBD HCPs and patients, support activities, public awareness and advocacy, and research programs. CCCF is an increasingly influential public welfare organization providing advocacy for IBD patients in China. The foundation is now entering the next stage of its development in pursuing professional operations and helping to solve the social problems experienced by IBD patients. The CCCF ultimately plans to pioneer reforms in China's medical system and hopefully provide a successful example of IBD advocacy for developing countries to emulate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lishan Peng
- China Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shurong Hu
- Center of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Qiao Yu
- Center of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yan Chen
- Center of Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Department of Gastroenterology, Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
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Wang Z, Fan Y, Lv H, Deng S, Xie H, Zhang L, Luo A, Wang F. The Gap Between Self-Rated Health Information Literacy and Internet Health Information-Seeking Ability for Patients With Chronic Diseases in Rural Communities: Cross-sectional Study. J Med Internet Res 2022; 24:e26308. [PMID: 35099401 PMCID: PMC8845012 DOI: 10.2196/26308] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2020] [Revised: 02/28/2021] [Accepted: 12/28/2021] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND The internet has become one of the most important channels for residents to seek health information, particularly in remote rural areas in China. OBJECTIVE In this study, we aimed to explore the gap between self-rated health information literacy and internet health information seeking ability for patients with chronic diseases in rural communities and to preliminarily evaluate their barriers when seeking health information via the internet. METHODS Residents from rural communities near Bengbu City and with chronic diseases were included in this study. A self-rated questionnaire was used to evaluate their health information literacy, 3 behavioral competency tasks were designed to preliminarily evaluate their ability to seek health information on the internet and semistructured interviews were used to investigate their barriers to obtaining health information via the internet. A small audiorecorder was used to record the interview content, and screen-recording software was used to record the participants' behavior during the web-based operational tasks. RESULTS A total of 70 respondents completed the self-rated health information literacy questionnaire and the behavioral competence test, and 56 respondents participated in the semistructured interviews. Self-rated health information literacy (score out of 70: mean 46.21, SD 4.90) of the 70 respondents were moderate. Although 91% (64/70) of the respondents could find health websites, and 93% (65/70) of the respondents could find information on treatment that they thought was the best, 35% (23/65) of respondents did not know how to save the results they had found. The operational tasks indicated that most articles selected by the respondents came from websites with encyclopedic knowledge or answers from people based on their own experiences rather than authoritative health information websites. After combining the results of the semistructured interviews with the DISCERN scale test results, we found that most interviewees had difficulty obtaining high-quality health information via the internet. CONCLUSIONS Although the health information literacy level of patients with rural chronic disease was moderate, they lack the ability to access high-quality health information via the internet. The vast majority of respondents recognized the importance of accessing health information but were not very proactive in accessing such information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhuoxin Wang
- School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Yanyan Fan
- School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Hekai Lv
- School of Health Management, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China.,Innovation Team of Health Information Management and Application Research (BYKC201913), Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Shanshan Deng
- School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Hui Xie
- School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Li Zhang
- School of Nursing, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
| | - Aijing Luo
- Key Laboratory of Medical Information Research (Central South University), College of Hunan Province, Changsha, China.,The Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Changsha, China
| | - Fuzhi Wang
- School of Health Management, Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China.,Innovation Team of Health Information Management and Application Research (BYKC201913), Bengbu Medical College, Bengbu, China
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Ma R, Zhang M, Oakman JM, Wang J, Zhu S, Zhao C, Hu Z, Buchanan NT. Eating disorders treatment experiences and social support: Perspectives from service seekers in mainland China. Int J Eat Disord 2021; 54:1537-1548. [PMID: 34101214 DOI: 10.1002/eat.23565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2020] [Revised: 05/29/2021] [Accepted: 05/29/2021] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study explored treatment experiences and social support among individuals with eating disorders (EDs) in mainland China. METHOD Subscribers of a Chinese online social media platform (WeChat) focused on EDs were invited to complete a screening questionnaire that included the Eating Disorder Diagnostic Scale for the DSM-5. Of the 116 questionnaire responses, 31 met inclusion criteria for follow-up interviews. Individuals who never sought treatment were not eligible for follow-up interviews, but provided brief explanations about why they did not seek treatment. All eligible participants (n = 31) completed a semi-structured interview about their experiences with ED treatment and social support. Qualitative data from the interviews and survey responses regarding not seeking treatment were subjected to inductive data-driven thematic analysis with deductive coding to illuminate treatment and social support experiences or reasons for not seeking treatment. RESULTS Themes emerged from interviews revealed positive inpatient treatment experiences for anorexia nervosa, but negative outpatient treatment experiences, unaffordable care, and ineffective psychopharmacological treatments. Parents, friends, and partners were sources of social support, but participants largely felt misunderstood or blamed by these same entities. Shame, not recognizing ED as an illness, and financial constraints were listed as the primary reasons for not seeking treatment. DISCUSSION The importance of hearing patients' perspectives, improving ED literacy in China, increasing knowledge of culturally specific manifestations of EDs, and developing culturally responsive services and dissemination of treatment resources are emphasized.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruofan Ma
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Manning Zhang
- School of Social Development and Public Policy, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jonathan M Oakman
- Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
| | - Jiping Wang
- School of Biomedical Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Siqi Zhu
- School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiaotong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Chendi Zhao
- School of Sociology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,School of Sociology, University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA
| | - Zhiyuan Hu
- Nuffield Department of Medicine, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - NiCole T Buchanan
- Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan, USA
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Song Y, Chen H. Evaluating Chinese Mobile Health Apps for Ankylosing Spondylitis Management: Systematic App Search. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2021; 9:e27234. [PMID: 34259644 PMCID: PMC8319772 DOI: 10.2196/27234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2021] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/27/2021] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Patients with ankylosing spondylitis (AS), a chronic systematic inflammatory disease, require long-term treatment and management. Mobile health (mHealth) apps can deliver health services through mobile devices, facilitate long-term disease management, support patient-health care provider communication, and enable patients to engage in disease management. There are some apps targeted at patients with AS, but the feature and quality of these apps have not been systematically examined. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study was to identify existing, publicly available Chinese mHealth apps for AS management and to evaluate their features and quality. METHODS We systematically searched potential apps for AS management on the Apple and Huawei App Stores, using 4 search terms: ankylosing spondylitis, spondyloarthritis, rheumatic disease, and arthritis. Apps were included if they were in the Chinese language, targeted at patients with AS, could be downloaded and run on Android and/or iOS operating systems, and incorporated elements of disease management and/or patient education. We excluded apps that were not for patient use, not relevant to AS, or had not been updated since 2018. Apps that met the inclusion criteria were downloaded for final analysis. We formulated a list of app quality measures from and consistent with international guidelines for mHealth apps and AS management to evaluate the features and quality of the included app. The user version of the Mobile App Rating Scale (uMARS) was also used to rate the apps' quality. RESULTS Of the 354 apps screened, 5 met the inclusion criteria and were included in our analysis. All apps were free, and most apps (4/5, 80%) had a privacy policy. Of the 5 apps, 1 (20%) involved medical professionals in the development process, 2 (40%) were developed by companies, and 2 (40%) were developed by medical institutions. All apps provided educational information about AS. Around half of the apps had functions like a basic information record (ie, users can input gender, age, disease history, etc) (n=3, 60%), patient-health care provider (and patient-patient) communication (n=2, 40%), symptom tracking (n=2, 40%), and information sharing (n=3, 60%). Only 1 (20%) app provided comprehensive functions that adhered to international guidelines for AS management and mHealth apps. The overall uMARS scores ranged from 2.7 to 4.2; only 1 app, with an overall uMARS score of 4.2, was considered as a high-quality app. CONCLUSIONS Most apps lacked comprehensive functions for AS management. One high-quality app provided comprehensive functions to help patients manage their conditions. This study assessed and summarized the features and quality of the apps but did not evaluate their efficacy. Future studies should evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of these apps. International guidelines and regulations for the design, development, validation, and implementation of mHealth apps are needed in the future. Meanwhile, health care providers, patients with AS, and app developers should collaborate to develop high-quality, evidence-based apps that take into account patients' needs and health care professionals' perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqing Song
- West China School of Nursing/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hong Chen
- West China School of Nursing/West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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Investigation into Information Release of Chinese Government and Departments on COVID-19. DATA AND INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 2020; 4:209-235. [PMID: 35382098 PMCID: PMC8969570 DOI: 10.2478/dim-2020-0014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 06/28/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Information release is an important way for governments to deal with public health emergencies, and plays an irreplaceable role in promoting epidemic prevention and control, enhancing public awareness of the epidemic situation and mobilizing social resources. Focusing on the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) epidemic in China, this investigation chose 133 information release accounts of the Chinese government and relevant departments at the national, provincial, and municipal levels, including Ministries of the State Council, Departments of Hubei Province Government, and Bureaus of Wuhan Government, covering their portals, apps, Weibos, and WeChats. Then, the characteristics such as scale, agility, frequency, originality, and impact of different levels, departments, and channels of the information releases by the Chinese government on the COVID-19 epidemic were analyzed. Finally, the overall situation was concluded by radar map analysis. It was found that the information release on the COVID-19 epidemic was coordinated effectively at different levels, departments, and channels, as evidenced by the complementarity between channels, the synergy between the national and local governments, and the coordination between departments, which guaranteed the rapid success of the epidemic prevention and control process in China. This investigation could be a reference for epidemic prevention and control for governments and international organizations, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), during public health emergencies, e.g. the COVID-19 pandemic.
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