Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2013
Accessing suicide-related information on the internet: a retrospective observational study of search behavior.
The Internet's potential impact on suicide is of major public health interest as easy online access to pro-suicide information or specific suicide methods may increase suicide risk among vulnerable Internet users. Little is known, however, about users' actual searching and browsing behaviors of online suicide-related information. ⋯ Searching or browsing suicide-related or pro-suicide webpages was uncommon, although a small group of users did access websites that contain detailed suicide method information.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialA smartphone-based intervention with diaries and therapist feedback to reduce catastrophizing and increase functioning in women with chronic widespread pain. part 2: 11-month follow-up results of a randomized trial.
Internet-based interventions are increasingly used to support self-management of individuals with chronic illnesses. Web-based interventions may also be effective in enhancing self-management for individuals with chronic pain, but little is known about long-term effects. Research on Web-based interventions to support self-management following participation in pain management programs is limited. ⋯ The long-term results of this randomized trial are ambiguous. No significant between-group effect was found on the study variables at 11-month follow-up. However, the within-group analyses, comparing the baseline for the smartphone intervention to the 11-month data, indicated changes in the desired direction in catastrophizing and acceptance in the intervention group but not within the control group. This study provides modest evidence supporting the long-term effect of the intervention.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2013
Comparative StudyRetrieving clinical evidence: a comparison of PubMed and Google Scholar for quick clinical searches.
Physicians frequently search PubMed for information to guide patient care. More recently, Google Scholar has gained popularity as another freely accessible bibliographic database. ⋯ For quick clinical searches, Google Scholar returns twice as many relevant articles as PubMed and provides greater access to free full-text articles.
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Prescription opioid diversion and abuse are major public health issues in the United States and internationally. Street prices of diverted prescription opioids can provide an indicator of drug availability, demand, and abuse potential, but these data can be difficult to collect. Crowdsourcing is a rapid and cost-effective way to gather information about sales transactions. We sought to determine whether crowdsourcing can provide accurate measurements of the street price of diverted prescription opioid medications. ⋯ Crowdsourced data provide a valid estimate of the street price of diverted prescription opioids. The (ostensibly free) black market was able to accurately predict the relative pharmacologic potency of opioid molecules.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jan 2013
Randomized Controlled TrialEffectiveness of a web-based cognitive-behavioral tool to improve mental well-being in the general population: randomized controlled trial.
Interventions to promote mental well-being can bring benefits to the individual and to society. The Internet can facilitate the large-scale and low-cost delivery of individually targeted health promoting interventions. ⋯ Participants allocated to the intervention arm had an average increase of approximately 3 points on the WEMWBS scale compared to no increase for participants in the control group. Three points on this scale is approximately one-third of a standard deviation. In a low-cost automated intervention designed to shift the population distribution of mental well-being, a small difference per individual could yield a major benefit in population terms. In common with other Web-based interventions, there were high rates of attrition. Further work is needed to improve acceptability, to evaluate against placebo effect, and to disaggregate the effect on mental well-being from the effect on depression and anxiety.