Journal of medical Internet research
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2015
eHealth, Participatory Medicine, and Ethical Care: A Focus Group Study of Patients' and Health Care Providers' Use of Health-Related Internet Information.
The rapid explosion in online digital health resources is seen as transformational, accelerating the shift from traditionally passive patients to patients as partners and altering the patient-health care professional (HCP) relationship. Patients with chronic conditions are increasingly engaged, enabled, and empowered to be partners in their care and encouraged to take responsibility for managing their conditions with HCP support. ⋯ Relational aspects such as mutual trust, uncertainty, and vulnerability are illuminated in patient-HCP interactions around health-related Internet information and the negotiated space of clinical encounters. New roles and associated responsibilities have key ethical dimensions that make clear the changes are fundamental and important to understand in ethical care. When faced with tensions and burdens around incorporating health-related Internet information as a resource in clinical encounters, participants described a particular ambivalence illustrating the fundamental changes being negotiated by both patients and HCPs.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2015
Randomized Controlled TrialWeb-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Female Patients With Eating Disorders: Randomized Controlled Trial.
Many patients with eating disorders do not receive help for their symptoms, even though these disorders have severe morbidity. The Internet may offer alternative low-threshold treatment interventions. ⋯ Web-based CBT proved to be effective in improving eating disorder psychopathology and related health among female patients with eating disorders.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2015
ReviewThe Role of Social Network Technologies in Online Health Promotion: A Narrative Review of Theoretical and Empirical Factors Influencing Intervention Effectiveness.
Social network technologies have become part of health education and wider health promotion—either by design or happenstance. Social support, peer pressure, and information sharing in online communities may affect health behaviors. If there are positive and sustained effects, then social network technologies could increase the effectiveness and efficiency of many public health campaigns. Social media alone, however, may be insufficient to promote health. Furthermore, there may be unintended and potentially harmful consequences of inaccurate or misleading health information. Given these uncertainties, there is a need to understand and synthesize the evidence base for the use of online social networking as part of health promoting interventions to inform future research and practice. ⋯ More research is needed in this area to understand the actual effect of social network technologies on health promotion. More RCTs of greater length need to be conducted taking into account contextual factors such as patient characteristics and types of a social network technology. Also, more evidence is needed regarding the actual usability of online social networking and how different interface design elements may help or hinder behavior change and engagement. Moreover, it is crucial to investigate further the effect of theory on the effectiveness of this type of technology for health promotion. Research is needed linking theoretical grounding with observation and analysis of health promotion in online networks.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2015
Observational StudyAssociations Between Exposure to and Expression of Negative Opinions About Human Papillomavirus Vaccines on Social Media: An Observational Study.
Groups and individuals that seek to negatively influence public opinion about the safety and value of vaccination are active in online and social media and may influence decision making within some communities. ⋯ The heterogeneous community structure on Twitter appears to skew the information to which users are exposed in relation to HPV vaccines. We found that among users that tweeted about HPV vaccines, those who were more often exposed to negative opinions were more likely to subsequently post negative opinions. Although this research may be useful for identifying individuals and groups currently at risk of disproportionate exposure to misinformation about HPV vaccines, there is a clear need for studies capable of determining the factors that affect the formation and adoption of beliefs about public health interventions.
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J. Med. Internet Res. · Jun 2015
Pharmaceutical companies and their drugs on social media: a content analysis of drug information on popular social media sites.
Many concerns have been raised about pharmaceutical companies marketing their drugs directly to consumers on social media. This form of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) can be interactive and, because it is largely unmonitored, the benefits of pharmaceutical treatment could easily be overemphasized compared to the risks. Additionally, nonexpert consumers can share their own drug product testimonials on social media and illegal online pharmacies can market their services on popular social media sites. There is great potential for the public to be exposed to misleading or dangerous information about pharmaceutical drugs on social media. ⋯ Pharmaceutical companies avoid making drug product claims on their social media accounts but frequently post content that is consistent with FDA definitions for help-seeking DTCA. Thousands of people often view content posted by pharmaceutical companies on social media; users also share company postings making both direct and indirect influence possible. Finally, people are likely to be exposed to drug product claims and information about illegal pharmacies when searching for information about popular pharmaceutical drugs on social media.