Internet skills performance tests: are people ready for eHealth?

Background:\ud Despite the amount of online health information, there are several barriers that limit the Internet’s adoption as a source of health information. One of these barriers is highlighted in conceptualizations of the digital divide which include the differential possession of Internet skills, or “eHealth literacy”. Most measures of Internet skills among populations at large use self-assessments. The research discussed here applies a multifaceted definition of Internet skills and uses actual performance tests.\ud \ud Objective:\ud The purpose of this study was to assess how ready a sample of the general population is for eHealth. More specifically, four types of Internet skills were measured in a performance test in which subjects had to complete health-related assignments on the Internet.\ud \ud Methods:\ud From November 1, 2009, through February 28, 2010, 88 subjects participated in the study. Subjects were randomly selected from a telephone directory. A selective quota sample was used divided over equal subsamples of gender, age, and education. Each subject had to accomplish assignments on the Internet. The Internet skills accounted for were categorized as operational (basic skills to use the Internet), formal (navigation and orientation), information (finding information), and strategic (using the information for personal benefits). The tests took approximately 1.5 hours and were conducted in a University office, making the setting equally new for all. Successful completion and time spent on the assignments—the two main outcomes—were directly measured by the test leader.\ud \ud Results:\ud The subjects successfully completed an average of 73% (5.8/8) of the operational Internet skill tasks and an average of 73% (2.9/4) of the formal Internet skill tasks. Of the information Internet skills tasks, an average of 50% (1.5/3) was completed successfully and, of the strategic Internet skills tasks, 35% (0.7/2). Only 28% (25/88) of the subjects were able to successfully complete all operational skills tasks, 39% (34/88) all formal skills tasks, 13% (11/88) all information skills tasks, and 20% (18/88) both the strategic skill tasks. The time spent on the assignments varied substantially. Age and education were the most important contributors to the operational and formal Internet skills. Regarding the formal Internet skills, years of Internet experience also had some influence. Educational level of attainment was the most important contributor to the information and strategic Internet skills.\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud Although the amount of online health-related information and services is consistently growing, it appears that the general population lacks the skills to keep up. Most problematic appear to be the lack of information and strategic Internet skills, which, in the context of health, are very important. The lack of these skills is also problematic for members of younger generations, who are often considered skilled Internet users. This primarily seems to account for the operational and formal Internet skills. The results of the study strongly call for policies to increase the level of Internet skills

Internet Use for Health Information among American Indians: Facilitators and Inhibitors

Our research team explored Internet use among a heterogeneous American Indian (AI) population to determine Internet use in relation to health information seeking behaviors. Participants examined an AI culturally-tailored tobacco website as an example to explain what they wanted in an AI Internet health site. Using community-based participatory research, we conducted 10 focus groups with non-college AI men and women (N=96), stratified by age (18-29, 30-49, and 50 and over) to better understand their perceptions of Internet use and health information needs. We found that Internet use varied greatly among all strata. Participants referenced WebMD© more than any other website, but participants were not pleased with the design and navigation. When examining the sample website, participants across strata stressed that recreational and traditional tobacco use should be discussed. Participants in all strata desired a simple website design with easy to read text accompanied by images. In order to gain and maintain cultural respect, participants stated that web designers should be aware that some images hold cultural meaning, particularly tobacco. Baseline data are needed for AI’s use of the Internet to obtain health information; this research is helpful to address health inequalities among AI, particularly access to web-based health information

Standardized connectivity and communication for constrained devices

By 2020, an estimated 50 billion devices will be connected to the Internet. This revolution will transform the traditional human-centric internet to an “Internet of Things” (IoT), thereby enabling a whole new range of intelligent services in domains such as manufacturing, health, smart homes, logistics, etc. After introducing the Internet of Things, this talk will discuss the challenges in integrating embedded devices into the Internet, as many of the widely adopted Internet technologies had not been designed for such devices, i.e. devices that have constraints in memory, processing power and energy. We will highlight the latest evolutions in this domain, starting from communication and networking, all the way up to services and semantics. To conclude, we will give a number of examples on how these evolutions have inspired some of our past and ongoing research activities

Internet and gaming addiction: a systematic literature review of neuroimaging studies

In the past decade, research has accumulated suggesting that excessive Internet use can lead to the development of a behavioral addiction. Internet addiction has been considered as a serious threat to mental health and the excessive use of the Internet has been linked to a variety of negative psychosocial consequences. The aim of this review is to identify all empirical studies to date that used neuroimaging techniques to shed light upon the emerging mental health problem of Internet and gaming addiction from a neuroscientific perspective. Neuroimaging studies offer an advantage over traditional survey and behavioral research because with this method, it is possible to distinguish particular brain areas that are involved in the development and maintenance of addiction. A systematic literature search was conducted, identifying 18 studies. These studies provide compelling evidence for the similarities between different types of addictions, notably substance-related addictions and Internet and gaming addiction, on a variety of levels. On the molecular level, Internet addiction is characterized by an overall reward deficiency that entails decreased dopaminergic activity. On the level of neural circuitry, Internet and gaming addiction led to neuroadaptation and structural changes that occur as a consequence of prolonged increased activity in brain areas associated with addiction. On a behavioral level, Internet and gaming addicts appear to be constricted with regards to their cognitive functioning in various domains. The paper shows that understanding the neuronal correlates associated with the development of Internet and gaming addiction will promote future research and will pave the way for the development of addiction treatment approaches

Manifesto for a European research network into Problematic Usage of the Internet

Copyright © 2018 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.The Internet is now all-pervasive across much of the globe. While it has positive uses (e.g. prompt access to information, rapid news dissemination), many individuals develop Problematic Use of the Internet (PUI), an umbrella term incorporating a range of repetitive impairing behaviours. The Internet can act as a conduit for, and may contribute to, functionally impairing behaviours including excessive and compulsive video gaming, compulsive sexual behaviour, buying, gambling, streaming or social networks use. There is growing public and National health authority concern about the health and societal costs of PUI across the lifespan. Gaming Disorder is being considered for inclusion as a mental disorder in diagnostic classification systems, and was listed in the ICD-11 version released for consideration by Member States (http://www.who.int/classifications/icd/revision/timeline/en/). More research is needed into disorder definitions, validation of clinical tools, prevalence, clinical parameters, brain-based biology, socio-health-economic impact, and empirically validated intervention and policy approaches. Potential cultural differences in the magnitudes and natures of types and patterns of PUI need to be better understood, to inform optimal health policy and service development. To this end, the EU under Horizon 2020 has launched a new four-year European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action Programme (CA 16207), bringing together scientists and clinicians from across the fields of impulsive, compulsive, and addictive disorders, to advance networked interdisciplinary research into PUI across Europe and beyond, ultimately seeking to inform regulatory policies and clinical practice. This paper describes nine critical and achievable research priorities identified by the Network, needed in order to advance understanding of PUI, with a view towards identifying vulnerable individuals for early intervention. The network shall enable collaborative research networks, shared multinational databases, multicentre studies and joint publications.Peer reviewe

Internet and Social Media Access Among Youth Experiencing Homelessness: Mixed-Methods Study.

BACKGROUND: Youth experiencing homelessness are at a risk for a variety of adverse outcomes. Given the widespread use of the internet and social media, these new technologies may be used to address their needs and for outreach purposes. However, little is known about how this group uses these resources. OBJECTIVE: This study investigated how homeless adolescents use these technologies for general and health-related purposes, whether the scope of their use changes with housing status, and their interest in a website dedicated to youth experiencing homelessness. METHODS: A convenience sample of youth aged 18 to 21 years was recruited from a youth-specific homeless shelter. All participants completed a 47-item survey, with 10 individuals completing a semistructured interview. Descriptive statistics, exact testing, logistic regression, and generalized estimating equation modeling was performed for quantitative data analysis. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and NVivo 10 (QSR International) was employed to facilitate double coding and thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 87 participants completed the survey with a mean age of 19.4 (SD 1.1) years. While experiencing homelessness, 56% (49/87) accessed the internet at least once a day, with 86% (75/87) accessing once a week. Access to a smartphone was associated with a 3.03 greater odds of accessing the internet and was the most frequently used device (66% of participants, 57/87). While experiencing homelessness, subjects reported a 68% decreased odds in internet access frequency (odds ratio [OR] 0.32, P\u3c.001), 75% decreased odds in spending greater amounts of time on the internet (OR 0.25, P\u3c.001), and an 87% decreased odds of social media use (OR 0.13, P=.01). Ten participants completed the semistructured interview. Several themes were identified, including (1) changes in internet behaviors while experiencing homelessness, (2) health status as a major concern and reason for Internet use, and (3) interest in a website dedicated to youth experiencing homelessness. While experiencing homelessness, participants indicated their behaviors were more goal-oriented and less focused on leisure or entertainment activities. CONCLUSIONS: While homeless youth experience changes in the frequency, amount of time, and specific uses of the internet and social media, study participants were able to access the internet regularly. The internet was used to search health-related topics. Given the importance of smartphones in accessing the internet, mobile-optimized websites may be an effective method for reaching this group

The internet and sustainable development

The past thirty years have seen tremendous growth in the capabilities and reach of information and communication technologies (ICTs). The Internet, especially, has become a critical enabler of social and economic change, transforming how government, business and citizens interact and offering new ways of addressing development challenges. A new approach to development will be agreed this year, when the United Nations adopts a Post-2015 Development Agenda based around Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The Internet Society is convinced that the Internet is a unique platform for innovation, creativity, economic opportunity and social inclusion, which can make a major contribution to achieving these. This briefing describes the Internet’s potential and identifies priorities for action. The Internet will be a powerful enabler for the Sustainable Development Goals which will be adopted in September 2015. Its impact will be felt in all development sectors, from health and education, through agriculture and innovation, to security and the environment. It will increase as the capabilities and reach of Internet networks and services continue to grow rapidly while the Post-2015 Development Agenda is implemented between 2015 and 2030. More attention must be paid to the relationship between the Internet and sustainable development to ensure that potential gains are maximized. All stakeholders share responsibility to work together to develop policies, services, tools and applications that will bring the benefits of Internet access and use to everyone, improving access to health and education, spreading information and knowledge, enabling innovation and enterprise, and thereby promoting economic growth, social inclusion and environmental sustainability. The Internet Society is ready to play its full part in fulfilling that sustainable development agenda

A review of certain recent advances in primary health care

A strong primary health care system is the keystone of health care and helps patients manage their health conditions in the community, whilst also providing disease prevention services. Primary care is a continuously evolving specialty, with recent exciting innovations, aiming to improve all aspects of care and to meet people’s needs and expectations. A search for articles focusing on the specific aspects of recent advances in primary health care was done using internet search engines. Articles were selected from primary and secondary literature sources, which included original research articles, review articles and other epidemiological studies. Recent advances in information technology, services and access, dealing with multimorbidity, academic family medicine, equity and outcome measures have all made an impact on the primary health care system and on meeting the ever-increasing challenges of modern society. Primary health care is of extreme importance in having an efficient and effective health care system. As primary health care improves with recent advances, a positive effect is seen on the population’s health, cost savings and health care disparities.peer-reviewe

The Framework of Anglo-Soviet Commercial Relations: The British View

Considering that a majority of elderlies are non-users of computers and Internet we developed a telemonitoring system for elderly heart failure (HF) home care patients based on digital pen technology - a technology never used before by this patient group. We implemented the system in clinical use in a 13 months long study. Fourteen patients (mean/median age 84 years) with severe HF participated. They accepted the technology and performed daily reports of their health state using the digital pen and a Health Diary form. Via the system the clinicians detected all HF-related deteriorations at an early stage and thereby prevented hospital re-admissions for all patients during the study, implying improved symptom control and large cost savings

A systematic review of internet-based worksite wellness approaches for cardiovascular disease risk management: outcomes, challenges & opportunities.

ContextThe internet is gaining popularity as a means of delivering employee-based cardiovascular (CV) wellness interventions though little is known about the cardiovascular health outcomes of these programs. In this review, we examined the effectiveness of internet-based employee cardiovascular wellness and prevention programs.Evidence acquisitionWe conducted a systematic review by searching PubMed, Web of Science and Cochrane library for all published studies on internet-based programs aimed at improving CV health among employees up to November 2012. We grouped the outcomes according to the American Heart Association (AHA) indicators of cardiovascular wellbeing--weight, BP, lipids, smoking, physical activity, diet, and blood glucose.Evidence synthesisA total of 18 randomized trials and 11 follow-up studies met our inclusion/exclusion criteria. Follow-up duration ranged from 6-24 months. There were significant differences in intervention types and number of components in each intervention. Modest improvements were observed in more than half of the studies with weight related outcomes while no improvement was seen in virtually all the studies with physical activity outcome. In general, internet-based programs were more successful if the interventions also included some physical contact and environmental modification, and if they were targeted at specific disease entities such as hypertension. Only a few of the studies were conducted in persons at-risk for CVD, none in blue-collar workers or low-income earners.ConclusionInternet based programs hold promise for improving the cardiovascular wellness among employees however much work is required to fully understand its utility and long term impact especially in special/at-risk populations