Seeing is believing? A mixed methods study exploring the quality and perceived trustworthiness of online information about chronic conditions aimed at children and young people

Abstract Background The numbers of children and young people with chronic conditions are increasing. Whilst their information needs may vary, providing healthcare information can have considerable benefits, including better emotional health, less distress during treatments, as well as greater satisfaction with medical care. The Internet is increasingly being used to communicate health-related information to children about a range of chronic conditions. However, the quality of such websites is under-explored. Objectives To evaluate the reliability and quality of online information for children about chronic conditions using a standardised evaluation tool, and to explore children and young people’s perceptions of quality and trustworthiness regarding online health information. Method The study consisted of two phases. In Phase 1, websites about common paediatric chronic conditions aimed at children and containing treatment or management options were identified and the quality assessment tool DISCERN completed. Test-retest and inter-rater reliability were calculated. In Phase 2, two focus groups with laptop computers were conducted with children and young people with a chronic condition to explore their perceptions of trustworthiness of online health information. Websites about child chronic conditions Results In Phase 1, 165 websites were identified and 100 met the criteria and were assessed. The mean DISCERN score of all sites was 48.16 out of 75 (SD=7.97, range 28-71, min 15 - max 75). Quality scores varied widely across the sample. The internal consistency and inter-rater reliability scores were both lower than previously reported in studies using the DISCERN to assess information for adults. Two focus groups with a total of six participants aged 11-23 years revealed a relative lack of concern about the quality and trustworthiness of online health information. Older participants reported judging the source and authorship of websites, but other participants did not question the source of the information they found online. Although personal websites were perceived to be less reliable than those from well-known medical institutions, they were still valued by many of the participants. Discussion There were relatively few websites about paediatric chronic conditions aimed at children, with variable quality and reliability. However, the DISCERN’s use with paediatric websites across a broad spectrum of developmental stages is limited. Children and young people demonstrated a need for more guidance around assessing trustworthiness of online information. A more appropriate quality assessment tool is warranted, which could usefully be employed by healthcare professionals, children and parents.Ward Family Foundation Summer Student Endowment Program and Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation

Using Slack for computer-mediated communication to support higher education students’ peer interactions during Master’s thesis seminar

Our study contributes to the research on computer-mediated communication in higher education by experimenting a modern communication tool called Slack. In particular, we consider using Slack to support students’ peer interactions during Master’s thesis work. For this purpose, we designed a case study that was executed in a Master’s thesis seminar course. During the course, all out-of-class communication was carried out by using Slack, instead of e-mails or learning management systems. After the course, we used a questionnaire to investigate how the students perceived Slack for asking for assistance, their intention to use Slack, and Slack’s ease of use. Furthermore, the questionnaire asked feedback about challenges that the students found in slack. To examine the students’ peer support in Slack, we analysed the messages in the course’s public discussion channels. We investigated opportunities and challenges of Slack from instructional perspective by conducting an auto-ethnographic data collection. Our analysis revealed that the students perceived Slack as an easy-to-use communication tool with a low threshold of asking questions. The students also expressed high intentions to use Slack in the future. However, the students were worried of information overload in Slack, frustrated with decentralisation of communication tools in higher education, and cautious of using communication tools that are not officially supported by the university. The students’ interactions were assigned to three categories: practical, technical, and thesis-related. Analysis of these categories revealed that the students were able to explicate and solve issues in Slack, but the issues were only related to practical and technical problems, instead of actual Master’s thesis writing. The teacher perceived that Slack enhanced bi-directional communication with the students, but faced issues related to file management and user authentication. The results implicate that developing an alternative for Slack from educational premises could be more useful than a product that is not originally developed for pedagogical needs. Finally, we present recommendations that help educators to use Slack in their educational practices.peerReviewe