scholarly journals Health on the Net: Do Website Searches Return Reliable Health Information on Hemorrhoids and Their Treatment?

2017 ◽  
Vol 102 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 216-221 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew W. Ng ◽  
Riley Smith ◽  
Nilmini Wickramesinghe ◽  
Philip J. Smart ◽  
Nathan Lawrentschuk
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Web Search ◽  
Search Algorithm ◽  
Treatment Options ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
Google Search

Objective: To analyze the quality of health information on the Internet on hemorrhoids across 5 Western languages and perform a comparative analysis of website sponsors. Summary of background data: Hemorrhoids are a common condition affecting the hemorrhoid cushions of the anal canal. Many treatment options are available. Information on the Internet on hemorrhoids is considered variable, but there is little data analysis to support this. The World Health Organization's Health On the Net (HON) accredits medical and health websites based on a code of conduct and publishes a toolbar that aids identification of such accredited websites. Methods: Using the Google search engine (http://www.google.com, Google, Mountain View, California), searches were performed using 11 keywords related to hemorrhoids in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Health On the Net accreditation was determined to assess quality website information. The first 150 websites in each language had their adherence to the HON principles analyzed, and English websites were analyzed to determine sponsorship source. Results: Of the 8250 websites analysed, 586 (7.1%) were found to HON-accredited. The rate of HON accreditation ranged from 2.0% (piles) to 10.0% (hemorrhoids), with higher-ranking results having higher rates of HON accreditation (P < 0.001). Conclusion: There is a paucity of high-quality information on the Internet; however, the Google search algorithm prioritizes high-quality information in its web search results.

scholarly journals Empowering Users to Respond to Misinformation about Covid-19

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 475-479 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily K. Vraga ◽  
Melissa Tully ◽  
Leticia Bode
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
World Health Organization ◽  
Global South ◽  
World Health ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
The World ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
News Literacy ◽  
Health Organization

The World Health Organization has declared that misinformation shared on social media about Covid-19 is an “infodemic” that must be fought alongside the pandemic itself. We reflect on how news literacy and science literacy can provide a foundation to combat misinformation about Covid-19 by giving social media users the tools to identify, consume, and share high-quality information. These skills can be put into practice to combat the infodemic by amplifying quality information and actively correcting misinformation seen on social media. We conclude by considering the extent to which what we know about these literacies and related behaviors can be extended to less-researched areas like the Global South.

scholarly journals Assessment of Health Information About COVID-19 Prevention on the Internet: Infodemiological Study

10.2196/18717 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. e18717 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Hernández-García ◽  
Teresa Giménez-Júlvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Public Health Organizations ◽  
Google Search

Background The internet is a large source of health information and has the capacity to influence its users. However, the information found on the internet often lacks scientific rigor, as anyone may upload content. This factor is a cause of great concern to scientific societies, governments, and users. Objective The objective of our study was to investigate the information about the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the internet. Methods On February 29, 2020, we performed a Google search with the terms “Prevention coronavirus,” “Prevention COVID-19,” “Prevención coronavirus,” and “Prevención COVID-19”. A univariate analysis was performed to study the association between the type of authorship, country of publication, and recommendations to avoid COVID-19 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Results In total, 80 weblinks were reviewed. Most of them were produced in the United States and Spain (n=58, 73%) by digital media sources and official public health organizations (n=60, 75%). The most mentioned WHO preventive measure was “wash your hands frequently” (n=65, 81%). A less frequent recommendation was to “stay home if you feel unwell” (n=26, 33%). The analysis by type of author (official public health organizations versus digital media) revealed significant differences regarding the recommendation to wear a mask when you are healthy only if caring for a person with suspected COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR] 4.39). According to the country of publication (Spain versus the United States), significant differences were detected regarding some recommendations such as “wash your hands frequently” (OR 9.82), “cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze” (OR 4.59), or “stay home if you feel unwell” (OR 0.31). Conclusions It is necessary to urge and promote the use of the websites of official public health organizations when seeking information on COVID-19 preventive measures on the internet. In this way, users will be able to obtain high-quality information more frequently, and such websites may improve their accessibility and positioning, given that search engines justify the positioning of links obtained in a search based on the frequency of access to them.

The Internet Pilot to Physics: An Open Information System for Physics Research and Education

1997 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 3-17
Author(s):  
Mikko Karttunen ◽  
Kenneth Holmlund ◽  
Günther Nowotny
Keyword(s):  
Information System ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Information Infrastructure ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
European Physical Society ◽  
Distributed Indexing ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
Research And Education

In this article we discuss the effort made by the Internet Pilot to Physics (TIPTOP) project to develop a uniform and open information infrastructure for physics research and education. We discuss concepts such as communication in research and education, the importance of distributed indexing and catalogs, and briefly the use of new technology such as VRML and Java. We also stress the importance of developing and using standardized protocols and formats such as the Summary Object Interchangeable Format (SOIF) and Thematic Uniform Resource Agents (TURA). TIPTOP has rapidly grown to be one of the most popular physics Internet knowledge servers, and the recently established collaboration with the European Physical Society is an important step forward in developing a stable framework of high quality information for researchers and educators.

ANALYTICAL RESEARCH METHODS AT E-COMMERCE ENTERPRISES IN UKRAINE

2021 ◽  
pp. 143-153
Author(s):  
Irina Lobacheva ◽  
◽  
Nataliya Koceruba ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Global Networks ◽  
Doing Business ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
High Quality Information ◽  
Analytical Research ◽  
Online Stores

With the development of information systems and technologies, their spread and improvement, mankind has invented a large number of ways to make life easier with the help of the Internet and electronics. The economy is also not standing still: for example, a few years ago, online stores became very popular, offering customers a wide range of products. Thanks to them, many different economic transactions are conducted every day via the Internet. As a result, the concept of e-commerce has developed rapidly. This term means doing business on global networks. In a simpler sense - trade via the Internet. In addition to stationary stores, various companies also open online ones. As a result, such companies have the opportunity to increase competitiveness, reduce costs associated with the sale of products and provide more useful and high-quality information about goods to their customers.

Going Digital as a Necessity: Ensuring Older Adults’ Needs for Health Information, Services, and Social Inclusion During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bo Xie
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Vulnerable Populations ◽  
Social Inclusion ◽  
Information Services ◽  
Financial Resources ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
High Quality ◽  
Digital Infrastructure ◽  
High Quality Information

UNSTRUCTURED During pandemics like COVID-19, going digital is, more than ever, a necessity. However, going digital alone is insufficient for reaching vulnerable populations like older adults. Older adults are in triple jeopardy during COVID-19: compared with younger people, older adults are (1) more likely to develop serious conditions and experience higher mortality; (2) less likely to obtain high quality information or services online; and (3) more likely to experience social isolation and loneliness. Hybrid informatics solutions, coupling online and offline strategies, are invaluable in ensuring the inclusion of vulnerable populations during pandemics. Most of these solutions do not require new inventions or technology. Finding the financial resources for a rapid, well-coordinated implementation is the biggest challenge. Setting up the systems and digital infrastructure is important for the present and future pandemics.

scholarly journals Assessment of Health Information About COVID-19 Prevention on the Internet: Infodemiological Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ignacio Hernández-García ◽  
Teresa Giménez-Júlvez
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Health Information ◽  
The United States ◽  
World Health ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Health Organizations ◽  
Public Health Organizations ◽  
Google Search

BACKGROUND The internet is a large source of health information and has the capacity to influence its users. However, the information found on the internet often lacks scientific rigor, as anyone may upload content. This factor is a cause of great concern to scientific societies, governments, and users. OBJECTIVE The objective of our study was to investigate the information about the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on the internet. METHODS On February 29, 2020, we performed a Google search with the terms “Prevention coronavirus,” “Prevention COVID-19,” “Prevención coronavirus,” and “Prevención COVID-19”. A univariate analysis was performed to study the association between the type of authorship, country of publication, and recommendations to avoid COVID-19 according to the World Health Organization (WHO). RESULTS In total, 80 weblinks were reviewed. Most of them were produced in the United States and Spain (n=58, 73%) by digital media sources and official public health organizations (n=60, 75%). The most mentioned WHO preventive measure was “wash your hands frequently” (n=65, 81%). A less frequent recommendation was to “stay home if you feel unwell” (n=26, 33%). The analysis by type of author (official public health organizations versus digital media) revealed significant differences regarding the recommendation to wear a mask when you are healthy only if caring for a person with suspected COVID-19 (odds ratio [OR] 4.39). According to the country of publication (Spain versus the United States), significant differences were detected regarding some recommendations such as “wash your hands frequently” (OR 9.82), “cover your mouth and nose with your bent elbow or tissue when you cough or sneeze” (OR 4.59), or “stay home if you feel unwell” (OR 0.31). CONCLUSIONS It is necessary to urge and promote the use of the websites of official public health organizations when seeking information on COVID-19 preventive measures on the internet. In this way, users will be able to obtain high-quality information more frequently, and such websites may improve their accessibility and positioning, given that search engines justify the positioning of links obtained in a search based on the frequency of access to them.

scholarly journals Quality of Health Information on the Internet for Urolithiasis on the Google Search Engine

2016 ◽  
Vol 2016 ◽  
pp. 1-5 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dwayne T. S. Chang ◽  
Robert Abouassaly ◽  
Nathan Lawrentschuk
Keyword(s):  
Health Information ◽  
Search Engine ◽  
Information Quality ◽  
The Internet ◽  
Quality Information ◽  
Search Terms ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Educational Sources ◽  
Google Search

Purpose. To compare the quality of health information on the Internet for keywords related to urolithiasis, to assess for difference in information quality across four main Western languages, and to compare the source of sponsorship in these websites. Methods. Health On the Net (HON) Foundation principles were utilised to determine quality information. Fifteen keywords related to urolithiasis were searched on the Google search engine. The first 150 websites were assessed against the HON principles and the source of sponsorship determined. Results. A total of 8986 websites were analysed. A proportion of HON-accredited websites for individual search terms range between 2.5% and 12.0%. The first 50 websites were more likely to be HON-positive compared to websites 51–100 and 101–150. French websites searched were more likely to be HON-positive whereas German websites were less likely to be HON-positive than English websites. There was no statistically significant difference between the rate of HON-positive English and Spanish websites. The three main website sponsors were from government/educational sources (40.2%), followed by commercial (29.9%) and physician/surgeon sources (18.6%). Conclusions. Health information on most urolithiasis websites was not validated. Nearly one-third of websites in this study have commercial sponsorship. Doctors should recognise the need for more reliable health websites for their patients.

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