Study Points

Health 2.0: Implications for Care

Course #91053 - $0 -

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  • Participation Instructions
    • Review the course material online or in print.
    • Complete the course evaluation.
    • Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.
  1. Which of the following demographic groups is most likely to have downloaded a podcast?

    GENERAL INTERNET USAGE PATTERNS

    Podcasts or vodcasts are audio or video digital media files that can be downloaded from the Internet. In December 2020, there were 41.9 million podcasts according to Apple [9]. As of 2017, 24% of individuals 12 years and older had listened to a podcast in the last month, an increase from 9% in 2008 [98]. On average, those who listen to podcasts listen to approximately six podcasts per week [9]. Generally, men download podcasts more often than their female counterparts, and adults 18 to 49 years of age are the most likely of all age-groups to have downloaded a podcast [6].

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  2. Which of the following is NOT an example of a social networking site?

    GENERAL INTERNET USAGE PATTERNS

    Social networking sites include Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, Twitter, TikTok, and LinkedIn. In 2019, 69% of Americans 18 years of age and older used Facebook, 37% used Instagram (a Facebook company), 28% used Pinterest, 27% used LinkedIn, and 22% used Twitter [100]. This is astounding considering that only 38% of Internet users were social networking in 2005 [10]. When looking at Web 2.0 usage patterns in other countries outside the United States, Nielsenwire reported that in 2010 that the average American spends 6 hours and 35 minutes on blogs and social networking sites; this compares with 5 hours and 52 minutes for those in the United Kingdom, and 7 hours and 19 minutes for Australians [72].

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  3. What percentage of Internet users are estimated to seek online health information?

    PATTERNS OF SEEKING HEALTH INFORMATION ONLINE

    According to a Harris Poll, 50 million adults in the United States had ever gone online to seek health information in 1998; by 2009, this number jumped to 154 million [12]. An estimated 81% of Internet users seek online health information, and 49% of users report using the Internet to do research after having seen their physician [12]. In a study of adults (18 years of age and older) in California, 65% of Internet users reported searching for medical information online [101]. In a national study, 40% of adults used the Internet to search for health information and 3.7% used online health chat rooms [102].

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  4. Which of the following is an example of a Web 2.0 application?

    DEFINITIONS

    Before discussing how Internet technologies have been and may be used in the health and mental health fields, it is vital to have a clear understanding of the terms. Web 1.0 revolved around static pages, with little or no user interaction, essentially making the Internet "read only." Personal websites, Internet directories, online (static) encyclopedias, Internet browsing, and taxonomies are examples of Web 1.0 [24,25]. Meanwhile, Web 2.0 is considered user-centric, because it promotes group interaction, collaboration, community, conversations, networking, and connections [24,107]. Web 2.0 has been coined the "social web" because it is much more interactive than Web 1.0. Examples of Web 2.0 applications include [2,24,26,27,107,108]:

    • Blogs

    • Social networking sites (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn)

    • Wikis (e.g., Wikipedia)

    • Social bookmarking (e.g., Pinboard)

    • Podcasts and vodcasts

    • Video sharing (e.g., YouTube)

    • Photo sharing (e.g., Instagram)

    • Really simple syndication (RSS 2.0) feeds

    • Google documents and presentations

    • Three-dimensional virtual worlds (e.g., Second Life)

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  5. Web 3.0, also known as the semantic web, may be characterized by

    DEFINITIONS

    In Web 3.0, the Internet is viewed as a database with intelligent search capabilities [4]. This could involve moving beyond the sharing of information to the comparing of data in meaningful ways. The relationships between ideas or information would become more important. For example, uploaded photographs might exist on a calendar platform that also displays activities or appointments for that day, giving some insight into what the individual was doing when the photograph was taken. However, it is unclear when or if this will become the dominant force in Internet technology.

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  6. An example of a Health 2.0 application is

    DEFINITIONS

    The definition of Health 2.0 has been nebulous and there is no clear roadmap [136,137]. Some have categorized Health 2.0 under the broader category of digital health. Others have defined Health 2.0 simply as, "the use of social software and its ability to promote collaboration between patients, caregivers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders in health" [25]. The end result is health care that takes place constantly, rather than a series of episodic events. The hope is that this enhancement of the healthcare experience will allow the provider to foster a team approach to care instead of an expert/novice relationship [29]. Consumers of health services use Web 2.0 applications not only to find health information but to develop communities to support one another, share experiences and information with one another, and evaluate physicians and healthcare providers [2,110]. It is used by patients but also by healthcare and mental health professionals [137]. Examples include [2,31,32,80,110,111,137]:

    • Individuals can use Facebook to evaluate physicians, which may influence others' healthcare decisions.

    • Social bookmarking, wikis, and blogs

    • Consumers can obtain up-to-date information on health care and the healthcare system at The Health Care Blog.

    • A 3D virtual world may be developed in which a user is in a simulated restaurant, making different food decisions and being informed about various food items' health impact.

    • Video sharing through YouTube can be an effective means for patients to learn about their diagnosis. Sharing information via video (with visual and auditory stimuli) can be more effective than text-based approaches.

    • Health records are controlled by individual health consumers so they can determine who has access to their health record. In addition, individuals can enter data into their own records.

    • Individuals with HIV can watch videos to obtain the latest information about treatment.

    • PatientsLikeMe is a social networking site for individuals to locate others who share a similar medical condition.

    • HealthyPlace.com: America's Mental Health Channel provides information and resources targeted to mental health topics and is the home of online communities for individuals seeking to connect with others with similar mental health concerns.

    • Sermo is an online community of physicians wishing to connect with one another to collaborate and consult on cases and discuss new treatments, clinical issues, and medical devices.

    • Doximity is a social networking site for healthcare providers.

    • Calorie Cruncher is a diary that gives users an opportunity to track their physical activities, calories, and BMI scores and those of their friends. Users can then connect via Facebook to support and provide accountability to one another.

    • The 10,000 Steps Program allows users to employ pedometers to track the number of steps they take daily and engage and challenge one another on an online forum.

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  7. Which of the following is NOT a benefit of Web 2.0 technologies in the health and mental health fields?

    WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN HEALTH CARE

    The use of Web 2.0 applications can affect professional relationships and boundaries between providers and patients/clients. However, professional organizations and ethics committees have been slow to establish rules for interacting with patients/clients online. In a 2013 survey of psychologists, social workers, and physicians, 59% of practitioners indicated they maintained a Facebook account and 75% of these users reported using a privacy setting [89]. In another study, 77% of psychologists indicated they had an account on a social networking site, and of these users, 85% used privacy settings [36]. However, practitioners were unclear about what to do when clients contacted them through a social networking site. On the surface, it appears to be an innocuous request, but it may allow the client access to personal information and interactions that may fall outside established professional boundaries and create dual relationships [90,150]. If the practitioner does not accept the request or ignores the contact, the client might misconstrue this as rejection. In addition, professionals' behaviors on social networking sites (e.g., posted pictures, interactions with friends) could inadvertently have a negative effect on the integrity of the profession [90,91]. Therefore, there is a blurring of private and public spaces [119].

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  8. Health literacy is defined as the

    HEALTH 2.0 AND IMPLICATIONS FOR HEALTH LITERACY

    Health literacy refers to the "degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services that they need to make appropriate health decisions" [50]. More specifically, it involves being able to navigate from lower to higher stages of critical thinking [121]. According to the 2003 National Assessment of Health Literacy, 14% of individuals in the United States have "below basic" health literacy, which means they lack the ability to understand health information and make informed health decisions [51,52]. A systematic review of more than 300 studies showed that an estimated 26% of patients had inadequate literacy and an additional 20% had marginal literacy [53]. Health literacy varies widely according to race/ethnicity, level of education, and gender, and clinicians are often unaware of the literacy level of their patients [54,55]. Predictors of limited health literacy are poor self-rated reading ability, low level of education, male gender, and nonwhite race [55,56]. Low health literacy makes patients vulnerable to poor health outcomes, including medication errors, rehospitalization, and noncompliance to medical interventions [122].

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  9. In one study, researchers found that consumers searching for health information online tended to

    EVALUATING ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION

    In an observational study of online search behaviors for health information, researchers found that participants tended to rely on what information they could locate rapidly rather than searching for more credible sources, relying mainly on information found on search engines such as Yahoo or Google [66]. They will not often verify the information. The majority of the participants also relied on the first five search results to obtain the information. Other research has found that participants tend to judge results of health information searches based on position or rank or based on other users' comments [121]. This speaks to the necessity for practitioners to educate consumers regarding the importance of gaining informational and autonomous competency [58].

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  10. Which of the following is a HONcode principle used to evaluate online health information?

    EVALUATING ONLINE HEALTH INFORMATION

    In 1995, several health experts founded a nonprofit organization devoted to promoting standards for disseminating online health information and providing criteria for evaluating the quality of online health information [69]. HON is an accrediting organization that provides an approval logo (certified seal) to all sites that conform to the HON standards. Their certification is based on eight HONcode principles used to evaluate online health information [69]:

    • Authority: Give qualifications of authors

    • Complementarity: Information to support, not replace

    • Confidentiality: Respect the privacy of site users

    • Attribution: Cite the sources and dates of medical information

    • Justifiability: Justification of claims should be balanced and objective

    • Transparency: Provide valid contact details and accessibility

    • Financial disclosure: Provide details of funding

    • Advertising: Clearly distinguish advertising from editorial content

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  • Back to Course Home
  • Participation Instructions
    • Review the course material online or in print.
    • Complete the course evaluation.
    • Review your Transcript to view and print your Certificate of Completion. Your date of completion will be the date (Pacific Time) the course was electronically submitted for credit, with no exceptions. Partial credit is not available.