The impact of obesity related websites on decision making among students in Saudi Arabia

Background & Objectives: The present study was to investigate the use of the internet among university students accessing obesity health information and further to measure their satisfaction and in decision-making. Methods: A cross sectional study, among students at King Saud University (KSU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. This study received ethical clearance from Institutional Review Board, College of Medicine, KSU. Female and male of undergraduate and postgraduate, enrolled through a random sampling. The survey questionnaire was self-administered and consisted of two sections. Results: A total of 448 students (177 males and 271 females) participated in this study. The response rate was 66.86. The study showed that the prevalence of overweight and obesity was more common among male compared to female students. Majority of the students (58.7%) were of normal Body Mass Index (BMI). It also revealed that 187 (41.7%) reported always acquire obesity health information from the internet whereas 203 (45.35) sometimes use the internet. Half of the respondents reported using a search engine to seek information. Forty-five percent reported spending at least an hour per week. Nearly 52.2% of participants are taking decision related to their lifestyle and showed statistical significant (P = 0.0001). More than half of the students believed that the obesity information in the websites are very useful. Furthermore, 84.4% reported, language presented in the websites are easy to understand. With respect to quality, 46.9% rated as excellent whereas 39.5% as average. Interpretation & Conclusions: The present study findings have demonstrated that university students are using internet in higher rates for finding obesity health information and are satisfied with the decision they are making. Finally, the study concludes that the internet online health information considered as an essential tool for health promotion among student population regarding weight control or managing obesity.     

Internet as a source of medicines information (MI) among frequent internet users

Background

The internet is widely and increasingly used to search for health information. Previous studies have focused mainly on health information on the internet and not specifically on medicines information (MI).

Consumer use of the internet for medicines information

Objective To explore consumer opinion of the internet as a source of medicines information, the reasons consumers use this information, and the impact of this information on their use of medicines. Method Focus groups (n=6) were conducted in metropolitan Sydney, Australia during March to May 2003 with consumers (n=46) who had used the internet for medicines information. Key findings Although participants expressed some concerns about the quality of internet‐based medicines information (IBMI), the convenience of access to this information outweighed these reservations. Attitudes were thus positive overall. Participants used IBMI when preparing for doctors' visits, for second opinions and additional information, for information on current issues, when deciding whether to use a medicine, for comparative information on brands and generics, and when written information was not supplied by health professionals. Most participants felt empowered by the information they found and used it to play a more active role in decision making about their therapy. Conclusion This study describes various issues associated with consumer use of IBMI and highlights the possible role of pharmacists to support their patients' efforts to access and interpret medicines information.     

Learning adverse drug effects from judicial precedents

In order to help students to become familiar with the official web site on drug safety information in Japan, a short course, in which they actively learn the adverse effects of drugs, has been introduced in our pharmacology curriculum. Each student was allotted a personal computer that was connected to the internet, and was informed of the URL (www.pharmasys.gr.jp/homepage.html) where they were able to search for pertinent essential information on drugs and to report adverse events to the official concerned organization. There were three students to a group, each of which was provided with a judicial precedent. Each judicial case record was deliberately truncated after the section where the physician committed misuse of drugs, so that the students had freedom to imagine the rest of the story. Each group was asked to summarize the case, to speculate on the prognosis and to point out the inappropriate use of drugs. Most groups predicted the outcome optimistically at first, but as they scrutinized the cases, they became aware of serious mistakes that the physicians had committed in patient care. The results suggest that the internet is a powerful tool for gleaning drug information and reporting adverse effects. Judicial precedents provide an excellent teaching material for giving students an incentive to access web sites that are essential for healthcare professionals.     

因特网上检验医学信息资源

为了与国际接轨,便于在因特网上查询检验医学信息资源,首先阐明了实验诊断学(Laboratory Diagnostics)更名为检验医学(Laboratory Medicine)的意义,然后阐述如何在因特网上查询检验医学信息资源,其中包括因特网上的检验医学网站、检验医学期刊、检验医学专题讨论组、检验医学软件等。     

Consumer study on the use of patient information leaflets

The aim of this study was to get a clear idea of the reading frequency of the patient information leaflet (PIL) and to set up a profile of the reader in specific. Apart from that, we also wanted to evaluate the impact of the internet in the patient's search for information on health and medication. Do patients consult the digital PIL and is the FAGG website known by common people? In order to answer these research questions, a specific inquiry was performed in 800 respondents. Some interesting conclusions can be drawn: only one out of four participants reads the full PIL when purchasing a medicine they never used before. People who always read the PIL are mainly older than 65. However, the largest amount of people who never reads the PIL is also situated in the plus 65 scale. In general, men show little interest in reading the PIL unlike woman, who read clearly more often the PIL. The parts of the PIL most often read by patients are the sections on dosage (section 3) and side effects (section 4). Unfortunately, too little attention is paid to the section 2, which contains the most warnings, such as contra-indications. The most important reason why the PIL is not read is because patients believe they get sufficient information from the doctor and the pharmacist. Another remark is that the internet is used by more than half of the respondents to search for health-related information. There is also a remarkable difference between men and woman, men rarely search for health information or information on medicines on the internet. The number of respondents searching for leaflets on the internet is quite limited. Additionally, the Federal Agency Medicines and Health Products (FAMHP) website is unknown to most internet users. We can conclude that the actual PIL is read too little. In order to make the PIL more appealing and even more patient friendly than it is actually, taking patients' needs into account should be a priority. The digital leaflet should be drawn attention to in order for patients to make more use of the information that is available to them.     

Examining the role of a brief online alcohol use risk feedback on accessing information about available treatment resources for alcohol issues

Research suggests college-aged young adults are hesitant to seek treatment for alcohol use disorder and highlights barriers contributing to a gap in treatment utilization. One barrier to treatment utilization is the lack of information about available treatment resources. Motivated by the literature on web-based screening and brief interventions (eSBIs), the current study examined whether providing a brief online feedback of one's alcohol use risk severity will make college students more likely to access information about available treatment options for alcohol-related issues. College students (N = 724) who responded to the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (Babor, Higgins-Biddle, Saunders, & Monteiro, 2001) were randomly assigned to receive a brief online feedback on their alcohol use risk or to a no-feedback condition. Overall, only 20% of all participants opted to view available treatment services for alcohol issues. Participants in the feedback group (15%) were significantly less likely to view information for available services compared to the no-feedback group (24%). A significant feedback condition x stigma interaction effect was found, such that those with average and high stigma towards substance use scores were less likely to view treatment information when provided feedback. Without a thorough discussion of individual risks and without the safeguards against psychological reactance present in eSBIs, providing college students with brief online feedback about their alcohol use risk severity made them less likely to access information concerning available on-campus mental health resources for alcohol issues. On the other hand, improving help-seeking attitudes could help increase treatment utilization.     

Descriptions of early triers

The onset of smoking behavior in adolescents has been described as a process, beginning when children are young. Little empirical evidence is available, however, on the nature and specifics of the onset process in young children. More information is needed about the early stages of smoking onset in order to design interventions for young children and for early triers. The purpose of the present study was to describe several onset-related variables in young girls and boys and to discuss implications for designing prevention interventions that target young children. A total of 1,663 5th-grade students completed a questionnaire assessing smoking behavior, psychosocial characteristics, and perceptions of a "smoker" image. Saliva samples for cotinine analysis were also collected. Students were classified as either never-triers (never tried a cigarette) or early triers (tried one or more cigarettes) on the basis of self-reported smoking. Most students who had tried a cigarette were in the early stages of smoking onset, because approximately 30% had tried one cigarette and less than 10% had tried a second. Triers versus never-triers differed on their reported images of smokers, and several psychosocial characteristics predicted trying a cigarette and intentions to smoke for boys.     

Quality of drug information on the World Wide Web and strategies to improve pages with poor information quality. An intervention study on pages about sildenafil

AIMS: The generally poor quality of health information on the world wide web (WWW) has caused preventable adverse outcomes. Quality management of information on the internet is therefore critical given its widespread use. In order to develop strategies for the safe use of drugs, we scored general and content quality of pages about sildenafil and performed an intervention to improve their quality. METHODS: The internet was searched with Yahoo and AltaVista for pages about sildenafil and 303 pages were included. For assessment of content quality a score based on accuracy and completeness of essential drug information was assigned. For assessment of general quality, four criteria were evaluated and their association with high content quality was determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. The pages were randomly allocated to either control or intervention group. Evaluation took place before, as well as 7 and 22 weeks after an intervention which consisted of two letters with individualized feedback information on the respective page which were sent electronically to the address mentioned on the page. RESULTS: Providing references to scientific publications or prescribing information was significantly associated with high content quality (odds ratio: 8.2, 95% CI 3.2, 20.5). The intervention had no influence on general or content quality. CONCLUSIONS: To prevent adverse outcomes caused by misinformation on the WWW individualized feedback to the address mentioned on the page was ineffective. It is currently probably the most straight-forward approach to inform lay persons about indicators of high information quality, i.e. the provision of references.     

Knowledge and use of the internet as a source of controlled substances

Despite growing evidence that the internet is a source of controlled substances for nonmedical use, there is a lack of information about who is using it to obtain these drugs. One hundred adult drug-dependent inpatients in a private residential treatment program participated in a semistructured interview regarding how they obtained their drugs. Twenty-nine percent reported knowledge of the internet as a source of drugs, and 11% reported that they had used the internet to either buy drugs or locate a drug dealer. The results of this preliminary study suggest that the internet has become a source of controlled substances for some addicted individuals. Considerations for future research and clinical practice are described.     

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Evaluation About Travel Medicine in International Travelers and Medical Students in Chile

Because information about travel medicine in Chile is lacking, a knowledge, attitudes, and practices evaluation in international travelers and medical students was done. The travelers and medical students did not know the travel medicine and sanitary conditions of their destinations, although they perceived travel-associated health risks, but <10% had any vaccination and 5% got sick during international trips.     

Defensively biased responding to risk information among alcohol-using college students

Previous research has found that individuals who engage in risky health behaviors respond to health risk messages in a self-serving manner, limiting the impact of health messages among targeted individuals. The present study sought to investigate whether alcohol-using college students would respond to risk messages about alcohol use with a similar defensive bias. Both alcohol-using (N=244) and non-using (N=91) college students read a summary of alcohol risk information intended for college students. Participants then reported their attitudes about the seriousness of the problem of college drinking, personal risk, and the scientific credibility of the risk information. Results indicated that high-risk participants responded in a self-serving manner, with significantly lower ratings of problem importance among alcohol-using students and non-significant differences among assessments of personal risk between groups. Further, alcohol-using students were more critical of the scientific merit of the risk information and more skeptical about the empirical claims. Defensively biased responding was more pronounced among more frequent and heavy drinking students than among lighter drinking students. The implications of these findings as well as possible ways to reduce defensive bias are discussed.     

Impact of a health literacy assignment on student pharmacist learning

BackgroundThe average American adult reads at the 8th grade level while most written health information materials, including medication guides, are written at the 12th grade level. To assist students with health literacy-sensitive communication, pharmacy schools should incorporate educational activities addressing health literacy competencies.ObjectivesThe objectives of this study were to evaluate the impact of a health literacy assignment on student pharmacists' perceptions of: 1) learning about health literacy; 2) ability to write health literacy level-appropriate patient education material; and 3) the use of these skills in future pharmacy practice.MethodsThird professional year student pharmacists were asked to rewrite a patient medication information sheet at the 5th grade reading level, altering it from the 12th grade level. Following assignment completion, students responded to a 4-item open-ended questionnaire on what they learned from the activity, what information components were the most difficult to rewrite and reason for the difficulty, key strategies to accomplish the assignment, and their perception of the impact this assignment had on their future practice. Content analysis of the reflections was performed using QSR NVivo to identify themes grounded in the students' responses.ResultsReflections were completed in 2009 (n = 159) and 2010 (n = 144), for a total of 303 completed reflections. Predominant themes included greater understanding about the challenges, importance, and methods of health literacy level-appropriate communication and greater awareness of the role of pharmacists in presenting information clearly to patients.ConclusionsStudents indicated the activity increased their understanding of the complexity of patient information, the educational needs of patients, and the importance of providing information that is understandable. Student pharmacists learned methods of effective communication with patients and should be better prepared to communicate in a health literacy-level appropriate manner.     

Beliefs about smoking cessation among out-of-school youth.

Although the majority of adolescents in the 13-18 age range are at school, there is a need to target specific groups of young smokers such as unemployed youth. For those young people who are not at school, few directed programs are available in either prevention or cessation and information is needed about the design and delivery of appropriate programs for this population. This report presents the results from a survey of unemployed youth and students at vocational colleges about various aspects of smoking cessation. The majority of out-of-school youth smokers had not tried to quit, but 52% were contemplating action to quit. Only a quarter of the smokers had quit for more than a week. Few young smokers would use a recognised program though more females would change to a lower nicotine brand, quit with the help of a friend or participate in a group quit program. The method of quitting most would recommend to peers is 'use of will power'. Incentives to quit were attractive to only a third of the smokers, and many enhancing and inhibiting factors for participation in programs were identified. In particular, efforts to quit increased their confidence in quitting, supporting the need to assist those who are contemplating action to quit. Programs need to incorporate input from youth and be tailored for them but not necessarily for different groups such as non-secondary school students and unemployed youth.     

某医药院校大学生网络成瘾及其影响因素调查

目的了解高校学生的网络应用现状及其相关影响因素,为开展健康教育和心理干预措施提供理论参考依据。方法采用整群随机抽样和分层随机抽样的方法,随机抽取某医药学院学生387名,运用网络成瘾量表、社会支持量表和自编上网情况调查表进行问卷调查。结果网络成瘾者共32名,占上网人数的8.27%,成瘾者与非成瘾者在年级、学习成绩、每月生活费、父母对子女上网的态度、上网的主要目的、上网内容、亲密朋友的个数等方面差异有统计学意义。结论应用网络的大学生越来越多,网络成瘾者比例有上升的趋势,应采取针对性的措施,以维护大学生的身心健康。     

Patients' views of the value of “brown bag” medication reviews

Objective — To explore and describe patients' views of the value of brown bag medication reviews. Method — Semi‐structured, tape‐recorded interviews were conducted with 20 patients who had participated in a brown bag medication review scheme. Setting — A health authority area in south‐east inner London. Key findings — Patients perceived the following benefits from brown bag reviews: clinical problems resolved; better understanding of their medications, leading to increased confidence; and appreciation that an interest was being taken in their health care. Reviews had given patients a sense of empowerment, and had made them realise that they had a right to information about their medical treatment and medication. As a result they were likely to be more proactive in seeking information in future. Reviews had made patients realise that pharmacists were knowledgeable about medicines, where previously many had thought that only doctors had sufficient knowledge. Reviews had enhanced relationships between patients and pharmacists. However, some patients still perceived their doctor as the authoritative source of information about medicines. Patients' accounts indicated that much of the information provided by the pharmacist was new, raising the issue of what information was routinely being provided by pharmacists. Conclusions — Brown bag reviews were regarded by patients as beneficial and they wanted them to be available in the future. Patients' perceptions of pharmacists as health professionals and providers of information on medicines were enhanced by brown bag reviews.     

Emergency contraception: knowledge and practice of Gondar University students, northwest Ethiopia

OBJECTIVES: To assess the knowledge and practice of Gondar University students regarding emergency contraceplion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A university based cross-sectional study was conducted in the University of Gondar in May 2004. All undergraduate students of the university were included in the study. A self-administered anonymous questionnaire was used for data collection. RESULTS: A total of 2323 students (1764 males & 559 females) responded to the questionnaire. Five hundred fifty eight students (24.0%) thought that there are methods that can be used to prevent pregnancy when a woman had unprotected sex. Overall, 437 students (18.8%) knew the correct methods of emergency contraception (pill or IUCD). Of those who mentioned pill as the only method of emergency contraception, 285 (73.3%) said the pill should be used within 72 hours after unprotected sex. Only one student used pill as emergency contraceptive. Students in the health field have 6.8 times higher knowledge on emergency contraception compared to students of FBE. Generally, there was an increasing trend in the knowledge of students when their age and year of study increases. Married or divorced students had 3.36 times higher knowledge when compared with never married students. CONCLUSION: In general, except students in the health field, other students have low awareness about emergency contraception. Emergency contraceptive user rate is very low. Even in those who are aware of emergency contraception, the information they have regarding the methods that can be used and the timing of emergency contraception was not sufficient. Students should be provided with appropriate information regarding emergency contraception and access to emergency contraception should be improved in the university.