Internet Accessibility: Challenges before the African Nations

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Internet Accessibility: Challenges Before The African Nations. 207. Information ... increasing internet access in Africa (Jensen, ... bite, particularly in the area of policy ... especially the urban and rural poor. ... supply, but electricity power supply.

Psychotropics without borders: ethics and legal implications of internet-based access to psychiatric medications.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Carolina A

2011-01-01

Medical practitioners are revisiting many of the ethics and the legal implications surrounding the clinical frameworks within which we operate. In today's world, distinguishing between virtual and physical reality continues to be increasingly difficult. The physician may be found grappling with the decision of whether to continue to treat a patient who may be obtaining psychotropic medications through the Internet. This article approaches some of the clinical and legal implications and the ethics regarding the availability of prescription psychotropics over the Internet.

THE TRENDS AND USE OF COMPUTER AND INTERNET AMONG MEDICAL STUDENTS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Sathikumar

2018-02-01

Full Text Available BACKGROUND Computer-based learning is becoming more and more widespread and it has been important especially in medical subjects since lifelong learning is a goal of medical professional. The study was conducted to find out the computer literacy, computer and internet availability and the trend of use of computer, laptop and other gadget among medical students. MATERIALS AND METHODS A cross sectional descriptive study was conducted among the medical students of Jubilee Mission Medical College & Research Institute, Thrissur and SUT Academy of Medical Sciences, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. A total of 420 students participated in the study. RESULTS Out of the 420 students, 42.38% students had their own laptop or computer and 45.71% students were using family shared computer or laptop for their use. 80.48% students were found using mobile phones or tablets with internet facility. Most of the students, access internet for recreational facilities. Regarding e- learning 54.29% of the students participated in the study were of aware of it. Majority of medical students are of the opinion that computer and internet use should be encouraged in medical colleges. CONCLUSION Those who have participated in the study have necessary infrastructure and positive attitude about computer-based learning even though they are using it mainly for recreational purposes.

Medical teleconferencing with high-definition video presentation on the 'usual' Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Obuchi, Toshiro; Shima, Hiroji; Iwasaki, Akinori

2013-06-01

Although medical teleconferences on advanced academic networks have been common (Telemed J E Health 15:112-117, 1; Asian J Endosc Surg 3:185-188, 2; Surg Today 41:1579-1581, 3; Telemedicine development center of Asia. http://www.aqua.med.kyushu-u.ac.jp/eg/index.html . Accessed 6 March 2013, 4), reports regarding 'usual' Internet teleconferences or tele-lectures employing a telecommunication system for business use are very rare. Medical teleconferences and tele-lectures on the Internet were held three times between our institutions and other institutions, using the 'HD Com' made by Panasonic (HD Com. http://panasonic.biz/com/visual/ . Accessed 6 March 2013, 5), which is a high-definition telecommunication system for business tele-meeting. All of our medical telecommunications were successfully completed without any troubles. This system allows for all kinds of presentations using personal computers to be made from each station, so that discussions with high-definition surgical video presentation, which has recently been developed, could be effortlessly established despite the distance between institutions. Unlike telecommunication using advanced academic networks, this system can run without any need for specific engineering support, on the usual Internet. Medical telecommunication employing this system is likely to become common among ordinary hospitals in the near future.

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

Science.gov (United States)

VonHoltz, Lauren A Houdek; Frasso, Rosemary; Golinkoff, Jesse M; Lozano, Alicia J; Hanlon, Alexandra; Dowshen, Nadia

2018-05-22

leisure or entertainment activities. 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. ©Lauren A Houdek VonHoltz, Rosemary Frasso, Jesse M Golinkoff, Alicia J Lozano, Alexandra Hanlon, Nadia Dowshen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 22.05.2018.

Accessing wound-care information on the Internet: the implications for patients.

Science.gov (United States)

Bovill, E S; Hormbrey, E; Gillespie, P H; Banwell, P E

2001-02-01

The Internet and the World Wide Web have revolutionised communication and provide a unique forum for the exchange of information. It has been proposed that the Internet has given the public more access to medical information resources and improved patient education. This study assessed the impact of the Internet on the availability of information on wound care management. The search phrases 'wound care', 'wound healing' and 'wounds' were analysed using a powerful Metacrawler search engine (www.go2net.com). Web site access was classified according to the target audience (wound-care specialists, other health professionals, patients) and the author (societies, institutions or commercial companies). The largest proportion of web sites were commercially based (32%). Of the total number, 23% specifically targeted patients, mostly by advertising. Only 20% were aimed at wound specialists. Extensive surfing was required to obtain wound-care information, and objective information sites were under-represented. Regulated, easily accessible, objective information sites on wound-healing topics are needed for improved patient education and to balance the existing commercial bias.

78 FR 30226 - Accessibility Requirements for Internet Browsers

Science.gov (United States)

2013-05-22

... software, such as an Internet browser, that it provides. Among other things, this means that the functions... CG Docket No. 10-145; FCC 13-57] Accessibility Requirements for Internet Browsers AGENCY: Federal... Act requires Internet browsers built into mobile phones to be accessible to individuals who are blind...

Access to the internet for knowledge dissemination: agricultural ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Access to agricultural information is a prerequisite for agricultural development. However, information on how agricultural scientists make use of the Internet to access agricultural information is limited. This study therefore investigated access to the Internet for knowledge dissemination by agricultural researchers in ...

10 years experience with pioneering open access publishing in health informatics: the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR).

Science.gov (United States)

Eysenbach, Gunther

2010-01-01

Peer-reviewed journals remain important vehicles for knowledge transfer and dissemination in health informatics, yet, their format, processes and business models are changing only slowly. Up to the end of last century, it was common for individual researchers and scientific organizations to leave the business of knowledge transfer to professional publishers, signing away their rights to the works in the process, which in turn impeded wider dissemination. Traditional medical informatics journals are poorly cited and the visibility and uptake of articles beyond the medical informatics community remain limited. In 1999, the Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR; http://www.jmir.org) was launched, featuring several innovations including 1) ownership and copyright retained by the authors, 2) electronic-only, "lean" non-for-profit publishing, 3) openly accessible articles with a reversed business model (author pays instead of reader pays), 4) technological innovations such as automatic XML tagging and reference checking, on-the-fly PDF generation from XML, etc., enabling wide distribution in various bibliographic and full-text databases. In the past 10 years, despite limited resources, the journal has emerged as a leading journal in health informatics, and is presently ranked the top journal in the medical informatics and health services research categories by impact factor. The paper summarizes some of the features of the Journal, and uses bibliometric and access data to compare the influence of the Journal on the discipline of medical informatics and other disciplines. While traditional medical informatics journals are primarily cited by other Medical Informatics journals (33%-46% of citations), JMIR papers are to a more often cited by "end-users" (policy, public health, clinical journals), which may be partly attributable to the "open access advantage".

[Differences in access to Internet and Internet-based information seeking according to the type of psychiatric disorder].

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Brunault, P; Bray, A; Rerolle, C; Cognet, S; Gaillard, P; El-Hage, W

2017-04-01

Internet has become a major tool for patients to search for health-related information and to communicate on health. We currently lack data on how patients with psychiatric disorders access and use Internet to search for information on their mental health. This study aimed to assess, in patients followed for a psychiatric disorder (schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, mood and anxiety disorder, substance-related and addictive disorders and eating disorders), prevalence of Internet access and use, and patient expectations and needs regarding the use of Internet to search for mental-health information depending on the psychiatric disorder. We conducted this cross-sectional study between May 2013 and July 2013 in 648 patients receiving psychiatric care in 8 hospitals from the Region Centre, France. We used multivariate logistic regression adjusted for age, gender, socio-educational level and professional status to compare use, expectations and needs regarding Internet-based information about the patient's psychiatric disorder (65-items self-administered questionnaires) as a function of the psychiatric disorders. We identified patients clusters with multiple correspondence analysis and ascending hierarchical classification. Although 65.6% of our population accessed Internet at home, prevalence for Internet access varied depending on the type of psychiatric disorder and was much more related to limited access to a computer and low income than to a lack of interest in the Internet. Most of the patients who used Internet were interested in having access to reliable Internet-based information on their health (76.8%), and most used Internet to search for Internet based health-information about their psychiatric disorder (58.8%). We found important differences in terms of expectations and needs depending on the patient's psychiatric disorder (e.g., higher interest in Internet-based information among patients with bipolar disorder, substance-related and addictive disorders

Introduction to an open source internet-based testing program for medical student examinations.

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Lee, Yoon-Hwan

2009-12-20

The author developed a freely available open source internet-based testing program for medical examination. PHP and Java script were used as the programming language and postgreSQL as the database management system on an Apache web server and Linux operating system. The system approach was that a super user inputs the items, each school administrator inputs the examinees' information, and examinees access the system. The examinee's score is displayed immediately after examination with item analysis. The set-up of the system beginning with installation is described. This may help medical professors to easily adopt an internet-based testing system for medical education.

The role of tablets in accessing information throughout undergraduate medical education in Botswana.

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Witt, Rachel E; Kebaetse, Masego B; Holmes, John H; Littman-Quinn, Ryan; Ketshogileng, Dineo; Antwi, Cynthia; Kovarik, Carrie; Nkomazana, Oathokwa

2016-04-01

Mobile learning (mLearning) uses wireless networks and mobile devices to expand physician trainees' and healthcare providers' access to and exchange of medical information. Opportunities to increase implementation and expand use of mobile devices to support health care information access and delivery in Africa are vast, but the rapid growth of mLearning has caused project implementation to outpace objective measurement of impact. This study makes a contribution to the existing body of literature regarding mLearning implementation in Africa through its focus on the use of smart devices (tablets) in undergraduate medical education and medical students' perceptions of the effects on their learning environment. The population of this prospective mixed-methods study consisted of 82 undergraduate medical students (45 third year and 37 fourth year) at the University of Botswana Faculty of Medicine. They received tablets in the earliest phase of the mLearning project implementation (between November 2012 and January 2013), when they were in the third and fourth year of their medical training. Usage of the tablets was assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively, through both application usage tracking and focus groups. Based on application usage data and coding and analysis of focus group discussions, undergraduate medical students indicated that tablets were useful in their medical education, allowing them continual access to information and opportunities for communication. Participants noted that the primary barrier to use of tablets was the lack of mobile cellular Internet beyond the Wi-Fi zones at the training sites. Moreover, participants offered suggestions for improvements to the implementation process. Even in resource-limited settings where Internet access can be unreliable and intermittent, the adoption of tablets can have benefits to medical education by providing consistent access to extensive and current medical information resources. This study highlights

A Digital Language Divide? The Relationship between Internet Medication Refills and Medication Adherence among Limited English Proficient (LEP) Patients.

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Casillas, Alejandra; Moreno, Gerardo; Grotts, Jonathan; Tseng, Chi-Hong; Morales, Leo S

2018-03-29

Use of an Internet portal to refill medicines positively affects medication adherence among English-speakers. No prior studies, however, have specifically examined the relationship between Internet refills and medication adherence among patients who are limited English proficient (LEP). (1) Examine the relationship between Internet medication refill system use and medication adherence among linguistically diverse patients with chronic conditions and (2) compare this relationship between LEP and English-proficient (EP) patients. We analyzed 2013-2014 cross-sectional data from 509 surveyed adults in the Group Health Cooperative. Surveys were merged with plan enrollment, claims data, and electronic medical records. Medication adherence was calculated by the "Continuous Measure of Medication Gaps" (CMG) method. For Internet refill system use, patients were asked, "Have you used the health systems Internet site to refill any medications in the last 12 months?" LEP status was captured in the electronic medical record by a non-English primary language and a claims record of interpreter use in at least one clinical encounter between 2005 and 2012. We used multivariate linear regression models to examine Internet refill system use and medication adherence and compared the association between LEP and EP patients. Three hundred eighty-four patients (75%) had a calculable CMG: 134 EP and 250 LEP in the adherence analyses. In unadjusted analyses, LEP patients had lower use of the Internet refill system (p < .001) and lower adherence versus the EP group (p < .001). In multivariate analyses, LEP status (β = - 0.022, p = .047) was negatively associated with adherence, while use of the Internet refill system (β = 0.030, p = .002) was positively associated. In stratified models, use of Internet refills was positively associated with adherence, even when examining LEP (β = 0.029, p = .003) and EP patients (β = 0.027, p = .049) separately

Revocable Anonymous Access to the Internet?

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Claessens, Joris; Diaz, Claudia; Goemans, Caroline; Preneel, Bart; Vandewalle, Joos; Dumortier, Jos

2003-01-01

Users of telecommunications networks are concerned about privacy, and desire anonymous access, while some organizations are concerned about how this anonymous access might be abused. Proposes a solution for revocable anonymous access to the Internet. Presents some legal background and motivation for such a solution. Indicates some difficulties and…

Introduction to an Open Source Internet-Based Testing Program for Medical Student Examinations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yoon-Hwan Lee

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The author developed a freely available open source internet-based testing program for medical examination. PHP and Java script were used as the programming language and postgreSQL as the database management system on an Apache web server and Linux operating system. The system approach was that a super user inputs the items, each school administrator inputs the examinees’ information, and examinees access the system. The examinee’s score is displayed immediately after examination with item analysis. The set-up of the system beginning with installation is described. This may help medical professors to easily adopt an internet-based testing system for medical education.

Internet Access from CERN GSM subscriptions

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2008-01-01

The data service on GSM subscriptions has been improved, allowing CERN users to access the Internet directly. A CERN GSM subscription with data option now allows you to connect to the Internet from a mobile phone or a PC equipped with a GSM modem. The previous access (CERN intranet) still exists. To get access to the new service, you will find all the information on configurations at: http://cern.ch/gprs The use of this service on the Sunrise network is charged on a flat-rate basis (no extra charge related to the volume of downloaded data). Depending on your CERN subscription type (standard or master), you can also connect to foreign GSM data networks (roaming), but this is strongly discouraged, except where absolutely necessary, due to international roaming charges. Telecom Section, IT/CS

What drives individuals to access the internet mostly using a cell phone?

OpenAIRE

Yook, Seungyun; Jung, Yumi

2012-01-01

Mobile Internet users can access content, applications, and services using their cell phones. Recent PEW Internet research shows that more than half of U.S. cell phone owners have smartphones. Among them, some people have adopted a mobile phone and use it as a major Internet access medium; they may use other devices such as a desktop computer, notebook, netbook, or tablet PC, but those are not included in their Internet access medium repertoire. This paper examines who accesses the Internet m...

Internet Journal of Medical Update

African Journals Online (AJOL)

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Internet Journal of Medical Update 2010 July;5(2):8-14. Internet Journal ... hospitalizations. This study of Nigerian patients with diabetes examined the adequacy of ..... Physicians need .... relationship between patient education and glycaemic ...

Household computer and Internet access: The digital divide in a pediatric clinic population

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Carroll, Aaron E.; Rivara, Frederick P.; Ebel, Beth; Zimmerman, Frederick J.; Christakis, Dimitri A.

2005-01-01

Past studies have noted a digital divide, or inequality in computer and Internet access related to socioeconomic class. This study sought to measure how many households in a pediatric primary care outpatient clinic had household access to computers and the Internet, and whether this access differed by socio-economic status or other demographic information. We conducted a phone survey of a population-based sample of parents with children ages 0 to 11 years old. Analyses assessed predictors of having home access to a computer, the Internet, and high-speed Internet service. Overall, 88.9% of all households owned a personal computer, and 81.4% of all households had Internet access. Among households with Internet access, 48.3% had high speed Internet at home. There were statistically significant associations between parental income or education and home computer ownership and Internet access. However, the impact of this difference was lessened by the fact that over 60% of families with annual household income of $10,000–$25,000, and nearly 70% of families with only a high-school education had Internet access at home. While income and education remain significant predictors of household computer and internet access, many patients and families at all economic levels have access, and might benefit from health promotion interventions using these modalities. PMID:16779012

Internet Access Practices and Employee Attitudes toward Internet Usage Policy Implementation in Selected Philippines Financial Institutions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maria Sagrario R. Simbulan

2004-06-01

Full Text Available This study explores the employees’ concept of appropriate use of Internet facilities as well as their perception of the rights and liabilities, both of the individual and of the organization, associated with the grant of Internet access privileges in the workplace. It further examines how employees perceive their organization’s monitoring of employees online activities and the use of an Internet Usage Policy, whether these are seen as monitoring and control mechanisms or as ways to ensure that Internet access facilities are shared equitably and used responsibly. While the issue of the impact of Internet access on employee productivity will not directly be tackled, the study will provide insights into the frequency and type of usage of Internet facilities in the workplace. Considering the sizeable investment that an organization makes to provide Internet facilities, determining how employees use these facilities to achieve the goals of the organization is, in the very least, interesting and for most organizations concerned with their survival in difficult times, critically important.

Browsing for the Best Internet Access Provider?

Science.gov (United States)

Weil, Marty

1996-01-01

Highlights points to consider when choosing an Internet Service Provider. Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP) and Point to Point Protocol (PPP) are compared regarding price, performance, bandwidth, speed, and technical support. Obtaining access via local, national, consumer online, and telephone-company providers is discussed. A pricing chart and…

An Introduction to Services Accessible on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Giguere, Marlene

1992-01-01

Provides an overview of the INTERNET and INTERNET services of interest to libraries, including electronic mail, bulletin boards, electronic publishing, online public access catalogs and databases, and downloaded texts and software. (16 references) (MES)

Sustains--direct access for the patient to the medical record over the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Eklund, Benny; Joustra-Enquist, Ingrid

2004-01-01

The basic idea of Sustains III is to emulate the Internet banking for Health Care. Instead of an "Internet Bank Account" the user has a "Health Care Account". The user logs in using a One Time Password which is sent to the user's mobile phone as an SMS, three seconds after the PIN code is entered. Thus personal information can be transferred both ways in a secure way, with acceptable privacy. The user can then explore the medical record in detail. Also get full and complete list of prescriptions, lab-result etc. It's also an easy way of exchange written information between the doctor and the patient. So far Sustains has showed that patients are very satisfied and is also beneficial for the physicians.

A survey on internet usage and online learning behaviour among medical undergraduates.

Science.gov (United States)

Venkatesh, Soma; Chandrasekaran, Venkatesh; Dhandapany, Gunasekaran; Palanisamy, Soundararajan; Sadagopan, Srinivasan

2017-05-01

To determine the magnitude and pattern of internet usage by undergraduate medical students to retrieve medical information. A pretested questionnaire-based survey was conducted among undergraduate medical students who were willing to participate. The institute ethics committee approved the study. The responses of students to the questionnaire were analysed using VassarStats online statistical programme. Categorical variables were expressed as proportions. To determine the significance of the difference between proportions, the χ 2 test or Fisher's exact test was used. Log-linear analysis was performed for significance of association among interacting variables. A p value online continuing medical education programmes. On log-linear analysis, a linear relationship was found for medical time and social time. An encouraging trend is seen in the use of the internet by medical students to access medical information, but this has not translated into improved online learning behaviour. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/.

Computer access and Internet use by urban and suburban emergency department customers.

Science.gov (United States)

Bond, Michael C; Klemt, Ryan; Merlis, Jennifer; Kopinski, Judith E; Hirshon, Jon Mark

2012-07-01

Patients are increasingly using the Internet (43% in 2000 vs. 70% in 2006) to obtain health information, but is there a difference in the ability of urban and suburban emergency department (ED) customers to access the Internet? To assess computer and Internet resources available to and used by people waiting to be seen in an urban ED and a suburban ED. Individuals waiting in the ED were asked survey questions covering demographics, type of insurance, access to a primary care provider, reason for their ED visit, computer access, and ability to access the Internet for health-related matters. There were 304 individuals who participated, 185 in the urban ED and 119 in the suburban ED. Urban subjects were more likely than suburban to be women, black, have low household income, and were less likely to have insurance. The groups were similar in regard to average age, education, and having a primary care physician. Suburban respondents were more likely to own a computer, but the majority in both groups had access to computers and the Internet. Their frequency of accessing the Internet was similar, as were their reasons for using it. Individuals from the urban ED were less willing to schedule appointments via the Internet but more willing to contact their health care provider via e-mail. The groups were equally willing to use the Internet to fill prescriptions and view laboratory results. Urban and suburban ED customers had similar access to the Internet. Both groups were willing to use the Internet to access personal health information. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Medical imaging and the Internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jones, D.N.; Carr, P.

1995-01-01

A brief introduction to the INTERNET and its benefits for those involved in nuclear medical imaging is given. In Australia, depending on the type of institution/department involved, connection to the INTERNET may be obtained via the Australian Academic and Research Network or through a commercial provider. The recent proliferation of WWW servers has also resulted in multiple medical imaging databases and teaching resources becoming available to the user. Some Newsgroups and WWW addresses related to radiology are provided. 3 refs

Approximate Networking for Universal Internet Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Junaid Qadir

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Despite the best efforts of networking researchers and practitioners, an ideal Internet experience is inaccessible to an overwhelming majority of people the world over, mainly due to the lack of cost-efficient ways of provisioning high-performance, global Internet. In this paper, we argue that instead of an exclusive focus on a utopian goal of universally accessible “ideal networking” (in which we have a high throughput and quality of service as well as low latency and congestion, we should consider providing “approximate networking” through the adoption of context-appropriate trade-offs. In this regard, we propose to leverage the advances in the emerging trend of “approximate computing” that rely on relaxing the bounds of precise/exact computing to provide new opportunities for improving the area, power, and performance efficiency of systems by orders of magnitude by embracing output errors in resilient applications. Furthermore, we propose to extend the dimensions of approximate computing towards various knobs available at network layers. Approximate networking can be used to provision “Global Access to the Internet for All” (GAIA in a pragmatically tiered fashion, in which different users around the world are provided a different context-appropriate (but still contextually functional Internet experience.

Prevalence and factors associated with internet addiction among medical students - A cross-sectional study in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ching, S M; Hamidin, A; Vasudevan, R; Sazlyna, M S L; Wan Aliaa, W S; Foo, Y L; Yee, A; Hoo, F K

2017-02-01

Internet is important to university students, especially for medical students who use it to search for literature and relevant information. However, some of the users are experiencing a gradual loss of the ability to reduce the duration and frequency of their internet activities, despite the negative consequences. The literature on internet usage among Malaysian medical students is limited. This study aims to determine the prevalence and factors associated with internet usage among medical students in a public university in Malaysia. This cross-sectional study was performed among all the medical students (Year 1-5). Students were assessed on their internet activities using the internet addiction questionnaires (IAT). A Multiple Logistic Regression was used for data analysis. The study was conducted among 426 students. The study population consisted of 156 males (36.6%) and 270 females (63.4%). The mean age was 21.6 ±1.5 years. Ethnicity distribution among the students was: Malays (55.6%), Chinese (34.7%), Indians (7.3%) and others (2.3%). According to the IAT, 36.9% of the study sample was addicted to the internet. Using the multivariate logistic regression analysis, we have found that the use of internet access for entertainment purposes (odds ratio [OR] 3.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.05-12.00), male students (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.01-3.21) and increasing frequency of internet usage were associated with internet addiction (OR 1.4, 95% CI 1.09- 1.67). Internet addiction is a relatively frequent phenomenon among medical students. The predictors of internet addiction were male students using it for surfing and entertainment purposes.

The Prevalence of Internet and Social Media Based Medication Information Seeking Behavior in Saudi Arabia.

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Bahkali, Salwa; Alfurih, Suha; Aldremly, Maha; Alzayyat, Ma'an; Alsurimi, Khaled; Househ, Mowafa

2016-01-01

The internet has become an important resource to help people search for online medication information. This study aims to report the prevalence and profile of Saudi online medication seeking behavior. Conducted via a web-based survey with Twitter participants between January-February, 2015, the primary outcome measures were the self-reported rates of using the internet to search for medication related information. A valid sample of 4847 participants was collected over the period of the study. Out of the total participants, 68.3% (n=3311) were found to seek online medication related information frequently. Most of the social media users were female 83.5% (n=2766). The majority of respondents 63.6% (n= 3081) used Google, followed by Twitter 28.7% (n= 1392), Snapchat 21%, (n=1019), WhatsApp 13.8% (n= 670), Instagram 11.4%, (n= 553), and Facebook 5.5 % (n= 267), with few searching YouTube 1.3% (n=65) to access online medication information. Findings indicate that the Saudi population actively uses the internet and social media to obtain medication information. Further studies are needed to explore the influence of the internet and social media on user perception, attitude, and behavior with the use of online medication information.

Open Access Publishing in the Field of Medical Informatics.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuballa, Stefanie

2017-05-01

The open access paradigm has become an important approach in today's information and communication society. Funders and governments in different countries stipulate open access publications of funded research results. Medical informatics as part of the science, technology and medicine disciplines benefits from many research funds, such as National Institutes of Health in the US, Wellcome Trust in UK, German Research Foundation in Germany and many more. In this study an overview of the current open access programs and conditions of major journals in the field of medical informatics is presented. It was investigated whether there are suitable options and how they are shaped. Therefore all journals in Thomson Reuters Web of Science that were listed in the subject category "Medical Informatics" in 2014 were examined. An Internet research was conducted by investigating the journals' websites. It was reviewed whether journals offer an open access option with a subsequent check of conditions as for example the type of open access, the fees and the licensing. As a result all journals in the field of medical informatics that had an impact factor in 2014 offer an open access option. A predominantly consistent pricing range was determined with an average fee of 2.248 € and a median fee of 2.207 €. The height of a journals' open access fee did not correlate with the height of its Impact Factor. Hence, medical informatics journals have recognized the trend of open access publishing, though the vast majority of them are working with the hybrid method. Hybrid open access may however lead to problems in questions of double dipping and the often stipulated gold open access.

Internet access and usage by staff and students: a case study of ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This study focused on Internet access and usage by staff and students in the University of Jos Main Library. It investigated monthly number of users that queued to access Internet monthly and the number of users who actually had access to use the Internet between January – December 2006. Other things investigated ...

How Much Is Too Much to Pay for Internet Access? A Behavioral Economic Analysis of Internet Use.

Science.gov (United States)

Broadbent, Julie; Dakki, Michelle A

2015-08-01

The popularity of online recreational activities, such as social networking, has dramatically increased the amount of time spent on the Internet. Excessive or inappropriate use of the Internet can result in serious adverse consequences. The current study used a behavioral economic task to determine if the amount of time spent online by problematic and nonproblematic users can be modified by price. The Internet Purchase Task was used to determine how much time undergraduate students (N=233) would spend online at 13 different prices. Despite high demand for Internet access when access was free, time spent online by both problematic and nonproblematic users decreased dramatically, even at low prices. These results suggest that the amount of time spent online may be modified by having a tangible cost associated with use, whereas having free access to the Internet may encourage excessive, problematic use.

A Survey of Internet Access and Use by Students of Library and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

A Survey of Internet Access and Use by Students of Library and Information Science ... access and utilize Internet facilities, level of search skills, reasons for use of Internet, ... Data collected for the study was analyzed using descriptive statistics.

Access Control with RFID in the Internet of Things

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Steffen Elstrøm Holst; Jacobsen, Rune Hylsberg

2013-01-01

, to the Internet is suggested. The solution uses virtual representations of objects by using low-cost, passive RFID tags to give objects identities on the Internet. A prototype that maps an RFID identity into an IPv6 address is constructed. It is illustrated how this approach can be used in access control systems......Future Internet research is needed to bring the Internet and the Things closer to each other to form the Internet of Things. As objects in our daily life gradually become smarter, there is an increasing benefit of networking these objects. In this article, a method to couple objects, the Things...... based on open network protocols and packet filtering. The solution includes a novel RFID reader architecture that supports the internetworking of components of a future access control system based on network layer technology....

Disparities in internet use among orthopedic outpatients.

Science.gov (United States)

Walsh, Kenneth P; Rehman, Saqib; Goldhirsh, Jessie

2014-02-01

Internet access has lagged behind for patients with lower incomes and from certain ethnic groups. This study investigated the possible improvement of access to health-related information on the Internet for all patients in an urban outpatient setting, regardless of socioeconomic background. A 28-question survey was completed by 100 orthopedic outpatients evaluating associations between their age, ethnicity, income, or education level and their access to the Internet. The survey also examined how patients used the Internet to obtain information about their medical condition, their privacy concerns when conducting online research, and their use of mobile phones as a primary means of Internet access. The Internet was used by 57% of orthopedic outpatients in this urban setting. Internet access decreased with advancing age but increased with increasing income and education, findings consistent with similar studies. Despite the inability to identify an association between ethnicity and Internet access in this patient population, fewer Latinos (33%) than whites (67%) or African Americans (77%) sought information about their medical condition. Among patients who used a mobile phone as the primary method for online access, 74% were African American or Latino and 26% were white. This difference in mobile phone use for online access suggests that mobile phones have provided ethnic minorities with greater Internet access and thus may have narrowed the digital divide among the races. Copyright 2014, SLACK Incorporated.

The use of web internet technologies to distribute medical images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Deller, A.L.; Cheal, D.; Field, J.

1999-01-01

Full text: In the past, internet browsers were considered ineffective for image distribution. Today we have the technology to use internet standards for picture archive and communication systems (PACS) and teleradiology effectively. Advanced wavelet compression and state-of-the-art JAVA software allows us to distribute images on normal computer hardware. The use of vendor and database neutral software and industry-standard hardware has many advantages. This standards base approach avoids the costly rapid obsolescence of proprietary PACS and is cheaper to purchase and maintain. Images can be distributed around a hospital site, as well as outside the campus, quickly and inexpensively. It also allows integration between the Hospital Information System (HIS) and the Radiology Information System (RIS). Being able to utilize standard internet technologies and computer hardware for PACS is a cost-effective alternative. A system based on this technology can be used for image distribution, archiving, teleradiology and RIS integration. This can be done without expensive specialized imaging workstations and telecommunication systems. Web distribution of images allows you to send images to multiple places concurrently. A study can be within your Medical Imaging Department, as well as in the ward and on the desktop of referring clinicians - with a report. As long as there is a computer with an internet access account, high-quality images can be at your disposal 24 h a day. The importance of medical images for patient management makes them a valuable component of the patient's medical record. Therefore, an efficient system for displaying and distributing images can improve patient management and make your workplace more effective

Availability and accessibility of evidence-based information resources provided by medical libraries in Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Ritchie, A; Sowter, B

2000-01-01

This article reports on the results of an exploratory survey of the availability and accessibility of evidence-based information resources provided by medical libraries in Australia. Although barriers impede access to evidence-based information for hospital clinicians, the survey revealed that Medline and Cinahl are available in over 90% of facilities. In most cases they are widely accessible via internal networks and the Internet. The Cochrane Library is available in 69% of cases. The Internet is widely accessible and most libraries provide access to some full-text, electronic journals. Strategies for overcoming restrictions and integrating information resources with clinical workflow are being pursued. State, regional and national public and private consortia are developing agreements utilising on-line technology. These could produce cost savings and more equitable access to a greater range of evidence-based resources.

Access Routes of Internet Finance Dictionaries: Present Solutions ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Lexicographers working on finance dictionaries have not properly exploited the fast development of the Internet. This is revealed by the poor utilization of the access routes found in current Internet finance dictionaries. Consequently, users cannot effectively and efficiently find answers to their lexicographical problems. Firstly ...

Podiatric medical resources on the internet: a fifth update.

Science.gov (United States)

Fikar, Charles R

2006-01-01

An updated selection of high-quality Internet resources of potential use to the podiatric medical practitioner, educator, resident, and student is presented. Internet search tools and general Internet reference sources are briefly covered, including methods of locating material residing on the "invisible" Web. General medical and podiatric medical resources are emphasized. These Web sites were judged on the basis of their potential to enhance the practice of podiatric medicine in addition to their contribution to education. Podiatric medical students, educators, residents, and practitioners who require a quick reference guide to the Internet may find this article useful.

Internet use and its addiction level in medical students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Upadhayay N

2017-09-01

Full Text Available Namrata Upadhayay,1 Sanjeev Guragain2 1Department of Physiology; 2Department of Pharmacology, Gandaki Medical College, Pokhara Lekhnath, Nepal Objective: To compare the Internet addiction levels between male and female medical students.Methods: One hundred medical students (male: 50, female: 50 aged 17–30 years were included in a cross-sectional study. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess their Internet addiction level. Additionally, a self-designed questionnaire was used to identify the various purposes of Internet use among the students. The Internet addiction score (based on the Internet Addiction Test was compared between male and female students by using the Mann–Whitney U test (p≤0.05. After knowing their addiction level, we interviewed students to know if Internet use had any bad/good impact on their life. Results: The Internet Addiction Test scores obtained by the students were in the range of 11–70. Out of 100 students, 21 (male: 13, female: 8 were found to be slightly addicted to the Internet. The remaining 79 students were average online users. There was no significant difference between male and female students in the addiction level (score. However, males were more addicted than females. The major use of Internet was to download and watch movies and songs and to communicate with friends and family (76/100. Some students (24/100 used the Internet to assess information that helped them in their educational and learning activities. Some students mentioned that overuse of the Internet lead to insufficient amounts of sleep and affected their concentration levels in the classroom during lectures.Conclusion: Medical students are experiencing problems due to Internet overuse. They experience poor academic progress and lack of concentration while studying. The main use of the Internet was for entertainment and to communicate with friends and family. Keywords: addiction, Internet, medical students, entertainment

Persistent digital divide in access to and use of the Internet as a resource for health information: Results from a California population-based study.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Amy; Mosadeghi, Sasan; Almario, Christopher V

2017-07-01

Access to the Internet has grown dramatically over the past two decades. Using data from a population-based survey, we aimed to determine the prevalence and predictors of (i) access to the Internet, and (ii) use of the Internet to search for health information. We analyzed data from the 2011-12 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) and included all individuals 18 years of age and older. Our outcomes were (i) prior use of the Internet, and (ii) use of the Internet to find health or medical information within the past year. We performed survey-weighted logistic regression models on our outcomes to adjust for potentially confounding demographic and socioeconomic factors. Our study included an unweighted and survey-weighted sample of 42,935 and 27,796,484 individuals, respectively. We found that 81.5% of the weighted sample reported having previously used the Internet. Among Internet users, 64.5% stated that they used the Internet within the past year to find health or medical information. Racial/ethnic minorities, older individuals, and those who lived in lower income households and rural areas were less likely to have access to and use the Internet to search for health information. Conversely, English-proficiency and increasing levels of education were positively associated with online health information-seeking. We found that most Californians have access to and use the Internet to search for health information, but still noted a persistent digital divide. Interventions to narrow the divide are needed, otherwise this may lead to a continued widening of existing healthcare disparities. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Internet addiction in a group of medical students: a cross sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pramanik, T; Sherpa, M T; Shrestha, R

2012-03-01

The use of Internet for education, recreation and communication is increasing day by day. Nevertheless, the possibility of exploitation and addiction leading to impairment in academic performance and emotional balance cannot be denied, especially among young population. The study was aimed to measure the degree of Internet addiction among a group of medical students. Internet addiction test questionnaire developed by Young was used to assess mild, moderate and severe addiction. Amongst the study population (n=130, age 19-23 years), 40% had mild addiction. Moderate and severe addiction was found in 41.53% and 3.07% of the participants respectively. The study revealed that 24% often and 19.2% always found themselves using Internet longer than they had planned or thought. Late night Internet surfing leading to sleep deprivation was found in 31.53% of the participants. Almost one fourth of them (25.38%) occasionally tried to cut down the time they spent on the Internet but failed and 31.53% sometimes experienced restlessness when deprived of Internet access. Results reflected that a significant number of participants suffered from mild to moderate addiction. The role of counseling and education should be emphasized for prevention of Internet addiction.

Answers at your fingertips: Access to the Internet influences willingness to answer questions.

Science.gov (United States)

Ferguson, Amanda M; McLean, David; Risko, Evan F

2015-12-01

Recent technological advances have given rise to an information-gathering tool unparalleled by any in human history-the Internet. Understanding how access to such a powerful informational tool influences how we think represents an important question for psychological science. In the present investigation we examined the impact of access to the Internet on the metacognitive processes that govern our decisions about what we "know" and "don't know." Results demonstrated that access to the Internet influenced individuals' willingness to volunteer answers, which led to fewer correct answers overall but greater accuracy when an answer was offered. Critically, access to the Internet also influenced feeling-of-knowing, and this accounted for some (but not all) of the effect on willingness to volunteer answers. These findings demonstrate that access to the Internet can influence metacognitive processes, and contribute novel insights into the operation of the transactive memory system formed by people and the Internet. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Influence of Internet Accessibility and Demographic factors on utilization of Web-based Health Information Resources by Resident Doctors in Nigeria.

Science.gov (United States)

Ajuwon, G A; Popoola, S O

2014-09-01

The internet is a huge library with avalanche of information resources including healthcare information. There are numerous studies on use of electronic resources by healthcare providers including medical practitioners however, there is a dearth of information on the patterns of use of web-based health information resource by resident doctors in Nigeria. This study therefore investigates the influence of internet accessibility and demographic factors on utilization of web-based health information resources by resident doctors in tertiary healthcare institutions in Nigeria. Descriptive survey design was adopted for this study. The population of study consisted of medical doctors undergoing residency training in 13 tertiary healthcare institutions in South-West Nigeria. The tertiary healthcare institutions were Federal Medical Centres, University Teaching Hospitals and Specialist Hospitals (Neuropsychiatric and Orthopaedic). A pre-tested, self-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used for data analysis. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson Product Moment correlation and multiple regression analysis. The mean age of the respondents was 34 years and males were in the majority (69.0%). A total of 96.1% respondents had access to the Internet. E-mail (X̄=5.40, SD=0.91), Google (X̄=5.26, SD=1.38), Yahoo (X̄=5.15, SD=4.44) were used weekly by the respondents. Preparation for Seminar/Grand Round presentation (X̄=8.4, SD=1.92), research (X̄=7.8, SD=2.70) and communication (X̄=7.6, SD=2.60) were ranked high as purposes for use of web-based information resources. There is a strong, positive and significant relationship between internet accessibility and utilization of web-based health information resources (r=0.628, pdesignation (B=-0.343) educational qualification (B=2.411) significantly influence utilization of web-based health information resources of the respondents. A

Digital Divide: How Do Home Internet Access and Parental Support Affect Student Outcomes?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jing Lei

2012-03-01

Full Text Available This study examined the relationship between home Internet access/parental support and student outcomes. Survey data were collected from 1,576 middle school students in China. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent-samples T-test, and regression analysis. Results indicate that students who had home Internet access reported higher scores than those without home Internet on all three dimensions: Computer and Internet self-efficacy, Attitudes towards technology and Developmental outcomes. Home Internet access and parental support were significantly positively associated with technology self-efficacy, interest in technology, perceived importance of the Internet, and perceived impact of the Internet on learning. Findings from this study have significant implications for research and practice on how to narrow down the digital divide.

Internet access and online cancer information seeking among Latino immigrants from safety net clinics.

Science.gov (United States)

Selsky, Claire; Luta, George; Noone, Anne-Michelle; Huerta, Elmer E; Mandelblatt, Jeanne S

2013-01-01

Internet use is widespread, but little is known about Internet use for cancer information among Latinos, especially those who rely on safety net clinics. The authors investigated access to and intended use of the Internet for cancer information among low income, immigrant Latinos predominately from Central and South America. A cross-sectional study of 1,273 Latinos 21 years and older attending safety net clinics or health fairs was conducted from June 2007 to November 2008. The authors used logistic regression models to evaluate associations of age, acculturation, psychosocial factors and other covariates with Internet access and intended use of the Internet for cancer information among those with access. Of the sample, 44% reported Internet access. Higher information self-efficacy and greater trust in the Internet were independently associated with Internet access (p = .05 and p Internet use for cancer information, considering covariates. In addition, those with high (vs. low) perceived risk of cancer (OR = 1.76; 95% CI [1.14, 2.73]; p = .01) and higher levels of trust in online health information (OR = 1.47 per one-point increase; 95% [CI 1.19, 1.82]; p = .0004) were more likely to intend to seek cancer information online. These findings that Internet access is fairly high in the immigrant Latino population and that the Internet is a trusted source of cancer information suggest that the Internet may be a channel for cancer control interventions.

Preservice Teachers' Internet Addiction in Terms of Gender, Internet Access, Loneliness and Life Satisfaction

Science.gov (United States)

Demirer, Veysel; Bozoglan, Bahadir; Sahin, Ismail

2013-01-01

The aim of this study is to investigate pre-service teachers' Internet addiction in terms of gender, Internet accessibility, loneliness and life satisfaction. Statistical analyses were completed on the data by the 247 preservice teachers that filled the surveys completely. According to findings, pre-service teachers' level of loneliness and…

Internet addiction and its determinants among medical students

OpenAIRE

Bhushan Chaudhari; Preethi Menon; Daniel Saldanha; Abhinav Tewari; Labhanya Bhattacharya

2015-01-01

Background: Exponential use of internet has resulted in internet addiction in recent times. Students are particularly at risk because of their unique personal, social, and academic needs. Objectives: The study was designed to evaluate the prevalence of internet addiction and its determinants among medical students. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted in 282 medical students with the help of semi-structured questionnaire consisting of questions related to demographic i...

Mobile access to the Internet: from personal bubble to satellites

Science.gov (United States)

Gerla, Mario

2001-10-01

Mobile, wireless access and networking has emerged in the last few years as one of the most important directions of Internet growth. The popularity of mobile, and, more generally, nomadic Internet access is due to many enabling factors including: (a) emergence of meaningful applications tailored to the individual on the move; (b) small form factor and long battery life; (c) efficient middleware designed to support mobility; and, (d) efficient wireless networking technologies. A key player in the mobile Internet access is the nomad, i.e. the individual equipped with various computing and I/O gadgets (cellular phone, earphones, GPS navigator, palm pilot, beeper, portable scanner, digital camera, etc.). These devices form his/her Personal Area Network or PAN or personal bubble. The connectivity within the bubble is wireless (using for example a low cost, low power wireless LAN such as Bluetooth). The bubble can expand and contract dynamically depending on needs. It may temporarily include sensors and actuators as the nomad walks into a new environment. In this paper, we identify the need for the interconnection of the PAN with other wireless networks in order to achieve costeffective mobile access to the Internet. We will overview some key networking technologies required to support the PAN (eg, Bluetooth). We will also discuss an emerging technology, Ad Hoc wireless networking which is the natural complement of the PAN in sparsely populated areas. Finally, we will identify the need for intelligent routers to assist the mobile user in the selection of the best Internet access strategy.

Do We Really Have an Internet Problem? Statistics, Credibility and Issues Concerning Public Internet Access in Academic Libraries.

Science.gov (United States)

Cubbage, Charlotte

2002-01-01

Discusses problems with patron Internet access in academic libraries and describes a study conducted at Northwestern University (Illinois) that used Internet tracking software to assess user Internet behavior. Topics include Internet use policies; pornography; and loss of control over library services and information content that is provided. (LRW)

Prevalence of Internet Addiction among Medical Students in Abia ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Introduction: Internet use has increased very rapidly around the world in the recent past and has contributed so much in qualifying the world as a 'global village'. However with internet access becoming so widespread, problematic internet use is increasingly being reported. It has been suggested that excessive internet use ...

Internet resources for dentistry: government and medical sites for the dental professional.

Science.gov (United States)

Guest, G F

2000-02-15

As society transitions deeper into the Information Age, Information Technology has become a critical tool that supports all facets of the global economy. The Internet, via the World-Wide Web (WWW), has become a major component of business operations for corporate and educational organizational entities. An estimated 10,000 or more health-related websites are providing information for both consumers and healthcare professionals. In addition to private and state-supported institutions being present on the Internet, the federal government has moved rapidly toward disseminating information electronically, with significant utilization of the WWW as the technological vehicle. All branches of the US Government and federal-related agencies are now represented on the Internet in an effort to deliver content to their end users, primarily the public. The intent of this article is to complement the previous publication, "Internet Resources for Dentistry: Utilization of the Internet to Support Professional Growth, Decision Making, and Patient Care," by presenting dental healthcare professionals with information on additional governmental and medical "Internet" sites. In addition, healthcare professionals must arm themselves with more than just access itself, but also the ability to critically judge the quality of information retrieved from the WWW.

Patients' use of the Internet for pain-related medical information

NARCIS (Netherlands)

de Boer, Maaike J.; Versteegen, Gerbrig J.; van Wijhe, Marten

Objective: Patients increasingly use the Internet for medical information. For doctor-patient communication it is important to gain insight into the use and impact of medical Internet searches of patients. This study aims to evaluate patients' use of the Internet for information about their pain

An assessment of pregnant women's knowledge and use of the Internet for medication safety information and purchase.

Science.gov (United States)

Sinclair, Marlene; Lagan, B M; Dolk, Helen; McCullough, Julie E M

2018-01-01

The aim of this study was to assess pregnant women's Internet searching activity about medication safety, knowledge and perceptions of medication risk and willingness to take prescribed and non-prescribed medication or make online medication purchases. Online medication advice for pregnant women is complex. The quality and veracity of this data is increasingly important as more midwives report women are bringing retrieved online information to clinical appointments. Pregnant women's use of the Internet for seeking medication advice and purchasing medications has not yet been fully investigated. Online survey conducted from January - March 2013. Of the 284 respondents, 39% were taking a medication when they became pregnant and 76% had searched the Internet for medication safety information. Analgesics were the most commonly searched category (41%). Health service sites were the most common online source and regarded as the most helpful and trusted. Regardless of age and education level, 90% of women agreed that if trying to become pregnant they would reconsider taking any medications because of the potential risk to their unborn baby. Forty-six percent of women with higher levels of education consider buying medication online as safe, a greater proportion than those of lower education. Five percent of women reported buying medication online. The lack of specific recommendations for medication use during pregnancy is challenging for healthcare staff and pregnant women who need robust evidence to make informed treatment decisions. The Internet is a recognized, commonly accessed, source of medication information for pregnant women. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Comparison of internet addiction, pattern and psychopathology between medical and dental students.

Science.gov (United States)

Gedam, Sachin Ratan; Shivji, Imran Ali; Goyal, Arvind; Modi, Lipsy; Ghosh, Santanu

2016-08-01

There has been an enormous use of internet among health professionals in the last decade. It has made significant changes in the health care system. Besides its several benefits, the excessive undisciplined use has led to the emergence of concept of internet addiction. The objectives of our study were to estimate prevalence of internet addiction among medical and dental students; to determine association of internet use pattern and psychopathology between medical and dental internet addicted (IA) students. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 597 students from medical and dental colleges. They completed semi-structured data, internet addiction test and mental health inventory questionnaires as per instructions provided. Students were divided into medical internet addicts and dental internet addicts for comparison. The prevalence of severe internet addiction was more among dental students (2.3%) than that among medical students (1.2%). There was significant difference between the students of medical and dental faculties, who fall under the category of addiction on the basis of-gender, computer ownership and purpose of internet use (Pinternet use pattern and psychopathology among the two groups of internet addict from health professionals. So, further studies need to be conducted among different groups of internet addicts to evaluate different parameters. Specific measures should be taken to prevent internet addiction and its complications. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The differing privacy concerns regarding exchanging electronic medical records of internet users in Taiwan.

Science.gov (United States)

Hwang, Hsin-Ginn; Han, Hwai-En; Kuo, Kuang-Ming; Liu, Chung-Feng

2012-12-01

This study explores whether Internet users have different privacy concerns regarding the information contained in electronic medical records (EMRs) according to gender, age, occupation, education, and EMR awareness. Based on the Concern for Information Privacy (CFIP) scale developed by Smith and colleagues in 1996, we conducted an online survey using 15 items in four dimensions, namely, collection, unauthorized access, secondary use, and errors, to investigate Internet users' concerns regarding the privacy of EMRs under health information exchanges (HIE). We retrieved 213 valid questionnaires. The results indicate that the respondents had substantial privacy concerns regarding EMRs and their educational level and EMR awareness significantly influenced their privacy concerns regarding unauthorized access and secondary use of EMRs. This study recommends that the Taiwanese government organizes a comprehensive EMR awareness campaign, emphasizing unauthorized access and secondary use of EMRs. Additionally, to cultivate the public's understanding of EMRs, the government should employ various media, especially Internet channels, to promote EMR awareness, thereby enabling the public to accept the concept and use of EMRs. People who are highly educated and have superior EMR awareness should be given a comprehensive explanation of how hospitals protect patients' EMRs from unauthorized access and secondary use to address their concerns. Thus, the public can comprehend, trust, and accept the use of EMRs, reducing their privacy concerns, which should facilitate the future implementation of HIE.

Analysis of internet use behaviors among clinical medical students in China

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background The availability of internet-based information resources is increasing and the appropriate use of such resources is an important subject for clinical medical students. The aims of this study were to investigate the behaviors of clinical medical students regarding the use of internet-based activities, to analyze the behavior and characteristics of the students’ information demands, and to discuss the behaviors and time preferences related to internet use of students with different levels of education. Methods Librarians obtained real-time feedback from 999 clinical medical students to record online activities. The data was recorded in a standard form and then analyzed statistically. Results There were significant differences in the use of the internet for learning activities among the different groups of clinical medical students (P Learning accounted for 73.5% of all internet use for doctoral candidates, 47.6% of internet use for master’s candidates, 28.7% of internet use for seven-year undergraduate students, and 14.1% of use for five-year undergraduate students. There was also a significant difference in the proportions of leisure and e-commerce activities among the student groups (P students displaying the highest total proportion of these activities (59.4% and 18.8%). Internet use for entertainment activities was the same for all groups of clinical medical students. Time of day of internet use was consistent across all student groups, but internet use differed by day of the week (P internet use for learning, leisure and entertainment activities during a single day (P > 0.05), but e-commerce activities varied according to time of day (P Learning and e-commerce activities by clinical medical students did not vary by day of the week (P > 0.05), but the distributions of leisure and entertainment activities were different according to day of the week (P learning is associated with a higher academic level of clinical medical students

Internet use and its addiction level in medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhayay, Namrata; Guragain, Sanjeev

2017-01-01

To compare the Internet addiction levels between male and female medical students. One hundred medical students (male: 50, female: 50) aged 17-30 years were included in a cross-sectional study. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess their Internet addiction level. Additionally, a self-designed questionnaire was used to identify the various purposes of Internet use among the students. The Internet addiction score (based on the Internet Addiction Test) was compared between male and female students by using the Mann-Whitney U test ( p ≤0.05). After knowing their addiction level, we interviewed students to know if Internet use had any bad/good impact on their life. The Internet Addiction Test scores obtained by the students were in the range of 11-70. Out of 100 students, 21 (male: 13, female: 8) were found to be slightly addicted to the Internet. The remaining 79 students were average online users. There was no significant difference between male and female students in the addiction level (score). However, males were more addicted than females. The major use of Internet was to download and watch movies and songs and to communicate with friends and family (76/100). Some students (24/100) used the Internet to assess information that helped them in their educational and learning activities. Some students mentioned that overuse of the Internet lead to insufficient amounts of sleep and affected their concentration levels in the classroom during lectures. Medical students are experiencing problems due to Internet overuse. They experience poor academic progress and lack of concentration while studying. The main use of the Internet was for entertainment and to communicate with friends and family.

Internet Journal of Medical Update - EJOURNAL

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Internet Journal of Medical Update (IJMU) is an international e-journal which provides a multidisciplinary forum for the exchange of current ideas in form of review articles, original research work, interesting case reports, etc. among medical professionals. Editorial policy: The Editor receives manuscripts with the ...

Internet pharmacy: issues of access, quality, costs, and regulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Crawford, Stephanie Y

2003-02-01

Internet pharmacy has been the focus of heightened interest over the past 3 years since the first major Web site was introduced in the United States. This paper addresses issues pertaining to Internet pharmacies that sell prescriptions and other products to consumers at the retail level. The Internet pharmacy industry has shifted rapidly in the short time span. This paper begins with a summary of historical considerations and the shifting organization of Internet pharmacy. The advantages and disadvantages of online pharmacy practice are listed. Issues of access, quality, and cost are described. The challenges in regulation at the state and federal levels are presented. Advice to consumers is offered regarding the use of Internet pharmacy sites for purchasing prescription drug products.

Internet use and its addiction level in medical students

Science.gov (United States)

Upadhayay, Namrata; Guragain, Sanjeev

2017-01-01

Objective To compare the Internet addiction levels between male and female medical students. Methods One hundred medical students (male: 50, female: 50) aged 17–30 years were included in a cross-sectional study. A standardized questionnaire was used to assess their Internet addiction level. Additionally, a self-designed questionnaire was used to identify the various purposes of Internet use among the students. The Internet addiction score (based on the Internet Addiction Test) was compared between male and female students by using the Mann–Whitney U test (p≤0.05). After knowing their addiction level, we interviewed students to know if Internet use had any bad/good impact on their life. Results The Internet Addiction Test scores obtained by the students were in the range of 11–70. Out of 100 students, 21 (male: 13, female: 8) were found to be slightly addicted to the Internet. The remaining 79 students were average online users. There was no significant difference between male and female students in the addiction level (score). However, males were more addicted than females. The major use of Internet was to download and watch movies and songs and to communicate with friends and family (76/100). Some students (24/100) used the Internet to assess information that helped them in their educational and learning activities. Some students mentioned that overuse of the Internet lead to insufficient amounts of sleep and affected their concentration levels in the classroom during lectures. Conclusion Medical students are experiencing problems due to Internet overuse. They experience poor academic progress and lack of concentration while studying. The main use of the Internet was for entertainment and to communicate with friends and family. PMID:28989293

Prospective evaluation of an internet-linked handheld computer critical care knowledge access system.

Science.gov (United States)

Lapinsky, Stephen E; Wax, Randy; Showalter, Randy; Martinez-Motta, J Carlos; Hallett, David; Mehta, Sangeeta; Burry, Lisa; Stewart, Thomas E

2004-12-01

Critical care physicians may benefit from immediate access to medical reference material. We evaluated the feasibility and potential benefits of a handheld computer based knowledge access system linking a central academic intensive care unit (ICU) to multiple community-based ICUs. Four community hospital ICUs with 17 physicians participated in this prospective interventional study. Following training in the use of an internet-linked, updateable handheld computer knowledge access system, the physicians used the handheld devices in their clinical environment for a 12-month intervention period. Feasibility of the system was evaluated by tracking use of the handheld computer and by conducting surveys and focus group discussions. Before and after the intervention period, participants underwent simulated patient care scenarios designed to evaluate the information sources they accessed, as well as the speed and quality of their decision making. Participants generated admission orders during each scenario, which were scored by blinded evaluators. Ten physicians (59%) used the system regularly, predominantly for nonmedical applications (median 32.8/month, interquartile range [IQR] 28.3-126.8), with medical software accessed less often (median 9/month, IQR 3.7-13.7). Eight out of 13 physicians (62%) who completed the final scenarios chose to use the handheld computer for information access. The median time to access information on the handheld handheld computer was 19 s (IQR 15-40 s). This group exhibited a significant improvement in admission order score as compared with those who used other resources (P = 0.018). Benefits and barriers to use of this technology were identified. An updateable handheld computer system is feasible as a means of point-of-care access to medical reference material and may improve clinical decision making. However, during the study, acceptance of the system was variable. Improved training and new technology may overcome some of the barriers we

Access control based on attribute certificates for medical intranet applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Mavridis, I; Georgiadis, C; Pangalos, G; Khair, M

2001-01-01

Clinical information systems frequently use intranet and Internet technologies. However these technologies have emphasized sharing and not security, despite the sensitive and private nature of much health information. Digital certificates (electronic documents which recognize an entity or its attributes) can be used to control access in clinical intranet applications. To outline the need for access control in distributed clinical database systems, to describe the use of digital certificates and security policies, and to propose the architecture for a system using digital certificates, cryptography and security policy to control access to clinical intranet applications. We have previously developed a security policy, DIMEDAC (Distributed Medical Database Access Control), which is compatible with emerging public key and privilege management infrastructure. In our implementation approach we propose the use of digital certificates, to be used in conjunction with DIMEDAC. Our proposed access control system consists of two phases: the ways users gain their security credentials; and how these credentials are used to access medical data. Three types of digital certificates are used: identity certificates for authentication; attribute certificates for authorization; and access-rule certificates for propagation of access control policy. Once a user is identified and authenticated, subsequent access decisions are based on a combination of identity and attribute certificates, with access-rule certificates providing the policy framework. Access control in clinical intranet applications can be successfully and securely managed through the use of digital certificates and the DIMEDAC security policy.

Internet use by physicians and its impact on medical practice-an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Ik-Whan G; Xie, Henry Yu

2003-01-01

Internet use by physicians has played a vital role in medical practices for many years. A number of related studies have emerged to examine the impact of Internet use on medical practice. However, there is yet to be a comprehensive study on the impact of Internet use by physicians on their medical practice. This study examines a preliminary step to explore the major implications of physicians' Internet use on the traditional areas, such as health education and learning, physician-patient relationship, and medical marketing. Barriers to Internet use are also investigated. Implication of use of the Internet in the medical practice and limitations of this study are discussed as well.

Guidelines for medical and health information sites on the internet: principles governing AMA web sites. American Medical Association.

Science.gov (United States)

Winker, M A; Flanagin, A; Chi-Lum, B; White, J; Andrews, K; Kennett, R L; DeAngelis, C D; Musacchio, R A

Access to medical information via the Internet has the potential to speed the transformation of the patient-physician relationship from that of physician authority ministering advice and treatment to that of shared decision making between patient and physician. However, barriers impeding this transformation include wide variations in quality of content on the Web, potential for commercial interests to influence online content, and uncertain preservation of personal privacy. To address these issues, the American Medical Association (AMA) has developed principles to guide development and posting of Web site content, govern acquisition and posting of online advertising and sponsorship, ensure site visitors' and patients' rights to privacy and confidentiality, and provide effective and secure means of e-commerce. While these guidelines were developed for the AMA Web sites and visitors to these sites, they also may be useful to other providers and users of medical information on the Web. These principles have been developed with the understanding that they will require frequent revision to keep pace with evolving technology and practices on the Internet. The AMA encourages review and feedback from readers, Web site visitors, policymakers, and all others interested in providing reliable quality information via the Web.

Cellular 5G Access for Massive Internet of Things

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madueño, Germán Corrales; Pratas, Nuno; Stefanovic, Cedomir

2017-01-01

The Internet of Things (IoT) refers to the paradigm of physical and virtual “things” that communicate and collaborate over the Internet, with minimal or no human intervention. There are multiple ways in which an IoT device can be connected to the Internet. Cellular technologies are seen as viable...... candidates in this respect, due to their maturity, worldwide availability and the use of reserved spectrum. However, current cellular systems are not well-equipped to efficiently and reliably support IoT traffic, particularly in the radio access part, as they are designed for low number of high......-rate connections and not for high number of low-rate IoT connections. In this chapter we outline the main features of the IoT traffic types, review operation of the current cellular access and provide some guidelines how to address its shortcomings and evolve it in order to support IoT services. However...

Flexible and Lightweight Access Control for Online Healthcare Social Networks in the Context of the Internet of Things

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhen Qin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Online healthcare social networks (OHSNs play an essential role in sharing information among medical experts and patients who are equipped with similar experiences. To access other patients’ data or experts’ diagnosis anywhere and anytime, it is necessary to integrate the OHSN into the Internet as part of the Internet of Things (IoT. Therefore, it is crucial to design an efficient and versatile access control scheme that can grant and revoke a user to access the OHSN. In this paper, we propose novel attribute-based encryption (ABE features with user revocation and verifiable decryption outsourcing to control the access privilege of the users. The security of the proposed ABE scheme is given in the well-studied random oracle model. With the proposed ABE scheme, the malicious users can be excluded from the system and the user can offload most of the overhead in the decryption to an untrusted cloud server in a verifiable manner. An access control scheme for the OHSN has been given in the context of the IoT based on the proposed ABE scheme. The simulation demonstrates that our access control mechanism is practical.

Free Open Access Medical Education resource knowledge and utilisation amongst Emergency Medicine trainees: A survey in four countries

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Natalie Thurtle

2016-03-01

The Emergency Medicine trainees in both developed and low resource settings studied were aware that Free Open Access Medical Education resources exist, but trainees in lower income settings were generally less aware of specific resources. Lack of internet and device access was not a barrier to use in this group.

Internet usage among women with breast cancer: an exploratory study.

Science.gov (United States)

Pereira, J L; Koski, S; Hanson, J; Bruera, E D; Mackey, J R

2000-07-01

An increasing number of breast cancer patients are accessing the Internet for medical information. A survey was administered to breast cancer patients and their families attending follow-up outpatient clinics in a comprehensive cancer care center to explore their frequency of Internet use, their motivation for online activity, the type of information they sought, and the perceived impact of the information they found on the Internet on their medical care. The survey was conducted over a 4-month period. A total of 107 surveys were returned. Seventy-nine of these (74%) were from patients while 28 (26%) were from family members and friends. Thirty-four of the patient responses (43%) indicated that the patient had used the Internet to look for cancer-related information. Patients who had used the Internet to access cancer-related information were significantly younger (P = 0.007), better educated (P = 0.027), and less satisfied with the amount of treatment-related information given by caregivers than those patients who had not used the Internet to access cancer-related information (P = 0.032). The majority of patient Internet users desired more information on their cancer and its treatment (91%), looked up information that was presented to them by their clinicians (66%), researched other treatment options (63%), and obtained more information on "alternative treatments" (63%). Patient Internet users generally found the cancer-related information on the Internet to be useful, and the majority discussed Internet-derived information with their health care providers and perceived that clinicians listened to such information. However, 53% were undecided about the trustworthiness of the medical information obtained via the Internet. Internet nonusers commonly lacked Internet access (53%) or were unfamiliar with the Internet (33%), but few (13%) distrusted Internet-derived information. This exploratory study underscores the need for more research in this area, specifically

Patient access to complex chronic disease records on the Internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bartlett Cherry

2012-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Access to medical records on the Internet has been reported to be acceptable and popular with patients, although most published evaluations have been of primary care or office-based practice. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of making unscreened results and data from a complex chronic disease pathway (renal medicine available to patients over the Internet in a project involving more than half of renal units in the UK. Methods Content and presentation of the Renal PatientView (RPV system was developed with patient groups. It was designed to receive information from multiple local information systems and to require minimal extra work in units. After piloting in 4 centres in 2005 it was made available more widely. Opinions were sought from both patients who enrolled and from those who did not in a paper survey, and from staff in an electronic survey. Anonymous data on enrolments and usage were extracted from the webserver. Results By mid 2011 over 17,000 patients from 47 of the 75 renal units in the UK had registered. Users had a wide age range (90 yrs but were younger and had more years of education than non-users. They were enthusiastic about the concept, found it easy to use, and 80% felt it gave them a better understanding of their disease. The most common reason for not enrolling was being unaware of the system. A minority of patients had security concerns, and these were reduced after enrolling. Staff responses were also strongly positive. They reported that it aided patient concordance and disease management, and increased the quality of consultations with a neutral effect on consultation length. Neither patient nor staff responses suggested that RPV led to an overall increase in patient anxiety or to an increased burden on renal units beyond the time required to enrol each patient. Conclusions Patient Internet access to secondary care records concerning a complex chronic disease is feasible and popular

Patient access to complex chronic disease records on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Bartlett, Cherry; Simpson, Keith; Turner, A Neil

2012-08-06

Access to medical records on the Internet has been reported to be acceptable and popular with patients, although most published evaluations have been of primary care or office-based practice. We tested the feasibility and acceptability of making unscreened results and data from a complex chronic disease pathway (renal medicine) available to patients over the Internet in a project involving more than half of renal units in the UK. Content and presentation of the Renal PatientView (RPV) system was developed with patient groups. It was designed to receive information from multiple local information systems and to require minimal extra work in units. After piloting in 4 centres in 2005 it was made available more widely. Opinions were sought from both patients who enrolled and from those who did not in a paper survey, and from staff in an electronic survey. Anonymous data on enrollment and usage were extracted from the webserver. By mid 2011 over 17,000 patients from 47 of the 75 renal units in the UK had registered. Users had a wide age range (90 yrs) but were younger and had more years of education than non-users. They were enthusiastic about the concept, found it easy to use, and 80% felt it gave them a better understanding of their disease. The most common reason for not enrolling was being unaware of the system. A minority of patients had security concerns, and these were reduced after enrolling. Staff responses were also strongly positive. They reported that it aided patient concordance and disease management, and increased the quality of consultations with a neutral effect on consultation length. Neither patient nor staff responses suggested that RPV led to an overall increase in patient anxiety or to an increased burden on renal units beyond the time required to enroll each patient. Patient Internet access to secondary care records concerning a complex chronic disease is feasible and popular, providing an increased sense of empowerment and understanding, with no

Prescription for trouble: Medicare Part D and patterns of computer and internet access among the elderly.

Science.gov (United States)

Wright, David W; Hill, Twyla J

2009-01-01

The Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003 specifically encourages Medicare enrollees to use the Internet to obtain information regarding the new prescription drug insurance plans and to enroll in a plan. This reliance on computer technology and the Internet leads to practical questions regarding implementation of the insurance coverage. For example, it seems unlikely that all Medicare enrollees have access to computers and the Internet or that they are all computer literate. This study uses the 2003 Current Population Survey to examine the effects of disability and income on computer access and Internet use among the elderly. Internet access declines with age and is exacerbated by disabilities. Also, decreases in income lead to decreases in computer ownership and use. Therefore, providing prescription drug coverage primarily through the Internet seems likely to maintain or increase stratification of access to health care, especially for low-income, disabled elderly, who are also a group most in need of health care access.

Internet access and use by COPD patients in the National Emphysema/COPD Association Survey

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Technology offers opportunities to improve healthcare, but little is known about Internet use by COPD patients. We tested two hypotheses: Internet access is associated with socio-demographic disparities and frequency of use is related to perceived needs. Methods We analyzed data from a 2007–2008 national convenience sample survey of COPD patients to determine the relationship between Internet access and frequency of use with demographics, socio-economic status, COPD severity, and satisfaction with healthcare. Results Among survey respondents (response rate 7.2%; n = 914, 59.1% women, mean age 71.2 years), 34.2% reported lack of Internet access, and an additional 49% had access but used the Internet less than weekly. Multivariate models showed association between lack of access and older age (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07, 1.13), lower income (income below $30,000 OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.63, 3.73), less education (high school highest attainment OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.54, 3.45), comorbid arthritis or mobility-related disease (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.05, 2.34). More frequent use (at least weekly) was associated with younger age (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.93, 0.98), absence of cardiovascular disease (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.29, 0.78), but with perception of needs insufficiently met by the healthcare system, including diagnostic delay (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.06, 2.78), feeling treated poorly (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.15, 5.24), insufficient physician time (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.02, 5.13), and feeling their physician did not listen (OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.42, 6.95). Conclusions An analysis of the characteristics associated with Internet access and use among COPD patients identified two different patient populations. Lack of Internet access was a marker of socioeconomic disparity and mobility-associated diseases, while frequent Internet use was associated with less somatic disease but dissatisfaction with care. PMID:24755090

Internet access and use by COPD patients in the National Emphysema/COPD Association Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Martinez, Carlos H; St Jean, Beth L; Plauschinat, Craig A; Rogers, Barbara; Beresford, Julen; Martinez, Fernando J; Richardson, Caroline R; Han, Meilan K

2014-04-22

Technology offers opportunities to improve healthcare, but little is known about Internet use by COPD patients. We tested two hypotheses: Internet access is associated with socio-demographic disparities and frequency of use is related to perceived needs. We analyzed data from a 2007-2008 national convenience sample survey of COPD patients to determine the relationship between Internet access and frequency of use with demographics, socio-economic status, COPD severity, and satisfaction with healthcare. Among survey respondents (response rate 7.2%; n = 914, 59.1% women, mean age 71.2 years), 34.2% reported lack of Internet access, and an additional 49% had access but used the Internet less than weekly. Multivariate models showed association between lack of access and older age (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.07, 1.13), lower income (income below $30,000 OR 2.47, 95% CI 1.63, 3.73), less education (high school highest attainment OR 2.30, 95% CI 1.54, 3.45), comorbid arthritis or mobility-related disease (OR 1.56, 95% CI 1.05, 2.34). More frequent use (at least weekly) was associated with younger age (OR 0.95, 95% CI 0.93, 0.98), absence of cardiovascular disease (OR 0.48, 95% CI 0.29, 0.78), but with perception of needs insufficiently met by the healthcare system, including diagnostic delay (OR 1.72, 95% CI 1.06, 2.78), feeling treated poorly (OR 2.46, 95% CI 1.15, 5.24), insufficient physician time (OR 2.29, 95% CI 1.02, 5.13), and feeling their physician did not listen (OR 3.14, 95% CI 1.42, 6.95). An analysis of the characteristics associated with Internet access and use among COPD patients identified two different patient populations. Lack of Internet access was a marker of socioeconomic disparity and mobility-associated diseases, while frequent Internet use was associated with less somatic disease but dissatisfaction with care.

XACML to build access control policies for Internet of Things

OpenAIRE

Atlam, Hany F.; Alassafi, Madini, Obad; Alenezi, Ahmed; Walters, Robert; Wills, Gary

2018-01-01

Although the Internet of things (IoT) brought unlimited benefits, it also brought many security issues. The access control is one of the main elements to address these issues. It provides the access to system resources only to authorized users and ensures that they behave in an authorized manner during their access sessions. One of the significant components of any access control model is access policies. They are used to build the criteria to permit or deny any access request. Building an ef...

Analysis of internet use behaviors among clinical medical students in China.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hua; Chen, Yunxiang; Zheng, Liqiang; Xu, Xin; Cao, Xia

2014-04-02

The availability of internet-based information resources is increasing and the appropriate use of such resources is an important subject for clinical medical students. The aims of this study were to investigate the behaviors of clinical medical students regarding the use of internet-based activities, to analyze the behavior and characteristics of the students' information demands, and to discuss the behaviors and time preferences related to internet use of students with different levels of education. Librarians obtained real-time feedback from 999 clinical medical students to record online activities. The data was recorded in a standard form and then analyzed statistically. There were significant differences in the use of the internet for learning activities among the different groups of clinical medical students (P students, and 14.1% of use for five-year undergraduate students. There was also a significant difference in the proportions of leisure and e-commerce activities among the student groups (P students displaying the highest total proportion of these activities (59.4% and 18.8%). Internet use for entertainment activities was the same for all groups of clinical medical students. Time of day of internet use was consistent across all student groups, but internet use differed by day of the week (P time of day of internet use for learning, leisure and entertainment activities during a single day (P > 0.05), but e-commerce activities varied according to time of day (P students did not vary by day of the week (P > 0.05), but the distributions of leisure and entertainment activities were different according to day of the week (P students. Differences exist among student groups regarding internet use behaviors and internet use during different time periods.

Internet skill-related problems in accessing online health information and services

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Deursen, Alexander Johannes Aloysius Maria

2012-01-01

Purpose Despite the amount of health information available online, there are several barriers that limit the Internet from being adopted as a source of health information. The purpose of this study was to identify individual skill-related problems that users experience when accessing the Internet

Quality of Life in Medical Students With Internet Addiction

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Farzad Fatehi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available The widespread use of internet has caused new psychological, social, and educational problems for the students. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of life in medical students who suffer from internet addiction. This cross-sectional survey was carried out in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and a total of 174 fourth-to seventh-year undergraduate medical students were enrolled. The quality of life was assessed by WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire which covers four domains of physical health, psychological, social relationships, and the environment. For assessing internet addiction, we used Internet Addiction Test (IAT of Young. The students with IAT score higher than 50 were considered as addicted. For evaluating academic performance, the students were requested to report their grade point average (GPA. The mean IA score (±SD was 34.13±12.76. Twenty-eight students (16.90% had IAT score above 50. The mean quality of life score in internet addicted group was 54.97±11.38 versus 61.65±11.21 in normal group (P=0.005. Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between IA score and physical domain (r=-0.18, P=0.02; psychological domain (r=-0.35, P=0.000; and social relation domain (r=-0.26, P=0.001. Mean GPA was significantly lower in the addicted group. It seems that quality of life is lower in the internet addicted medical students; moreover, such students academically perform poorer in comparison with non-addicts. Since internet addiction is increasing at a rapid pace which may provoke considerable academic, psychological and social implications; as a result, it may require screening programs to the immediate finding of such problem to give consultations to prevent unwanted complications.

Quality of Life in Medical Students With Internet Addiction.

Science.gov (United States)

Fatehi, Farzad; Monajemi, Alireza; Sadeghi, Anahita; Mojtahedzadeh, Rita; Mirzazadeh, Azim

2016-10-01

The widespread use of internet has caused new psychological, social, and educational problems for the students. The aim of this study was to examine the quality of life in medical students who suffer from internet addiction. This cross-sectional survey was carried out in Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and a total of 174 fourth-to seventh-year undergraduate medical students were enrolled. The quality of life was assessed by WHOQOL-BREF questionnaire which covers four domains of physical health, psychological, social relationships, and the environment. For assessing internet addiction, we used Internet Addiction Test (IAT) of Young. The students with IAT score higher than 50 were considered as addicted. For evaluating academic performance, the students were requested to report their grade point average (GPA). The mean IA score (±SD) was 34.13±12.76. Twenty-eight students (16.90%) had IAT score above 50. The mean quality of life score in internet addicted group was 54.97±11.38 versus 61.65±11.21 in normal group (P=0.005). Furthermore, there was a negative correlation between IA score and physical domain (r=-0.18, P=0.02); psychological domain (r=-0.35, P=0.000); and social relation domain (r=-0.26, P=0.001). Mean GPA was significantly lower in the addicted group. It seems that quality of life is lower in the internet addicted medical students; moreover, such students academically perform poorer in comparison with non-addicts. Since internet addiction is increasing at a rapid pace which may provoke considerable academic, psychological and social implications; as a result, it may require screening programs to the immediate finding of such problem to give consultations to prevent unwanted complications.

Internet-based versus traditional teaching and learning methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Guarino, Salvatore; Leopardi, Eleonora; Sorrenti, Salvatore; De Antoni, Enrico; Catania, Antonio; Alagaratnam, Swethan

2014-10-01

The rapid and dramatic incursion of the Internet and social networks in everyday life has revolutionised the methods of exchanging data. Web 2.0 represents the evolution of the Internet as we know it. Internet users are no longer passive receivers, and actively participate in the delivery of information. Medical education cannot evade this process. Increasingly, students are using tablets and smartphones to instantly retrieve medical information on the web or are exchanging materials on their Facebook pages. Medical educators cannot ignore this continuing revolution, and therefore the traditional academic schedules and didactic schemes should be questioned. Analysing opinions collected from medical students regarding old and new teaching methods and tools has become mandatory, with a view towards renovating the process of medical education. A cross-sectional online survey was created with Google® docs and administrated to all students of our medical school. Students were asked to express their opinion on their favourite teaching methods, learning tools, Internet websites and Internet delivery devices. Data analysis was performed using spss. The online survey was completed by 368 students. Although textbooks remain a cornerstone for training, students also identified Internet websites, multimedia non-online material, such as the Encyclopaedia on CD-ROM, and other non-online computer resources as being useful. The Internet represented an important aid to support students' learning needs, but textbooks are still their resource of choice. Among the websites noted, Google and Wikipedia significantly surpassed the peer-reviewed medical databases, and access to the Internet was primarily through personal computers in preference to other Internet access devices, such as mobile phones and tablet computers. Increasingly, students are using tablets and smartphones to instantly retrieve medical information. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

How are our medical students using the computer and internet? A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: In today's world, use of Internet has become indispensable. Medical students have much to gain from the Internet technology that has revolutionized the medical field. There is a very rapid change in the way communication technology is being handled and our medical students should also be ready to embrace ...

Reducing the MAC Latency for IEEE 802.11 Vehicular Internet Access

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kang Moonsoo

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In an intermittently connected environment, access points are sparsely distributed throughout an area. As mobile users travel along the roadway, they can opportunistically connect, albeit temporarily, to roadside 802.11 (Wi-Fi APs for Internet access. Net-working characteristics of vehicular Internet access in an intermittently connected envi ronment face numerous challenges, such as short periods of connectivity and unpredictable connection times. To meet these challenges, we propose an Access Point Report (APR protocol where mobile stations opportunistically collaborate by broadcasting an APR to other mobile stations to fully utilize the short-lived connection periods. APR can optimize the use of short connection periods by minimizing the scanning delay and also act as a hint that enables mobile users to predict when connection can be established.

Internet Journal of Medical Update

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Arun Kumar Agnihotri

The two surveys on 'Gambling Addiction' published in this issue of the Internet Journal of. Medical Update recommend that there is a need to improve training of psychiatrists in India as regards identification, assessment and treatment of gambling addicts. I think the findings will inform the development and implementation of ...

Internet accessibility and disability policy: lessons for digital inclusion and equality from Australia

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Gerard Goggin

2017-03-01

Full Text Available In the fifth decade of the internet, accessibility for all, especially those with disabilities, is central to digital inclusion. Yet internationally, the score card on internet and accessibility remains mixed, at best; and woefully inadequate, at worst. Via an Australian case study, we argue that it is imperative to better understand how internet technology interacts with the life worlds and dynamics of disability, and we suggest how policy can be articulated and improved to put people with disabilities on an equal basis to others in digital societies.

Internet use and addiction among medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia

Science.gov (United States)

Haque, Mainul; Rahman, Nor Azlina A; Majumder, Md Anwarul Azim; Haque, Seraj Zohurul; Kamal, Zubair M; Islam, Zakirul; Haque, ATM Emdadul; Rahman, Nor Iza A; Alattraqchi, Ahmed Ghazi

2016-01-01

Background The use of Internet has now become indispensable, and the technology has revolutionized the medical education and practice worldwide. Currently, medical students and professionals have an enormous opportunity to keep them always updated with the exponential growth of knowledge because of potential progression of Internet throughout the world that enables them to become a lifelong learner. Internet addiction is a widespread phenomenon among students and academicians at universities in Malaysia. Students use the Internet for recreational purpose and personal and professional development. The Internet has become an integral part of day-to-day life of the university students, including medical students. The aim of the present study was to examine the Internet use and addiction among students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. Methods This was a cross-sectional study in which a questionnaire, Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, developed by the Center for Internet Addiction, USA, was used. One hundred forty-nine medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin participated in this study. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. Results The mean scores were 44.9±14.05 and 41.4±13.05 for male and female participants, respectively, which indicated that both the genders were suffering from mild Internet addiction. Conclusion This study shows almost similar level of Internet usage among medical students irrespective of their socioeconomic background, with no statistically significant (p>0.05) differences, except among the years of study (p=0.007). Overall, from the research data and having worked with this cohort very closely, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin medical students can be labeled as wonted and recurring users of the Internet. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to define as Internet addicts or pathological users of the Internet because of small sample size and cross-sectional study. PMID

Internet use and addiction among medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Haque, Mainul; Rahman, Nor Azlina A; Majumder, Md Anwarul Azim; Haque, Seraj Zohurul; Kamal, Zubair M; Islam, Zakirul; Haque, Atm Emdadul; Rahman, Nor Iza A; Alattraqchi, Ahmed Ghazi

2016-01-01

The use of Internet has now become indispensable, and the technology has revolutionized the medical education and practice worldwide. Currently, medical students and professionals have an enormous opportunity to keep them always updated with the exponential growth of knowledge because of potential progression of Internet throughout the world that enables them to become a lifelong learner. Internet addiction is a widespread phenomenon among students and academicians at universities in Malaysia. Students use the Internet for recreational purpose and personal and professional development. The Internet has become an integral part of day-to-day life of the university students, including medical students. The aim of the present study was to examine the Internet use and addiction among students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia. This was a cross-sectional study in which a questionnaire, Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, developed by the Center for Internet Addiction, USA, was used. One hundred forty-nine medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin participated in this study. Data were analyzed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences software. The mean scores were 44.9±14.05 and 41.4±13.05 for male and female participants, respectively, which indicated that both the genders were suffering from mild Internet addiction. This study shows almost similar level of Internet usage among medical students irrespective of their socioeconomic background, with no statistically significant ( p >0.05) differences, except among the years of study ( p =0.007). Overall, from the research data and having worked with this cohort very closely, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin medical students can be labeled as wonted and recurring users of the Internet. Nevertheless, it is very difficult to define as Internet addicts or pathological users of the Internet because of small sample size and cross-sectional study.

Self-Reported Behaviour about Internet Addiction among Medical and Paramedical Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Akila Ganesh

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Introduction: Internet has become an essential tool in day to day life. It has become an important and convenient mode for networking and information exchange. Excessive use of internet adversely affects an individual’s physical, mental and social health along with academic performance. Aim: The present study aimed at determining the prevalence of internet addiction among undergraduate and postgraduate medical and paramedical students and also the effect of internet on gender. Materials and Methods: This was a questionnaire based, cross-sectional study carried out among 1011 medical and paramedical undergraduate and postgraduate students of Sri Ramachandra University, Chennai. A questionnaire consisting of two components; basic demographic information of the participants and Modified Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT was used to gather data. The normal users were categorized as non-addicts and mild, moderate and severe users were categorized as addicts. Descriptive statistics was calculated in terms of frequency and percentage. Inferential statistics was calculated using Chi-Square test. Results: According to the findings, most of the students were mild internet addicts 590 (58.40% followed by moderate addicts 239 (23.60%, normal users 171 (16.90% and severe addicts 11 (1.10%. Prevalence of internet addiction was outnumbered by medical 112 (91.10% students among all the other medical and paramedical specialties. Conclusion: Internet addiction has become an emerging problem among the professional students, which has educational, physical and mental impact on student’s life. So, it is necessary to understand the importance of prevention of internet addiction, which is essential for promoting safe and healthy use of the internet.

Medication errors with the use of allopurinol and colchicine: a retrospective study of a national, anonymous Internet-accessible error reporting system.

Science.gov (United States)

Mikuls, Ted R; Curtis, Jeffrey R; Allison, Jeroan J; Hicks, Rodney W; Saag, Kenneth G

2006-03-01

To more closely assess medication errors in gout care, we examined data from a national, Internet-accessible error reporting program over a 5-year reporting period. We examined data from the MEDMARX database, covering the period from January 1, 1999 through December 31, 2003. For allopurinol and colchicine, we examined error severity, source, type, contributing factors, and healthcare personnel involved in errors, and we detailed errors resulting in patient harm. Causes of error and the frequency of other error characteristics were compared for gout medications versus other musculoskeletal treatments using the chi-square statistic. Gout medication errors occurred in 39% (n = 273) of facilities participating in the MEDMARX program. Reported errors were predominantly from the inpatient hospital setting and related to the use of allopurinol (n = 524), followed by colchicine (n = 315), probenecid (n = 50), and sulfinpyrazone (n = 2). Compared to errors involving other musculoskeletal treatments, allopurinol and colchicine errors were more often ascribed to problems with physician prescribing (7% for other therapies versus 23-39% for allopurinol and colchicine, p < 0.0001) and less often due to problems with drug administration or nursing error (50% vs 23-27%, p < 0.0001). Our results suggest that inappropriate prescribing practices are characteristic of errors occurring with the use of allopurinol and colchicine. Physician prescribing practices are a potential target for quality improvement interventions in gout care.

Computer and internet access for long-term care residents: perceived benefits and barriers.

Science.gov (United States)

Tak, Sunghee H; Beck, Cornelia; McMahon, Ed

2007-05-01

In this study, the authors examined residents' computer and Internet access, as well as benefits and barriers to access in nursing homes. Administrators of 64 nursing homes in a national chain completed surveys. Fourteen percent of the nursing homes provided computers for residents to use, and 11% had Internet access. Some residents owned personal computers in their rooms. Administrators perceived the benefits of computer and Internet use for residents as facilitating direct communication with family and providing mental exercise, education, and enjoyment. Perceived barriers included cost and space for computer equipment and residents' cognitive and physical impairments. Implications of residents' computer activities were discussed for nursing care. Further research is warranted to examine therapeutic effects of computerized activities and their cost effectiveness.

Literacy disparities in patient access and health-related use of Internet and mobile technologies.

Science.gov (United States)

Bailey, Stacy C; O'Conor, Rachel; Bojarski, Elizabeth A; Mullen, Rebecca; Patzer, Rachel E; Vicencio, Daniel; Jacobson, Kara L; Parker, Ruth M; Wolf, Michael S

2015-12-01

Age and race-related disparities in technology use have been well documented, but less is known about how health literacy influences technology access and use. To assess the association between patients' literacy skills and mobile phone ownership, use of text messaging, Internet access, and use of the Internet for health-related purposes. A secondary analysis utilizing data from 1077 primary care patients enrolled in two, multisite studies from 2011-2013. Patients were administered an in-person, structured interview. Patients with adequate health literacy were more likely to own a mobile phone or smartphone in comparison with patients having marginal or low literacy (mobile phone ownership: 96.8 vs. 95.2 vs. 90.1%, respectively, P Internet from their home (92.1 vs. 74.7 vs. 44.9%, P Internet for email (93.0 vs. 75.7 vs. 38.5%, P technology access and use are widespread, with lower literate patients being less likely to own smartphones or to access and use the Internet, particularly for health reasons. Future interventions should consider these disparities and ensure that health promotion activities do not further exacerbate disparities. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Professional use of the internet among Saudi Arabian dermatologists: a cross-sectional survey

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

AlGhamdi Khalid M

2009-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The internet is an increasingly important tool for physicians, but the extent to which it is used by dermatologists is unknown. We aimed to investigate the utilization of the internet by dermatologists in Saudi Arabia for medical purposes during their daily practice and to clarify the reasons for its use and non-use. Methods A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to all 160 dermatologists attending the National Dermatology conference in 2007. Results A total of 107 questionnaires were completed. Sixty-two percent of respondents had access to the internet in the workplace. The use of the internet to update medical knowledge was reported by 91%. Only 27% had internet access in consultation rooms. The majority of information retrieval occurred outside patient consultation hours (91%. Only 13% reported using the internet during patient consultation. Possible reasons included: lack of access (54%, time pressure (37%, possible interference with the physician-patient relationship (30%, and that use of the internet was too time-consuming (10%. The mean searching time used to solve a clinical problem was 34 ± 3 minutes. Fifty-eight percent used Pubmed; however, 77% of the dermatologists had no training at all in how to use this tool. Conclusion Professional medical use of the internet is widespread among dermatologists in Saudi Arabia. Providing access to the internet in the workplace and training of dermatologists to perform effective electronic searches are badly needed to improve the professional medical use of internet, which is expected to lead to better delivery of patient care.

The Value of Internet Tools in Undergraduate Surgical Education: Perspective of Medical Students in a Developing Country.

Science.gov (United States)

Ekenze, S O; Okafor, C I; Ekenze, O S; Nwosu, J N; Ezepue, U F

2017-03-01

Advances in information technology (IT) in the past decade present opportunities and challenges in undergraduate surgical education. There may be need to evaluate the knowledge base and the use of Internet tools among medical students in settings where traditional mode of education is preeminent. This may help to establish a conceptual framework for integrating e-learning into the traditional teaching to enhance learning experience. In this study, we evaluated the medical students' knowledge and use of Internet tools, and their opinion on the application of these tools in surgical education. We undertook a cross-sectional survey of 2013 and 2014 graduating medical class of College of Medicine University of Nigeria, Enugu using structured self-administered questionnaire. The survey assessed the knowledge, utility, and application of Internet tools in surgical education using 5-point Likert scale. Overall response rate was 78% (227/291) comprising 151 (66.5%) males and 76 (33.5%) females. The median age was 24 years (range 20-33 years). Although 106 (46.7%) had formal training on information technology, 223 (98.2%) can access Internet, and 162 (71.4%) use one or more of the Internet tools, 90.6% (96/106) of those trained on ICT use Internet for education/learning compared to 88.4% (107/121) of those without ICT training (p = 0.76). Google™ search tool had the highest rating in terms of familiarity and utility for education/learning (mean rating 4.3 on a scale of 5.0), while Skype™ had the least rating (mean 2.0). Overall, 89% of respondents (mean rating 4.5 on a scale of 5.0) indicated that Internet tools could be effectively applied in surgical education specifically in areas of lectures, assignments, real-time procedure demonstration, case discussion, and interaction with surgical experts. The key benefits are utility as a regular self-assessment tool (mean rating = 4.6) and offer of flexible learning schedule (mean rating = 4.0). Fifty-two percent (118

Internet use and addiction among medical students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haque M

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Mainul Haque,1 Nor Azlina A Rahman,2 Md Anwarul Azim Majumder,3 Seraj Zohurul Haque,4 Zubair M Kamal,5 Zakirul Islam,6 ATM Emdadul Haque,7 Nor Iza A Rahman,8 Ahmed Ghazi Alattraqchi8 1Unit of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine and Defense Health, National Defense University of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, 2Department of Biomedical Science, Kulliyyah of Allied Health Sciences, Kuantan, Malaysia; 3Department of Clinical Sciences, School of Medical Sciences, Faculty of Life Sciences, University of Bradford, Bradford, 4School of Medicine, University of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital & Medical School, Dundee, UK; 5Sleep Research Unit, Toronto Western Hospital, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada; 6Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Eastern Medical College, Comilla, Bangladesh; 7Department of Medical Education, Universiti Kuala Lumpur Royal College of Medicine Perak (UniKL RCMP, Ipoh, 8Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia Background: The use of Internet has now become indispensable, and the technology has revolutionized the medical education and practice worldwide. Currently, medical students and professionals have an enormous opportunity to keep them always updated with the exponential growth of knowledge because of potential progression of Internet throughout the world that enables them to become a lifelong learner. Internet addiction is a widespread phenomenon among students and academicians at universities in Malaysia. Students use the Internet for recreational purpose and personal and professional development. The Internet has become an integral part of day-to-day life of the university students, including medical students. The aim of the present study was to examine the Internet use and addiction among students of Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin, Malaysia.Methods: This was a cross-sectional study in which a questionnaire, Internet Addiction Diagnostic Questionnaire, developed by the Center

Internet utilization by radiation oncology patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Metz, J.M.; Devine, P.; DeNittis, A.; Stambaugh, M.; Jones, H.; Goldwein, J.; Whittington, R.

2001-01-01

Purpose: Studies describing the use of the Internet by radiation oncology patients are lacking. This multi-institutional study of cancer patients presenting to academic (AC), community (CO) and veterans (VA) radiation oncology centers was designed to analyze the use of the Internet, predictive factors for utilization, and barriers to access to the Internet. Materials and Methods: A questionnaire evaluating the use of the Internet was administered to 921 consecutive patients presenting to radiation oncology departments at AC, CO and VA Medical Centers. The study included 436 AC patients (47%), 284 CO patients (31%), and 201 VA patients (22%). A computer was available at home to 427 patients (46%) and 337 patients (37%) had Email access. The mean age of the patient population was 64 years (range=14-93). Males represented 70% of the patient population. The most common diagnoses included prostate cancer (33%), breast cancer (13%), and lung cancer (11%). Results: Overall, 265/921 patients (29%) were using the Internet to find cancer related information. The Internet was used by 42% of AC patients, 25% of CO patients and only 5% of VA patients (p<.0001). A computer was available at home in 62% AC vs. 45% CO vs. 12% VA patients (p<.0001). Patients < 60 years were much more likely to use the Internet than older patients (p<.0001). Most of the Internet users considered the information either very reliable (22%) or somewhat reliable (70%). Most patients were looking for information regarding treatment of their cancer (90%), management of side effects of treatment (74%), alternative/complementary treatments (65%) and clinical trials (51%). Unconventional medical therapies were purchased over the Internet by 12% of computer users. Products or services for the treatment or management of cancer were purchased online by 12% of Internet users. Conclusion: A significant number of cancer patients seen in radiation oncology departments at academic and community medical centers

Internet Use and Access, Behavior, Cyberbullying, and Grooming: Results of an Investigative Whole City Survey of Adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Vismara, Marco Flavio Michele; Toaff, Joseph; Pulvirenti, Giuliana; Settanni, Chiara; Colao, Emma; Lavano, Serena Marianna; Cemicetti, Riccardo; Cotugno, David; Perrotti, Giuseppe; Meschesi, Viviana; Montera, Roberto; Zepponi, Barbara; Rapetto, Umberto; Marotta, Rosa

2017-08-29

interviewed teenagers have uploaded pictures or movies of which they felt ashamed; 27.05% (415/1534) have received invitations from people they met on the Internet to meet in real life; and 8.67% (133/1534) have accepted such invitations. The results offer a breakdown of the teenagers' use of the Internet, focusing on how teenagers learn to use and access it while taking into account factors such as parental coaching, schooling, or self-education. It describes how they approach and interact with social networks and how they perceive risks and risky behaviors on the Internet. Information technology must be seen as an instrument and not as a hindrance. For this to happen, parental guidance, schooling, and medical counseling are needed for a sound development of the child in this critical stage. ©Marco Flavio Michele Vismara, Joseph Toaff, Giuliana Pulvirenti, Chiara Settanni, Emma Colao, Serena Marianna Lavano, Riccardo Cemicetti, David Cotugno, Giuseppe Perrotti, Viviana Meschesi, Roberto Montera, Barbara Zepponi, Umberto Rapetto, Rosa Marotta. Originally published in the Interactive Journal of Medical Research (http://www.i-jmr.org/), 29.08.2017.

Internet Access and Usage by Students of the College of Medicine ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Findings revealed that the Internet facilities at the time of this study were inadequate – hence many students did not have access. It also revealed that although quite a number of the students were aware of the immense benefits of the use of the Internet for academic studies. They lacked the necessary skill to make effective ...

Who's Connected? Trends from 1999 to 2011 in Home Internet Access in North Carolina

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kenneth Wilson

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Using the Internet has become an essential part of many people's daily life activities. In this information age, the Internet is an indispensible tool for communicating and sharing of information. This transformation of technological incorporation into every aspect of social life has been relatively swift, although not all-inclusive. Lack of access to the Internet produces and perpetuates social inequality. In this paper we present results of a unique data set compiled from six studies conducted across twelve years in the state of North Carolina. Our results show differences in home access to the Internet are associated with various aspects of social stratification. The findings reveal that digital divide persists over time. At least one quarter of respondents with one or more of the following sociodemographic characteristics reported not having home Internet access: African Americans, those with only a high school degree or less, those without school-age children in the home, those with a household income less than $30,000, people age 69 years and older, and rural residents. Future research and policy recommendations are provided.

Exchanging Medical Information with Eastern Europe through the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Daniels, Julie K.; Cronje, Ruth J.; Sokolowski, Beth C.

1998-01-01

Interviews foreign Information Coordinators who facilitate exchange of medical information over the Internet between healthcare providers in America and eastern Europe to learn how Internet technologies are being introduced, disseminated, and adopted in their institutions. Applies diffusion of innovations theory for interpretation. Shows technical…

Information Access Skills in Mothers as Containment of Internet Negative Impact

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Putri Limilia

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Media and Information Literacy (MIL skills was one of the skills that must be possessed by netizens. These skills become important in the effort of coping with the negative impact of the internet. The high penetration of the internet is not followed by the high skill of MIL. Therefore, the writers are interested to know the skills of information and media literacy (access skills in mothers. This study uses descriptive quantitative method by using questionnaires as means of data collection. The result of the study shows that mothers tend to have moderate-level information access skills. The skills are reflected in the skills of mothers at moderate level in understanding the role of information, seeking sources of information, accessing information effectively and efficiently, and storing information.

[Internet in medicine--development and perspectives].

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Dezelić, Gjuro

2002-01-01

Internet is one of information technologies marking the transition from the second to the third millennium. The present role and expansion of Internet in medicine and healthcare is reviewed together with the perspective of further development. The beginning and initial expansion of the use of Internet in medicine are described. The World Wide Web (WWW or Web) is recognized as a major reason for this expansion, reaching a state described as a Web-pandemic. The rapid increase of the number of papers dealing with Internet in medical literature is presented as well as the appearance of several journals dedicated to Internet in medicine. First specialized symposia, among them MEDNET world conferences, are noted. First uses of Internet in medicine comprised databases, discussion groups, electronic newsletters, software archives and online public access catalogues. The appearance of the Web has led to a significant improvement of the Internet use in medicine, which is reflected in an exponential increase in the number of publications. It is noted that Internet allows "to do old things in new ways", but also "to do new things". It has become clear that the information revolution evoked by the internet shall leave a deep trace in medicine, as health information has become accessible to the public and ceased to be in exclusive control of health professionals. New medical fields--telemedicine and cybermedicine--appeared as the result of the development and global expansion of information and communication technologies, with cybermedicine dealing more specifically with the use of Internet. The advantages and disadvantages of cybermedicine are discussed, and major problems related to the quality of health information are highlighted. Several systems for quality criteria of health related Web-sites are described, indicating that Websites have to conform with the quality criteria such as transparency and honesty, accountability, privacy and data protection, currency

Accessing northern California earthquake data via Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Romanowicz, Barbara; Neuhauser, Douglas; Bogaert, Barbara; Oppenheimer, David

The Northern California Earthquake Data Center (NCEDC) provides easy access to central and northern California digital earthquake data. It is located at the University of California, Berkeley, and is operated jointly with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in Menlo Park, Calif., and funded by the University of California and the National Earthquake Hazard Reduction Program. It has been accessible to users in the scientific community through Internet since mid-1992.The data center provides an on-line archive for parametric and waveform data from two regional networks: the Northern California Seismic Network (NCSN) operated by the USGS and the Berkeley Digital Seismic Network (BDSN) operated by the Seismographic Station at the University of California, Berkeley.

Internet access and use among Nigerian dental students ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Objective: The aim of this study was to determine access to internet /e-mail and its usage among Nigerian clinical dental students in year 4 to year 6. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study involving clinical dental students in year 4 to year 6 of the College of Medicine, University of Lagos. Information obtained from the ...

Use of internet by the teaching faculty of Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.

Science.gov (United States)

Jan, Saeedullah; Hussain, Abid; Ibrahim, Muhammad; Saeed, Sarah

2018-03-01

This study was planned to examine the hard and soft form of learning resources available on the internet accessed by the teaching faculty. This study was conducted at the Peshawar Medical College, Peshawar, Pakistan from January 2to April 2017. As the target population was not too large, no sampling technique was employed and census-based approach was adopted. For data collection, the pre-tested questionnaire was distributed among 115 faculty members of both basic and clinical sciences groups with a response rate of 66(57.39%). Data was analysed using SPSS. Among the respondents, 38(57.6%) were males and 28(42.4%) were females. A majority 51 (77.27%) of the respondents used the internet for teaching and research. Library was the most frequently 22 (33.33%) used place for the internet use. Low internet speed, virus on computers and a lack of modern trainings were the major barriers. E-journals, e-books, online databases and theses and dissertations were the major sources consulted by the participants.

Internet addiction in Greek medical students: an online survey.

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Tsimtsiou, Zoi; Haidich, Anna-Bettina; Spachos, Dimitris; Kokkali, Stamatia; Bamidis, Panagiotis; Dardavesis, Theodoros; Arvanitidou, Malamatenia

2015-06-01

The authors investigated the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) in undergraduate medical students to identify possible associations with sociodemographics and Internet habits. All students at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki School of Medicine, Greece, were invited to complete the online Internet Addiction Test (IAT) along with sociodemographics and preferences on Internet activities. The authors received 585 responses after three reminders (23.5 % response rate). Mild IA was found in 24.5 %, moderate in 5.4 %, and severe in 0.2 %. In multivariable analysis, the odds to develop IA were increased with visits in Internet cafes (Odds Ratio [OR] 3.49, 95 % Confidence Interval [CI]: 1.45, 8.46), the use of Facebook (OR 2.43, 95 % CI: 1.35, 4.38), Twitter (OR 2.45, 95 % CI: 1.37, 4.39), and online games (OR 1.95, 95 % CI: 1.29, 2.94). Using e-mails seemed to be protective against IA (OR 0.59, 95 % CI: 0.37, 0.94). This is the first IA prevalence study in a European medical school. Early-detection systems and other ways to help students with pathological behaviors should be developed.

The Role and Implications of the Internet in Healthcare Delivery

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Alex

Drawing on a study of the Internet usage of Australian men with prostate cancer, this chapter investigates how access to information and online support affects men’s experiences of disease and, in particular, the possible implications of Internet-informed patients for the doctor/patient relationship. The data reveal that accessing information and/or support online can have a profound effect on men’s experiences of prostate cancer, providing a method of taking some control over their disease and limiting inhibitions experienced in face-to-face encounters. However, it is also clear that some medical specialists view Internet-informed patients as a challenge to their power within medical encounters and, as a result, employ disciplinary strategies that reinforce traditional patient roles and alienate patients who use the Internet.

Access Routes of Internet Finance Dictionaries: Present Solutions and Future Opportunities

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Deny Arnos Kwary

2011-10-01

Full Text Available

ABSTRACT: Lexicographers working on finance dictionaries have not properly exploited the fast development of the Internet. This is revealed by the poor utilization of the access routes found in current Internet finance dictionaries. Consequently, users cannot effectively and efficiently find answers to their lexicographical problems. Firstly, there are Internet finance dictionaries which lack technological features and can simply be called meagre Internet dictionaries. Secondly, there are Internet finance dictionaries which utilize so many technological features that users incur high lexicographical information costs. In order to create better access routes, a sound theoretical foundation has to be established. This article shows that the implementation of the modern theory of lexicographical functions, which focuses on the users, results in a better design for future Internet finance dictionaries. With the proper theoretical basis, lexicographers will be able to create state-ofthe- art dictionaries that can provide effective and efficient solutions to lexicographical problems.

OPSOMMING: Toegangsroetes van Internet- finansiële woordeboeke: Huidige oplossings en toekomstige geleenthede. Leksikograwe wat aan finansiële woordeboeke werk, het nie die vinnige ontwikkeling van die Internet behoorlik benut nie. Dit blyk uit die gebrekkige aanwending van die toegangsroetes wat in huidige Internet- finansiële woordeboeke aangetref word. Gevolglik kan gebruikers nie doeltreffend en doelmatig antwoorde kry op hul leksikografiese probleme nie. Eerstens is daar Internet- finansiële woordeboeke waarin tegnologiese kenmerke ontbreek en wat gewoon karige Internetwoordeboeke genoem kan word. Tweedens is daar Internet- finansiële woordeboeke wat so baie tegnologiese kenmerke aanwend dat gebruikers hoë leksikografiese inligtingskoste oploop. Om beter toegangsroetes te skep, moet 'n deeglike teoretiese grondslag gevestig word. Hierdie artikel toon

An Internet of Things Based Multi-Level Privacy-Preserving Access Control for Smart Living

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Usama Salama

2018-05-01

Full Text Available The presence of the Internet of Things (IoT in healthcare through the use of mobile medical applications and wearable devices allows patients to capture their healthcare data and enables healthcare professionals to be up-to-date with a patient’s status. Ambient Assisted Living (AAL, which is considered as one of the major applications of IoT, is a home environment augmented with embedded ambient sensors to help improve an individual’s quality of life. This domain faces major challenges in providing safety and security when accessing sensitive health data. This paper presents an access control framework for AAL which considers multi-level access and privacy preservation. We focus on two major points: (1 how to use the data collected from ambient sensors and biometric sensors to perform the high-level task of activity recognition; and (2 how to secure the collected private healthcare data via effective access control. We achieve multi-level access control by extending Public Key Infrastructure (PKI for secure authentication and utilizing Attribute-Based Access Control (ABAC for authorization. The proposed access control system regulates access to healthcare data by defining policy attributes over healthcare professional groups and data classes classifications. We provide guidelines to classify the data classes and healthcare professional groups and describe security policies to control access to the data classes.

[Security specifications for electronic medical records on the Internet].

Science.gov (United States)

Mocanu, Mihai; Mocanu, Carmen

2007-01-01

The extension for the Web applications of the Electronic Medical Record seems both interesting and promising. Correlated with the expansion of Internet in our country, it allows the interconnection of physicians of different specialties and their collaboration for better treatment of patients. In this respect, the ophthalmologic medical applications consider the increased possibilities for monitoring chronic ocular diseases and for the identification of some elements for early diagnosis and risk factors supervision. We emphasize in this survey some possible solutions to the problems of interconnecting medical information systems to the Internet: the achievement of interoperability within medical organizations through the use of open standards, the automated input and processing for ocular imaging, the use of data reduction techniques in order to increase the speed of image retrieval in large databases, and, last but not least, the resolution of security and confidentiality problems in medical databases.

Computers, the Internet and medical education in Africa.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Christopher D; Pitchforth, Emma L; O'Callaghan, Christopher

2010-05-01

OBJECTIVES This study aimed to explore the use of information and communications technology (ICT) in undergraduate medical education in developing countries. METHODS Educators (deans and heads of medical education) in English-speaking countries across Africa were sent a questionnaire to establish the current state of ICT at medical schools. Non-respondents were contacted firstly by e-mail, subsequently by two postal mailings at 3-month intervals, and finally by telephone. Main outcome measures included cross-sectional data about the availability of computers, specifications, Internet connection speeds, use of ICT by students, and teaching of ICT and computerised research skills, presented by country or region. RESULTS The mean computer : student ratio was 0.123. Internet speeds were rated as 'slow' or 'very slow' on a 5-point Likert scale by 25.0% of respondents overall, but by 58.3% in East Africa and 33.3% in West Africa (including Cameroon). Mean estimates showed that campus computers more commonly supported CD-ROM (91.4%) and sound (87.3%) than DVD-ROM (48.1%) and Internet (72.5%). The teaching of ICT and computerised research skills, and the use of computers by medical students for research, assignments and personal projects were common. CONCLUSIONS It is clear that ICT infrastructure in Africa lags behind that in other regions. Poor download speeds limit the potential of Internet resources (especially videos, sound and other large downloads) to benefit students, particularly in East and West (including Cameroon) Africa. CD-ROM capability is more widely available, but has not yet gained momentum as a means of distributing materials. Despite infrastructure limitations, ICT is already being used and there is enthusiasm for developing this further. Priority should be given to developing partnerships to improve ICT infrastructure and maximise the potential of existing technology.

Progress on Broadband Access to the Internet and Use of Mobile Devices in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Serrano, Katrina J; Thai, Chan L; Greenberg, Alexandra J; Blake, Kelly D; Moser, Richard P; Hesse, Bradford W

Healthy People 2020 (HP2020) aims to improve population health outcomes through several objectives, including health communication and health information technology. We used 7 administrations of the Health Information National Trends Survey to examine HP2020 goals toward access to the Internet through broadband and mobile devices (N = 34 080). We conducted descriptive analyses and obtained predicted marginals, also known as model-adjusted risks, to estimate the association between demographic characteristics and use of mobile devices. The HP2020 target (7.7% of the US population) for accessing the Internet through a cellular network was surpassed in 2014 (59.7%), but the HP2020 target (83.2%) for broadband access fell short (63.8%). Sex and age were associated with accessing the Internet through a cellular network throughout the years (Wald F test, P Internet through mobile devices presents an opportunity for technology-based health interventions that should be explored.

An Internet of Things Example: Classrooms Access Control over Near Field Communication

Science.gov (United States)

Palma, Daniel; Agudo, Juan Enrique; Sánchez, Héctor; Macías, Miguel Macías

2014-01-01

The Internet of Things is one of the ideas that has become increasingly relevant in recent years. It involves connecting things to the Internet in order to retrieve information from them at any time and from anywhere. In the Internet of Things, sensor networks that exchange information wirelessly via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee or RF are common. In this sense, our paper presents a way in which each classroom control is accessed through Near Field Communication (NFC) and the information is shared via radio frequency. These data are published on the Web and could easily be used for building applications from the data collected. As a result, our application collects information from the classroom to create a control classroom tool that displays access to and the status of all the classrooms graphically and also connects this data with social networks. PMID:24755520

An internet of things example: classrooms access control over near field communication.

Science.gov (United States)

Palma, Daniel; Agudo, Juan Enrique; Sánchez, Héctor; Macías, Miguel Macías

2014-04-21

The Internet of Things is one of the ideas that has become increasingly relevant in recent years. It involves connecting things to the Internet in order to retrieve information from them at any time and from anywhere. In the Internet of Things, sensor networks that exchange information wirelessly via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee or RF are common. In this sense, our paper presents a way in which each classroom control is accessed through Near Field Communication (NFC) and the information is shared via radio frequency. These data are published on the Web and could easily be used for building applications from the data collected. As a result, our application collects information from the classroom to create a control classroom tool that displays access to and the status of all the classrooms graphically and also connects this data with social networks.

An Internet of Things Example: Classrooms Access Control over Near Field Communication

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Daniel Palma

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The Internet of Things is one of the ideas that has become increasingly relevant in recent years. It involves connecting things to the Internet in order to retrieve information from them at any time and from anywhere. In the Internet of Things, sensor networks that exchange information wirelessly via Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Zigbee or RF are common. In this sense, our paper presents a way in which each classroom control is accessed through Near Field Communication (NFC and the information is shared via radio frequency. These data are published on the Web and could easily be used for building applications from the data collected. As a result, our application collects information from the classroom to create a control classroom tool that displays access to and the status of all the classrooms graphically and also connects this data with social networks.

Enabling Access to Medical and Health Education in Rwanda Using Mobile Technology: Needs Assessment for the Development of Mobile Medical Educator Apps.

Science.gov (United States)

Rusatira, Jean Christophe; Tomaszewski, Brian; Dusabejambo, Vincent; Ndayiragije, Vincent; Gonsalves, Snedden; Sawant, Aishwarya; Mumararungu, Angeline; Gasana, George; Amendezo, Etienne; Haake, Anne; Mutesa, Leon

2016-06-01

that utilizes specific Rwandan medical education resources. Based on our results, we propose a mobile medical education app that could provide many benefits such as rapid decision making with lower error rates, increasing the quality of data management and accessibility, and improving practice efficiency and knowledge. In areas where Internet access is limited, the proposed mobile medical education app would need to run on a mobile device without Internet access. A user-centered design approach was adopted, starting with a needs assessment with representative end users, which provided recommendations for the development of a mobile medical education app specific to Rwanda. Specific app features were identified through the needs assessment and it was evident that there will be future benefits to ongoing incorporation of user-centered design methods to better inform the software development and improve its usability. Results of the user-centered design reported here can inform other medical education technology developments in LMIC to ensure that technologies developed are usable by all stakeholders.

Cell phone internet access, online sexual solicitation, partner seeking, and sexual risk behavior among adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Rice, Eric; Winetrobe, Hailey; Holloway, Ian W; Montoya, Jorge; Plant, Aaron; Kordic, Timothy

2015-04-01

Online partner seeking is associated with sexual risk behavior among young adults (specifically men who have sex with men), but this association has yet to be explored among a probability sample of adolescents. Moreover, cell phone internet access and sexual risk taking online and offline have not been explored. A probability sample (N = 1,831) of Los Angeles Unified School District high school students was collected in 2011. Logistic regression models assessed relationships between specific sexual risk behaviors (online sexual solicitation, seeking partners online, sex with internet-met partners, condom use) and frequency of internet use, internet access points, and demographics. Students with cell phone internet access were more likely to report being solicited online for sex, being sexually active, and having sex with an internet-met partner. Bisexual-identifying students reported higher rates of being approached online for sex, being sexually active, and not using condoms at last sex. Gay, lesbian, and questioning (GLQ) students were more likely to report online partner seeking and unprotected sex at last sex with an internet-met partner. Additionally, having sex with an internet-met partner was associated with being male, online sexual solicitation, and online partner seeking. Internet- and school-based sexual health programs should incorporate safety messages regarding online sexual solicitation, seeking sex partners online, and engaging in safer sex practices with all partners. Programs must target adolescents of all sexual identities, as adolescents may not yet be "out," and bisexual and GLQ adolescents are more likely to engage in risky sex behaviors.

Social disparities in internet patient portal use in diabetes: evidence that the digital divide extends beyond access.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarkar, Urmimala; Karter, Andrew J; Liu, Jennifer Y; Adler, Nancy E; Nguyen, Robert; López, Andrea; Schillinger, Dean

2011-05-01

The authors investigated use of the internet-based patient portal, kp.org, among a well-characterized population of adults with diabetes in Northern California. Among 14,102 diverse patients, 5671 (40%) requested a password for the patient portal. Of these, 4311 (76%) activated their accounts, and 3922 (69%), logged on to the patient portal one or more times; 2990 (53%) participants viewed laboratory results, 2132 (38%) requested medication refills, 2093 (37%) sent email messages, and 835 (15%) made medical appointments. After adjustment for age, gender, race/ethnicity, immigration status, educational attainment, and employment status, compared to non-Hispanic Caucasians, African-Americans and Latinos had higher odds of never logging on (OR 2.6 (2.3 to 2.9); OR 2.3 (1.9 to 2.6)), as did those without an educational degree (OR compared to college graduates, 2.3 (1.9 to 2.7)). Those most at risk for poor diabetes outcomes may fall further behind as health systems increasingly rely on the internet and limit current modes of access and communication.

Internet Users’ Perspective towards Facebook Use by Physicians and Medical Students

OpenAIRE

Tiyarat Kayankit, M.D.; Pornjira Pariwatcharakul, M.D., MRCPsych

2017-01-01

Objective: This study aimed to understand the internet users’ perspectives towards doctors’ and medical students’ Facebook use. Methods: This was a cross-sectional online survey among internet users conducted from December 2015 to March 2016 to understand their perspectives towards doctors’ and medical students’ Facebook use. The author-constructed questionnaires were in Thai and included the participants’ online activities, their witness to inappropriate Facebook posts by doct...

Assessing the Impact of Internet Access on Household Income and Financial Performance of Small Farms

OpenAIRE

Khanal, Aditya R.; Mishra, Ashok K.

2013-01-01

With increased focus on survival strategies for small farm businesses, we investigate the impact of Internet access on income and farm expenses of small farm business and households. Using a nation-wide farm-level data in the U.S. and non-parametric matching estimators, the study finds a significant positive impact of Internet access on total household and off-farm income.

Internet availability and interest in patients at a family medicine residency clinic.

Science.gov (United States)

Fashner, Julia; Drye, Stephen T

2011-02-01

The Internet has affected the day-to-day lives of physicians, hospitals, and patients. The medical information for each is available at a moment's notice. We surveyed patients to see how many have access to the Internet and whether they are interested in using the Internet to communicate about their medical care. An anonymous one-page survey was given to patients over the age of 18 who had an office visit at the Family Medicine Center. A total of 258 of 300 surveys were returned. A majority of these patients have access to the Internet (80.6%). Patients were most interested in being able to receive appointment reminders by e-mail (44.6%), get answers to medical questions (41.9%), and schedule appointments online (41.5%). Patients would like to be active participants in their medical care electronically. We encourage other physicians to investigate what patients in their practice would consider a service to provide electronically.

Public Libraries and Internet Access across the United States: A Comparison by State 2004–2006

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Paul T. Jaeger

2007-06-01

Full Text Available Drawing upon findings from a national survey of U.S. public libraries, this paper examines trends in Internet and public computing access in public libraries across states from 2004 to 2006. Based on library-supplied information about levels and types of Internet and public computing access, the authors offer insights into the network-based content and services that public libraries provide. Examining data from 2004 to 2006 reveals trends and accomplishments in certain states and geographic regions. This paper details and discusses the data, identifies and analyzes issues related to Internet access, and suggests areas for future research.

Free open access medical education can help rural clinicians deliver 'quality care, out there'.

Science.gov (United States)

Leeuwenburg, Tim J; Parker, Casey

2015-01-01

Rural clinicians require expertise across a broad range of specialties, presenting difficulty in maintaining currency of knowledge and application of best practice. Free open access medical education is a new paradigm in continuing professional education. Use of the internet and social media allows a globally accessible crowd-sourced adjunct, providing inline (contextual) and offline (asynchronous) content to augment traditional educational principles and the availability of relevant resources for life-long learning. This markedly reduces knowledge translation (the delay from inception of a new idea to bedside implementation) and allows rural clinicians to further expertise by engaging in discussion of cutting edge concepts with peers worldwide.

[A security protocol for the exchange of personal medical data via Internet: monitoring treatment and drug effects].

Science.gov (United States)

Viviani, R; Fischer, J; Spitzer, M; Freudenmann, R W

2004-04-01

We present a security protocol for the exchange of medical data via the Internet, based on the type/domain model. We discuss two applications of the protocol: in a system for the exchange of data for quality assurance, and in an on-line database of adverse reactions to drug use. We state that a type/domain security protocol can successfully comply with the complex requirements for data privacy and accessibility typical of such applications.

The Digital Divide and Patient Portals: Internet Access Explained Differences in Patient Portal Use for Secure Messaging by Age, Race, and Income.

Science.gov (United States)

Graetz, Ilana; Gordon, Nancy; Fung, Vick; Hamity, Courtnee; Reed, Mary E

2016-08-01

Online access to health records and the ability to exchange secure messages with physicians can improve patient engagement and outcomes; however, the digital divide could limit access to web-based portals among disadvantaged groups. To understand whether sociodemographic differences in patient portal use for secure messaging can be explained by differences in internet access and care preferences. Cross-sectional survey to examine the association between patient sociodemographic characteristics and internet access and care preferences; then, the association between sociodemographic characteristics and secure message use with and without adjusting for internet access and care preference. One thousand forty-one patients with chronic conditions in a large integrated health care delivery system (76% response rate). Internet access, portal use for secure messaging, preference for in-person or online care, and sociodemographic and health characteristics. Internet access and preference mediated some of the differences in secure message use by age, race, and income. For example, using own computer to access the internet explained 52% of the association between race and secure message use and 60% of the association between income and use (Sobel-Goodman mediation test, Pdifferences in portal use remained statistically significant when controlling for internet access and preference. As the availability and use of patient portals increase, it is important to understand which patients have limited access and the barriers they may face. Improving internet access and making portals available across multiple platforms, including mobile, may reduce some disparities in secure message use.

Internet Use and Access, Behavior, Cyberbullying, and Grooming: Results of an Investigative Whole City Survey of Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Toaff, Joseph; Pulvirenti, Giuliana; Settanni, Chiara; Colao, Emma; Lavano, Serena Marianna; Cemicetti, Riccardo; Cotugno, David; Perrotti, Giuseppe; Meschesi, Viviana; Montera, Roberto; Zepponi, Barbara

2017-01-01

, we found that 7.69% (118/1534) of the interviewed teenagers have uploaded pictures or movies of which they felt ashamed; 27.05% (415/1534) have received invitations from people they met on the Internet to meet in real life; and 8.67% (133/1534) have accepted such invitations. Conclusions The results offer a breakdown of the teenagers’ use of the Internet, focusing on how teenagers learn to use and access it while taking into account factors such as parental coaching, schooling, or self-education. It describes how they approach and interact with social networks and how they perceive risks and risky behaviors on the Internet. Information technology must be seen as an instrument and not as a hindrance. For this to happen, parental guidance, schooling, and medical counseling are needed for a sound development of the child in this critical stage. PMID:28851675

Access to electronic health knowledge in five countries in Africa: a descriptive study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Honorati Masanja

2007-05-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Access to medical literature in developing countries is helped by open access publishing and initiatives to allow free access to subscription only journals. The effectiveness of these initiatives in Africa has not been assessed. This study describes awareness, reported use and factors influencing use of on-line medical literature via free access initiatives. Methods Descriptive study in four teaching hospitals in Cameroon, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda plus one externally funded research institution in The Gambia. Survey with postgraduate doctors and research scientists to determine Internet access patterns, reported awareness of on-line medical information and free access initiatives; semi structured interviews with a sub-sample of survey participants to explore factors influencing use. Results In the four African teaching hospitals, 70% of the 305 postgraduate doctors reported textbooks as their main source of information; 66% had used the Internet for health information in the last week. In two hospitals, Internet cafés were the main Internet access point. For researchers at the externally-funded research institution, electronic resources were their main source, and almost all had used the Internet in the last week. Across all 333 respondents, 90% had heard of PubMed, 78% of BMJ on line, 49% the Cochrane Library, 47% HINARI, and 19% BioMedCentral. HINARI use correlates with accessing the Internet on computers located in institutions. Qualitative data suggested there are difficulties logging into HINARI and that sometimes it is librarians that limit access to passwords. Conclusion Text books remain an important resource for postgraduate doctors in training. Internet use is common, but awareness of free-access initiatives is limited. HINARI and other initiatives could be more effective with strong institutional endorsement and management to promote and ensure access.

Investigating the Perceptions and Behaviors of Elementary Students and Teachers when Internet Access is Universal

Science.gov (United States)

Hinson, Janice M

2005-01-01

This study presents a preliminary investigation into changes in the perceptions and behaviors of teachers and students when all have universal Internet access at home and school using Internet-on-TV technology. Four hundred fourth-grade students and their teachers from seven schools participated in the WISH TV (WorldGate Internet School to Home)…

Dermatology education and the Internet: traditional and cutting-edge resources.

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Anne H; Krause, L Kendall; Simmons, Rachel N; Ellis, Jeffrey I; Gamble, Ryan G; Jensen, J Daniel; Noble, Melissa N; Orser, Michael L; Suarez, Andrea L; Dellavalle, Robert P

2011-10-01

The number and variety of dermatological medical resources available online has grown exponentially over the past decade. Internet-based resources allow for immediate and easy access to information for both medical education and reference purposes. Although clinicians continue to turn to the Internet for clinical information and still images, tech-savvy medical students are currently accessing a variety of exciting new resources, including discussion boards, wikis, streaming video, podcasts, journal clubs, online communities, and interactive diagnostic experiences to augment their medical education. The objective of this study was to identify traditional and cutting-edge online dermatology resources. We present a sampling of the top dermatology Internet resources, as assessed by a group of medical students in our university dermatology research lab. These resources were ranked by using a matrix derived from the Silberg Criteria, which assessed authorship, attribution, disclosure, currency, and content. Results indicate comparable ranking and approval of cutting-edge resources as traditional online sources. The ranked resources in each category are provided with URLs for readers' use. These cutting-edge online dermatology resources represent excellent sources for continuing education for students and clinicians alike. Resources such as these likely represent the future of medical education, as they allow for self-directed and supplementary education as well as remote access. Copyright © 2010 American Academy of Dermatology, Inc. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Internet-based electronic health portal.

Science.gov (United States)

Abbott, Kevin C; Boocks, Carl E; Sun, Zhengyi; Boal, Thomas R; Poropatich, Ronald K

2003-12-01

Use of the World Wide Web (WWW) and electronic media to facilitate medical care has been the subject of many reports in the popular press. However, few reports have documented the results of implementing electronic health portals for essential medical tasks, such as prescription refills and appointments. At Walter Reed Army Medical Center, "Search & Learn" medical information, Internet-based prescription refills and patient appointments were established in January 2001. A multiphase retrospective analysis was conducted to determine the use of the "Search & Learn" medical information and the relative number of prescription refills and appointments conducted via the WWW compared with conventional methods. From January 2001 to May 2002, there were 34,741 refills and 819 appointments made over the Internet compared with 2,275,112 refills and approximately 500,000 appointments made conventionally. WWW activity accounted for 1.52% of refills and 0.16% of appointments. There was a steady increase in this percentage over the time of the analysis. In April of 2002, the monthly average of online refills had risen to 4.57% and online appointments were at 0.27%. Online refills were projected to account for 10% of all prescriptions in 2 years. The "Search & Learn" medical information portion of our web site received 147,429 unique visits during this same time frame, which was an average of 326 visitors per day. WWW-based methods of conducting essential medical tasks accounted for a small but rapidly increasing percentage of total activity at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Subsequent phases of analysis will assess demographic and geographic factors and aid in the design of future systems to increase use of the Internet-based systems.

Accessing And Utilizing Hinagoa Resources On The Internet By The ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

This paper presents simple descriptive steps required in accessing full -text articles from the HINAGOA resources on the Internet. The primary aim is to enable NIFOR scientists search and obtain desired information from the HINAGOA resources much more precis ely and efficiently. The three portals that make up HINAGOA, ...

Democracy and the Internet: Access, Engagement and Deliberation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Roman Gerodimos

2005-12-01

Full Text Available The internet has the capacity to facilitate the creation of new forms of civic engagement, but the realisation of these opportunities requires institutional and cultural reinforcement. The democratic character of e-citizenship and the equal distribution of online resources to the public require the fulfilment of four conditions: access, engagement (incorporating education, motivation and trust, meaningful deliberation and a link between civic input and public policy output. Furthermore, the gap between the main features of cyberspace and the inherent prerequisites of democracy, such as a finite space and a set of rules, create tensions that need to be negotiated politically. Although the empirical evidence available includes some encouraging signs regarding the future use of the internet for civic engagement, the existing limitations and obstacles mean that the new media will complement, rather than replace, the old media as a democratic public sphere.

Access to CERN from the Internet: termination of the VPN service

CERN Multimedia

2007-01-01

Due to the continued incidents and growing security risks from the service, access to CERN using the VPN (Virtual Private Network) service will be discontinued on Tuesday 29th January 2008. In addition, new registrations will no longer be accepted. Further information is linked from: http://cern.ch/security/vpn Users are requested to stop using VPN immediately and start using the recommended alternative methods for connecting to CERN from the Internet. These are outlined together with a set of FAQs at: http://cern.ch/security/Internet IT Department

Direct-to-consumer advertisements of prescription medications over the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Fogel, Joshua; Novick, Daniel

2009-01-01

This study sought data on the impact of direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements and both intentions and frequency to seek more information about the drug being advertised. Data were collected from 498 college students regarding intention to seek and how frequently they obtained more information about prescription medications. For intentions, grocery or pharmacy and radio advertisements were associated with lesser intentions. For frequency, Internet advertisements were associated, while newspaper and spam e-mail advertisements were not. Types of sources associated with seeking additional information were doctor, Internet, and 1-800 information numbers. A significant interaction existed for seeing Internet advertisements for drugs and then seeking additional information from a doctor and not from the Internet. In conclusion, Internet advertising is associated with seeking additional information from a reliable source such as a doctor.

Access database application in medical treatment management platform

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wu Qingming

2014-01-01

For timely, accurate and flexible access to medical expenses data, we applied Microsoft Access 2003 database management software, and we finished the establishment of a management platform for medical expenses. By developing management platform for medical expenses, overall hospital costs for medical expenses can be controlled to achieve a real-time monitoring of medical expenses. Using the Access database management platform for medical expenses not only changes the management model, but also promotes a sound management system for medical expenses. (authors)

Self-rated Health and Internet Addiction in Iranian Medical Sciences Students; Prevalence, Risk Factors and Complications.

Science.gov (United States)

Mohammadbeigi, Abolfazl; Valizadeh, Farzaneh; Mirshojaee, Seyede Roqaie; Ahmadli, Robabeh; Mokhtari, Mohsen; Ghaderi, Ebrahim; Ahmadi, Ali; Rezaei, Heshmatollah; Ansari, Hossein

2016-06-01

Self-rated health is a brief measure for general health. It is a comprehensive and sensitive index for prediction of health in future. Due to the high internet usage in medical students, the current study designed to evaluate the self-rated health (SRH) in relationship with internet addiction risk factors in medical students. This cross sectional study conducted on 254 students of Qom University of Medical Sciences 2014. Participants selected by two stage sampling method including stratified and simple random sampling. The Young's questionnaire of internet addiction and SRH question used for data collection. Chi-square, t-test, and logistic regression used in data analysis. More than 79.9% of students reported their general health good and very good. The student's mean score of general health was higher than the average. In addition, the prevalence of internet addiction was 28.7%. An inverse significant correlation observed between SRH and internet addiction score (r=-0.198, p=0.002). Using internet for Entertainment, using private Email and chat rooms were the most important predictors of affecting to internet addiction. Moreover, internet addiction is the most predictors of SRH and increased the odds of bad SRH. The good SRH of medical students was higher than general population but in health faculty' students were lower than others. Due to the effect of internet addiction on SRH and increasing trend of internet use in medical students, as well as low age of participants, attention to psychological aspects and the job expectancy in future, can effective on increasing the good SRH.

Study the Relationship between Internet-related Lifestyle and Loneliness and Social Support among Internet Users in Ilam University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Morteza Mansoorian

2015-07-01

Full Text Available Background & Objective: Using internet have had a significant impact on the lifestyle changes of internet clients which can affect their health. The aim of this study was to survey the relationship between lifestyle related to internet with loneliness and social support of the internet clients in Ilam University of medical sciences. Methods: This study was a cross sectional study which was performed in 2014 on 400 university students and personnel of Ilam University of medical sciences using stratified random sampling method.Data collection instrument was a questionnaire comprising of four sections: demographic information, lifestyle related to internet questionnaire , loneliness and social supports questionnaires.All data were analyzed using SPSS software by Mann Withney and Kruscall- Wallis tests and linear regression test. Results: The linear regression results showed that there was a significant relationship between loneliness and lifestyle related to the internet, gender, marital status, occupational statues and age (P<0.01. There was also a significant relationship between social support and lifestyle related to the internet and age (P<0/05. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between loneliness and social support with marital status, educational degree and internet usage (P<0/01. Conclusion: According to the significant relation between loneliness and social support with the lifestyle related to the internet, and regarding the inevitability of Internet, it seems more supporting the students and implementing the educational programs for university clients about suitable using of internet is necessary.

Internet Access and Usage in Improving Students' Self-Directed Learning in Indonesia Open University

Science.gov (United States)

Rahardjo, Djoko; Sumardjo; Lubis, Djuara P.; Harijati, Sri Ir.

2016-01-01

Internet is well known nowadays, however higher distance education students who live in remote rural areas still have not been able to take advantages of this medium optimally for their learning process. For accessing the internet the students have to be available with the minimum prerequisites: the existence of adequate devices and the sufficient…

A study on relationship of internet addictive behavior with personality traits among medical students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vijay Kumar Saini

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Context: Internet addiction is less researched entity in developing countries. There has been an explosive growth in the use of internet worldwide including India in the last decade. Aims: To study the relationship of internet addictive behavior with personality characteristics among medical students. Settings and Design: This was a cross-sectional observational study carried out on 140 medical students. Subjects and Methods: All the students were taken randomly. Assessment of sociodemographic details was done with the help of  semi-structured pro forma, and internet addiction test and big five inventory were used to assess internet addictive behavior and personality traits. Statistical Analysis Used: For comparison of dichotomous variables, Chi-square test was used. Correlation and linear regression were applied to see association. Data analysis was done with the help of  statistical software SPSS 23. 0 (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences by IBM Corporation. Results: Mean score of internet addiction scale among medical students was 33.94 (standard deviation 13.592. It was found that higher neuroticism (β =0.242, P = 0.004 and less extroversion (β = −0.210, P = 0.011 displayed significant associations with internet addictive behavior. Conclusions: Neurotic individuals tend to experience increased levels of stress and interpersonal conflict because of this personality trait. Internet addictive behavior was lower on extroversion traits because they are more in social activities, making friend easily, and cheerful.

Regulating internet access in UK public libraries: legal compliance and ethical dilemmas

OpenAIRE

Muir, Adrienne; Spacey, Rachel; Cooke, Louise; Creaser, Claire

2016-01-01

Purpose – This paper aims to consider selected results from the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded “Managing Access to the internet in Public Libraries” (MAIPLE) project, from 2012-2014. MAIPLE has explored the ways in which public library services manage use of the internet connections that they provide for the public. This included the how public library services balance their legal obligations and the needs of their communities in a public space and the ethical dilemmas tha...

Internet Use and Access Among Pregnant Women via Computer and Mobile Phone: Implications for Delivery of Perinatal Care.

Science.gov (United States)

Peragallo Urrutia, Rachel; Berger, Alexander A; Ivins, Amber A; Beckham, A Jenna; Thorp, John M; Nicholson, Wanda K

2015-03-30

The use of Internet-based behavioral programs may be an efficient, flexible method to enhance prenatal care and improve pregnancy outcomes. There are few data about access to, and use of, the Internet via computers and mobile phones among pregnant women. We describe pregnant women's access to, and use of, computers, mobile phones, and computer technologies (eg, Internet, blogs, chat rooms) in a southern United States population. We describe the willingness of pregnant women to participate in Internet-supported weight-loss interventions delivered via computers or mobile phones. We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 100 pregnant women at a tertiary referral center ultrasound clinic in the southeast United States. Data were analyzed using Stata version 10 (StataCorp) and R (R Core Team 2013). Means and frequency procedures were used to describe demographic characteristics, access to computers and mobile phones, and use of specific Internet modalities. Chi-square testing was used to determine whether there were differences in technology access and Internet modality use according to age, race/ethnicity, income, or children in the home. The Fisher's exact test was used to describe preferences to participate in Internet-based postpartum weight-loss interventions via computer versus mobile phone. Logistic regression was used to determine demographic characteristics associated with these preferences. The study sample was 61.0% white, 26.0% black, 6.0% Hispanic, and 7.0% Asian with a mean age of 31.0 (SD 5.1). Most participants had access to a computer (89/100, 89.0%) or mobile phone (88/100, 88.0%) for at least 8 hours per week. Access remained high (>74%) across age groups, racial/ethnic groups, income levels, and number of children in the home. Internet/Web (94/100, 94.0%), email (90/100, 90.0%), and Facebook (50/100, 50.0%) were the most commonly used Internet technologies. Women aged less than 30 years were more likely to report use of Twitter and chat rooms

Internet-based survey on medical manga in Japan.

Science.gov (United States)

Kishi, Yukiko; Matsumura, Tomoko; Murishige, Naoko; Kodama, Yuko; Hatanaka, Nobuyo; Takita, Morihito; Sakamoto, Kenjiro; Hamaki, Tamae; Kusumi, Eiji; Kobayashi, Kazuhiko; Yuji, Koichiro; Narimatsu, Hiroto; Kami, Masahiro

2011-10-01

The more manga (Japanese graphic novels) communicate medical information, the more people are likely to be influenced by manga. We investigated through an Internet search using Google the characteristics of medical manga published in Japan, defined as those in which the main character is a medical professional and that occur in a medical setting. As of December 2008, 173 medical manga had been published. For a period of time after the first medical manga by Osamu Tezuka in 1970, the number of publications maintained a steady level, but increased rapidly in the mid 1980s. The professions of the protagonist were 134 doctors, 19 nurses, 3 dentists, 3 medical students, and 1 nursing student. Although the main character was mostly a doctor, manga featuring paramedical professionals have increased since 1990s. Medical manga may be a powerful tool for increasing the awareness of the public regarding medicine.

Traffic management mechanism for intranets with available-bit-rate access to the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Hassan, Mahbub; Sirisena, Harsha R.; Atiquzzaman, Mohammed

1997-10-01

The design of a traffic management mechanism for intranets connected to the Internet via an available bit rate access- link is presented. Selection of control parameters for this mechanism for optimum performance is shown through analysis. An estimate for packet loss probability at the access- gateway is derived for random fluctuation of available bit rate of the access-link. Some implementation strategies of this mechanism in the standard intranet protocol stack are also suggested.

Internet addiction: definition, assessment, epidemiology and clinical management.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaw, Martha; Black, Donald W

2008-01-01

Internet addiction is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges or behaviours regarding computer use and internet access that lead to impairment or distress. The condition has attracted increasing attention in the popular media and among researchers, and this attention has paralleled the growth in computer (and Internet) access. Prevalence estimates vary widely, although a recent random telephone survey of the general US population reported an estimate of 0.3-0.7%. The disorder occurs worldwide, but mainly in countries where computer access and technology are widespread. Clinical samples and a majority of relevant surveys report a male preponderance. Onset is reported to occur in the late 20s or early 30s age group, and there is often a lag of a decade or more from initial to problematic computer usage. Internet addiction has been associated with dimensionally measured depression and indicators of social isolation. Psychiatric co-morbidity is common, particularly mood, anxiety, impulse control and substance use disorders. Aetiology is unknown, but probably involves psychological, neurobiological and cultural factors. There are no evidence-based treatments for internet addiction. Cognitive behavioural approaches may be helpful. There is no proven role for psychotropic medication. Marital and family therapy may help in selected cases, and online self-help books and tapes are available. Lastly, a self-imposed ban on computer use and Internet access may be necessary in some cases.

40 CFR 1400.5 - Internet access to certain off-site consequence analysis data elements.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... consequence analysis data elements. 1400.5 Section 1400.5 Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION... UNDER THE CLEAN AIR ACT SECTION 112(r)(7); DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION DISTRIBUTION OF OFF-SITE CONSEQUENCE ANALYSIS INFORMATION Public Access § 1400.5 Internet access to certain off...

Creation of an online multimedia radiology module access to Internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Alejo, J.P.; Vega, J.M.; Perez, R.

1996-01-01

Using freely distributed programs, we have created a radiology data server in the world wide web (WWW) system, which includes among its services a radiological teaching module developed entirely in Spanish. This server is linked to Internet, the extensive worldwide computer network, to which WWW subscribers have access. The data is presented in hypertext and hypermedia format. (Author) 9 refs

Gastric cancer-related information on the Internet: incomplete, poorly accessible, and overly commercial.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Killeen, Shane

2011-02-01

Patients increasingly use the Internet for gastric cancer information. However, the quality of the information is questionable. We evaluated the accuracy, completeness, accessibility, reliability, and readability of gastric cancer websites.

The digital divide: Examining socio-demographic factors associated with health literacy, access and use of internet to seek health information.

Science.gov (United States)

Estacio, Emee Vida; Whittle, Rebecca; Protheroe, Joanne

2017-02-01

This article aims to examine the socio-demographic characteristics associated with access and use of Internet for health-related purposes and its relationship with health literacy. Data were drawn from a health literacy survey ( N = 1046) and analysed using logistic regression. Results show a strong association between health literacy, internet access and use. Socio-demographic characteristics particularly age, education, income, perceived health and social isolation also predict internet access. Thus, in addition to widening access, the movement towards digitisation of health information and services should also consider digital skills development to enable people to utilise digital technology more effectively, especially among traditionally hard-to-reach communities.

Rural Health Care Information Access and the Use of the Internet: Opportunity for University Extension

Science.gov (United States)

Das, Biswa R.; Leatherman, John C.; Bressers, Bonnie M.

2015-01-01

The Internet has potential for improving health information delivery and strengthening connections between rural populations and local health service providers. An exploratory case study six rural health care markets in Kansas showed that about 70% of adults use the Internet, with substantial use for accessing health information. While there are…

Standardized access, display, and retrieval of medical video

Science.gov (United States)

Bellaire, Gunter; Steines, Daniel; Graschew, Georgi; Thiel, Andreas; Bernarding, Johannes; Tolxdorff, Thomas; Schlag, Peter M.

1999-05-01

The system presented here enhances documentation and data- secured, second-opinion facilities by integrating video sequences into DICOM 3.0. We present an implementation for a medical video server extended by a DICOM interface. Security mechanisms conforming with DICOM are integrated to enable secure internet access. Digital video documents of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures should be examined regarding the clip length and size necessary for second opinion and manageable with today's hardware. Image sources relevant for this paper include 3D laparoscope, 3D surgical microscope, 3D open surgery camera, synthetic video, and monoscopic endoscopes, etc. The global DICOM video concept and three special workplaces of distinct applications are described. Additionally, an approach is presented to analyze the motion of the endoscopic camera for future automatic video-cutting. Digital stereoscopic video sequences are especially in demand for surgery . Therefore DSVS are also integrated into the DICOM video concept. Results are presented describing the suitability of stereoscopic display techniques for the operating room.

Perceptions of the Risks and Benefits of Internet Access and Use by People with Intellectual Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Chadwick, Darren D.; Quinn, Sally; Fullwood, Chris

2017-01-01

Background: Information and communication technologies, with the Internet at the forefront, have the potential to enhance the knowledge, service, employment, development and social interactional opportunities available to people with intellectual disabilities. Despite this, people with intellectual disabilities are not accessing the Internet to…

Access to CERN from the Internet: termination of the VPN service - Reminder

CERN Multimedia

IT Department

2008-01-01

Due to the continued incidents and growing security risks associated with the service, access to CERN using the VPN (Virtual Private Network) service will be discontinued as of Tuesday, 29 January 2008. In addition, new registrations are no longer accepted. For further information see: http://cern.ch/security/vpn. Users are requested to stop using VPN immediately and to start to use the recommended alternative methods for connecting to CERN from the Internet. An outline of these methods and a set of FAQs are available at: http://cern.ch/security/Internet IT Department

Internet Use and Access Among Pregnant Women via Computer and Mobile Phone: Implications for Delivery of Perinatal Care

Science.gov (United States)

Peragallo Urrutia, Rachel; Berger, Alexander A; Ivins, Amber A; Beckham, A Jenna; Thorp Jr, John M

2015-01-01

Background The use of Internet-based behavioral programs may be an efficient, flexible method to enhance prenatal care and improve pregnancy outcomes. There are few data about access to, and use of, the Internet via computers and mobile phones among pregnant women. Objective We describe pregnant women’s access to, and use of, computers, mobile phones, and computer technologies (eg, Internet, blogs, chat rooms) in a southern United States population. We describe the willingness of pregnant women to participate in Internet-supported weight-loss interventions delivered via computers or mobile phones. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional survey among 100 pregnant women at a tertiary referral center ultrasound clinic in the southeast United States. Data were analyzed using Stata version 10 (StataCorp) and R (R Core Team 2013). Means and frequency procedures were used to describe demographic characteristics, access to computers and mobile phones, and use of specific Internet modalities. Chi-square testing was used to determine whether there were differences in technology access and Internet modality use according to age, race/ethnicity, income, or children in the home. The Fisher’s exact test was used to describe preferences to participate in Internet-based postpartum weight-loss interventions via computer versus mobile phone. Logistic regression was used to determine demographic characteristics associated with these preferences. Results The study sample was 61.0% white, 26.0% black, 6.0% Hispanic, and 7.0% Asian with a mean age of 31.0 (SD 5.1). Most participants had access to a computer (89/100, 89.0%) or mobile phone (88/100, 88.0%) for at least 8 hours per week. Access remained high (>74%) across age groups, racial/ethnic groups, income levels, and number of children in the home. Internet/Web (94/100, 94.0%), email (90/100, 90.0%), and Facebook (50/100, 50.0%) were the most commonly used Internet technologies. Women aged less than 30 years were more likely to

Medical Device Integration Model Based on the Internet of Things

Science.gov (United States)

Hao, Aiyu; Wang, Ling

2015-01-01

At present, hospitals in our country have basically established the HIS system, which manages registration, treatment, and charge, among many others, of patients. During treatment, patients need to use medical devices repeatedly to acquire all sorts of inspection data. Currently, the output data of the medical devices are often manually input into information system, which is easy to get wrong or easy to cause mismatches between inspection reports and patients. For some small hospitals of which information construction is still relatively weak, the information generated by the devices is still presented in the form of paper reports. When doctors or patients want to have access to the data at a given time again, they can only look at the paper files. Data integration between medical devices has long been a difficult problem for the medical information system, because the data from medical devices are lack of mandatory unified global standards and have outstanding heterogeneity of devices. In order to protect their own interests, manufacturers use special protocols, etc., thus causing medical decices to still be the "lonely island" of hospital information system. Besides, unfocused application of the data will lead to failure to achieve a reasonable distribution of medical resources. With the deepening of IT construction in hospitals, medical information systems will be bound to develop towards mobile applications, intelligent analysis, and interconnection and interworking, on the premise that there is an effective medical device integration (MDI) technology. To this end, this paper presents a MDI model based on the Internet of Things (IoT). Through abstract classification, this model is able to extract the common characteristics of the devices, resolve the heterogeneous differences between them, and employ a unified protocol to integrate data between devices. And by the IoT technology, it realizes interconnection network of devices and conducts associate matching

Menores y acceso a Internet en el hogar: las normas familiares Internet Access by Minors at Home: Usage Norms Imposed by Parents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mercè Morey López

2010-03-01

Full Text Available Este artículo analiza el establecimiento de normas por parte de los progenitores a sus hijos sobre la utilización de Internet en los hogares. Los datos se han obtenido mediante encuestación sobre una muestra representativa de los menores de las Islas Baleares de entre 6 y 16 años, habiéndose analizado las siguientes dimensiones: acceso de los menores a Internet desde el hogar; grado de autonomía o acompañamiento en la navegación; normativización impuesta en el hogar por parte de sus padres y madres; tipos de normas impuestas; relación entre normas y género; valoración de los menores de los conocimientos y habilidades de sus progenitores para navegar por Internet y, finalmente, el acompañamiento de los padres y madres a la hora de navegar por Internet. Se constata que poco más del 53% de los menores de entre 6 y 14 años, y del 62% de los de 15 y 16 años navegan a través de Internet sin que sus progenitores les establezcan limitaciones. Cuando establecen algún tipo de normas, éstas se refieren, principalmente, a restricciones de carácter temporal. Por tanto, se infiere que los padres y madres no son conscientes de los peligros de la Red o que, al menos, actúan de forma poco razonable. Ello muestra la necesidad de sensibilizar y formar a las familias para que asuman su responsabilidad educativa.This paper examines and discusses the rules and standards set by parents for their children on Internet usage at home. Data that supports the paper have been obtained by surveying a representative sample of children in the Balearic Islands aged between 6 and 16 years; the analysis dimensions are: access by minors to the Internet from home; location of the computer from which have online access; level of autonomy or accompaniment while surfing the Net; norms imposed by their parents; types of rules imposed; relationship between norms and gender; the minors’ opinion and assessment of the knowledge and abilities of their parents on use of

Uses of internet technology in clinical practice

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mansoor, I.

2001-01-01

The practice of medicine has extended itself to vast areas and requires active clinicians to systematize and organize their workload through the use of the most up-to-date digital and computer communication technologies. Computerization and worldwide accessibility of information has especially provided great assistance in this regard. The explosive growth of medical information increases the need for the use of these new methods of organizing and accessing data. This article briefly summarizes a few of the vital tools that internet technology has provided clinical practice, with the aid of basic concepts of internet, database systems, hospital systems and data security and reliability. (author)

[Internet use among medical students in Batna (Algeria), Rouen (France), Sousse (Tunisia)].

Science.gov (United States)

Ladner, Joël; Nadir, Boussouf; Abdelaziz, Ahmed Ben; Benmaïza, Soumeya; Alaoua, Omar; Tavolacci, Marie-Pierre

2010-01-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of the Internet by students in three francophone Faculties of Medicine, in Batna (Algeria), Rouen (France) and Sousse (Tunisia), and to identify and assess students' research skills in seeking educational resources. In 2008, a cross-sectional study was conducted in the three faculties. An anonymous self-administered questionnaire gathered information on the students' IT equipment, the interest and relevance of the Internet in the curriculum of medical studies, and information on the last three research efforts for educational resources done using the Internet. In Batna, 300 students were enrolled, 182 in Rouen and 87 in Sousse. Nearly 80% of students used the Internet to research educational resources. Students in Batna and Sousse more frequently reported a lack of appropriate or sufficient training for Internet use than students in Rouen. In total, 1288 Internet searches were analyzed. For an individual research effort on the Internet, the average time was 61,9 minutes (standard deviation [SD] = 65,9) in Batna, 26,3 minutes (SD = 30,2) in Rouen and 42,6 minutes (SD = 51, 0) Sousse (p 10-4). Less than one in two students considered their research successful. It is important to provide advice and guidance to students on how to use and interpret the multiple types and sources of medical information of varying quality that are found on the Internet. It is the responsibility of teachers to fulfill this role and help to facilitate the navigation of this new source of information.

Availability and quality of illegitimate somatropin products obtained from the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Vida, Róbert György; Fittler, András; Mikulka, Ivett; Ábrahám, Eszter; Sándor, Viktor; Kilár, Ferenc; Botz, Lajos

2017-02-01

Background Growth hormones are widely available on the Internet for those who want to enhance their physical performance and improve body satisfaction. Illegitimate websites market somatropin injections without medical prescription and encourage misuse. Customers potentially put their health at risk when purchasing parenteral medications online. Objective The objective of our study was to evaluate the online market of no-prescription somatropin products and to analyse and document Internet pharmacy characteristics, distribution and pharmaceutical quality. Setting Websites indexed in Google promoting somatropin for sale direct to patients. Method Websites promoting the sale of growth hormone products were identified and analysed from June to August 2014. Internet vendor sites were evaluated to identify possible patient and medication safety concerns. Website characteristics, delivery time, storage conditions, packaging and attached product information were assessed. Investigation of the somatropin content was achieved using capillary electrophoresis with UV detection and electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. Main outcome measure Accessibility and quality of somatropin injections. Results Seventeen individual Internet vendor websites distributed somatropin products directly to patients, majority (94%) did not require a valid medical prescription before dispensing the products. Majority (70%) of Internet pharmacies displayed no medical information and none (0%) of the vendors displayed any regulatory body logo. All online samples had significantly (p < 0.001) lower somatropin concentration than labelled. Conclusion Our results clearly illustrate that prescription only biologic drugs are widely available online and can be easily accessed by anyone. Unprofessional distribution and handling is likely to cause degradation and possible patient safety concerns.

Prevalence of internet addiction and associated factors among medical students from mashhad, iran in 2013.

Science.gov (United States)

Salehi, Maryam; Norozi Khalili, Mina; Hojjat, Seyed Kaveh; Salehi, Mahta; Danesh, Ali

2014-05-01

Problematic internet use is on the increase and has caused serious problems in many areas. This issue seems to be more important for medical students. This study was designed to explore the prevalence of internet addiction and its related factors among the students of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. A cross sectional study was conducted on 383 medical students of Mashhad in 2013. Four hundred participants were selected through two-stage stratified sampling method proportional to the number of students in each stage of education. Data Collection was done through using the Chen Internet Addiction Scale (CIAS) and a checklist of demographic details and characteristics of internet usage behavior. It was found that 2.1% of the studied population were at risk and 5.2% were addicted users. Chatting with new people, communicating with friends and families, and playing games were the most popular activities in these groups. The factors related to internet addiction included: male sex, stage of education, daily time spent on using internet, most frequent time of internet use, monthly cost of use, and tea consumption. Although our study showed the prevalence of internet addiction was not more than other populations and universities, since the prevalence of internet addiction is rapidly increasing worldwide, this population might also be at risk of addiction. Thus, focusing on related factors can help us in designing more effective interventions and treatments for this susceptible group.

Internet Access and Use among Students of Physical Education: A Study of Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kumar, Rajender

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper depicts a study conducted on the behavior of physical education students towards Internet usage at Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. Specially, the study aims to know the purposes for use of Internet resources and services, frequency of use, places and means of use, student's satisfaction level toward the Internet, and problems faced while using the Internet. A survey was carried out with a sample of 100 physical education students of Kurukshetra University and the response rate was 88%. A well-designed questionnaire was distributed to the students' sample. Amazingly, the results of the study reveal that usage of the Internet in research and education was not favored, whereas email, chatting, and sports websites were commonly used among students. The study also found that too much information on the Internet, slow access speeds, and finding relevant information were the main problems in using the Internet.

Disparities in health-related Internet use among African American men, 2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Mitchell, Jamie A; Thompson, Hayley S; Watkins, Daphne C; Shires, Deirdre; Modlin, Charles S

2014-03-20

Given the benefits of health-related Internet use, we examined whether sociodemographic, medical, and access-related factors predicted this outcome among African American men, a population burdened with health disparities. African American men (n = 329) completed an anonymous survey at a community health fair in 2010; logistic regression was used to identify predictors. Only education (having attended some college or more) predicted health-related Internet use (P Internet use.

Extent, accuracy, and credibility of breastfeeding information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Ulfat; Scott, Barbara J

2005-05-01

Our objective was to test and describe a model for evaluating Websites related to breastfeeding. Forty Websites most likely to be accessed by the public were evaluated for extent, accuracy, credibility, presentation, ease of use, and adherence to ethical and medical Internet publishing standards. Extent and accuracy of Website content were determined by a checklist of critical information. The majority of Websites reviewed provided accurate information and complied with the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes. Approximately half the Websites complied with standards of medical Internet publishing. While much information on breastfeeding on the Internet is accurate, there is wide variability in the extent of information, usability of Websites, and compliance with standards of medical Internet publishing. Results of this study may be helpful to health care professionals as a model for evaluating breastfeeding-related Websites and to highlight considerations when recommending or designing Websites.

The linked medical data access control framework.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamateri, Eleni; Kalampokis, Evangelos; Tambouris, Efthimios; Tarabanis, Konstantinos

2014-08-01

The integration of medical data coming from multiple sources is important in clinical research. Amongst others, it enables the discovery of appropriate subjects in patient-oriented research and the identification of innovative results in epidemiological studies. At the same time, the integration of medical data faces significant ethical and legal challenges that impose access constraints. Some of these issues can be addressed by making available aggregated instead of raw record-level data. In many cases however, there is still a need for controlling access even to the resulting aggregated data, e.g., due to data provider's policies. In this paper we present the Linked Medical Data Access Control (LiMDAC) framework that capitalizes on Linked Data technologies to enable controlling access to medical data across distributed sources with diverse access constraints. The LiMDAC framework consists of three Linked Data models, namely the LiMDAC metadata model, the LiMDAC user profile model, and the LiMDAC access policy model. It also includes an architecture that exploits these models. Based on the framework, a proof-of-concept platform is developed and its performance and functionality are evaluated by employing two usage scenarios. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Do otolaryngology out-patients use the internet prior to attending their appointment?

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Tassone, Peter; Georgalas, Christos; Patel, Nimesh N.; Appleby, Esther; Kotecha, Bhik

2004-01-01

The Internet has become a very important source of health information. We wanted to determine otolaryngology patients' access to, and use of, the Internet as a medical information resource, to identify factors that make patients more likely to use it, and to determine how useful they find this

Access to and use of Internet by adolescents who have a physical disability: a comparative study.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lathouwers, K.A.M.; Moor, J.M.H. de; Didden, R.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine access to and use of Internet by 97 physically disabled adolescents. Four main objectives were to: (1) explore frequency and nature of Internet use and the role of care givers, (2) compare these results with non-disabled adolescents, (3) explore associations

Access to and use of Internet by adolescents who have a physical disability: A comparative study

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lathouwers, K.A.M.; Moor, J.M.H. de; Didden, H.C.M.

2009-01-01

The purpose of this study was to examine access to and use of Internet by 97 physically disabled adolescents. Four main objectives were to: (1) explore frequency and nature of Internet use and the role of care givers, (2) compare these results with non-disabled adolescents, (3) explore associations

Security analysis and improvements of authentication and access control in the Internet of Things.

Science.gov (United States)

Ndibanje, Bruce; Lee, Hoon-Jae; Lee, Sang-Gon

2014-08-13

Internet of Things is a ubiquitous concept where physical objects are connected over the internet and are provided with unique identifiers to enable their self-identification to other devices and the ability to continuously generate data and transmit it over a network. Hence, the security of the network, data and sensor devices is a paramount concern in the IoT network as it grows very fast in terms of exchanged data and interconnected sensor nodes. This paper analyses the authentication and access control method using in the Internet of Things presented by Jing et al. (Authentication and Access Control in the Internet of Things. In Proceedings of the 2012 32nd International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems Workshops, Macau, China, 18-21 June 2012, pp. 588-592). According to our analysis, Jing et al.'s protocol is costly in the message exchange and the security assessment is not strong enough for such a protocol. Therefore, we propose improvements to the protocol to fill the discovered weakness gaps. The protocol enhancements facilitate many services to the users such as user anonymity, mutual authentication, and secure session key establishment. Finally, the performance and security analysis show that the improved protocol possesses many advantages against popular attacks, and achieves better efficiency at low communication cost.

An end-to-end secure patient information access card system.

Science.gov (United States)

Alkhateeb, A; Singer, H; Yakami, M; Takahashi, T

2000-03-01

The rapid development of the Internet and the increasing interest in Internet-based solutions has promoted the idea of creating Internet-based health information applications. This will force a change in the role of IC cards in healthcare card systems from a data carrier to an access key medium. At the Medical Informatics Department of Kyoto University Hospital we are developing a smart card patient information project where patient databases are accessed via the Internet. Strong end-to-end data encryption is performed via Secure Socket Layers, transparent to transmit patient information. The smart card is playing the crucial role of access key to the database: user authentication is performed internally without ever revealing the actual key. For easy acceptance by healthcare professionals, the user interface is integrated as a plug-in for two familiar Web browsers, Netscape Navigator and MS Internet Explorer.

Identity Establishment and Capability Based Access Control (IECAC) Scheme for Internet of Things

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahalle, Parikshit N.; Anggorojati, Bayu; Prasad, Neeli R.

2012-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) become discretionary part of everyday life and could befall a threat if security is not considered before deployment. Authentication and access control in IoT is equally important to establish secure communication between devices. To protect IoT from man in middle, replay...... and denial of service attacks, the concept of capability for access control is introduced. This paper presents Identity establishment and capability based access control (IECAC) protocol using ECC (Elliptical Curve Cryptography) for IoT along with protocol evaluation, which protect against the aforementioned...

Medical Internet of Things and Big Data in Healthcare.

Science.gov (United States)

Dimitrov, Dimiter V

2016-07-01

A number of technologies can reduce overall costs for the prevention or management of chronic illnesses. These include devices that constantly monitor health indicators, devices that auto-administer therapies, or devices that track real-time health data when a patient self-administers a therapy. Because they have increased access to high-speed Internet and smartphones, many patients have started to use mobile applications (apps) to manage various health needs. These devices and mobile apps are now increasingly used and integrated with telemedicine and telehealth via the medical Internet of Things (mIoT). This paper reviews mIoT and big data in healthcare fields. mIoT is a critical piece of the digital transformation of healthcare, as it allows new business models to emerge and enables changes in work processes, productivity improvements, cost containment and enhanced customer experiences. Wearables and mobile apps today support fitness, health education, symptom tracking, and collaborative disease management and care coordination. All those platform analytics can raise the relevancy of data interpretations, reducing the amount of time that end users spend piecing together data outputs. Insights gained from big data analysis will drive the digital disruption of the healthcare world, business processes and real-time decision-making. A new category of "personalised preventative health coaches" (Digital Health Advisors) will emerge. These workers will possess the skills and the ability to interpret and understand health and well-being data. They will help their clients avoid chronic and diet-related illness, improve cognitive function, achieve improved mental health and achieve improved lifestyles overall. As the global population ages, such roles will become increasingly important.

Medical Internet of Things and Big Data in Healthcare

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-01

Objectives A number of technologies can reduce overall costs for the prevention or management of chronic illnesses. These include devices that constantly monitor health indicators, devices that auto-administer therapies, or devices that track real-time health data when a patient self-administers a therapy. Because they have increased access to high-speed Internet and smartphones, many patients have started to use mobile applications (apps) to manage various health needs. These devices and mobile apps are now increasingly used and integrated with telemedicine and telehealth via the medical Internet of Things (mIoT). This paper reviews mIoT and big data in healthcare fields. Methods mIoT is a critical piece of the digital transformation of healthcare, as it allows new business models to emerge and enables changes in work processes, productivity improvements, cost containment and enhanced customer experiences. Results Wearables and mobile apps today support fitness, health education, symptom tracking, and collaborative disease management and care coordination. All those platform analytics can raise the relevancy of data interpretations, reducing the amount of time that end users spend piecing together data outputs. Insights gained from big data analysis will drive the digital disruption of the healthcare world, business processes and real-time decision-making. Conclusions A new category of "personalised preventative health coaches" (Digital Health Advisors) will emerge. These workers will possess the skills and the ability to interpret and understand health and well-being data. They will help their clients avoid chronic and diet-related illness, improve cognitive function, achieve improved mental health and achieve improved lifestyles overall. As the global population ages, such roles will become increasingly important. PMID:27525156

Global Market Access in the Internet Era: South Africa's Wood Furniture Industry.

Science.gov (United States)

Moodley, Sagren

2002-01-01

Explores the link between Internet connectivity and access to global markets, and uses the South African wood furniture producers as they are integrated into global value chains and exposed to the demands of more sophisticated markets. Articulates policy recommendations to promote greater diffusion of e-commerce technologies in the wood furniture…

Seeking Medical Information Using Mobile Apps and the Internet: Are Family Caregivers Different from the General Public?

Science.gov (United States)

Kim, Hyunmin; Paige Powell, M; Bhuyan, Soumitra S; Bhuyan, Soumitra Sudip

2017-03-01

Family caregivers play an important role to care cancer patients since they exchange medical information with health care providers. However, relatively little is known about how family caregivers seek medical information using mobile apps and the Internet. We examined factors associated with medical information seeking by using mobile apps and the Internet among family caregivers and the general public using data from the 2014 Health Information National Trends Survey 4 Cycle 1. The study sample consisted of 2425 family caregivers and 1252 non-family caregivers (the general public). Guided by Comprehensive Model of Information Seeking (CMIS), we examined related factors' impact on two outcome variables for medical information seeking: mobile apps use and Internet use with multivariate logistic regression analyses. We found that online medical information seeking is different between family caregivers and the general public. Overall, the use of the Internet for medical information seeking is more common among family caregivers, while the use of mobile apps is less common among family caregivers compared with the general public. Married family caregivers were less likely to use mobile apps, while family caregivers who would trust cancer information were more likely to use the Internet for medical information seeking as compared to the general public. Medical information seeking behavior among family caregivers can be an important predictor of both their health and the health of their cancer patients. Future research should explore the low usage of mobile health applications among family caregiver population.

Internet Hospitals in China: Cross-Sectional Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Xie, Xiaoxu; Zhou, Weimin; Lin, Lingyan; Fan, Si; Lin, Fen; Wang, Long; Guo, Tongjun; Ma, Chuyang; Zhang, Jingkun; He, Yuan; Chen, Yixin

2017-07-04

The Internet hospital, an innovative approach to providing health care, is rapidly developing in China because it has the potential to provide widely accessible outpatient service delivery via Internet technologies. To date, China's Internet hospitals have not been systematically investigated. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of China's Internet hospitals, and to assess their health service capacity. We searched Baidu, the popular Chinese search engine, to identify Internet hospitals, using search terms such as "Internet hospital," "web hospital," or "cloud hospital." All Internet hospitals in mainland China were eligible for inclusion if they were officially registered. Our search was carried out until March 31, 2017. We identified 68 Internet hospitals, of which 43 have been put into use and 25 were under construction. Of the 43 established Internet hospitals, 13 (30%) were in the hospital informatization stage, 24 (56%) were in the Web ward stage, and 6 (14%) were in full Internet hospital stage. Patients accessed outpatient service delivery via website (74%, 32/43), app (42%, 18/43), or offline medical consultation facility (37%, 16/43) from the Internet hospital. Furthermore, 25 (58%) of the Internet hospitals asked doctors to deliver health services at a specific Web clinic, whereas 18 (42%) did not. The consulting methods included video chat (60%, 26/43), telephone (19%, 8/43), and graphic message (28%, 12/43); 13 (30%) Internet hospitals cannot be consulted online any more. Only 6 Internet hospitals were included in the coverage of health insurance. The median number of doctors available online was zero (interquartile range [IQR] 0 to 5; max 16,492). The median consultation fee per time was ¥20 (approximately US $2.90, IQR ¥0 to ¥200). Internet hospitals provide convenient outpatient service delivery. However, many of the Internet hospitals are not yet mature and are faced with various issues such as online doctor scarcity and

Application of an internet web-site of medical images in tele-radiology

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Weizhong; Wang Hua; Xie Jingxia; Wang Songzhang; Li Xiangdong; Qian Min; Cao Huixia

2000-01-01

Objective: To build and Internet web-site of medical images for tele-education and tele-consultation. Methods: Collecting medical images of cases that fulfilled diagnostic standards for teaching and were pathologically proved. The images were digitized using digital camera and scanner. Frontpage 98, Homesite 2.5 and text editors were used for programming. Results: The web site encompasses many useful cases and was update every week. With smart and friendly interface, easy used navigation, the site runs reliably in TCP/IP environment. The site's URL is http://imager.163.net. At present, the site has received about 100 visits per week. Conclusion: The well-designed and programmed internet web site of medical images would be easily acceptable and is going to play an important role in tele-education and tele-consultation

e-Portfolios for Learning and Development: without constant internet or electrical grid access

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Casey, John; Calverley, Gayle; Greller, Wolfgang; Uhomoibhi, James

2011-01-01

Casey, J., Calverley, G., Greller, W., & Uhomoibhi, J. (2010, 26-28 May). e-Portfolios for Learning and Development: without constant internet or electrical grid access. Presentation at the 5th International Conference on ICT for Development, Education, and Training - eLearning Africa, Lusaka,

The modern trends of forming internet additional disorder between students of medical university

OpenAIRE

Vanyushina E.; Goncharova M.

2017-01-01

Today the so-called internet–space occupies the special place in our world. The Internet is applying in almost all spheres of human life. That’s why there were manifested different side effects, in particular, the “Internet Additional Disorder”. This paper examines current trends and features of excessive internet–using by students of a medical university as a group of people, who has a predisposition to incipience of Internet Additional Disorder. During research, we interviewed 100 students ...

Virtually he@lthy: the impact of internet use on disease experience and the doctor-patient relationship.

Science.gov (United States)

Broom, Alex

2005-03-01

In the current study, the author explores the complex effects and contradictory roles of the Internet as a source of empowerment and control, and as a site of "risk management." Drawing on a study of the Internet usage of Australian men with prostate cancer, the author investigates how access to information and online support affects men's experiences of disease and, in particular, the possible implications of Internet-informed patients for the doctor-patient relationship. The data reveal that accessing information and/or support online can have a profound effect on men's experiences of prostate cancer, providing a method of taking some control over their disease and limiting inhibitions experienced in face-to-face encounters. However, it is also clear that some medical specialists view Internet-informed patients as a challenge to their power within medical encounters and, as a result, employ disciplinary strategies that reinforce traditional patient roles and alienate patients who use the Internet.

Security Analysis and Improvements of Authentication and Access Control in the Internet of Things

Science.gov (United States)

Ndibanje, Bruce; Lee, Hoon-Jae; Lee, Sang-Gon

2014-01-01

Internet of Things is a ubiquitous concept where physical objects are connected over the internet and are provided with unique identifiers to enable their self-identification to other devices and the ability to continuously generate data and transmit it over a network. Hence, the security of the network, data and sensor devices is a paramount concern in the IoT network as it grows very fast in terms of exchanged data and interconnected sensor nodes. This paper analyses the authentication and access control method using in the Internet of Things presented by Jing et al (Authentication and Access Control in the Internet of Things. In Proceedings of the 2012 32nd International Conference on Distributed Computing Systems Workshops, Macau, China, 18–21 June 2012, pp. 588–592). According to our analysis, Jing et al.'s protocol is costly in the message exchange and the security assessment is not strong enough for such a protocol. Therefore, we propose improvements to the protocol to fill the discovered weakness gaps. The protocol enhancements facilitate many services to the users such as user anonymity, mutual authentication, and secure session key establishment. Finally, the performance and security analysis show that the improved protocol possesses many advantages against popular attacks, and achieves better efficiency at low communication cost. PMID:25123464

Providing Internet Access to the Ohio Career Information System for All Residents: A Feasibility Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Lewis, Morgan V.

Expanded Internet access to the Ohio Career Information System (OCIS) would provide adults in Ohio who need to or wish to make career changes with the best available information about occupations, education and training programs, and financial aid. In order to determine the feasibility of improving access without cost to users, an advisory group,…

An Effective Massive Sensor Network Data Access Scheme Based on Topology Control for the Internet of Things.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Meng; Chen, Qingkui; Xiong, Neal N

2016-11-03

This paper considers the distributed access and control problem of massive wireless sensor networks' data access center for the Internet of Things, which is an extension of wireless sensor networks and an element of its topology structure. In the context of the arrival of massive service access requests at a virtual data center, this paper designs a massive sensing data access and control mechanism to improve the access efficiency of service requests and makes full use of the available resources at the data access center for the Internet of things. Firstly, this paper proposes a synergistically distributed buffer access model, which separates the information of resource and location. Secondly, the paper divides the service access requests into multiple virtual groups based on their characteristics and locations using an optimized self-organizing feature map neural network. Furthermore, this paper designs an optimal scheduling algorithm of group migration based on the combination scheme between the artificial bee colony algorithm and chaos searching theory. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that this mechanism outperforms the existing schemes in terms of enhancing the accessibility of service requests effectively, reducing network delay, and has higher load balancing capacity and higher resource utility rate.

A Federated Capability-based Access Control Mechanism for Internet of Things (IoTs)

OpenAIRE

Xu, Ronghua; Chen, Yu; Blasch, Erik; Chen, Genshe

2018-01-01

The prevalence of Internet of Things (IoTs) allows heterogeneous embedded smart devices to collaboratively provide intelligent services with or without human intervention. While leveraging the large-scale IoT-based applications like Smart Gird and Smart Cities, IoT also incurs more concerns on privacy and security. Among the top security challenges that IoTs face is that access authorization is critical in resource and information protection over IoTs. Traditional access control approaches, l...

Security in the internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Seibel, R.M.M.; Kocher, K.; Landsberg, P.

2000-01-01

Aim of the study: Is it possible to use the Internet as a secure media for transport of telemedicine? Which risks exist for routine use? In this article state of the art methods of security were analysed. Telemedicine in the Internet has severe risks, because patient data and hospital data of a secure Intranet can be manipulated by connecting it to the Web. Conclusions: Establishing of a firewall and the introduction of HPC (Health Professional Card) are minimizing the risk of un-authorized access to the hospital server. HPC allows good safety with digital signature and authentication of host and client of medical data. For secure e-mail PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is easy to use as a standard protocol. Planning all activities exactly as well as following legal regulations are important requisites for reduction of safety risks in Internet. (orig.) [de

Enhancing physicians' use of Alcoholics Anonymous: Internet-based training.

Science.gov (United States)

Sellers, Brealyn; Galanter, Marc; Dermatis, Helen; Nachbar, Martin

2005-01-01

Alcoholics Anonymous is not yet fully employed by the medical community as a means to enhance patient outcome. The purpose of this study was to evaluate visitors' use of an Internet course on Alcoholics Anonymous, and to compare how various disciplines learned about, gained access to and participated in the course. Demographic information was collected from 414 visitors to the course. 64% of the 414 respondents received their last educational degree within the last 10 years, and had an interest in the topic of addiction prior to their accessing the site. 294 (71%) of those who accessed the course completed it, and those who accessed it learned about it from various sources other than print advertisement in professional journals. Within the 230 physician respondents, 143 (62%) were psychiatrists, 82 (78%) of whom learned about the Internet course via professional journal. Given the need for further training among physicians in the use of Alcoholics Anonymous, the Internet can be utilized to make information available to a large number of people. Because it allows the user to access information outside the traditional means, the barriers to its use are minimal, and it has the potential to effectively convey useful clinical information.

Internet accessible hot cell with gamma spectroscopy at the Missouri S and T nuclear reactor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Grant, Edwin [Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 203 Fulton Hall, 300 W. 13th St., Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Mueller, Gary, E-mail: gmueller@mst.edu [Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 203 Fulton Hall, 300 W. 13th St., Rolla, MO 65409 (United States); Castano, Carlos; Usman, Shoaib; Kumar, Arvind [Nuclear Engineering, Missouri University of Science and Technology, 203 Fulton Hall, 300 W. 13th St., Rolla, MO 65409 (United States)

2011-08-15

Highlights: > A dual-chambered internet-accessible heavily shielded facility has been built. > The facility allows distance users to analyze neutron irradiated samples remotely. > The Missouri S and T system uses computer automation with user feedback. > The system can analyze multiple samples and assist several researchers concurrently. - Abstract: A dual-chambered internet-accessible heavily shielded facility with pneumatic access to the University of Missouri Science and Technology (Missouri S and T) 200 kW Research Nuclear Reactor (MSTR) core has been built and is currently available for irradiation and analysis of samples. The facility allows authorized distance users engaged in collaborative activities with Missouri S and T to remotely manipulate and analyze neutron irradiated samples. The system consists of two shielded compartments, one for multiple sample storage, and the other dedicated exclusively for radiation measurements and spectroscopy. The second chamber has multiple detector ports, with graded shielding, and has the capability to support gamma spectroscopy using radiation detectors such as an HPGe detector. Both these chambers are connected though a rapid pneumatic system with access to the MSTR nuclear reactor core. This new internet-based system complements the MSTR's current bare pneumatic tube (BPT) and cadmium lined pneumatic tube (CPT) facilities. The total transportation time between the core and the hot cell, for samples weighing 10 g, irradiated in the MSTR core, is roughly 3.0 s. This work was funded by the DOE grant number DE-FG07-07ID14852 and expands the capabilities of teaching and research at the MSTR. It allows individuals who do not have on-site access to a nuclear reactor facility to remotely participate in research and educational activities.

Internet accessible hot cell with gamma spectroscopy at the Missouri S and T nuclear reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Grant, Edwin; Mueller, Gary; Castano, Carlos; Usman, Shoaib; Kumar, Arvind

2011-01-01

Highlights: → A dual-chambered internet-accessible heavily shielded facility has been built. → The facility allows distance users to analyze neutron irradiated samples remotely. → The Missouri S and T system uses computer automation with user feedback. → The system can analyze multiple samples and assist several researchers concurrently. - Abstract: A dual-chambered internet-accessible heavily shielded facility with pneumatic access to the University of Missouri Science and Technology (Missouri S and T) 200 kW Research Nuclear Reactor (MSTR) core has been built and is currently available for irradiation and analysis of samples. The facility allows authorized distance users engaged in collaborative activities with Missouri S and T to remotely manipulate and analyze neutron irradiated samples. The system consists of two shielded compartments, one for multiple sample storage, and the other dedicated exclusively for radiation measurements and spectroscopy. The second chamber has multiple detector ports, with graded shielding, and has the capability to support gamma spectroscopy using radiation detectors such as an HPGe detector. Both these chambers are connected though a rapid pneumatic system with access to the MSTR nuclear reactor core. This new internet-based system complements the MSTR's current bare pneumatic tube (BPT) and cadmium lined pneumatic tube (CPT) facilities. The total transportation time between the core and the hot cell, for samples weighing 10 g, irradiated in the MSTR core, is roughly 3.0 s. This work was funded by the DOE grant number DE-FG07-07ID14852 and expands the capabilities of teaching and research at the MSTR. It allows individuals who do not have on-site access to a nuclear reactor facility to remotely participate in research and educational activities.

Self-rated Health and Internet Addiction in Iranian Medical Sciences Students; Prevalence, Risk Factors and Complications

OpenAIRE

Mohammadbeigi, Abolfazl; Valizadeh, Farzaneh; Mirshojaee, Seyede Roqaie; Ahmadli, Robabeh; Mokhtari, Mohsen; Ghaderi, Ebrahim; Ahmadi, Ali; Rezaei, Heshmatollah; Ansari, Hossein

2016-01-01

Introduction: Self-rated health is a brief measure for general health. It is a comprehensive and sensitive index for prediction of health in future. Due to the high internet usage in medical students, the current study designed to evaluate the self-rated health (SRH) in relationship with internet addiction risk factors in medical students. Methods: This cross sectional study conducted on 254 students of Qom University of Medical Sciences 2014. Participants selected by two stage sampling metho...

[Security aspects on the Internet].

Science.gov (United States)

Seibel, R M; Kocher, K; Landsberg, P

2000-04-01

Is it possible to use the Internet as a secure media for transport of telemedicine? Which risks exist for routine use? In this article state of the art methods of security were analysed. Telemedicine in the Internet has severe risks, because patient data and hospital data of a secure Intranet can be manipulated by connecting it to the Web. Establishing of a firewall and the introduction of HPC (Health Professional Card) are minimizing the risk of un-authorized access to the hospital server. HPC allows good safety with digital signature and authentication of host and client of medical data. For secure e-mail PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is easy to use as a standard protocol. Planning all activities exactly as well as following legal regulations are important requisites for reduction of safety risks in Internet.

Planning of Efficient Wireless Access with IEEE 802.16 for Connecting Home Network to the Internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pichet Ritthisoonthorn

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The emergence of IEEE802.16 wireless standard technology (WiMAX has significantly increased the choice to operators for the provisioning of wireless broadband access network. WiMAX is being deployed to compliment with xDSL in underserved or lack of the broadband network area, in both developed and developing countries. Many incumbent operators in developing countries are considering the deployment of WiMAX as part of their broadband access strategy. This paper presents an efficient and simple method for planning of broadband fixed wireless access (BFWA with IEEE802.16 standard to support home connection to Internet. The study formulates the framework for planning both coverage and capacity designs. The relationship between coverage area and access rate from subscriber in each environment area is presented. The study also presents the throughput and channel capacity of IEEE802.16 in different access rates. An extensive analysis is performed and the results are applied to the real case study to demonstrate the practicality of using IEEE 802.16 for connecting home to Internet. Using empirical data and original subscriber traffic from measurement, it is shown that the BFWA with IEEE802.16 standard is a capacity limited system. The capacity of IEEE802.16 is related to different factors including frequency bandwidth, spectrum allocation, estimation of traffic per subscriber, and choice of adaptive modulation from subscriber terminal. The wireless access methods and procedures evolved in this research work and set out in this paper are shown to be well suited for planning BFWA system based on IEEE802.16 which supports broadband home to Internet connections.

Identity driven Capability based Access Control (ICAC) Scheme for the Internet of Things

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahalle, Parikshit N.; Anggorojati, Bayu; Prasad, Neeli R.

2012-01-01

Internet of Things (IoT) becomes discretionary part of everyday life. Scalability and manageability is daunting due to unbounded number of devices and services. Access control and authorization in IoT with least privilege is equally important to establish secure communication between multiple...... devices and services. In this paper, the concept of capability for access control is introduced where the identities of the involved devices are entrenched in the access capabilities. Identity driven capability based access control (ICAC) scheme presented in this paper helps to alleviate issues related...... to complexity and dynamics of device identities. ICAC is implemented for 802.11 and results shows that ICAC has less scalability issues and better performance analysis compared with other access control schemes. The ICAC evaluation by using security protocol verification tool shows that ICAC is secure against...

Providing India with Internet access anywhere there is electricity - and Canada with commercial opportunity

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

NONE

2010-07-01

Access to high-speed Internet service is booming all over the world but the cost of optic cable installation and other related broadband delivery technology is still too high for many developing countries to afford. A Canada-India R & D group is working on a broadband technology delivered over the power line in order to provide internet access wherever there is electricity. Moreover, the application of such a technology in rural India could also improve the distribution and management of India's national electrical grid, as the risk of electricity theft can be monitored by power assumption tracking. Since the required infrastructure is already in place across the country, this project could be deployed rapidly and in a cost-efficient manner, providing thousands of potential opportunities for rural dwellers as well as for Indian and international companies.

Identification of general characteristics, motivation, and satisfaction of internet-based medical consultation service users in Croatia.

Science.gov (United States)

Klinar, Ivana; Balazin, Ana; Barsić, Bruno; Tiljak, Hrvoje

2011-08-15

To identify users' reasons to look for physician consultation on the internet instead of visiting a physician and to explore their general characteristics, motivation, and satisfaction with internet medical consultation service 'Your Questions.' Users of a free internet medical consultation service 'Your Questions' (www.plivazdravlje.hr) were invited to participate in a web-based survey designed to explore their general characteristics (age, sex, etc), reasons for using the service, the nature of their health problem or question, and their satisfaction with the service. Respondents were divided into two groups: users who consulted an internet physician only (Group I) and users who used internet consulting before or after visiting a physician (Group II). The response rate was 38% (1036/2747), with 79% female respondents. A fifth of the respondents (21%) consulted an internet physician only (Group I). Multivariate analysis revealed that the respondents in Group I were younger (median 24 vs 28 years in Group II), more interested into questions about pregnancy (odds ratio [OR], 1.984; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.203-3.272), more often embarrassed to talk to a physician in person (OR, 1.828; 95% CI, 1.119-2.989), and more motivated to protect their privacy (OR, 1.727; 95% CI, 1.252-2.380). They also had greater satisfaction with the service (77% vs 60%, Pinternet-based medical consultation services were younger age, need for privacy protection, avoidance of embarrassment at the physician's office, and having a question related to pregnancy. This reveals the internet medical consultation service as a useful health promotion supplement that is particularly applicable for the population of young adults.

Service-Oriented Security Framework for Remote Medical Services in the Internet of Things Environment

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae Dong; Yoon, Tae Sik; Chung, Seung Hyun

2015-01-01

Objectives Remote medical services have been expanding globally, and this is expansion is steadily increasing. It has had many positive effects, including medical access convenience, timeliness of service, and cost reduction. The speed of research and development in remote medical technology has been gradually accelerating. Therefore, it is expected to expand to enable various high-tech information and communications technology (ICT)-based remote medical services. However, the current state lacks an appropriate security framework that can resolve security issues centered on the Internet of things (IoT) environment that will be utilized significantly in telemedicine. Methods This study developed a medical service-oriented frame work for secure remote medical services, possessing flexibility regarding new service and security elements through its service-oriented structure. First, the common architecture of remote medical services is defined. Next medical-oriented secu rity threats and requirements within the IoT environment are identified. Finally, we propose a "service-oriented security frame work for remote medical services" based on previous work and requirements for secure remote medical services in the IoT. Results The proposed framework is a secure framework based on service-oriented cases in the medical environment. A com parative analysis focusing on the security elements (confidentiality, integrity, availability, privacy) was conducted, and the analysis results demonstrate the security of the proposed framework for remote medical services with IoT. Conclusions The proposed framework is service-oriented structure. It can support dynamic security elements in accordance with demands related to new remote medical services which will be diversely generated in the IoT environment. We anticipate that it will enable secure services to be provided that can guarantee confidentiality, integrity, and availability for all, including patients, non-patients, and medical

Service-Oriented Security Framework for Remote Medical Services in the Internet of Things Environment.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Jae Dong; Yoon, Tae Sik; Chung, Seung Hyun; Cha, Hyo Soung

2015-10-01

Remote medical services have been expanding globally, and this is expansion is steadily increasing. It has had many positive effects, including medical access convenience, timeliness of service, and cost reduction. The speed of research and development in remote medical technology has been gradually accelerating. Therefore, it is expected to expand to enable various high-tech information and communications technology (ICT)-based remote medical services. However, the current state lacks an appropriate security framework that can resolve security issues centered on the Internet of things (IoT) environment that will be utilized significantly in telemedicine. This study developed a medical service-oriented frame work for secure remote medical services, possessing flexibility regarding new service and security elements through its service-oriented structure. First, the common architecture of remote medical services is defined. Next medical-oriented secu rity threats and requirements within the IoT environment are identified. Finally, we propose a "service-oriented security frame work for remote medical services" based on previous work and requirements for secure remote medical services in the IoT. The proposed framework is a secure framework based on service-oriented cases in the medical environment. A com parative analysis focusing on the security elements (confidentiality, integrity, availability, privacy) was conducted, and the analysis results demonstrate the security of the proposed framework for remote medical services with IoT. The proposed framework is service-oriented structure. It can support dynamic security elements in accordance with demands related to new remote medical services which will be diversely generated in the IoT environment. We anticipate that it will enable secure services to be provided that can guarantee confidentiality, integrity, and availability for all, including patients, non-patients, and medical staff.

Internet Users’ Perspective towards Facebook Use by Physicians and Medical Students

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tiyarat Kayankit, M.D.

2017-11-01

Full Text Available Objective: This study aimed to understand the internet users’ perspectives towards doctors’ and medical students’ Facebook use. Methods: This was a cross-sectional online survey among internet users conducted from December 2015 to March 2016 to understand their perspectives towards doctors’ and medical students’ Facebook use. The author-constructed questionnaires were in Thai and included the participants’ online activities, their witness to inappropriate Facebook posts by doctors or medical students in the past month, and 39 mock public Facebook post screenshots. The participants were asked to rate the appropriateness of each mock post on a 5-point-Likert scale. Results: Among all participants (n=1,200, 63.4% had searched through Facebook profiles of physicians or medical students before and 53.7% had seen or heard of inappropriate contents. The characteristics of doctors’ and medical students’ Facebook posts which were rated as inappropriate or less appropriate by most participants were related to patients’ privacy, including de-identified patients’ data, substance use behaviours, negative criticism of patients, colleagues, hospitals or universities, and advertisement of their own private practice. Conclusion: Doctors and medical students should be aware of the public view towards their social media posts and be mindful of what they post and the potential negative consequences because they can impact the public image of medical professions. Considering professionalism guidelines and public’s perspectives may obviate the potential negative consequences of social media use.

Internet Information-Seeking and Its Relation to Support for Access to Government Records

Science.gov (United States)

Cuillier, David; Piotrowski, Suzanne J.

2009-01-01

Public access to government records is essential for democratic self-governance, and attitudes toward that right can facilitate or hinder public policy regarding transparency. As more people use the internet for gathering information about their governments and communities, it is unknown whether such online information-seeking is related to…

Impact of the Digital Divide on Computer Use and Internet Access on the Poor in Nigeria

Science.gov (United States)

Tayo, Omolara; Thompson, Randall; Thompson, Elizabeth

2016-01-01

We recruited 20 community members in Ido Local Government Area, Oyo state and Yewa Local Government Area, Ogun state in Nigeria to explore experiences and perceptions of Internet access and computer use. Face-to-face interviews were conducted using open-ended questions to collect qualitative data regarding accessibility of information and…

The influence of the digital divide on face preferences in El Salvador: people without internet access prefer more feminine men, more masculine women, and women with higher adiposity.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carlota Batres

Full Text Available Previous studies on face preferences have found that online and laboratory experiments yield similar results with samples from developed countries, where the majority of the population has internet access. No study has yet explored whether the same holds true in developing countries, where the majority of the population does not have internet access. This gap in the literature has become increasingly important given that several online studies are now using cross-country comparisons. We therefore sought to determine if an online sample is representative of the population in the developing country of El Salvador. In studies of Hispanic men and women aged 18-25, we tested facial masculinity and adiposity preferences by collecting data in person as well as online. Our results showed that there were no differences in preferences between people who reported having internet access, whether they were tested online or in person. This provides evidence that testing style does not bias preferences among the same population. On the other hand, our results showed multiple differences in preferences between people who reported having internet access and people who reported not having internet access. More specifically, we found that people without internet access preferred more feminine men, more masculine women, and women with higher adiposity than people with internet access. We also found that people without internet access had fewer resources (e.g. running water than people with internet access, suggesting that harshness in the environment may be influencing face preferences. These findings suggest that online studies may provide a distorted perspective of the populations in developing countries.

The influence of the digital divide on face preferences in El Salvador: people without internet access prefer more feminine men, more masculine women, and women with higher adiposity.

Science.gov (United States)

Batres, Carlota; Perrett, David I

2014-01-01

Previous studies on face preferences have found that online and laboratory experiments yield similar results with samples from developed countries, where the majority of the population has internet access. No study has yet explored whether the same holds true in developing countries, where the majority of the population does not have internet access. This gap in the literature has become increasingly important given that several online studies are now using cross-country comparisons. We therefore sought to determine if an online sample is representative of the population in the developing country of El Salvador. In studies of Hispanic men and women aged 18-25, we tested facial masculinity and adiposity preferences by collecting data in person as well as online. Our results showed that there were no differences in preferences between people who reported having internet access, whether they were tested online or in person. This provides evidence that testing style does not bias preferences among the same population. On the other hand, our results showed multiple differences in preferences between people who reported having internet access and people who reported not having internet access. More specifically, we found that people without internet access preferred more feminine men, more masculine women, and women with higher adiposity than people with internet access. We also found that people without internet access had fewer resources (e.g. running water) than people with internet access, suggesting that harshness in the environment may be influencing face preferences. These findings suggest that online studies may provide a distorted perspective of the populations in developing countries.

Patient portals and broadband internet inequality.

Science.gov (United States)

Perzynski, Adam T; Roach, Mary Joan; Shick, Sarah; Callahan, Bill; Gunzler, Douglas; Cebul, Randall; Kaelber, David C; Huml, Anne; Thornton, John Daryl; Einstadter, Douglas

2017-09-01

Patient portals have shown potential for increasing health care quality and efficiency. Internet access and other factors influencing patient portal use could worsen health disparities. Observational study of adults with 1 or more visits to the outpatient clinics of an urban public health care system from 2012 to 2015. We used mixed effects logistic regression to evaluate the association between broadband internet access and (1) patient portal initiation (whether a patient logged in at least 1 time) and (2) messaging, controlling for demographic and neighborhood characteristics. There were 243 248 adults with 1 or more visits during 2012-2015 and 70 835 (29.1%) initiated portal use. Portal initiation was 34.1% for whites, 23.4% for blacks, and 23.8% for Hispanics, and was lower for Medicaid (26.5%), Medicare (23.4%), and uninsured patients (17.4%) than commercially insured patients (39.3%). In multivariate analysis, both initiation of portal use (odds ratio [OR] = 1.24 per quintile, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.23-1.24, P  internet access. The majority of adults with outpatient visits to a large urban health care system did not use the patient portal, and initiation of use was lower for racial and ethnic minorities, persons of lower socioeconomic status, and those without neighborhood broadband internet access. These results suggest the emergence of a digital divide in patient portal use. Given the scale of investment in patient portals and other internet-dependent health information technologies, efforts are urgently needed to address this growing inequality. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Medical Informatics Association. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Using the Internet in the management of asthma.

Science.gov (United States)

Patel, A M

2001-01-01

The ultimate goals of managing asthma are to eliminate death, prevent or promptly treat exacerbations, and maximize the quality of life and health status of patients. Current strategies include appropriate education, trigger control, and timely access to effective pharmacotherapy and follow-up. Internet-based technologies have emerged as potentially powerful tools to enable meaningful communication and proactive partnership in care for various medical conditions. The main types of Internet-based applications for asthma management include remote monitoring and feedback between health professionals and their patients; online education and marketing for either patients or professionals; networking and collaborative research; and administrative oversight through policy making, planning, and decision support. With increased understanding of integrated disease management and the technostructural as well as psychodynamic issues related to Internet use, further refinement and evolution of the Internet and related technologies may drastically improve the way we monitor, educate, treat, and establish policies for this global problem while attending to individual or local community needs. This review presents a conceptual overview of the current challenges and use of the Internet for improving asthma management through timely and tailored education and appropriate access to health care expertise.

An Effective Massive Sensor Network Data Access Scheme Based on Topology Control for the Internet of Things

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Meng Yi

2016-11-01

Full Text Available This paper considers the distributed access and control problem of massive wireless sensor networks’ data access center for the Internet of Things, which is an extension of wireless sensor networks and an element of its topology structure. In the context of the arrival of massive service access requests at a virtual data center, this paper designs a massive sensing data access and control mechanism to improve the access efficiency of service requests and makes full use of the available resources at the data access center for the Internet of things. Firstly, this paper proposes a synergistically distributed buffer access model, which separates the information of resource and location. Secondly, the paper divides the service access requests into multiple virtual groups based on their characteristics and locations using an optimized self-organizing feature map neural network. Furthermore, this paper designs an optimal scheduling algorithm of group migration based on the combination scheme between the artificial bee colony algorithm and chaos searching theory. Finally, the experimental results demonstrate that this mechanism outperforms the existing schemes in terms of enhancing the accessibility of service requests effectively, reducing network delay, and has higher load balancing capacity and higher resource utility rate.

Consumer access to health information on the internet: health policy implications.

Science.gov (United States)

Scott, W Guy; Scott, Helen M; Auld, Terry S

2005-06-28

Providers of health care usually have much better information about health and health care interventions than do consumers. The internet is an important and rapidly evolving source of global health-related information and could provide a means of correcting for asymmetric information. However, little is known about who accesses this information and how it is used in New Zealand. The aims of this research were to: determine the nature of the health information sought, how respondents use the information, how helpful they perceive the information to be, and the self-assessed value of such information. The researchers conducted an anonymous five minute telephone and mall intercept survey of randomly selected Wellington residents who had searched for health-related information on the internet. Investigators entered the data into an Excel spreadsheet and transferred it to SPSS for data cleaning, data exploration and statistical analysis. Search time costs were based on the opportunity cost of income foregone and respondents were asked to provide a money value for the information found. Eighty-three percent of respondents accessed the internet from home, and 87% conducted the search for themselves. Forty-five percent of people were looking for general health and nutrition information, 42% for data about a specific illness and 40% for a medicine. After finding the information, 58% discussed it with a family member/friend/workmate, 36% consulted a general practitioner, 33% changed their eating or drinking habits, and 13% did nothing. Respondents found the information very quick to find and useful. It took them on average 0.47 hours and cost $12 (opportunity cost of time) to find the information. The average value of the data found was $60 and the net benefit to the consumer was $48 ($60 - $12). The results of this research could assist providers of health information via the internet to tailor their websites to better suit users' needs. Given the high perceived value of

Security in the internet; Sicherheitsaspekte im Internet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Seibel, R.M.M.; Kocher, K.; Landsberg, P. [Witten-Herdecke Univ., Witten (Germany). Inst. fuer Diagnostische und Interventionelle Radiologie

2000-04-01

Aim of the study: Is it possible to use the Internet as a secure media for transport of telemedicine? Which risks exist for routine use? In this article state of the art methods of security were analysed. Telemedicine in the Internet has severe risks, because patient data and hospital data of a secure Intranet can be manipulated by connecting it to the Web. Conclusions: Establishing of a firewall and the introduction of HPC (Health Professional Card) are minimizing the risk of un-authorized access to the hospital server. HPC allows good safety with digital signature and authentication of host and client of medical data. For secure e-mail PGP (Pretty Good Privacy) is easy to use as a standard protocol. Planning all activities exactly as well as following legal regulations are important requisites for reduction of safety risks in Internet. (orig.) [German] Ziele der Studie und Analyse: Es sollten die Fragen beantwortet werden, ob es moeglich ist, das Internet als sicheres Uebermittlungsmedium fuer Telemedizin zu nutzen und welche Sicherheitsrisiken bestehen. Dazu wurden die gaengigen Sicherheitsmethoden analysiert. Telemedizin im Internet ist mit Sicherheitsrisiken behaftet, die durch die Oeffnung eines Intranets mit der Moeglichkeit zur unberechtigten Manipulation von aussen bedingt sind. Schlussfolgerung: Diese Sicherheitsrisiken koennen durch eine Firewall weitgehend unterbunden werden. Chipkarten wie die Health professional card ermoeglichen eine hohe Sicherheit bei digitaler Signatur und sicherer Authentifikation der Sender und Empfaenger von Daten im Internet. Auch Standards wie Pretty good privacy sind inzwischen fuer sichere e-mails einfach einzusetzen. Wichtige Voraussetzung fuer die Reduktion von Sicherheitsrisiken ist unter Beruecksichtigung der gesetzlichen Vorgaben die exakte Planung aller Aktivitaeten im Internet, bei denen medizinische Patientendaten versandt werden sollen, in einem Team aus Aerzten und Informatikern. (orig.)

36 CFR 1254.32 - What rules apply to public access use of the Internet on NARA-supplied computers?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... access use of the Internet on NARA-supplied computers? 1254.32 Section 1254.32 Parks, Forests, and Public Property NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION PUBLIC AVAILABILITY AND USE USING RECORDS AND DONATED... for Internet use in all NARA research rooms. The number of workstations varies per location. We...

A survey of Internet utilization among patients with cancer.

Science.gov (United States)

Castleton, Kimra; Fong, Thomas; Wang-Gillam, Andrea; Waqar, Muhammad A; Jeffe, Donna B; Kehlenbrink, Lisa; Gao, Feng; Govindan, Ramaswamy

2011-08-01

Recently published articles have established that a substantial number of cancer patients utilize the Internet to gather information about their respective diagnoses. The challenges for medical providers include understanding the prevalence and characteristics of patients using the Internet, reasons for Internet use, and the effectiveness of currently available websites in providing useful health-related information to patients. Adults with cancer were asked to complete a self-administered, anonymous, 21-item questionnaire upon registration at the Alvin J. Siteman Cancer Center at the Washington University School of Medicine. There were 500 respondents (mean age 58 years (range 18-90), 83% Caucasian and 15% African-American). Three hundred ninety-eight participants (80%) reported access to the Internet, and 315 (63%) reported searching for information about cancer on the Internet. Patients accessing the Internet for cancer information were younger than those who did not (median age 56 vs. 63 years; p Internet usage for cancer information also differed by race (p Internet for cancer information, 13.3% of patients had their decisions towards treatments affected or changed, and 11.4% of patients had their choice in physicians affected or changed because of Internet use; 23.5% of patients sought information on clinical trials, and 9.5% of patients were influenced or changed their decision regarding clinical trial enrollment due to Internet information. Approximately two thirds of patients with cancer used the Internet to obtain information about their disease. Factors affecting Internet use for cancer information included age, race, and education. Clinical decisions can be affected by Internet use.

Access to care and use of the Internet to search for health information: results from the US National Health Interview Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Amante, Daniel J; Hogan, Timothy P; Pagoto, Sherry L; English, Thomas M; Lapane, Kate L

2015-04-29

The insurance mandate of the Affordable Care Act has increased the number of people with health coverage in the United States. There is speculation that this increase in the number of insured could make accessing health care services more difficult. Those who are unable to access care in a timely manner may use the Internet to search for information needed to answer their health questions. The aim was to determine whether difficulty accessing health care services for reasons unrelated to insurance coverage is associated with increased use of the Internet to obtain health information. Survey data from 32,139 adults in the 2011 National Health Interview Study (NHIS) were used in this study. The exposure for this analysis was reporting difficulty accessing health care services or delaying getting care for a reason unrelated to insurance status. To define this exposure, we examined 8 questions that asked whether different access problems occurred during the previous 12 months. The outcome for this analysis, health information technology (HIT) use, was captured by examining 2 questions that asked survey respondents if they used an online health chat room or searched the Internet to obtain health information in the previous 12 months. Several multinomial logistic regressions estimating the odds of using HIT for each reported access difficulty were conducted to accomplish the study objective. Of a survey population of 32,139 adults, more than 15.90% (n=5109) reported experiencing at least one access to care barrier, whereas 3.63% (1168/32,139) reported using online health chat rooms and 43.55% (13,997/32,139) reported searching the Internet for health information. Adults who reported difficulty accessing health care services for reasons unrelated to their health insurance coverage had greater odds of using the Internet to obtain health information. Those who reported delaying getting care because they could not get an appointment soon enough (OR 2.2, 95% CI 1.9-2.5), were

Testing the associations between different aspects of seafarers' employment contract and on-board internet access and their job and life satisfaction and health.

Science.gov (United States)

Slišković, Ana; Penezić, Zvjezdan

2016-12-01

The aim of this study was to test for associations between different aspects of contract and on-board internet access and seafarers' satisfaction and health. Altogether 298 Croatian seafarers, all officers, employed on cargo ships, with a minimum work experience of two years with their current shipping company, participated in an online survey. The questionnaire included sociodemographic items, questions relating to their employment contract and internet access, and measures of job satisfaction, life satisfaction, mental health, and gastrointestinal and cardiovascular symptoms. Their job- and lifesatisfaction levels were higher for shorter duration on board, favourable ratio of work to non-work days, and compliance with the employment contract regarding the changes to work and non-work days. Mental health differed likewise but only in relation to two aspects of the contract: on-board duration and compliance with the contract. The level of gastrointestinal symptoms was lower in cases of shorter on-board duration and compliance with the contract, and in seafarers who have free, unlimited internet access on board. Lower level of cardiovascular symptoms was found in seafarers with free, unlimited internet access on board. Our findings suggest that in promoting satisfaction and health in seafaring, attention should be given to reducing on-board duration, compliance with the contract, and internet accessibility on board.

The OAuth 2.0 Web Authorization Protocol for the Internet Addiction Bioinformatics (IABio) Database.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jeongseok; Kim, Jaekwon; Lee, Dong Kyun; Jang, Kwang Soo; Kim, Dai-Jin; Choi, In Young

2016-03-01

Internet addiction (IA) has become a widespread and problematic phenomenon as smart devices pervade society. Moreover, internet gaming disorder leads to increases in social expenditures for both individuals and nations alike. Although the prevention and treatment of IA are getting more important, the diagnosis of IA remains problematic. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions is essential for the development of specific and effective treatments. Although there are many databases related to other addictions, a database for IA has not been developed yet. In addition, bioinformatics databases, especially genetic databases, require a high level of security and should be designed based on medical information standards. In this respect, our study proposes the OAuth standard protocol for database access authorization. The proposed IA Bioinformatics (IABio) database system is based on internet user authentication, which is a guideline for medical information standards, and uses OAuth 2.0 for access control technology. This study designed and developed the system requirements and configuration. The OAuth 2.0 protocol is expected to establish the security of personal medical information and be applied to genomic research on IA.

Evaluasi Pemanfaatan Wireless Internet Protocol Access System di Kota Malang

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmad Budi Setiawan

2012-03-01

Full Text Available WIPAS (Wireless Internet Protocol Accsess System adalah salah satu teknologi pita lebar (broadband yang terbaru. Teknologi tersebut dikembangkan berdasarkan model point-to-multipoint access system pada jaringan nirkabel tetap atau Fixed Wireless Access (FWA dengan memanfaatkan pita frekuensi 26-GHz. Dengan besarnya pita frekuensi yang digunakan, teknologi WIPAS dapat menampung kapasitas akses untuk lalu lintas jaringan yang sangat besar. Dalam penelitian ini akan dikaji dan dievaluasi efektifitas penggunaan teknologi WIPAS melalui kasus pemanfaatan teknologi WIPAS untuk pemberdayaan komunitas di kota Malang. Dalam penelitian ini juga akan dideskripsikan pemanfaatan teknologi WIPAS untuk melihat manfaat penggunaan teknologi tersebut. Penelitian ini dilakukan dengan metode kualitatif dengan melakukan evaluasi terhadap infrastruktur yang telah dibangun untuk melihat efektifitas pemanfaatan WIPAS. Hasil penelitian ini adalah sebuah kajian evaluatif tentang pemanfaatan WIPAS di kota Malang dan rekomendasi untuk implementasi lebih lanjut.

Evolution of Network Access Points (NAPs and agreements among Internet Service Providers (ISPs in South America

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fernando Beltrán

2006-05-01

Full Text Available Este artículo presenta los aspectos principales del desarrollo histórico y de asuntos actuales en el mercado suramericano de acceso a Internet: los acuerdos de interconexión para el intercambio de tráfico local y regional en Suramérica, los incentivos que tienen los proveedores de acceso a Internet para mantener o modificar la naturaleza de los acuerdos y los métodos de recuperación de costos en los puntos de intercambio de tráfico. El artículo también identifica algunas amenazas a la estabilidad de los puntos de intercambio de tráfico y las ilustra con dos casos. / This paper presents the main aspects of the historical development and the current issues at stake in the South American Internet access market: the interconnection schemes for the exchange of local and regional traffic in the South American region, the incentives Internet access providers have for keeping or modifying the nature of the agreements, and the cost recovery methods at the traffic exchange points. Some threats to the stability of the scheme for domestic traffic exchange adopted throughout the region are also identified and subsequently illustrated with country-cases.

Multimedia medical data archive and retrieval server on the Internet

Science.gov (United States)

Komo, Darmadi; Levine, Betty A.; Freedman, Matthew T.; Mun, Seong K.; Tang, Y. K.; Chiang, Ted T.

1997-05-01

The Multimedia Medical Data Archive and Retrieval Server has been installed at the imaging science and information systems (ISIS) center in Georgetown University Medical Center to provide medical data archive and retrieval support for medical researchers. The medical data includes text, images, sound, and video. All medical data is keyword indexed using a database management system and placed temporarily in a staging area and then transferred to a StorageTek one terabyte tape library system with a robotic arm for permanent archive. There are two methods of interaction with the system. The first method is to use a web browser with HTML functions to perform insert, query, update, and retrieve operations. These generate dynamic SQL calls to the database and produce StorageTek API calls to the tape library. The HTML functions consist of a database, StorageTek interface, HTTP server, common gateway interface, and Java programs. The second method is to issue a DICOM store command, which is translated by the system's DICOM server to SQL calls and then produce StorageTek API calls to the tape library. The system performs as both an Internet and a DICOM server using standard protocols such as HTTP, HTML, Java, and DICOM. Users with proper authentication can log on to the server from anywhere on the Internet using a standard web browser resulting in a user-friendly, open environment, and platform independent solution for archiving multimedia medical data. It represents a complex integration of different components including a robotic tape storage system, database, user-interface, WWW protocols, and TCP/IP networking. The user will only deal with the WWW and DICOM server components of the system, the database and robotic tape library system are transparent and the user will not know that the medical data is stored on magnetic tapes. The server provides the researchers a cost-effective tool for archiving and retrieving medical data across a TCP/IP network environment. It will

Get+Connected: Development and Pilot Testing of an Intervention to Improve Computer and Internet Attitudes and Internet Use Among Women Living With HIV.

Science.gov (United States)

Seplovich, Gabriela; Horvath, Keith J; Haughton, Lorlette J; Blackstock, Oni J

2017-03-31

For persons living with chronic medical conditions, the Internet can be a powerful tool for health promotion, and allow for immediate access to medical information and social support. However, women living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States face numerous barriers to computer and Internet use. Health behavior change models suggest that the first step towards adopting a new health behavior is to improve attitudes towards that behavior. To develop and pilot test Get+Connected, an intervention to improve computer and Internet attitudes and Internet use among women living with HIV. To develop Get+Connected, we reviewed the extant literature, adapted an existing curriculum, and conducted a focus group with HIV-positive women (n=20) at a community-based organization in the Bronx, New York. Get+Connected was comprised of five weekly sessions covering the following topics: basic computer knowledge and skills, identifying reliable health-related websites, setting up and using email and Facebook accounts, and a final review session. We recruited 12 women to participate in pilot testing. At baseline, we collected data about participants' sociodemographic information, clinical characteristics, and technology device ownership and use. At baseline, intervention completion, and three months postintervention, we collected data regarding attitudes towards computers and the Internet (Attitudes Towards Computers and the Internet Questionnaire [ATCIQ]; possible scores range from 5-50) as well as frequency of Internet use (composite measure). To examine changes in ATCIQ scores and Internet use over time, we used generalized estimating equations. We also collected qualitative data during intervention delivery. Among women in our sample, the median age was 56 years (interquartile range=52-63). All participants were black/African American and/or Latina. Seven participants (7/12, 58%) had a high school diploma (or equivalent) or higher degree. Ten participants (10

Searching for Suicide Methods: Accessibility of Information About Helium as a Method of Suicide on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Gunnell, David; Derges, Jane; Chang, Shu-Sen; Biddle, Lucy

2015-01-01

Helium gas suicides have increased in England and Wales; easy-to-access descriptions of this method on the Internet may have contributed to this rise. To investigate the availability of information on using helium as a method of suicide and trends in searching about this method on the Internet. We analyzed trends in (a) Google searching (2004-2014) and (b) hits on a Wikipedia article describing helium as a method of suicide (2013-2014). We also investigated the extent to which helium was described as a method of suicide on web pages and discussion forums identified via Google. We found no evidence of rises in Internet searching about suicide using helium. News stories about helium suicides were associated with increased search activity. The Wikipedia article may have been temporarily altered to increase awareness of suicide using helium around the time of a celebrity suicide. Approximately one third of the links retrieved using Google searches for suicide methods mentioned helium. Information about helium as a suicide method is readily available on the Internet; the Wikipedia article describing its use was highly accessed following celebrity suicides. Availability of online information about this method may contribute to rises in helium suicides.

www.mydrugdealer.com: Ethics and legal implications of Internet-based access to substances of abuse.

Science.gov (United States)

Klein, Carolina A; Kandel, Surendra

2011-01-01

The Internet has increasingly become an intrinsic part of everyday life, offering countless possibilities for education, services, recreation, and more. In fact, an entire virtual life within the digitalized World Wide Web is possible and common among many Internet users. Today's psychiatrists must therefore incorporate this dimension of human life into clinical practice, to achieve an adequate assessment of the tools and risks available to the patient. We focus on the Internet as a portal for the trade of and access to substances of abuse. We review the legal regulations that may inform care and standards of practice and analyze the difficulties that arise in assessment and monitoring of the current situation. We consider the potential impact of Internet-based narcotics trade on addiction morbidities and the practice of clinical psychiatry, as well as on the potential legal implications that the forensic expert may face.

Who is NOT likely to access the Internet for health information? Findings from first-time mothers in southwest Sydney, Australia.

Science.gov (United States)

Wen, Li Ming; Rissel, Chris; Baur, Louise A; Lee, Eric; Simpson, Judy M

2011-06-01

This study aimed to explore inequities in access to online health information and its relation to socioeconomic status, and to inform the development of the use of the Internet for health promotion. We analyzed cross-sectional baseline survey data for 664 first-time mothers from the Healthy Beginnings Trial conducted in Southwest Sydney, Australia during 2007-2010. First-time mothers' reports of their computer ownership, sources of health information including Internet access and self-rated health as well as demographic data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Multivariate analysis was performed using log-binomial regression. We found that 37% of first-time mothers reported not using the Internet for health information. Maternal education level, household income level and having a computer at home were significant factors associated with the use of the Internet for health information after adjusting for other factors. Mothers who only had school certificate or lower were 1.5 times more likely not to use the Internet for health information than those with university/tertiary education [adjusted risk ratio (ARR) 1.50, 95% CI 1.06-2.12, P=0.03]. Mothers with a household income of less than $40,000 per year were 1.7 times more likely not to use the Internet for health information than those with a household income over $80,000 per year (ARR 1.66, 95% CI 1.24-2.12, P=0.001). These findings have important implications for using the Internet for health promotion among young women. A substantial number of first-time mothers do not access the Internet for health information, in particular among those with lower levels of education, lower household income and without a computer at home. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Silver Surfer: Trends of Internet Usage in the Over 65 and the Potential Health Benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Edwards, K; Duffy, R M; Kelly, B D

2015-06-01

The Internet provides medical information and interventions with promising benefits. This cross-sectional study explores trends in Internet use among the elderly in Ireland from 2002 to 2010 and considers possible implications for health benefit. Data were analysed on 1606 Irish individuals. Internet use in Ireland is increasing at similar rates to the rest of Europe; the percentage of over-65s using the Internet in Ireland nearly trebled from 2002 to 2010, from 26(8.3%) to 92 (24. 1%) (p Internet usage; namely those with a better education, living with a partner, males and urban dwellers. Of those with good subjective general health, 230 (21%) had internet access, versus 36 (7.1%) with poor health. Web-based interventions targeting the elderly should become more available. These could be particularly useful in populations with limited access to transport and mobility.

Public Internet Access Points (PIAPs) and Their Social Impact: A Case Study from Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

Afacan, Gulgun; Er, Erkan; Arifoglu, Ali

2013-01-01

Building public Internet access points (PIAPs) is a significant contribution of governments towards achieving an information society. While many developing countries are investing great amounts to establish PIAPs today, people may not use PIAPs effectively. Yet, the successful implementation of PIAPs is the result of citizens' acceptance to use…

Identity Authentication and Capability Based Access Control (IACAC) for the Internet of Things

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mahalle, Parikshit N.; Anggorojati, Bayu; Prasad, Neeli R.

2013-01-01

In the last few years the Internet of Things (IoT) has seen widespread application and can be found in each field. Authentication and access control are important and critical functionalities in the context of IoT to enable secure communication between devices. Mobility, dynamic network topology...... and weak physical security of low power devices in IoT networks are possible sources for security vulnerabilities. It is promising to make an authentication and access control attack resistant and lightweight in a resource constrained and distributed IoT environment. This paper presents the Identity...... Authentication and Capability based Access Control (IACAC) model with protocol evaluation and performance analysis. To protect IoT from man-in-the-middle, replay and denial of service (Dos) attacks, the concept of capability for access control is introduced. The novelty of this model is that, it presents...

Security and Privacy in the Medical Internet of Things: A Review

OpenAIRE

Sun, Wencheng; Cai, Zhiping; Li, Yangyang; Liu, Fang; Fang, Shengqun; Wang, Guoyan

2018-01-01

Medical Internet of Things, also well known as MIoT, is playing a more and more important role in improving the health, safety, and care of billions of people after its showing up. Instead of going to the hospital for help, patients’ health-related parameters can be monitored remotely, continuously, and in real time, then processed, and transferred to medical data center, such as cloud storage, which greatly increases the efficiency, convenience, and cost performance of healthcare. The amount...

Prediction of internet addiction based on information literacy among students of Iran University of Medical Sciences.

Science.gov (United States)

Langarizadeh, Mostafa; Naghipour, Majid; Tabatabaei, Seyed Mohsen; Mirzaei, Abbas; Vaghar, Mohammad Eslami

2018-02-01

A considerable group of internet users consists of university users; however, despite internet benefits and capabilities, internet overuse is a threat to societies especially to young people and students. The objective of this study was to determine the predictive role of information literacy in internet addiction among students of Iran University of Medical Sciences during 2016. This analytical cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran University of Medical Sciences in 2016. Using stratified random sampling method, 365 students from different disciplines were selected. Measuring tools included the Information Literacy Questionnaire, the Yang Online Drug Addiction Scale and the General Health Questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed by Pearson product-moment correlation, independent samples t-test and multiple linear regression using SPSS version 22. According to this study, 31.2% of students had internet addiction (29.9% were mildly addicted and 1.3% had severe addiction). There was a significant and inverse relationship between higher information literacy and internet addiction (R= -0.45) and (pInformation literacy" explained 20% of the variation in the outcome variable "Internet addiction". Students play a substantial role in promoting the cultural and scientific level of knowledge in society; the higher their information literacy, the lower the level of Internet addiction, and consequently the general health of society will improve. It seems that wise planning by authorities of Iran's universities to prevent internet addiction and to increase information literacy among students is needed.

Examining Internet Access and Social Media Application Use for Online Nutrition Education in SNAP-Ed Participants in Rural Illinois.

Science.gov (United States)

Loehmer, Emily; Smith, Sylvia; McCaffrey, Jennifer; Davis, Jeremy

2018-01-01

To examine Internet access and interest in receiving nutrition education via social media applications among low-income adults participating in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). A cross-sectional survey was distributed during 25 SNAP-Ed classes throughout the 16 southernmost counties of Illinois. From 188 responses, the majority of participants had Internet access (76%). Among participants aged 18-32 years (n = 51), 92% owned a smartphone with Internet access and 57% indicated that they would use online nutrition education, with most interest in e-mail (41%), Facebook (40%), and text messaging (35%). There was little interest in using blogs, Vine, Twitter, Tumblr, and Pinterest. Overall, 49% of middle-aged adults aged 33-64 years and 87% of seniors aged ≥65 years reported they would not use online nutrition education. Results indicated similar Internet accessibility in southern Illinois among low-income populations compared with national rural rates. Interest in using online nutrition education varied among SNAP-Ed participants according to age. Young adults appeared to be the most captive audience regarding online nutrition education. Results may be useful to agencies implementing SNAP-Ed to supplement current curriculum with online nutrition education for audiences aged ≤32 years. Copyright © 2017 Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Accessing files in an Internet: The Jade file system

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, Larry L.; Rao, Herman C.

1991-01-01

Jade is a new distribution file system that provides a uniform way to name and access files in an internet environment. It makes two important contributions. First, Jade is a logical system that integrates a heterogeneous collection of existing file systems, where heterogeneous means that the underlying file systems support different file access protocols. Jade is designed under the restriction that the underlying file system may not be modified. Second, rather than providing a global name space, Jade permits each user to define a private name space. These private name spaces support two novel features: they allow multiple file systems to be mounted under one directory, and they allow one logical name space to mount other logical name spaces. A prototype of the Jade File System was implemented on Sun Workstations running Unix. It consists of interfaces to the Unix file system, the Sun Network File System, the Andrew File System, and FTP. This paper motivates Jade's design, highlights several aspects of its implementation, and illustrates applications that can take advantage of its features.

Accessing files in an internet - The Jade file system

Science.gov (United States)

Rao, Herman C.; Peterson, Larry L.

1993-01-01

Jade is a new distribution file system that provides a uniform way to name and access files in an internet environment. It makes two important contributions. First, Jade is a logical system that integrates a heterogeneous collection of existing file systems, where heterogeneous means that the underlying file systems support different file access protocols. Jade is designed under the restriction that the underlying file system may not be modified. Second, rather than providing a global name space, Jade permits each user to define a private name space. These private name spaces support two novel features: they allow multiple file systems to be mounted under one directory, and they allow one logical name space to mount other logical name spaces. A prototype of the Jade File System was implemented on Sun Workstations running Unix. It consists of interfaces to the Unix file system, the Sun Network File System, the Andrew File System, and FTP. This paper motivates Jade's design, highlights several aspects of its implementation, and illustrates applications that can take advantage of its features.

Internet use and decision making in community-based older adults

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bryan David James

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Use of the internet may provide tools and resources for better decision making, yet little is known about the association of internet use with decision-making in older persons. We examined this relationship in 66190 community-dwelling older persons without dementia from the Rush Memory and Aging Project, an ongoing longitudinal study of aging. Participants were asked to report if they had access to the internet and how frequently they used the internet and email. A 12-item instrument was used to assess financial and healthcare decision making using materials designed to approximate those used in real world settings. Items were summed to yield a total decision-making score. Associations were tested via linear regression models adjusted for age, sex, race, education, and a measure of global cognitive function. Secondary models further adjusted for income, depression, loneliness, social networks, social support, chronic medical conditions, instrumental activities of daily living, life space size, and health and financial literacy. Interaction terms were used to test for effect modification. Almost 70% of participants had access to the internet, and of those with access, 55% used the internet at least several times a week. Higher frequency of internet use was associated with better financial and healthcare decision making (β=0.11, p=0.002. The association persisted in a fully adjusted model (β=0.08, p=0.024. Interaction models indicated that higher frequency of internet use attenuated the relationships of older age, poorer cognitive function, and lower levels of health and financial literacy with poorer healthcare and financial decision making. These findings indicate that internet use is associated with better health and financial decision making in older persons. Future research is required to understand whether promoting the use of the internet can produce improvements in healthcare and financial decision making.

A Cross-Sectional Study on the Prevalence, Risk Factors, and Ill Effects of Internet Addiction Among Medical Students in Northeastern India.

Science.gov (United States)

Nath, Kamal; Naskar, Subrata; Victor, Robin

2016-01-01

To evaluate Internet addiction among medical students in northeastern India and gain detailed knowledge about the prevalence, risk factors, and ill effects commonly associated with the disorder. The cross-sectional study sample comprised 188 medical students from Silchar Medical College and Hospital (Silchar, Assam, India). Students completed a sociodemographic form and an Internet use questionnaire, both created for this study, and the Young's 20-Item Internet Addiction Test after they received brief instructions. Data were collected during a10-day period in June 2015. Of the 188 medical students, 46.8% were at increased risk of Internet addiction. Those who were found to be at increased risk had longer years of Internet exposure (P = .046) and always online status (P = .033). Also, among this group, the men were more prone to develop an online relationship. Excessive Internet usage also led to poor performance in college (P Internet addiction include withdrawal from real-life relationships, deterioration in academic activities, and a depressed and nervous mood. Internet use for nonacademic purposes is increasing among students, thus there is an immediate need for strict supervision and monitoring at the institutional level. The possibility of becoming addicted to the Internet should be emphasized to students and their parents through awareness campaigns so that interventions and restrictions can be implemented at the individual and family levels.

Internet Access: How to Design and Test an Internet Use/Management Policy

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Montgomery, Doris

2001-01-01

The Internet is filled with tremendous marketing potential and vulnerabilities, organizations should develop polices that offer both Internet Usage/Management policies that are consisted with their organization...

Hubungan Kejadian Internet Addiction dengan Prestasi Belajar pada Mahasiswa FK Unand

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rizky Erizka

2016-09-01

Full Text Available AbstrakTeknologi internet berkembang sangat pesat dalam beberapa tahun terakhir dengan berbagai manfaat positif dan negatifnya. Internet addiction merupakan salah satu dampak negatif yang ditimbulkan. Dalam beberapa penelitian disebutkan pengaruh internet addiction terhadap beberapa aspek termasuk pendidikan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah mengetahui angka kejadian internet addiction dan mempelajari hubungannya dengan prestasi belajar pada mahasiswa Fakultas Kedokteran Unand. Metode studi cross sectional dilakukan terhadap mahasiswa FK Unand angkatan 2011. Hasil penelitian diolah dengan menggunakan uji chi-square. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan kejadian internet addiction mempengaruhi prestasi belajar pada mahasiswa FK Unand. Sebanyak 1,1% subjek mengalami internet addiction berat, 34,4% sedang dan 37,7% ringan. Berdasarkan jenis kelamin perempuan lebih banyak mengalami internet addiction daripada laki laki karena  perempuan yang lebih banyak. Klasifikasi yang terbanyak adalah cyber-relationship dan metode paling banyak yang digunakan untuk mengakses internet adalah dengan menggunakan smartphone. Hasil lain yang didapatkan adalah kebutuhan dasar dan ibadah adalah kegiatan paling dominan yang dapat menghentikan responden dari mengakses internet. Disimpulkan bahwa kejadian internet addiction mempengaruhi prestasi belajar pada mahasiswa FK Unand.Kata kunci: cyber-relationship, internet, internet addiction, prestasi belajar AbstractThe internet technology grow very fast in recent years bringing many positive and negative effects. Internet addiction is one of the negative effect. Several research confirm some negative effect of internet addiction including  academic problem. The objective of this study was to know frequency and it’s relation with academic achievement in Medical Faculty of Andalas university’s students. This was a cross-sectional study on Medical Faculty of Andalas University’s students. The result were analyzed by chi

The impact of Internet access for people with spinal cord injuries: a descriptive analysis of a pilot study.

Science.gov (United States)

Houlihan, Bethlyn Vergo; Drainoni, Mari-Lynn; Warner, Grace; Nesathurai, Shanker; Wierbicky, Jane; Williams, Steven

2003-04-22

A pilot study was undertaken regarding the effect of Internet access on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and self-reported impact for people with spinal cord injuries (SCI). This study is unique in providing free Internet access and looking at benefits for people with disabilities. HRQoL was measured using indicators of global health and social isolation at baseline and after 6 to 19 months of use via telephone interviews on a convenience sample of 23 adults with SCI. Additionally, monthly telephone surveys measured usage patterns, recreation, and self-reported impact. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted. Bivariate tests for differences in proportions and paired T-tests were conducted. Qualitatively, conceptual categories of impact were created using the Constant Comparative Method. Qualitatively, the predominant benefit was quality of life, mentioned by 61% of participants 46% of months surveyed, with quantitative trends towards improved emotional health. Ease of access to information, social connection, and quality of information were also frequently reported, with modest support from quantitative data. The study's persuasive qualitative results suggest the Internet has particular benefit to people with disabilities and that rehabilitation goals should include leisure. Further scientific research is strongly warranted.

Internet use and suicidal behaviors: internet as a threat or opportunity?

Science.gov (United States)

Robert, Anna; Suelves, Josep Maria; Armayones, Manuel; Ashley, Sivakamy

2015-04-01

Suicidal behavior is a common and severe health problem around the world. Internet use has been related to an increase in suicidal behaviors, but few studies have focused on the potential benefits of Internet use for preventing self-harm and suicide. We reviewed the existing literature on the relationship between suicide and Internet use. The accessibility of suicide-related information on the Internet seems to have an impact on the incidence of suicide behaviors. However, the Internet is useful for linking people who feel lonely or isolated, and it provides access to suicide prevention information and resources. The Internet can influence vulnerable people to attempt suicide, but it can also be used to prevent self-harm and suicide. We propose some efforts that can be made in this preventive line.

Prevalence, associated factors and impact of loneliness and interpersonal problems on internet addiction: A study in Chiang Mai medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Simcharoen, Sutapat; Pinyopornpanish, Manee; Haoprom, Pattaraporn; Kuntawong, Pimolpun; Wongpakaran, Nahathai; Wongpakaran, Tinakon

2018-01-01

Internet addiction is common among medical students, and the prevalence is higher than the general population. Identifying and creating solutions for this problem is important. The aim of this study was to examine the prevalence and associated factors, particularly loneliness and interpersonal problems among Chiang Mai medical students. Of 324 first to sixth year medical students, 56.8% comprised females with a mean age of 20.88 (SD 1.8). All completed questionnaires related to the objectives and activities of internet use, the Young Internet Addiction Test, the UCLA loneliness scale, and the Interpersonal Problems Inventory were employed to identify internet addiction. In all, 36.7% of the subjects exhibited internet addiction, mostly at mild level. Amount of time used daily, loneliness and interpersonal problems were strong predictors (beta = 0.441, p < 0.05, beta = 0.219, p < 0.001 and beta = 0.203 p < 0.001, respectively), whereas age and sex were not. All objectives of using internet contributed to the variance of internet addiction score. For internet activities, only non-academic or studying contributed. The final model accounted for 42.8% of total variance of the internet addiction score. Even though most addiction was at a mild level, careful strategies should be applied to better understand the situation. Along with a screening for potential internet addiction among medical students, attention should be paid to identifying those who experience loneliness and interpersonal problems, because both are strong predictors that can be improved by a variety of appropriate intervention. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The digital divide: Trends in global mobile and broadband Internet access from 2000-2010.

Science.gov (United States)

Ronquillo, Charlene; Currie, Leanne

2012-01-01

The digital divide is described as the gap between those who do and do not have access to digital information and communications technologies (ICT). ICTs are viewed as an indicator of infrastructure and potential for development, and are a growing platform for health information and services delivery. This study compares the penetration of mobile and broadband Internet technologies by global region from 2000 to 2010. Results illustrate the rapid growth of mobile cellular telephone subscriptions in all global regions with trends suggesting a continued increase. Little to modest gains were made in fixed broadband Internet subscriptions globally. There is a growing popularity of mobile subscriptions with use of data communications, exceeding the numbers of fixed Internet subscriptions. This comparison reveals current strengths that can be built on and highlights the importance of awareness of global trends and using such knowledge to inform design and delivery of ICT-based health services.

Security of medical data transfer and storage in Internet. Cryptography, antiviral security and electronic signature problems, which must be solved in nearest future in practical context.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasztelowicz, Piotr; Czubenko, Marek; Zieba, Iwona

2003-01-01

The informatical revolution in computer age, which gives significant benefit in transfer of medical information requests to pay still more attention for aspect of network security. All known advantages of network technologies--first of all simplicity of copying, multiplication and sending information to many individuals can be also dangerous, if illegal, not permitted persons get access to medical data bases. Internet is assumed to be as especially "anarchic" medium, therefore in order to use it in professional work any security principles should be bewared. In our presentation we will try to find the optimal security solution in organisational and technological aspects for any medical network. In our opinion the harmonious co-operation between users, medical authorities and network administrators is core of the success.

The OAuth 2.0 Web Authorization Protocol for the Internet Addiction Bioinformatics (IABio Database

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jeongseok Choi

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Internet addiction (IA has become a widespread and problematic phenomenon as smart devices pervade society. Moreover, internet gaming disorder leads to increases in social expenditures for both individuals and nations alike. Although the prevention and treatment of IA are getting more important, the diagnosis of IA remains problematic. Understanding the neurobiological mechanism of behavioral addictions is essential for the development of specific and effective treatments. Although there are many databases related to other addictions, a database for IA has not been developed yet. In addition, bioinformatics databases, especially genetic databases, require a high level of security and should be designed based on medical information standards. In this respect, our study proposes the OAuth standard protocol for database access authorization. The proposed IA Bioinformatics (IABio database system is based on internet user authentication, which is a guideline for medical information standards, and uses OAuth 2.0 for access control technology. This study designed and developed the system requirements and configuration. The OAuth 2.0 protocol is expected to establish the security of personal medical information and be applied to genomic research on IA.

a worldwide assessment of medical journal editors' practices and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

responding editors reported having access to the Internet, making participation in ... of improving the quality of medical science and practice.! A critical activity of ... undertook a worldwide survey of medical editors to determine their interest in a ...

Towards a tangible web: using physical objects to access and manipulate the Internet of Things

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Smith, Andrew C

2013-09-01

Full Text Available . This additional step has resulted in the phenomenon commonly referred to as the Internet of Things (IoT). In order to realise the full potential of the IoT, individuals need a mechanism to access and manipulate it. A potential mechanism for achieving...

Poverty, Transportation Access, and Medication Nonadherence.

Science.gov (United States)

Hensley, Caroline; Heaton, Pamela C; Kahn, Robert S; Luder, Heidi R; Frede, Stacey M; Beck, Andrew F

2018-04-01

Variability in primary medication nonadherence (PMN), or failure to fill a new prescription, influences disparities and widens equity gaps. This study sought to evaluate PMN across 1 metropolitan area and assess relationships with underlying zip code-level measures. This was a retrospective observational study using data extracted from 1 regional community pharmacy market-share leader (October 2016-April 2017). Data included patient age, sex, payer, medication type, and home zip code. This zip code was connected to US census measures enumerating poverty and vehicle access, which were treated as continuous variables and within quintiles. The prescription-level outcome was whether prescriptions were not filled within 30 days of reaching the pharmacy. The ecological-level outcome was PMN calculated for each zip code (numerator, unfilled prescriptions; denominator, received prescriptions). There were 213 719 prescriptions received by 54 included pharmacies; 12.2% were unfilled. Older children, boys, and those with public insurance were more likely to have prescriptions not filled. Prescriptions originating from the highest poverty quintile were significantly more likely to not be filled than those from the lowest poverty quintile (adjusted odds ratio 1.60; 95% confidence interval 1.52-1.69); a similar pattern was noted for vehicle access (adjusted odds ratio 1.77; 95% confidence interval 1.68-1.87). At the ecological level, there were significant, graded relationships between PMN rates and poverty and vehicle access (both P < .0001); these gradients extended across all medication classes. Poverty and vehicle access are related to significant differences in prescription- and ecological-level PMN across 1 metropolitan area. Pharmacists and pharmacies can be key partners in population health efforts. Copyright © 2018 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Medical information on the internet: a tool for measuring consumer perception of quality aspects.

Science.gov (United States)

Dubowicz, Arthur; Schulz, Peter J

2015-03-30

Most of adult Internet users have searched for health information on the Internet. The Internet has become one of the most important sources for health information and treatment advice. In most cases, the information found is not verified with a medical doctor, but judged by the "online-diagnosers" independently. Facing this situation, public health authorities raise concern over the quality of medical information laypersons can find on the Internet. The objective of the study was aimed at developing a measure to evaluate the credibility of websites that offer medical advice and information. The measure was tested in a quasi-experimental study on two sleeping-disorder websites of different quality. There were 45 survey items for rating the credibility of websites that were tested in a quasi-experimental study with a random assignment of 454 participants to either a high- or a low-quality website exposure. Using principal component analysis, the original items were reduced to 13 and sorted into the factors: trustworthiness, textual deficits of the content, interferences (external links on the Web site), and advertisements. The first two factors focus more on the provided content itself, while the other two describe the embedding of the content into the website. The 45 survey items had been designed previously using exploratory observations and literature research. The final scale showed adequate power and reliability for all factors. The loadings of the principal component analysis ranged satisfactorily (.644 to .854). Significant differences at P<.001 were found between the low- and high-quality groups. Advertisements on the website were rated as disturbing in both experimental conditions, meaning that they do not differentiate between good and bad information. The scale reliably distinguished high- and low-quality of medical advice given on websites.

In the Words of the Medical Tourist: An Analysis of Internet Narratives by Health Travelers to Turkey

Science.gov (United States)

2014-01-01

Background Patients regularly travel to the West for advanced medical care, but now the trend is also shifting in the opposite direction. Many people from Western countries now seek care outside of their country. This phenomenon has been labeled medical tourism or health travel. Information regarding health travelers’ actual outcomes, experiences, and perceptions is lacking or insufficient. However, advanced Internet technology and apps provide information on medical tourism and are a vehicle for patients to share their experiences. Turkey has a large number of internationally accredited hospitals, is a top tourism destination, and is positioning itself to attract international patients. Objective The objective of this research was to identify the important individual characteristics of health travelers, outline the push and pull factors for seeking health care in Turkey, identify satisfaction with the outcomes and the results of these individuals’ treatments, and note positive and negative factors influencing their perceptions and overall experiences about patients’ health travel. Methods This research uses qualitative data from Internet narratives of medical tourists to Turkey. Ethical considerations of using Internet narratives were reviewed. Narratives for analysis were obtained by using the Google search engine and using multiple search terms to obtain publicly posted blogs and discussion board postings of health travelers via purposeful sampling. Narratives were included if they were written in English, described travel to Turkey for health care, and were publicly accessible. Exclusion criteria included narratives that were on medical tourism facilitator or provider promotional websites, not in English, and did not describe an experience of a medical tourist. Medical tourists’ written words were analyzed in an iterative analytic process using narrative analysis theory principles. Three stages of coding (open, axial, and selective) were conducted to

In the words of the medical tourist: an analysis of Internet narratives by health travelers to Turkey.

Science.gov (United States)

Ozan-Rafferty, Margaret E; Johnson, James A; Shah, Gulzar H; Kursun, Attila

2014-02-06

Patients regularly travel to the West for advanced medical care, but now the trend is also shifting in the opposite direction. Many people from Western countries now seek care outside of their country. This phenomenon has been labeled medical tourism or health travel. Information regarding health travelers' actual outcomes, experiences, and perceptions is lacking or insufficient. However, advanced Internet technology and apps provide information on medical tourism and are a vehicle for patients to share their experiences. Turkey has a large number of internationally accredited hospitals, is a top tourism destination, and is positioning itself to attract international patients. The objective of this research was to identify the important individual characteristics of health travelers, outline the push and pull factors for seeking health care in Turkey, identify satisfaction with the outcomes and the results of these individuals' treatments, and note positive and negative factors influencing their perceptions and overall experiences about patients' health travel. This research uses qualitative data from Internet narratives of medical tourists to Turkey. Ethical considerations of using Internet narratives were reviewed. Narratives for analysis were obtained by using the Google search engine and using multiple search terms to obtain publicly posted blogs and discussion board postings of health travelers via purposeful sampling. Narratives were included if they were written in English, described travel to Turkey for health care, and were publicly accessible. Exclusion criteria included narratives that were on medical tourism facilitator or provider promotional websites, not in English, and did not describe an experience of a medical tourist. Medical tourists' written words were analyzed in an iterative analytic process using narrative analysis theory principles. Three stages of coding (open, axial, and selective) were conducted to identify characteristics and themes

Analysis of the Main Access Municipal Project Free and Free Internet in Public Squares: Digital Inclusion in the Present Corporate Information Globalized

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anderson Nogueira Oliveira

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The present study has as its theme the role of municipalities in the current global information society. So it has the general objective analysis on the free access to the internet in public places as a means of digital inclusion, with such spaces known as digital o hotspots squares. In this case we will present concepts, definitions and brief historical development of the objects of study of this research, namely, globalization, the information society and digital inclusion. We emphasize that this research will analyze recent data on internet access in Brazil, and will check the key municipal projects freely and free internet access in public squares. For this research we use the hypothetical-deductive method by the methodology of analysis of books, scientific papers and official data by renamed institutions to present a scientifically valid conclusion.

The efficacy of the Internet and Social Media as Medical Marketing Tools

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Constantinides, Efthymios; Karantinou, Kalipso; Alexiou, Maria; Vlachaki, Athanasia

2016-01-01

The role and efficacy of online marketing in healthcare remains underexplored. The present study, focusing on one medical specialty, investigates the perceived role of the Internet and social media as marketing tools from the perspectives of both healthcare providers and patients. It assesses their

77 FR 52746 - Medical Countermeasures for a Burn Mass Casualty Incident

Science.gov (United States)

2012-08-30

... Building 1 where routine security check procedures will be performed. For parking and security information... telephone number. Those without Internet access should contact Suzanne Schwartz to register (see Contact... Internet at http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/NewsEvents/WorkshopsConferences/default.htm . (Select this...

Computer-based medical education in Benha University, Egypt: knowledge, attitude, limitations, and suggestions.

Science.gov (United States)

Bayomy, Hanaa; El Awadi, Mona; El Araby, Eman; Abed, Hala A

2016-12-01

Computer-assisted medical education has been developed to enhance learning and enable high-quality medical care. This study aimed to assess computer knowledge and attitude toward the inclusion of computers in medical education among second-year medical students in Benha Faculty of Medicine, Egypt, to identify limitations, and obtain suggestions for successful computer-based learning. This was a one-group pre-post-test study, which was carried out on second-year students in Benha Faculty of Medicine. A structured self-administered questionnaire was used to compare students' knowledge, attitude, limitations, and suggestions toward computer usage in medical education before and after the computer course to evaluate the change in students' responses. The majority of students were familiar with use of the mouse and keyboard, basic word processing, internet and web searching, and e-mail both before and after the computer course. The proportion of students who were familiar with software programs other than the word processing and trouble-shoot software/hardware was significantly higher after the course (Pcomputer (P=0.008), the inclusion of computer skills course in medical education, downloading lecture handouts, and computer-based exams (Pcomputers limited the inclusion of computer in medical education (Pcomputer labs, lack of Information Technology staff mentoring, large number of students, unclear course outline, and lack of internet access were more frequently reported before the course (Pcomputer labs, inviting Information Technology staff to support computer teaching, and the availability of free Wi-Fi internet access covering several areas in the university campus; all would support computer-assisted medical education. Medical students in Benha University are computer literate, which allows for computer-based medical education. Staff training, provision of computer labs, and internet access are essential requirements for enhancing computer usage in medical

A novel decentralized hierarchical access control scheme for the medical scenario

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskeland, Sigurd; Prasad, Neeli R.

2006-01-01

to be the property of the corresponding patient, it is justified that patients should have the opportunity to exert control over their own data. In this paper, we propose a cryptographic access control scheme allowing patients to grant medical teams authorizations to access their medical data. Moreover......Electronic patient records contains highly personal and confidential information that it is essential to keep private. Thus, only the medical professionals providing care to a patient should access the patient record of the concerning patient. As personal medical data can be considered......, the hierarchical aspects of teams are taken into account so that the modules of the patient record are to be accessed according to the individual privileges of the medical professionals of the team. Thus, more privileged users obtain larger portions of the data than less privileged users....

A novel decentralized hierarchical access control scheme for the medical scenario

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eskeland, Sigurd; Prasad, Neeli R.

2006-01-01

Electronic patient records contains highly personal and confidential information that it is essential to keep private. Thus, only the medical professionals providing care to a patient should access the patient record of the concerning patient. As personal medical data can be considered...... to be the property of the corresponding patient, it is justified that patients should have the opportunity to exert control over their own data. In this paper, we propose a cryptographic access control scheme allowing patients to grant medical teams authorizations to access their medical data. Moreover......, the hierarchical aspects of teams are taken into account so that the modules of the patient record are to be accessed according to the individual privileges of the medical professionals of the team. Thus, more privileged users obtain larger portions of the data than less privileged users....

[Modern information and communication technology in medical rehabilitation. Enhanced sustainability through Internet-delivered aftercare].

Science.gov (United States)

Kordy, H; Theis, F; Wolf, M

2011-04-01

Internet and mobile phones open new avenues for the optimization of health services in medical rehabilitation. Various models of Internet-delivered aftercare after psychosomatic inpatient treatment have shown promising results. The focus of this report is on the experience in translating one of the promising models, the Internet-Bridge ("Internet-Brücke"), to every day health care. Effectiveness was estimated through comparison of 254 patients who were treated in a hospital specialized in psychosomatic medicine and who participated in the Internet-Bridge as well as in the 1-year follow-up in the frame of standard quality assurance between 2003-2010 with 364 patients of the same hospital who also participated in the 1-year follow-up, but did not utilize the aftercare. Sustainable, reliable, and clinically significant improvements were more frequent in participants of the Internet-Bridge, especially with regard to psychological well-being, social problems, and psychosocial competence-at small additional costs. Results are understood as encouragement to start translation to routine care accompanied by research.

Social media, surgeons, and the Internet: an era or an error?

Science.gov (United States)

Azu, Michelle C; Lilley, Elizabeth J; Kolli, Aparna H

2012-05-01

According to the National Research Corporation, 1 in 5 Americans use social media sites to obtain healthcare information. Patients can easily access information on medical conditions and medical professionals; however physicians may not be aware of the nature and impact of this information. All physicians must learn to use the Internet to their advantage and be acutely aware of the disadvantages. Surgeons are in a unique position because, unlike in the primary care setting, less time is spent developing a long-term relationship with the patient. In this literature review, we discuss the impact of the Internet, social networking websites, and physician rating websites and make recommendations for surgeons about managing digital identity and maintaining professionalism.

Perceptions about computers and the internet in a pediatric clinic population.

Science.gov (United States)

Carroll, Aaron E; Zimmerman, Frederick J; Rivara, Frederick P; Ebel, Beth E; Christakis, Dimitri A

2005-01-01

A digital divide with respect to computer and Internet access has been noted in numerous studies and reports. Equally important to ownership is comfort with computers and Internet technology, and concerns about privacy of personal data. To measure how households in a pediatric clinic vary in their attitudes toward computers, concerns about Internet confidentiality, and comfort using the Internet and whether these views are associated with household income or education. A phone survey was administered to a population-based sample of parents with children aged 0 to 11 years. All children received medical care from a community-based clinic network serving patients in King County, Wash. Eighty-eight percent of respondents used a computer once a week or more, and 83% of respondents reported favorable feelings toward computers. Although 97% of respondents were willing to share personal information over the Internet, many respondents considered data security important. While household income and parental education were associated with comfort and familiarity with computers, the effect is small. Respondents who already owned a computer and had Internet access did not differ in their perceptions according to socioeconomic or educational attainment. Most families like using computers and feel comfortable using the Internet regardless of socioeconomic status. Fears about the digital divide's impact on the attitudes of parents toward computers or their comfort using the Internet should not be seen as a barrier to developing Internet-based health interventions for a pediatric clinic population.

SODA-IIoT4ConnectedCars: Spread updates between cars with limited Internet access

OpenAIRE

Boudguiga , Aymen; Quesnel , Flavien; Bouzerna , Nabil

2017-01-01

International audience; A blockchain infrastructure, combined with cryptographic signatures, can improve availability and accountability for the deployment of IoT updates.However, cars with limited or intermittent Internet access may have difficulties in downloading full updates fromthe blockchain. Therefore, we allow cars that successfully downloaded updates to share them with other cars by means of a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) mechanism.

Internet in the workplace: censorship, liability, and freedom of speech.

Science.gov (United States)

Sherwill-Navarro, P

1998-01-01

Most hospital medical libraries are supported by private, corporate funds and thus fall under the corporation's policies in regard to discrimination, harassment, and sexual harassment. With the free flow of information available on the Internet and through e-mail, it is mandatory to create a corporate policy for appropriate use and review of materials. Access to "questionable" or inappropriate Internet sites is not a freedom of speech issue in a private corporation; it is a potential liability for the corporation, the library, and the librarian. It is also a misuse of company resources.

Role of Using Internet on Self-Efficacy, Educational Motivation and Educational Achievement Tabriz University of Medical Sciences

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Golmohammadnazhad Bahrami GhR

2015-08-01

Full Text Available Aims: In order to improve the quality of education in the scientific and educational centers, usage of communication technologies, especially the Internet, is encouraged and promoted. However, there are not still considerable researches on the role of Internet to improve the quality of education and psychological characteristics of students. The present study investigated the role of using Internet on self-efficacy, educational motivation and achievement of medical students. Instrument & Methods: In this quasi-experimental study, 363 of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences’ students (174 Internet users and 189 nonusers who had studied in 2013-14 academic year were selected by stratified random sampling method and entered into the study. To collect data, educational motivation scale, Sharer's self-efficacy scale (GSES, Internet using questionnaire which made by researcher and the latest educational grade point averages were used. Data were analyzed by multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA and independent samples T tests. Findings: The internet user students had significantly more general self-efficacy (creativity and attempt subscales in comparison to nonusers, but there was no significant difference in perseverance subscale of two groups. Internet user students had more educational achievement and motivation (task of interest subscales, educational effort, social interest, praise gaining, typifying, business continuity, competing in comparison to nonusers. However, there was no significant difference between two groups in social power subscale. Conclusion: Self-efficacy and educational achievement motivation of Internet user students is more than nonusers.

Access for Internet of Things using Smartphone as a Gateway utilizing LTE and WiFi

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mathur, Prateek; Nielsen, Rasmus Hjorth; Prasad, Neeli R.

2016-01-01

Communicating the Internet of Things (IoT) data relying on Long-Term Evolution (LTE) and WiFi has been been presented in the relevant literature. However, this necessitates devices to have LTE/WiFi capability of their own, that has limitations in the form of power consumption, and radio access...... the data to the Internet. In this paper we present a system model wherein the smartphone functions as a gateway for the IoT devices operating on NFC, ZigBee and Bluetooth. The smartphone functioning as a gateway for transferring IoT data. The system modelled in the form of a Markov Chain based...

Internet use in patients with cardiovascular diseases: Bad Berka Cross-Sectional Study (BABSY).

Science.gov (United States)

Ohlow, M-A; Brunelli, M; Lauer, B

2013-10-01

Internet has become a significant resource for dissemination of medical information. We sought to investigate prevalence and usage patterns of Internet access among consecutive patients with cardiovascular diseases. A cross-sectional study was performed using a questionnaire as study tool. Among patients with Internet access, the type of health information sought and the impact of these on daily life were assessed. Of 1063 patients invited to the study, 1000 patients [68% male gender, mean age 66 ± 11 years (range 27-83 years)] agreed to complete the questionnaire. 216/1000 (21.6%) used Internet to obtain information related to their disease. The patient education was graded as: low (15%), medium (66%) and high (19%). Reasons for Internet use were as follows: 24-h availability 142/216 (65.7%); free of charge 58/216 (26.9%); and anonymity 50/216 (23.2%). Younger (≤ 66 years) age (35.2% vs. 15.3%; p = 0.0001), male gender (24.6% vs. 15.4%; p = 0.001) and higher education level (49.4% vs. 16.1%; p = 0.001) were significantly associated with Internet use. 30.6% (66/216) of Internet users changed their individual health behaviour attributable to information found on the Internet. However, this was not related to age, gender or level of education (p = 0.5, p = 0.6 and p = 0.4, respectively). Patients without Internet use obtain health information mainly from the pharmacist (62%) or from their treating physician (58%). A relevant number of patients with cardiovascular disease access the Internet for health information. The impact of such information on health-related behaviour in daily life was low. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Self-Access Learning in Medical English (ME

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pop Anişoara

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Individual learning is a pre-requisite of formal ME credit allocation in higher education (HE, albeit this may be hard to document and quantify. Edmodo-enhanced self-access learning can be customized to accommodate different learning styles, form basic learning skills and field-specific subskills, extend and expand the students’ medical language use, while also meeting the desiderata of independent curriculum-stipulated learning that can thus be exploited and demonstrated. The paper will reflect on the design of ME multimedia assignments as well as the quantitative and qualitative results, motivation and attitude of a group of medical students working on Edmodo self-access ME learning as part of a class research project for two years.

Internet from Above.

Science.gov (United States)

Sullivan, Laura

1998-01-01

Explains how fast and reliable Internet access can be obtained by using satellite communications based on experiences at a high school in Mississippi. Discusses Internet communications; how it was implemented in the media center; local area networks; the need for Ethernet-based connection to the Internet; and price. (LRW)

Use of internet for accessing healthcare information among patients in an outpatient department of a Tertiary Care Center

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Lakshmi Renganathan

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Health information is one of the most accessed topics online. Worldwide, about 4.5% of all Internet searches are for health-related informationand more than 70, 000 websites disseminate health information. However, critics question the quality and credibility of online health information as contents are mostly a result of limited research or are commercialised. There is a need to train people to locate relevant websites where they can efficiently retrieve evidence based information and evaluate the same. The study was conducted with the objectives of determining the prevalence of use of internet for accessing healthcare information amongst literate adult population in an urban area and to assess the association between the demography and the reasons of internet use. Methodology: We used an anonymous, cross sectional survey completed by a sample of out patients of 408 individuals who came to a tertiary care centre at Pune during the year 2015. The survey consisted of 17 questions related to behavioural, attitudinal and demographic items. Results: Out of the total of 408 individuals, 256 (63.2% individuals used internet for health information though 332 (82.4% of them were aware of authorised websites for health information and 69 (16.9% thought information available in the internet can be harmful. Also, 63 out of 256 (24.6% agreed to the fact that they ask questions to their doctors based on the information that they acquired from internet while surfing about that particular disease/ ailment. More individuals (p<0.05 who were working and who were educated, graduates and above, were using internet for health information. Conclusion: Our results suggest the great potential for using the internet to disseminate the information and awareness to the public about health and healthcare facilities. However, it is important to disseminate credible information from reliable and authorised websites assigned for health since online healthcare

eLearning: a review of Internet-based continuing medical education.

Science.gov (United States)

Wutoh, Rita; Boren, Suzanne Austin; Balas, E Andrew

2004-01-01

The objective was to review the effect of Internet-based continuing medical education (CME) interventions on physician performance and health care outcomes. Data sources included searches of MEDLINE (1966 to January 2004), CINAHL (1982 to December 2003), ACP Journal Club (1991 to July/August 2003), and the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (third quarter, 2003). Studies were included in the analyses if they were randomized controlled trials of Internet-based education in which participants were practicing health care professionals or health professionals in training. CME interventions were categorized according to the nature of the intervention, sample size, and other information about educational content and format. Sixteen studies met the eligibility criteria. Six studies generated positive changes in participant knowledge over traditional formats; only three studies showed a positive change in practices. The remainder of the studies showed no difference in knowledge levels between Internet-based interventions and traditional formats for CME. The results demonstrate that Internet-based CME programs are just as effective in imparting knowledge as traditional formats of CME. Little is known as to whether these positive changes in knowledge are translated into changes in practice. Subjective reports of change in physician behavior should be confirmed through chart review or other objective measures. Additional studies need to be performed to assess how long these new learned behaviors could be sustained. eLearning will continue to evolve as new innovations and more interactive modes are incorporated into learning.

Accessing suicide-related information on the internet: a retrospective observational study of search behavior.

Science.gov (United States)

Wong, Paul Wai-Ching; Fu, King-Wa; Yau, Rickey Sai-Pong; Ma, Helen Hei-Man; Law, Yik-Wa; Chang, Shu-Sen; Yip, Paul Siu-Fai

2013-01-11

The Internet's potential impact on suicide is of major public health interest as easy online access to pro-suicide information or specific suicide methods may increase suicide risk among vulnerable Internet users. Little is known, however, about users' actual searching and browsing behaviors of online suicide-related information. To investigate what webpages people actually clicked on after searching with suicide-related queries on a search engine and to examine what queries people used to get access to pro-suicide websites. A retrospective observational study was done. We used a web search dataset released by America Online (AOL). The dataset was randomly sampled from all AOL subscribers' web queries between March and May 2006 and generated by 657,000 service subscribers. We found 5526 search queries (0.026%, 5526/21,000,000) that included the keyword "suicide". The 5526 search queries included 1586 different search terms and were generated by 1625 unique subscribers (0.25%, 1625/657,000). Of these queries, 61.38% (3392/5526) were followed by users clicking on a search result. Of these 3392 queries, 1344 (39.62%) webpages were clicked on by 930 unique users but only 1314 of those webpages were accessible during the study period. Each clicked-through webpage was classified into 11 categories. The categories of the most visited webpages were: entertainment (30.13%; 396/1314), scientific information (18.31%; 240/1314), and community resources (14.53%; 191/1314). Among the 1314 accessed webpages, we could identify only two pro-suicide websites. We found that the search terms used to access these sites included "commiting suicide with a gas oven", "hairless goat", "pictures of murder by strangulation", and "photo of a severe burn". A limitation of our study is that the database may be dated and confined to mainly English webpages. Searching or browsing suicide-related or pro-suicide webpages was uncommon, although a small group of users did access websites that contain

Medication abortion: Potential for improved patient access through pharmacies.

Science.gov (United States)

Raifman, Sarah; Orlando, Megan; Rafie, Sally; Grossman, Daniel

2018-05-08

To discuss the potential for improving access to early abortion care through pharmacies in the United States. Despite the growing use of medications to induce termination of early pregnancy, pharmacist involvement in abortion care is currently limited. The Food and Drug Administration's Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) for Mifeprex® (mifepristone 200 mg), the principal drug used in early medication abortion, prohibits the dispensing of the drug by prescription at pharmacies. This commentary reviews the pharmacology of medication abortion with the use of mifepristone and misoprostol, as well as aspects of service delivery and data on safety, efficacy, and acceptability. Given its safety record, mifepristone no longer fits the profile of a drug that requires an REMS. The recent implementation of pharmacy dispensing of mifepristone in community pharmacies in Australia and some provinces of Canada has improved access to medication abortion by increasing the number of medication abortion providers, particularly in rural areas. Provision of mifepristone in pharmacies, which involves dispensing and patient counseling, would likely improve access to early abortion in the United States without increasing risks to women. Copyright © 2018 American Pharmacists Association®. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Systematic review versus internet search: considerations about availability and reliability of medical information regarding pregnancy in women with multiple sclerosis Revisão sistemática versus busca na internet: considerações sobre a disponibilidade e acurácia das informações médicas referentes à gravidez em portadoras de esclerose múltipla

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yara Dadalti Fragoso

2012-12-01

Full Text Available OBJECTIVE: To compare the results from a systematic medical review and meta-analysis on the subject of pregnancy and multiple sclerosis (MS with an internet review based on lay sites conducted by experts in computer-mediated communication, on the same subject. METHODS: The two reviews were carried out independently in English. Three medical doctors with experience in systematic reviews and two communication experts with experience in internet searching tools performed the study. RESULTS: Data from the medical systematic review showed some differences from that of highly accessed websites. CONCLUSION: Evidence-based studies conducted under the strictest rules for careful systematic reviews and meta-analyses should be available with open access, i.e. accessible without payment of a fee, thereby enabling worldwide knowledge on matters of great interest to healthcare providers and patients.OBJETIVO: Comparar os resultados de uma revisão sistemática médica com meta-análise sobre o tema gravidez em esclerose múltipla (EM aos resultados de uma revisão leiga, do mesmo assunto, baseada na Internet e conduzida por experts em comunicação mediada por computador. MÉTODOS: As duas revisões foram realizadas independentemente em inglês. Três médicos com experiência em revisões sistemáticas e duas experts em comunicação com experiência na busca de dados nas ferramentas da Internet realizaram este estudo. RESULTADOS: Os dados da revisão sistemática mostraram algumas diferenças daqueles que podem ser obtidos em websites de alto acesso. CONCLUSÃO: Estudos com dados baseado em evidência, realizados sob criteriosas regras válidas para revisão sistemática e meta-análise devem ser disponibilizados de forma aberta, ou seja, permitindo acesso sem pagamento de taxas, fazendo com que o conhecimento de assuntos de grande interesse a profissionais de saúde e pacientes se globalize.

Accessibility and preferred use of online Web applications among WIC participants with Internet access.

Science.gov (United States)

Bensley, Robert J; Hovis, Amanda; Horton, Karissa D; Loyo, Jennifer J; Bensley, Kara M; Phillips, Diane; Desmangles, Claudia

2014-01-01

This study examined the current technology use of clients in the western Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) region and the preferences these current clients have for using new technologies to interact with WIC. Cross-sectional convenience sample for online survey of WIC clients over 2 months in 2011. A weighted sample of 8,144 participants showed that the majority of WIC clients have access to the Internet using a computer or mobile phone. E-mail, texting, and Facebook were technologies most often used for communication. Significant differences (P video chat. Technologies should be considered for addressing WIC clients' needs, including use of text messaging and smartphone apps for appointments, education, and other WIC services; online scheduling and nutrition education; and a stronger Facebook presence for connecting with WIC clients and breastfeeding support. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A Randomized Double-Blind Controlled Trial Comparing Davanloo Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy as Internet-Delivered Vs Treatment as Usual for Medically Unexplained Pain: A 6-Month Pilot Study.

Science.gov (United States)

Chavooshi, Behzad; Mohammadkhani, Parvaneh; Dolatshahi, Behrouz

2016-01-01

Research has shown that Intensive Short-Term Dynamic Psychotherapy (ISTDP) can effectively decrease pain intensity and improve quality of life in patients with medically unexplained pain. Understanding that not all patients with medically unexplained pain have access to in-person ISTDP, this study aims to investigate the efficacy of an Internet-delivered ISTDP for individuals with medically unexplained pain using Skype in comparison with treatment as usual. In this randomized controlled trial, 100 patients were randomly allocated into Internet-delivered ISTDP (n = 50) and treatment-as- usual (n = 50) groups. Treatment intervention consisted of 16 weekly, hour-long therapy sessions. The primary outcome was perceived pain assessed using the Numeric Pain Rating Scale. The secondary outcome included Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21, Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, and Quality-of-Life Inventory. Blind assessments were conducted at the baseline, posttreatment, and at a 6-month follow-up. In the intention-to-treat analysis, pain symptoms in the intervention group were significantly reduced (p Skype can significantly improve pain intensity and clinical symptoms of medically unexplained pain. Copyright © 2016 The Academy of Psychosomatic Medicine. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Internet Use for Health-Care Information by Subjects With COPD.

Science.gov (United States)

Delgado, Cionéia K; Gazzotti, Mariana R; Santoro, Ilka L; Carvalho, Andrea K; Jardim, José R; Nascimento, Oliver A

2015-09-01

Although the internet is an important tool for entertainment, work, learning, shopping, and communication, it is also a possible source for information on health and disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the proportion of subjects with COPD in São Paulo, Brazil, who use the internet to obtain information about their disease. Subjects (N = 382) with COPD answered a 17-question survey, including information regarding computer use, internet access, and searching for sites on COPD. Our sample was distributed according to the socioeconomic levels of the Brazilian population (low, 17.8%; medium, 66.5%; and high, 15.7%). Most of the subjects in the sample were male (62.6%), with a mean age of 67.0 ± 9.9 y. According to Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (GOLD) stages, 74.3% of the subjects were in stage II or III. In addition, 51.6% of the subjects had a computer, 49.7% accessed the internet, and 13.9% used it to search for information about COPD. The internet was predominantly accessed by male (70.3%) and younger (64.6 ± 9.5 y of age) subjects compared with female (29.7%, P = .04) and older (67.5 ± 9.6 y of age, P internet was associated with having a computer (5.9-fold), Medical Research Council dyspnea level 1 (5.3-fold), and high social class (8.4-fold). The search for information on COPD was not influenced by GOLD staging. A low percentage of subjects with COPD in São Paulo use the internet as a tool to obtain information about their disease. This search is associated with having a computer, low dyspnea score, and high socioeconomic level. Copyright © 2015 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives.

Science.gov (United States)

Mathieu, Erin; Barratt, Alexandra; Carter, Stacy M; Jamtvedt, Gro

2012-10-23

Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants' attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate). Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants' comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience - a perceived benefit - and a lack connectedness and understanding - a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet; security, privacy and confidentiality issues; perceived benefits and

Gender Differences in Availability, Internet Access and Rate of Usage of Computers among Distance Education Learners.

Science.gov (United States)

Atan, Hanafi; Sulaiman, Fauziah; Rahman, Zuraidah Abd; Idrus, Rozhan Mohammed

2002-01-01

Explores the level of availability of computers, Internet accessibility, and the rate of usage of computers both at home and at the workplace between distance education learners according to gender. Results of questionnaires completed at the Universiti Sains Malaysia indicate that distance education reduces the gender gap. (Author/LRW)

The digital divide: Trends in global mobile and broadband Internet access from 2000–2010

Science.gov (United States)

Ronquillo, Charlene; Currie, Leanne

2012-01-01

The digital divide is described as the gap between those who do and do not have access to digital information and communications technologies (ICT). ICTs are viewed as an indicator of infrastructure and potential for development, and are a growing platform for health information and services delivery. This study compares the penetration of mobile and broadband Internet technologies by global region from 2000 to 2010. Results illustrate the rapid growth of mobile cellular telephone subscriptions in all global regions with trends suggesting a continued increase. Little to modest gains were made in fixed broadband Internet subscriptions globally. There is a growing popularity of mobile subscriptions with use of data communications, exceeding the numbers of fixed Internet subscriptions. This comparison reveals current strengths that can be built on and highlights the importance of awareness of global trends and using such knowledge to inform design and delivery of ICT-based health services. PMID:24199118

Structural barriers in access to medical marijuana in the USA-a systematic review protocol.

Science.gov (United States)

Valencia, Celina I; Asaolu, Ibitola O; Ehiri, John E; Rosales, Cecilia

2017-08-07

There are 43 state medical marijuana programs in the USA, yet limited evidence is available on the demographic characteristics of the patient population accessing these programs. Moreover, insights into the social and structural barriers that inform patients' success in accessing medical marijuana are limited. A current gap in the scientific literature exists regarding generalizable data on the social, cultural, and structural mechanisms that hinder access to medical marijuana among qualifying patients. The goal of this systematic review, therefore, is to identify the aforementioned mechanisms that inform disparities in access to medical marijuana in the USA. This scoping review protocol outlines the proposed study design for the systematic review and evaluation of peer-reviewed scientific literature on structural barriers to medical marijuana access. The protocol follows the guidelines set forth by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic review and Meta-Analysis Protocols (PRISMA-P) checklist. The overarching goal of this study is to rigorously evaluate the existing peer-reviewed data on access to medical marijuana in the USA. Income, ethnic background, stigma, and physician preferences have been posited as the primary structural barriers influencing medical marijuana patient population demographics in the USA. Identification of structural barriers to accessing medical marijuana provides a framework for future policies and programs. Evidence-based policies and programs for increasing medical marijuana access help minimize the disparity of access among qualifying patients.

Correlation of Internet Use for Health Care Engagement Purposes and HIV Clinical Outcomes Among HIV-Positive Individuals Using Online Social Media.

Science.gov (United States)

Saberi, Parya; Johnson, Mallory O

2015-01-01

The authors aimed to describe cell phone and Internet use and assess the correlation of Internet use for health care engagement purposes and HIV clinical outcomes among HIV-positive individuals. The authors conducted a national survey using online social media to examine cell phone and Internet use, self-reported HIV viral load (detectable vs. undetectable), and antiretroviral adherence rating (excellent vs. less than excellent). Participants (N = 1,494) were asked about their Internet use for health care engagement purposes (including e-mailing health care providers, refilling medications online, and making medical appointments online). Approximately 95% of participants accessed the Internet nearly daily or daily in the past month (mean hours on Internet use per day = 5.2) and 55.5% used the Internet for health care engagement purposes. Those who used the Internet for any health care engagement purposes had a 1.52-fold odds of reporting an undetectable viral load (p = .009) and a 1.49-fold odds of reporting excellent adherence (p = .001). Although Internet access and use were similar across racial/ethnic, educational, and socioeconomic groups, disparities existed with the use of the Internet for health care engagement purposes among racial/ethnic minorities, those with low to moderate financial stability, lower education, and history of incarceration. The authors' data reveal that among HIV-positive users of online social media, use of the Internet for health care engagement purposes is associated with better self-reported virologic and adherence outcomes.

Analysis of Internet Usage Among Cancer Patients in a County Hospital Setting: A Quality Improvement Initiative

Science.gov (United States)

Lilley, Lisa; Lodrigues, William; Dreadin-Pulliam, Julie; Xie, Xian-Jin; Mathur, Sakshi; Rao, Madhu; Harvey, Valorie; Leitch, Ann Marilyn; Rao, Roshni

2014-01-01

Background Cancer is one of the most common diseases that patients research on the Internet. The Commission on Cancer (CoC) recommended that Parkland Memorial Hospital (PMH) improve the oncology services website. PMH is Dallas County’s public health care facility, serving a largely uninsured, minority population. Most research regarding patient Internet use has been conducted in insured, Caucasian populations, raising concerns that the needs of PMH patients may not be extrapolated from available data. The PMH Cancer Committee, therefore, adopted a quality improvement initiative to understand patients’ Internet usage. Objective The objective of the study was to obtain and analyze data regarding patients’ Internet usage in order to make targeted improvements to the oncology services section of the institutional website. Methods A task force developed an 11-question survey to ascertain what proportion of our patients have Internet access and use the Internet to obtain medical information as well as determine the specific information sought. Between April 2011 and August 2011, 300 surveys were administered to newly diagnosed cancer patients. Multivariate analyses were performed. Results Of 300 surveys, 291 were included. Minorities, primarily African-American and Hispanic, represented 78.0% (227/291) of patients. Only 37.1% (108/291) of patients had Internet access, most (256/291, 87.9%) having access at home. Younger patients more commonly had Internet access, with a mean age of 47 versus 58 years for those without (PInternet research was to develop questions for discussion with one’s physician. Patients most frequently sought information regarding cancer treatment options, outcomes, and side effects. Conclusions Less than one-half of PMH oncology patients have Internet access. This is influenced by age, educational level, and ethnicity. Those with access use it to obtain information related to their cancer diagnosis. The most effective way of addressing our

Evolution of the medical field in the digital age: for of against?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugenia CEBOTARU

2016-06-01

Full Text Available With the development of the Internet, a new business environment has been created, therefore online stores, online banking services, specialized learning portals and much more, appeared including consulting and medical websites. The latter enjoy great popularity among Internet users, who avoid going to a doctor and choose self-diagnosis based on limited information, like signs, symptoms or association with certain diseases. A wide range of medical information that can be accessed online come to the aid of those patients who have already been diagnosed in a traditional visit to a medical professional. Later, they can be better informed about their health condition through the Internet and can study in more detail the diagnosis of medical or alternative treatment.

Internet access, awareness and utilisation of web based evidence: a survey of ANZ and Singaporean radiation oncology registrars in 2003

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wong, K.; Veness, M.

2003-01-01

The past decade has seen an 'explosion' in electronically archived evidence available on the Internet. Access to, and awareness of, pre-appraised web based evidence such as is available at the Cochrane Library, and more recently the Cancer Library, is now easily accessible to both clinicians and patients. A postal survey was recently sent out to all Radiation Oncology registrars in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. The aim of the survey was to ascertain previous training in literature searching and critical appraisal, the extent of Internet access and use of web based evidence and awareness of databases including the Cochrane Library. Sixty six (66) out of ninety (90) registrars responded (73% response rate). Fifty five percent of respondents had previously undertaken some form of training related to literature searching or critical appraisal. The majority (68%) felt confident in performing a literature search, although 80% of respondents indicated interest in obtaining further training. The majority (68%) reported accessing web-based evidence for literature searching in the previous week, and 92% in the previous month. Nearly all respondents (89%) accessed web-based evidence at work. Most (94%) were aware of the Cochrane Library with 48% of respondents having used this database. Sixty-eight percent were aware of the Cancer Library. In 2000 a similar survey revealed only 68% of registrars aware and 30% having used the Cochrane Library. These findings reveal almost universal access to the Internet and use of web-based evidence amongst Radiation Oncology registrars. There has been a marked increase in awareness and use of the Cochrane Library with the majority also aware of the recently introduced Cancer Library

Internet Addiction among Adolescence

Science.gov (United States)

Sargin, Nurten

2012-01-01

Each innovation brings along many risks. One of the risks related with the Internet use is Internet addiction. The aim of this study is to examine Internet addiction in adolescence in terms of gender, Internet access at home and grades. The research design used was survey method. The study population consisted of second stage students attending…

Associations among Different Internet Access Time, Gender and Cyberbullying Behaviors in Taiwan?s Adolescents

OpenAIRE

Chao, Cheng-Min; Yu, Tai-Kuei

2017-01-01

With the increasing convenience of social networking sites and their interconnectedness with human interaction, verbal and image bullying have turned digital, making cyberbullying a new form of bullying attracting the attention of researchers, social workers, and schools. This study focuses on the status quo of attitude toward cyberbullying and cyberbullying behavior, explores associations of attitude toward behavior on cyberbullying behavior in gender and different internet access times. In ...

Access to patient-centered medical home among Ohio's Children with Special Health Care Needs.

Science.gov (United States)

Conrey, Elizabeth J; Seidu, Dazar; Ryan, Norma J; Chapman, Dj Sam

2013-06-01

Medical homes deliver primary care that is accessible, continuous, comprehensive, family centered, coordinated, compassionate and culturally effective. Children with special health care needs (CSHCN) require a wide range of support to maintain health, making medical home access particularly important. We sought to understand independent risk factors for lacking access. We analyzed Ohio, USA data from the National Survey of Children with Special Health Care Needs (2005-2006). Among CSHCN, 55.6% had medical home access. The proportion achieving each medical home component was highest for having a personal doctor/nurse and lowest for receiving coordinated care, family-centered care and referrals. Specific subsets of CSHCN were significantly and independently more likely to lack medical home access: Hispanic (AOR=3.08), moderate/high severity of difficulty (AOR=2.84), and any public insurance (AOR=1.60). Efforts to advance medical home access must give special attention to these CSHCN populations and improvements must be made to referral access, family-centered care, and care coordination.

How Medical Tourism Enables Preferential Access to Care: Four Patterns from the Canadian Context.

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, Jeremy; Johnston, Rory; Crooks, Valorie A; Morgan, Jeff; Adams, Krystyna

2017-06-01

Medical tourism is the practice of traveling across international borders with the intention of accessing medical care, paid for out-of-pocket. This practice has implications for preferential access to medical care for Canadians both through inbound and outbound medical tourism. In this paper, we identify four patterns of medical tourism with implications for preferential access to care by Canadians: (1) Inbound medical tourism to Canada's public hospitals; (2) Inbound medical tourism to a First Nations reserve; (3) Canadian patients opting to go abroad for medical tourism; and (4) Canadian patients traveling abroad with a Canadian surgeon. These patterns of medical tourism affect preferential access to health care by Canadians by circumventing domestic regulation of care, creating jurisdictional tensions over the provision of health care, and undermining solidarity with the Canadian health system.

Digital health care--the convergence of health care and the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, S R

2000-04-01

The author believes that interactive media (the Internet and the World Wide Web) and associated applications used to access those media (portals, browsers, specialized Web-based applications) will result in a substantial, positive, and measurable impact on medical care faster than any previous information technology or communications tool. Acknowledging the dynamic environment, the author classifies "pure" digital health care companies into three business service areas: content, connectivity, and commerce. Companies offering these services are attempting to tap into a host of different markets within the health care industry including providers, payers, pharmaceutical and medical products companies, employers, distributors, and consumers. As the fastest growing medium in history, and given the unique nature of health care information and the tremendous demand for content among industry professionals and consumers, the Internet offers a more robust and targeted direct marketing opportunity than traditional media. From the medical consumer's standpoint (i.e., the patient) the author sees the Internet as performing five critical functions: (1) Disseminate information, (2) Aid informed decision making, (3) Promote health, (4) Provide a means for information exchange and support--the community concept, and (5) Increase self-care and manage demand for health services, lowering direct medical costs. The author firmly submits the Web will provide overall benefits to the health care economy as health information consumers manage their own health problems that might not directly benefit from an encounter with a health professional. Marrying the Internet to other interactive technologies, including voice recognition systems and telephone-based triage lines among others, holds the promise of reducing unnecessary medical services.

Prevalence of Internet use amongst an elective spinal surgery outpatient population.

Science.gov (United States)

Baker, Joseph F; Devitt, Brian M; Kiely, Paul D; Green, James; Mulhall, Kevin J; Synnott, Keith A; Poynton, Ashley R

2010-10-01

Nationally 62% of individuals in Ireland have internet access. Previous published work has suggested that internet use is higher among those with low back pain. We aimed to determine the levels of internet access and use amongst an elective spinal outpatient population and determine what characteristics influence these. We distributed a self-designed questionnaire to patients attending elective spinal outpatient clinics. Data including demographics, history of surgery, number of visits, level of satisfaction with previous consultations, access to the internet, possession of health insurance, and details regarding use of the internet to research one's spinal complaint were collected. 213 patients completed the questionnaire. 159 (75%) had access to the internet. Of this group 48 (23%) used the internet to research their spinal condition. Increasing age, higher education level, and possession of health insurance were all significantly associated with access to the internet (p internet use while possession of insurance weakly predicted non-use (p internet access is consistent with national statistics and use is comparable to previous reports. Approximately, one quarter of outpatients will use the internet to research their spinal condition. Should we use this medium to disseminate information we need to be aware some groups may not have access.

Prevalence of Internet use amongst an elective spinal surgery outpatient population.

LENUS (Irish Health Repository)

Baker, Joseph F

2010-10-01

Nationally 62% of individuals in Ireland have internet access. Previous published work has suggested that internet use is higher among those with low back pain. We aimed to determine the levels of internet access and use amongst an elective spinal outpatient population and determine what characteristics influence these. We distributed a self-designed questionnaire to patients attending elective spinal outpatient clinics. Data including demographics, history of surgery, number of visits, level of satisfaction with previous consultations, access to the internet, possession of health insurance, and details regarding use of the internet to research one\\'s spinal complaint were collected. 213 patients completed the questionnaire. 159 (75%) had access to the internet. Of this group 48 (23%) used the internet to research their spinal condition. Increasing age, higher education level, and possession of health insurance were all significantly associated with access to the internet (p < 0.05). A higher education level predicted greater internet use while possession of insurance weakly predicted non-use (p < 0.05). In our practice, internet access is consistent with national statistics and use is comparable to previous reports. Approximately, one quarter of outpatients will use the internet to research their spinal condition. Should we use this medium to disseminate information we need to be aware some groups may not have access.

Cystic fibrosis on the Internet: a survey of site adherence to AMA guidelines.

Science.gov (United States)

Anselmo, Mark A; Lash, Katherine M; Stieb, Elisabeth S; Haver, Kenan E

2004-07-01

The Internet permits unprecedented and mostly unrestricted access to medical knowledge; however, concerns exist regarding viewer privacy, accountability of authorship, accuracy of information, and patient safety. To address these issues, the American Medical Association (AMA) has developed guidelines concerning web site content and visitor rights. Cystic fibrosis (CF) is the most common genetically inherited lethal disease in North America. Many Internet sites that provide information on CF have been developed, although adherence to validated guidelines for online health information is not required. The purpose of this study was to assess systematically web sites with content pertaining to CF for adherence to the published AMA guidelines. The search term "cystic fibrosis" was entered into a commonly used search engine (Google), and the first 100 eligible sites were reviewed. Each site was examined for adherence to the AMA Guidelines for Medical and Health Information Sites on the Internet using a series of adapted questions. There were 15 questions divided into the following main categories: 1) site structure and viewer privacy, 2) author accountability, 3) scientific citation, and 4) patient safety. The number of positives for each question was tabulated. With respect to site structure, fewer than half (45%) of the reviewed sites indicated a date of last revision. Only 11 (11%) carried an explicit privacy policy. A responsible author or group was listed in only 43 (43%) of 100 sites. Presented data regarding CF was supported by references, sources, or expert review in only 38 (38%) of 100 sites. A medical disclaimer noting that information provided does not substitute for evaluation by a health care team was evident in only 37 (37%) sites. The majority of easily accessible CF informational web sites do not adhere to guidelines published by the AMA. Patients and families who use the Internet as a CF information resource should examine the web sites carefully and be

Self-reported use of internet by cervical cancer clients in two National Referral Hospitals in Kenya.

Science.gov (United States)

Kivuti-Bitok, Lucy W; McDonnell, Geoff; Pokhariyal, Ganesh P; Roudsari, Abdul V

2012-10-09

Cervical cancer remains a devastating disease in Kenya accounting for more than 2000 deaths each year. Lack of information on cervical cancer prevention and management has been attributed to the apathy among women in seeking health interventions. Use of internet-based and mobile e-health tools could increase information access among cervical cancer patients. The objective of the study was; to establish the extent of use of mobile phones and internet by cervical cancer patients in accessing information related to cancer treatment and management.; find out the characteristics of patients associated with internet use and identify barriers faced by the patients in internet use. A cross sectional descriptive survey of 199 cervical patients visiting the two main referral hospitals in Kenya was done. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. The average length of illness was 2.43 years (SD ± 3.0). Only 7.5 %( n=15) reported to having used the internet as a source of information. 92.5 %( n=184) did not use internet. With Multiple options, 70.9% did not know how to use a computer, 29.2% did not have access to a computer, 14.6% lacked the money to use computers at the local cyber cafe while other barriers identified accounted for 11.1%. Patients reported that the internet had an important role in the management of cancer of the cervix in health education (17.6%), online consultation (14.6%), booking of patients (13.6%), referrals (8.5%) and collecting data (7%). The 96.5% of the respondents who had access to a mobile phone, recommended mobile phones for health education messages (31.7%), reminder alerts for medication (29.7%) and booking appointments (21.6%). There was a statistically significant association between income of the patients and internet use (p = 0.026) in this study. There is low level use of the internet by cervical cancer clients attended in Public referral facilities in Kenya. This was attributed to; lack of knowledge on how to use computers and

Self-reported use of internet by cervical cancer clients in two National Referral Hospitals in Kenya

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kivuti-Bitok Lucy W

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Cervical cancer remains a devastating disease in Kenya accounting for more than 2000 deaths each year. Lack of information on cervical cancer prevention and management has been attributed to the apathy among women in seeking health interventions. Use of internet-based and mobile e-health tools could increase information access among cervical cancer patients. The objective of the study was; to establish the extent of use of mobile phones and internet by cervical cancer patients in accessing information related to cancer treatment and management.; find out the characteristics of patients associated with internet use and identify barriers faced by the patients in internet use. A cross sectional descriptive survey of 199 cervical patients visiting the two main referral hospitals in Kenya was done. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data. Findings The average length of illness was 2.43 years (SD ± 3.0. Only 7.5 %( n=15 reported to having used the internet as a source of information. 92.5 %( n=184 did not use internet. With Multiple options, 70.9% did not know how to use a computer, 29.2% did not have access to a computer, 14.6% lacked the money to use computers at the local cyber cafe while other barriers identified accounted for 11.1%. Patients reported that the internet had an important role in the management of cancer of the cervix in health education (17.6%, online consultation (14.6%, booking of patients (13.6%, referrals (8.5% and collecting data (7%. The 96.5% of the respondents who had access to a mobile phone, recommended mobile phones for health education messages (31.7%, reminder alerts for medication (29.7% and booking appointments (21.6%. There was a statistically significant association between income of the patients and internet use (p = 0.026 in this study. Conclusions There is low level use of the internet by cervical cancer clients attended in Public referral facilities in Kenya. This was attributed

Use of computers and the Internet by residents in US family medicine programmes.

Science.gov (United States)

King, Richard V; Murphy-Cullen, Cassie L; Mayo, Helen G; Marcee, Alice K; Schneider, Gregory W

2007-06-01

Computers, personal digital assistants (PDA), and the Internet are widely used as resources in medical education and clinical care. Educators who intend to incorporate these resources effectively into residency education programmes can benefit from understanding how residents currently use these tools, their skills, and their preferences. The researchers sent questionnaires to 306 US family medicine residency programmes for all of their residents to complete. Respondents were 1177 residents from 125 (41%) programmes. Access to a computer was reported by 95% of respondents. Of these, 97% of desktop and 89% of laptop computers could access the Internet. Residents accessed various educational and clinical resources. Half felt they had 'intermediate' skills at Web searches, 23% had 'some skills,' and 27% were 'quite skilled.' Those under 30 years of age reported higher skill levels. Those who experienced a Web-based curriculum in medical school reported higher search skills and greater success in finding clinical information. Respondents preferred to use technology to supplement the didactic sessions offered in resident teaching conferences. Favourable conditions exist in family medicine residency programmes to implement a blend of traditional and technology-based learning experiences. These conditions include residents' experience, skills, and preferences.

Broadband wireless communications for railway applications for onboard internet access and other applications

CERN Document Server

Masson, Émilie

2017-01-01

This book focuses on the needs of railway operators in terms of wireless communications, divided in two main categories: the commercial services and the operational needs. Then, all available technologies that can be used to provide Internet access on board trains and all the other operational applications requiring high capacity are detailed. Finally, challenges and trends in railway telecommunications are highlighted, through the presentation of the future and emerging technologies, the current discussions and works in the different authorities, and the key challenges and scientific barriers.

Opportunity for All: How the American Public Benefits from Internet Access at U.S. Libraries

Science.gov (United States)

Becker, Samantha; Crandall, Michael D.; Fisher, Karen E.; Kinney, Bo; Landry, Carol; Rocha, Anita

2010-01-01

Over the past decade and a half, free access to computers and the Internet in U.S. public libraries evolved from a rare commodity into a core service. Now, people from all walks of life rely on this service every day to look for jobs, find health care, and read the latest news. As the nation struggled through a historic recession, nearly one-third…

Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants’ attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. Objective To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. Methods All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. Results 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate). Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants’ comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience – a perceived benefit – and a lack connectedness and understanding – a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet; security, privacy and

Internet trials: participant experiences and perspectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mathieu Erin

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Use of the Internet to conduct randomised controlled trials is increasing, and provides potential to increase equity of access to medical research, increase the generalisability of trial results and decrease the costs involved in conducting large scale trials. Several studies have compared response rates, completeness of data, and reliability of surveys using the Internet and traditional methods, but very little is known about participants’ attitudes towards Internet-based randomised trials or their experience of participating in an Internet-based trial. Objective To obtain insights into the experiences and perspectives of participants in an Internet-based randomised controlled trial, their attitudes to the use of the Internet to conduct medical research, and their intentions regarding future participation in Internet research. Methods All English speaking participants in a recently completed Internet randomised controlled trial were invited to participate in an online survey. Results 1246 invitations were emailed. 416 participants completed the survey between May and October 2009 (33% response rate. Reasons given for participating in the Internet RCT fell into 4 main areas: personal interest in the research question and outcome, ease of participation, an appreciation of the importance of research and altruistic reasons. Participants’ comments and reflections on their experience of participating in a fully online trial were positive and less than half of participants would have participated in the trial had it been conducted using other means of data collection. However participants identified trade-offs between the benefits and downsides of participating in Internet-based trials. The main trade-off was between flexibility and convenience – a perceived benefit – and a lack connectedness and understanding – a perceived disadvantage. The other tradeoffs were in the areas of: ease or difficulty in use of the Internet

Use of the medical information on the internet by pregnant patients with a prenatal diagnosis of neonatal disease requiring surgery.

Science.gov (United States)

Usui, Noriaki; Kamiyama, Masafumi; Tani, Gakuto; Kanagawa, Takeshi; Fukuzawa, Masahiro

2011-12-01

The purpose of this study was to clarify the current status and the problems associated with using medical information on the internet during pregnancy in patients prenatally diagnosed with fetal abnormalities at a single Japanese institution. A written, anonymous questionnaire survey was conducted in 155 pregnant patients who had been prenatally diagnosed as having neonatal surgical diseases between January 2000 and December 2009, and their families. Forty-three out of the 75 responding families (57.3%) had used medical information available on the internet during their pregnancy. The availability of information, assessed during 2 year-increments, has increased rapidly in the past 4 years. When the explanation of a physician was compared with the information provided by the internet, the knowledge or impression of the disease was different in 60% of cases and similar in 33% of cases. More importantly, 60% of the patients felt that the information obtained from the internet was more pessimistic than the physician's explanation. The number of pregnant patients who have used medical information on the internet has rapidly increased in the recent years. Subjects who used this information were more likely to experience a sense of anxiety and feelings regarding the seriousness of the disease.

Outsourcing a High Speed Internet Access Project: An Information Technology Class Case Study in Three Parts

Science.gov (United States)

Platt, Richard G.; Carper, William B.; McCool, Michael

2010-01-01

In early 2004, the Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC) required that all of its hotels (both owned and franchised) install high-speed Internet access (HSIA) in all of their rooms by June 2004. This case focuses on how one of its franchise properties located on the northern gulf coast of Florida (the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort &…

Internet addiction or excessive internet use.

Science.gov (United States)

Weinstein, Aviv; Lejoyeux, Michel

2010-09-01

Problematic Internet addiction or excessive Internet use is characterized by excessive or poorly controlled preoccupations, urges, or behaviors regarding computer use and Internet access that lead to impairment or distress. Currently, there is no recognition of internet addiction within the spectrum of addictive disorders and, therefore, no corresponding diagnosis. It has, however, been proposed for inclusion in the next version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder (DSM). To review the literature on Internet addiction over the topics of diagnosis, phenomenology, epidemiology, and treatment. Review of published literature between 2000-2009 in Medline and PubMed using the term "internet addiction. Surveys in the United States and Europe have indicated prevalence rate between 1.5% and 8.2%, although the diagnostic criteria and assessment questionnaires used for diagnosis vary between countries. Cross-sectional studies on samples of patients report high comorbidity of Internet addiction with psychiatric disorders, especially affective disorders (including depression), anxiety disorders (generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Several factors are predictive of problematic Internet use, including personality traits, parenting and familial factors, alcohol use, and social anxiety. Although Internet-addicted individuals have difficulty suppressing their excessive online behaviors in real life, little is known about the patho-physiological and cognitive mechanisms responsible for Internet addiction. Due to the lack of methodologically adequate research, it is currently impossible to recommend any evidence-based treatment of Internet addiction.

Evaluation of an open-access CBT-based Internet program for social anxiety: Patterns of use, retention, and outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Dryman, M Taylor; McTeague, Lisa M; Olino, Thomas M; Heimberg, Richard G

2017-10-01

Internet-delivered cognitive-behavioral therapy (ICBT) has been established as both efficacious and effective in reducing symptoms of social anxiety. However, most research has been conducted in controlled settings, and little is known regarding the utility of such programs in an open-access format. The present study examined the use, adherence, and effectiveness of Joyable, an open-access, Internet-delivered, coach-supported CBT-based intervention for social anxiety. Participants were 3,384 registered users (Mage [SD] = 29.82 [7.89]; 54% male) that created an account between 2014 and 2016. Characteristics of use, factors related to attrition and adherence, and within-group outcomes were examined. The primary outcome measure was the Social Phobia Inventory. On average, participants remained in the program for 81.02 days (SD = 60.50), during which they completed 12.14 activities (SD = 11.09) and 1.53 exposures (SD = 3.18). About half (57%) had contact with a coach. Full adherence to the program was achieved by 16% of participants, a rate higher than previously published open-access studies of ICBT. Social anxiety symptoms were significantly reduced for participants that engaged in the program, with medium within-group effects from baseline through the cognitive restructuring module (d = 0.63-0.76) and large effects from baseline through the exposure module (d = 1.40-1.83). Response rates were high (72%). Exposures and coach contact were significant predictors of retention and outcome. This open-access online CBT-based program is effective in reducing social anxiety symptoms and has the potential to extend Internet-based mental health services to socially anxious individuals unwilling or unable to seek face-to-face evidence-based therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Association between Internet addiction and depression in Thai medical students at Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital.

Science.gov (United States)

Boonvisudhi, Thummaporn; Kuladee, Sanchai

2017-01-01

To study the extent of Internet addiction (IA) and its association with depression in Thai medical students. A cross-sectional study was conducted at Faculty of Medicine, Ramathibodi Hospital. Participants were first- to fifth-year medical students who agreed to participate in this study. Demographic characteristics and stress-related factors were derived from self-rated questionnaires. Depression was assessed using the Thai version of Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). A total score of five or greater derived from the Thai version of Young Diagnostic Questionnaire for Internet Addiction was classified as "possible IA". Then chi-square test and logistic regression were used to evaluate the associations between possible IA, depression and associated factors. From 705 participants, 24.4% had possible IA and 28.8% had depression. There was statistically significant association between possible IA and depression (odds ratio (OR) 1.92, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.34-2.77, P-value depression in possible IA group was 1.58 times of the group of normal Internet use (95% CI: 1.04-2.38, P-value = 0.031). Academic problems were found to be a significant predictor of both possible IA and depression. IA was likely to be a common psychiatric problem among Thai medical students. The research has also shown that possible IA was associated with depression and academic problems. We suggest that surveillance of IA should be considered in medical schools.

A Comparative Analysis of Patient Access Modes at Wilford Hall United States Air Force Medical Center and Selected Civilian Medical Centers

Science.gov (United States)

1983-12-01

In A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PATIENT ACCESS MODES AT WILFORD HALL UNITED STATES AIR FORCE MEDICAL CENTER N AND SELECTED CIVILIAN MEDICAL CENTERS0 N...current patient access modes at WHMC and several civilian medical centers of comparable size. This project has pursued the subject of patient access in...selected civilian medical centers which are comparable to WHMC in size, specialty mix, workload, and mission, providing responsive and efficient patient

A federated capability-based access control mechanism for internet of things (IoTs)

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Ronghua; Chen, Yu; Blasch, Erik; Chen, Genshe

2018-05-01

The prevalence of Internet of Things (IoTs) allows heterogeneous embedded smart devices to collaboratively provide intelligent services with or without human intervention. While leveraging the large-scale IoT-based applications like Smart Gird and Smart Cities, IoT also incurs more concerns on privacy and security. Among the top security challenges that IoTs face is that access authorization is critical in resource and information protection over IoTs. Traditional access control approaches, like Access Control Lists (ACL), Role-based Access Control (RBAC) and Attribute-based Access Control (ABAC), are not able to provide a scalable, manageable and efficient mechanisms to meet requirement of IoT systems. The extraordinary large number of nodes, heterogeneity as well as dynamicity, necessitate more fine-grained, lightweight mechanisms for IoT devices. In this paper, a federated capability-based access control (FedCAC) framework is proposed to enable an effective access control processes to devices, services and information in large scale IoT systems. The federated capability delegation mechanism, based on a propagation tree, is illustrated for access permission propagation. An identity-based capability token management strategy is presented, which involves registering, propagation and revocation of the access authorization. Through delegating centralized authorization decision-making policy to local domain delegator, the access authorization process is locally conducted on the service provider that integrates situational awareness (SAW) and customized contextual conditions. Implemented and tested on both resources-constrained devices, like smart sensors and Raspberry PI, and non-resource-constrained devices, like laptops and smart phones, our experimental results demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed FedCAC approach to offer a scalable, lightweight and fine-grained access control solution to IoT systems connected to a system network.

Internet accounting dictionaries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Sandro; Mourier, Lise

2005-01-01

An examination of existing accounting dictionaries on the Internet reveals a general need for a new type of dictionary. In contrast to the dictionaries now accessible, the future accounting dictionaries should be designed as proper Internet dictionaries based on a functional approach so they can...

Internet Freedom in Asia: Case of Internet Censorship in China

OpenAIRE

MONGGILO, ZAINUDDIN MUDA

2016-01-01

Internet can develop the communication and information freedom on society but unfortunately in some nations, especially in Asia, it cannot be fully accessed because of government censorship. This report explains the relationship between the practice of Internet censorship imposed by the Chinese government and the freedom of its citizens (in the internet surfing experience) as the realization of human rights in the freedom of expression and opinion (seek, receive-use, and communicate informati...

Connectivity to computers and the Internet among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders: a cross-sectional study.

Science.gov (United States)

Välimäki, Maritta; Kuosmanen, Lauri; Hätönen, Heli; Koivunen, Marita; Pitkänen, Anneli; Athanasopoulou, Christina; Anttila, Minna

2017-01-01

Information and communication technologies have been developed for a variety of health care applications and user groups in the field of health care. This study examined the connectivity to computers and the Internet among patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs). A cross-sectional survey design was used to study 311 adults with SSDs from the inpatient units of two psychiatric hospitals in Finland. The data collection lasted for 20 months and was done through patients' medical records and a self-reported, structured questionnaire. Data analysis included descriptive statistics. In total, 297 patients were included in this study (response rate =96%). More than half of them (n=156; 55%) had a computer and less than half of them (n=127; 44%) had the Internet at home. Of those who generally had access to computers and the Internet, more than one-fourth (n=85; 29%) used computers daily, and >30% (n=96; 33%) never accessed the Internet. In total, approximately one-fourth of them (n=134; 25%) learned to use computers, and less than one-third of them (n=143; 31%) were known to use the Internet by themselves. Older people (aged 45-65 years) and those with less years of education (primary school) tended not to use the computers and the Internet at all ( P computers and the Internet, and they mainly used the Internet to seek information. Social, occupational, and psychological functioning (which were evaluated with Global Assessment of Functioning) were not associated with access to and frequency of computer and the Internet use. The results support the use of computers and the Internet as part of clinical work in mental health care.

On the scalability of uncoordinated multiple access for the Internet of Things

KAUST Repository

Chisci, Giovanni

2017-11-16

The Internet of things (IoT) will entail massive number of wireless connections with sporadic traffic patterns. To support the IoT traffic, several technologies are evolving to support low power wide area (LPWA) wireless communications. However, LPWA networks rely on variations of uncoordinated spectrum access, either for data transmissions or scheduling requests, thus imposing a scalability problem to the IoT. This paper presents a novel spatiotemporal model to study the scalability of the ALOHA medium access. In particular, the developed mathematical model relies on stochastic geometry and queueing theory to account for spatial and temporal attributes of the IoT. To this end, the scalability of the ALOHA is characterized by the percentile of IoT devices that can be served while keeping their queues stable. The results highlight the scalability problem of ALOHA and quantify the extend to which ALOHA can support in terms of number of devices, traffic requirement, and transmission rate.

College Students' Use of the Internet

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anna C. McFadden

1999-02-01

Full Text Available Over the last several years there has been mounting concern about children being exposed to sex-related material on the Internet. Concern about pornography and obscenity is widespread and this concern has spawned a host of products to block or filter content. The notorious Time magazine article (July 3, 1995 "Cyberporn"--which Time later acknowledged had doubtful credibility (July 24, 1995--undoubtedly inflamed this trend. The article, which asserted that much of traffic on the Internet dealt with pornography, was based on the largely discredited research of a Carnegie Mellon undergraduate student who examined 32 alt.binaries newsgroups on Usenet, not the Internet. Nonetheless, the article was fodder for the Communications Decency Act of 1996. While the Supreme Court struck down the Act, pending bills such as the "Safe Schools Internet Act" (H.R. 3177 would require all public libraries and schools that receive federal funds for Internet access to install blocking software to restrict minors' access to "inappropriate" material. Other pending bills would punish commercial online distributors for access to material they do not directly control and require service providers to offer blocking software to customers. While most students who use computers in university computer labs are legally adults, many are not. If laws restrict access to minors, there will be a host of technical problems to provide access to scholars and adult students. Labs are open spaces where students come and go, using computers for many purposes but only part of the time for Internet access. Determining policies and creating procedures to implement and monitor policies will entail considerable resources for something that may not be a serious problem and something that cannot be effectively controlled with filtering software. It could require students to present identification to prove they are adults in order to access certain computer resources, not to mention the

Open Access

Science.gov (United States)

Suber, Peter

2012-01-01

The Internet lets us share perfect copies of our work with a worldwide audience at virtually no cost. We take advantage of this revolutionary opportunity when we make our work "open access": digital, online, free of charge, and free of most copyright and licensing restrictions. Open access is made possible by the Internet and copyright-holder…

Internet Use among Retired Teachers

Science.gov (United States)

Demiray, Emine; Candemir, Özden

2017-01-01

Internet access tools and devices are developing with the prevalence of the Internet, which is considered revolutionary in information and communications technology. Beside the widespread use of the Internet among young people, statistics show that the number of older people that use the Internet is also on the rise. The purpose of the study is to…

NOAH--New York Online Access to Health: library collaboration for bilingual consumer health information on the Internet.

Science.gov (United States)

Voge, S

1998-07-01

New York Online Access to Health (NOAH) is a Web site that provides accurate, timely, relevant, and unbiased full-text health information in both English and Spanish. A joint project of The City University of New York Office of Library Services, The New York Academy of Medicine Library, the Metropolitan New York Library Council, and The New York Public Library, NOAH brings consumer health information to the public in New York City and around the world via the Internet. NOAH is an example of a successful collaboration among different types of libraries (academic, public, medical society) and voluntary health agencies to use new technologies to reach a very broad public. This paper discusses the involvement of the library partners in terms of the management and funding of the site. Web site construction is described including how the information is gathered and organized. Future plans and funding issues for NOAH are considered in terms of the expected increase in the need for consumer health information. NOAH can be reached at: www.noah.cuny.edu.

Internet Use among Community-Based Rehabilitation Workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina: A Cross-Sectional Survey.

Science.gov (United States)

Yeung, Euson; Balogh, Robert; Cole, Donald; Jakovic, Djenana; Landry, Michel D

2011-01-01

The Internet may be one way to support and improve rehabilitation practice and service delivery in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. Little information exists on use of the Internet to enhance the practice and professional development of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) workers in LMICs. The purpose of this study was to assess the patterns of and barriers to Internet use by CBR workers in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Participants were CBR workers (physiotherapists, physiatrists, and technicians) from Bosnia and Herzegovina who attended a conference or workshop in 2005. A cross-sectional questionnaire was administered in the local language to assess Internet use. Descriptive results were summarized in tables. Bivariate and multiple logistic regressions were used to assess factors associated with Internet use. A total of 33% of respondents had never used the Internet. Common barriers to Internet use included "not enough time" (24%), "no access" (23%), and "lack of skill" (18%). Participants with higher levels of education had greater odds of using the Internet than physiotherapy school graduates (odds ratio=7.6, p=0.016) and had greater odds of using the Internet to obtain medical, rehabilitation, or health information (odds ratio=5.8, p=0.028). Improving CBR workers' access to the Internet and their proficiency in using it may enable them to obtain valuable rehabilitation-related information and enhance communication among CBR workers, potentially translating into improved rehabilitation services for people with disabilities in LMICs.

The Net Neutrality Debate: Analysis of economic implications of net neutrality on internet service providers, content providers and internet users

OpenAIRE

Møinichen, Jørgen

2014-01-01

This thesis studies the economic implications of a transition from a neutral to a non-neutral network. A mathematical model with an end to end ecosystem is developed, which includes a backbone internet service provider that provides connectivity for the content providers. The model also includes internet users that pay an access internet service provider for connectivity to interact with the content providers, advertisers that pay the content providers, and access internet service providers t...

Impact of language anxiety and self-efficacy on accessing Internet sites.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Hui-Jen; Lay, Yun-Long; Tsao, Wen-Yu; Liou, Yi-Chin; Lin, Cheng-Kun

2007-04-01

Language interface plays a critical role as the foundation of communication. Possessing greater fluency in the host language can lead to increased opportunities for interaction with host members. This research is to examine the impact of language and Internet usage anxiety and self-efficacy on the intended uses of Internet sites, respectively. By the same token, whether Internet/language self-efficacy would mediate the effects of Internet/language anxiety on the intention of the Internet site use is also examined. A valid sample of 368 undergraduates was tested in this study. The path analysis results mostly supported the model tested. The results display that the anxiety of language and Internet use have significantly influenced self-efficacy of Internet use and language, respectively. Anxiety about language and Internet use have also significantly influenced the intention to use Internet sites individually. Furthermore, language self-efficacy has significantly influenced the intention to use Internet sites, but Internet self-efficacy has not. The implications are discussed at the end of the paper.

VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT FOR CONTINUING MEDICAL EDUCATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sorana D. BOLBOACA

2007-01-01

Full Text Available The rapid development of communication and information technologies lead to the changes in continuing medical education by offering the possibility to move up-to-date medical information through Internet to the physicians. The main goal of this study was to create a virtual space for continuing medical education. In this context, a number of computer-assisted tools for instruction, evaluation and utilization in daily activity have been developed and integrated into a unitary system. The main imposed specifications of the system were accessibility, integrity, availability, and security.This report describes the characteristics of tables design and organization, and of system integration. The security level was imposed for assuring the accessibility of each physician to medical information useful in his or her activity and the knowledge database development.

The Survey of Correlation between Internet Addiction and General Health Status among the Students of Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2010-2011, Qom, Iran

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jafary Nodoushan M.A

2012-09-01

Full Text Available Background and Objectives: Nowadays, internet addiction is known as a psychological disorder in medical science and psychology. Comparing with average users, addicted users' public health are in great danger. This study aims to determine the relationship between internet addiction and students' public health in Qom University of Medical Sciences in 2010 to 2011(1389-1390 academic year. Methods: This descriptive study assessed 250 students of Qom university of medical sciences by means of two questionnaires: the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28 and addiction internet (IAT. The obtained data were analyzed by using statistical chi-square tests, ANOVA and T test and p<0.05 was considered as the significant level. Results: In this study, 90% were mild addicted users to internet , 9.6% medium addicted users to internet and 4% of users had severe addiction to internet. The most desirable level of general health was observed in mild addicted users (p<0.05. Significant relationship between internet addiction and general health was not observed.Conclusion: Based on this study, it is necessary to consider internet addiction phenomenon as a serious problem to young generation's health and university officials who are responsible for their health should make a plan in educating and culture of using internet.

Validity of the Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test: a study on a group of medical students in Malaysia.

Science.gov (United States)

Guan, Ng Chong; Isa, Saramah Mohammed; Hashim, Aili Hanim; Pillai, Subash Kumar; Harbajan Singh, Manveen Kaur

2015-03-01

The use of the Internet has been increasing dramatically over the decade in Malaysia. Excessive usage of the Internet has lead to a phenomenon called Internet addiction. There is a need for a reliable, valid, and simple-to-use scale to measure Internet addiction in the Malaysian population for clinical practice and research purposes. The aim of this study was to validate the Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test, using a sample of 162 medical students. The instrument displayed good internal consistency (Cronbach's α = .91), parallel reliability (intraclass coefficient = .88, P students with and without Internet dependence. Principal component analysis with varimax rotation identified a 5-factor model. The Malay version of the Internet Addiction Test appeared to be a valid instrument for assessing Internet addiction in Malaysian university students. © 2012 APJPH.

A simple and low-cost Internet-based teleconsultation system that could effectively solve the health care access problems in underserved areas of developing countries.

Science.gov (United States)

Kuntalp, Mehmet; Akar, Orkun

2004-08-01

In many developing countries including Turkey, telemedicine systems are not in wide use due to the high cost and complexity of the required technology. Lack of these systems however has serious implications on patients who live in rural areas. The objective of this paper is to present a simple and economically affordable alternative to the current systems that would allow experts to easily access the medical data of their remote patients over the Internet. The system is developed in client-server architecture with a user-friendly graphical interface and various services are implemented as dynamic web pages based on PHP. The other key features of the system are its powerful security features and platform independency. An academic prototype is implemented and presented to the evaluation of a group of physicians. The results reveal that the system could find acceptance from the medical community and it could be an effective means of providing quality health care in developing countries.

Examining Stakeholder Perceptions of Accessibility and Utilization of Computer and Internet Technology in the Selinsgrove Area School District

Science.gov (United States)

Krause, Lorinda M.

2014-01-01

This study utilized a mixed methods approach to examine the issue of how parents, students, and teachers (stakeholders) perceive accessibility and the utilization of computer and Internet technology within the Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania Area School District. Quantitative data was collected through the use of questionnaires distributed to the…

Learning Clinical Procedures Through Internet Digital Objects: Experience of Undergraduate Students Across Clinical Faculties

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tse Yan; Wong, Kin; Tse, Christine Shuk Kwan; Chan, Ying Yee

2015-01-01

Background Various digital learning objects (DLOs) are available via the World Wide Web, showing the flow of clinical procedures. It is unclear to what extent these freely accessible Internet DLOs facilitate or hamper students’ acquisition of clinical competence. Objective This study aimed to understand the experience of undergraduate students across clinical disciplines—medicine, dentistry, and nursing—in using openly accessible Internet DLOs, and to investigate the role of Internet DLOs in facilitating their clinical learning. Methods Mid-year and final-year groups were selected from each undergraduate clinical degree program of the University of Hong Kong—Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), and Bachelor of Nursing (BNurs). All students were invited to complete a questionnaire on their personal and educational backgrounds, and their experiences and views on using Internet DLOs in learning clinical procedures. The questionnaire design was informed by the findings of six focus groups. Results Among 439 respondents, 97.5% (428/439) learned a variety of clinical procedures through Internet DLOs. Most nursing students (107/122, 87.7%) learned preventive measures through Internet DLOs, with a lower percentage of medical students (99/215, 46.0%) and dental students (43/96, 45%) having learned them this way (both Pstudents accessed DLOs through public search engines, whereas 93.2% (409/439) accessed them by watching YouTube videos. Students often shared DLOs with classmates (277/435, 63.7%), but rarely discussed them with teachers (54/436, 12.4%). The accuracy, usefulness, and importance of Internet DLOs were rated as 6.85 (SD 1.48), 7.27 (SD 1.53), and 7.13 (SD 1.72), respectively, out of a high score of 10. Conclusions Self-exploration of DLOs in the unrestricted Internet environment is extremely common among current e-generation learners and was regarded by students across clinical faculties as an important

Relative quality of internet-derived gastrointestinal cancer information.

Science.gov (United States)

Chan, David S Y; Willicombe, Anita; Reid, Thomas D; Beaton, Ceri; Arnold, David; Ward, James; Davies, I Llion; Lewis, Wyn G

2012-12-01

Internet-derived health care information is increasingly accessed by patients, yet its quality and accuracy is variable and unregulated. The aim of this study was to assess the information available regarding common gastrointestinal cancers via three internet search engines (Google, Yahoo and Bing). The top 30 websites for each of the terms: oesophageal, gastric, pancreatic, colon and rectal cancer were evaluated (University of Michigan Consumer Health Website Checklist) and scored [-80 (poor) to 90 (excellent)]. The median score was 53 (-7 to 81) and was significantly higher for oesophageal (61) and pancreatic (65) cancer websites, compared with gastric (49), colon (48) and rectal cancer (50) (p = 0.014). Median scores related to charitable organisations were significantly better than academic, commercial, news agency, care provider, layperson and medical information websites collectively (79 vs. 42, p < 0.0001). Overall quality of internet-derived gastrointestinal cancer information remains poor and patients and clinicians should be aware.

A Comparison Of Internet-Based Learning And Traditional Classroom Lecture To Learn Cpr For Continuing Medical Education

OpenAIRE

HEMMATI, Nima; OMRANI, Soghra; HEMMATI, Naser

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to compare the satisfaction and effectiveness of Internet-based learning (IBL) and traditional classroom lecture (TCL) for continuing medical education (CME) programs by comparing final resuscitation exam results of physicians who received the newest cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) curriculum guidelines training either by traditional or by an Internet-based CME. A randomized two-group pretest-posttest quasi-experimental design was used. Postgraduate general ...

Experience with an Internet information system about radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cecilio, Paulo J.; Carvalho, Heloisa A.; Sartoris, Carla E.; Fonseca, Ismael B.; Neviani, Cristiano B.

2001-01-01

An independent web site with information about cancer treatment with radiation was created: 'www.iradioterapia.com'. Information is based on scientific data and different treatment guidelines. Always in an ethical way, health professionals, students, patients and their relatives, and others, can obtain theoretical information about therapeutic options, management of the disease, up-to-date on treatments worldwide, and on-line responses to several questions. They can also participate in group discussion among themselves. On the web since August 2000, 4000 accesses had already been registered, with many questions answered for patients and group discussions. The main questions are about medical treatment policies, patient care, and prognosis of the disease. There are very few information available for patients and relatives about radiotherapy. Free access to this kind of information allows improvement of treatment techniques, patient-physician relationship, and confidence of the patient during treatment. Internet access permitted more participation of patients and their relatives in their own treatment, allowing higher comfort and tranquility. Patients collaborate in medical appointments, searching for the best technique and treatment options. (author)

Internet-based developmental screening: a digital divide between English- and Spanish-speaking parents.

Science.gov (United States)

Hambidge, Simon J; Phibbs, Stephanie; Beck, Arne; Bergman, David Aaron

2011-10-01

Internet-based developmental screening is being implemented in pediatric practices across the United States. Little is known about the application of this technology in poor urban populations. We describe here the results of focus groups, surveys, and in-depth interviews during home visits with families served by an urban safety-net organization to address the question of whether it is possible to use Internet or e-mail communication for medical previsit engagement in a population that is majority Hispanic, of low socioeconomic status, and has many non-English-speaking families. This study included families in 4 clinics within a safety-net health care system. The study design included the use of (1) parental surveys (n = 200) of a convenience sample of parents whose children received primary care in the clinics, (2) focus groups (n = 7 groups) with parents, and (3) in-depth interviews during home visits with 4 families. We used χ(2) and multivariate analyses to compare Internet access in English- and Spanish-speaking families. Standard qualitative methods were used to code focus-group texts and identify convergent themes. In multivariate analysis, independent factors associated with computer use were English versus Spanish language (odds ratio: 3.2 [95% confidence interval: 1.4-6.9]) and education through at least high school (odds ratio: 4.7 [95% confidence interval: 2.3-9.7]). In focus groups, the concept of parental previsit work, such as developmental screening tests, was viewed favorably by all groups. However, many parents expressed reservations about doing this work by using the Internet or e-mail and stated a preference for either paper or telephone options. Many Spanish-speaking families discussed lack of access to computers and printers. In this economically disadvantaged population, language and maternal education were associated with access to the Internet. Given the potential power of previsit work to tailor well-child visits to the needs of

Black Open Access in Ukraine: Analysis of Downloading Sci-Hub Publications by Ukrainian Internet Users

OpenAIRE

Nazarovets, Serhii

2018-01-01

Introduction. High subscription fees to scholarly research journals provoke researchers to use illegal channels of access to scientific information. Analysis of statistical data on downloads of scholarly research papers by Ukrainian Internet users from illegal web resource can help to define gaps in information provision at the institutional or the state level for each scientific field. Problem Statement. To conduct an analysis of behavior and geography of downloads of scholarly research p...

Web based dosimetry system for reading and monitoring dose through internet access

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Perle, S.C.; Bennett, K.; Kahilainen, J.; Vuotila, M.

2010-01-01

The Instadose TM dosemeter from Mirion Technologies is a small, rugged device based on patented direct ion storage technology and is accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) through NIST, bringing radiation monitoring into the digital age. Smaller than a flash drive, this dosemeter provides an instant read-out when connected to any computer with internet access and a USB connection. Instadose devices provide radiation workers with more flexibility than today's dosemeters. Non Volatile Analog Memory Cell surrounded by a Gas Filled Ion Chamber. Dose changes the amount of Electric Charge in the DIS Analog Memory. The total charge storage capacity of the memory determines the available dose range. The state of the Analog Memory is determined by measuring the voltage across the memory cell. AMP (Account Management Program) provides secure real time access to account details, device assignments, reports and all pertinent account information. Access can be restricted based on the role assignment assigned to an individual. A variety of reports are available for download and customizing. The Advantages of the Instadose dosemeter are: - Unlimited reading capability, - Concerns about a possible exposure can be addressed immediately, - Re-readability without loss of exposure data, with cumulative exposure maintained. (authors)

Web based dosimetry system for reading and monitoring dose through internet access

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Perle, S.C.; Bennett, K.; Kahilainen, J.; Vuotila, M. [Mirion Technologies (United States); Mirion Technologies (Finland)

2010-07-01

The Instadose{sup TM} dosemeter from Mirion Technologies is a small, rugged device based on patented direct ion storage technology and is accredited by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) through NIST, bringing radiation monitoring into the digital age. Smaller than a flash drive, this dosemeter provides an instant read-out when connected to any computer with internet access and a USB connection. Instadose devices provide radiation workers with more flexibility than today's dosemeters. Non Volatile Analog Memory Cell surrounded by a Gas Filled Ion Chamber. Dose changes the amount of Electric Charge in the DIS Analog Memory. The total charge storage capacity of the memory determines the available dose range. The state of the Analog Memory is determined by measuring the voltage across the memory cell. AMP (Account Management Program) provides secure real time access to account details, device assignments, reports and all pertinent account information. Access can be restricted based on the role assignment assigned to an individual. A variety of reports are available for download and customizing. The Advantages of the Instadose dosemeter are: - Unlimited reading capability, - Concerns about a possible exposure can be addressed immediately, - Re-readability without loss of exposure data, with cumulative exposure maintained. (authors)

Prevalence of Sharing Access Credentials in Electronic Medical Records

Science.gov (United States)

Korach, Tzfania; Shreberk-Hassidim, Rony; Thomaidou, Elena; Uzefovsky, Florina; Ayal, Shahar; Ariely, Dan

2017-01-01

Objectives Confidentiality of health information is an important aspect of the physician patient relationship. The use of digital medical records has made data much more accessible. To prevent data leakage, many countries have created regulations regarding medical data accessibility. These regulations require a unique user ID for each medical staff member, and this must be protected by a password, which should be kept undisclosed by all means. Methods We performed a four-question Google Forms-based survey of medical staff. In the survey, each participant was asked if he/she ever obtained the password of another medical staff member. Then, we asked how many times such an episode occurred and the reason for it. Results A total of 299 surveys were gathered. The responses showed that 220 (73.6%) participants reported that they had obtained the password of another medical staff member. Only 171 (57.2%) estimated how many time it happened, with an average estimation of 4.75 episodes. All the residents that took part in the study (45, 15%) had obtained the password of another medical staff member, while only 57.5% (38/66) of the nurses reported this. Conclusions The use of unique user IDs and passwords to defend the privacy of medical data is a common requirement in medical organizations. Unfortunately, the use of passwords is doomed because medical staff members share their passwords with one another. Strict regulations requiring each staff member to have it's a unique user ID might lead to password sharing and to a decrease in data safety. PMID:28875052

Accession Medical Standards Analysis and Research Activity (AMSARA), 2014 Annual Report

Science.gov (United States)

2016-02-02

were accessed with a history of medical disqualification that was either remediated prior to accession or waived, 6% accessed with a waiver, and 3...disability discharge in the first year of service. Among National Guard accessions between 2008 and 2013, 15% accessed with a history of previous...intellectual efficiency, non- delinquency , optimism, order, self-control, sociability, tolerance, and physical conditioning, which is a dimension created

INTERNET AND SENIORS

OpenAIRE

Rain, Tomáš; Ivana Švarcová

2010-01-01

The article deals about the possibilities of using the internet for seniors. Authors suggest using www pages as alternative of retrospective therapy. Authors describe barriers of internet access for seniors. The authors of the article consider about utilization of internet for the reminiscent therapy of seniors. The target group of this article are the workers of the information centres, gerontopeds and the other persons working as the pedagogues. The objective of this article is to summarize...

A survey of selected Internet pharmacies in the United States.

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, A M

2001-01-01

To determine whether differences in the provision of pharmacy services exist among different types of Internet pharmacies. Survey of selected pharmacies with a presence on the Internet. Data were abstracted onto a data collection form for further analysis. Data collection was limited to 3 weeks. U.S.-based Internet pharmacies that allow patients to purchase prescription medications online. Pharmacies were identified using a metasearch engine with the search terms "Internet pharmacy" and "Internet pharmacist." Survey. Comparisons of availability of 10 commonly used products representing a variety of product categories, prescription verification methods, and privacy issues; and determinations of site navigability, drug information and provider access, and payment methods. Sites were categorized as "chain pharmacy extensions," "mail order pharmacies," "independent pharmacy extensions," and "online pharmacies." Thirty-three sites were reviewed. There was significant variation among the four types of pharmacies selling prescriptions over the Internet. Most pharmacies provided all of the drugs in the survey. Patients were required to provide their own prescription at 88% of the sites, and 75% of sites used mail or fax to verify prescription integrity. More than 50% of sites had privacy policies posted, and 64% used cookies. Chain pharmacy extensions required completion of an average of 10.2 pages to order drugs versus 2.4 to 4 pages for all other site types. Drug information was written at an eighth-grade reading level at 36% of the sites. More than two-thirds of the sites provided a toll-free telephone for a health care professional. Nearly 80% of the sites accepted health insurance, and 95% accepted credit cards; however, only 40% used a secure transmission mechanism for patient or payment information. Internet pharmacies provide varying levels of service. Policies regarding the use of the Internet for obtaining medications should focus on improving the privacy of

Social Media Use and Access to Digital Technology in US Young Adults in 2016.

Science.gov (United States)

Villanti, Andrea C; Johnson, Amanda L; Ilakkuvan, Vinu; Jacobs, Megan A; Graham, Amanda L; Rath, Jessica M

2017-06-07

Internet was lower in those reporting a lower subjective financial situation; there were also significant differences in access to specific digital devices with Internet by race, ethnicity, and education. The high mean number of social media sites used regularly and the substantial overlap in use of multiple social media sites reflect the rapidly changing social media environment. Mobile devices are a primary channel for social media, and our study highlights disparities in access to digital technologies with Internet access among US young adults by race/ethnicity, education, and subjective financial status. Findings from this study may guide the development and implementation of future health interventions for young adults delivered via the Internet or social media sites. ©Andrea C Villanti, Amanda L Johnson, Vinu Ilakkuvan, Megan A Jacobs, Amanda L Graham, Jessica M Rath. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 07.06.2017.

Structural barriers in access to medical marijuana in the USA?a systematic review protocol

OpenAIRE

Valencia, Celina I.; Asaolu, Ibitola O.; Ehiri, John E.; Rosales, Cecilia

2017-01-01

Background There are 43 state medical marijuana programs in the USA, yet limited evidence is available on the demographic characteristics of the patient population accessing these programs. Moreover, insights into the social and structural barriers that inform patients? success in accessing medical marijuana are limited. A current gap in the scientific literature exists regarding generalizable data on the social, cultural, and structural mechanisms that hinder access to medical marijuana amon...

2008 Utilization of Web-Based Resources for Medical Research and ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Gbaje E.S

electricity, non-access to useful medical information internet addresses. The study recommends compulsory ..... http://www.bibl.liu.se/liupubl/disp/disp2001/ar ts240s.htm. Humphreys BL. .... Pretoria National Academic Science U.S.A.. February ...

Collaborative Virtual 3D Environment for Internet-Accessible Physics Experiments

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bettina Scheucher

2009-08-01

Full Text Available Abstract—Immersive 3D worlds have increasingly raised the interest of researchers and practitioners for various learning and training settings over the last decade. These virtual worlds can provide multiple communication channels between users and improve presence and awareness in the learning process. Consequently virtual 3D environments facilitate collaborative learning and training scenarios. In this paper we focus on the integration of internet-accessible physics experiments (iLabs combined with the TEALsim 3D simulation toolkit in Project Wonderland, Sun's toolkit for creating collaborative 3D virtual worlds. Within such a collaborative environment these tools provide the opportunity for teachers and students to work together as avatars as they control actual equipment, visualize physical phenomenon generated by the experiment, and discuss the results. In particular we will outline the steps of integration, future goals, as well as the value of a collaboration space in Wonderland's virtual world.

Student Empowerment Through Internet Usage

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Purushothaman, Aparna

2011-01-01

in a University in Southern India to empower the female students through Internet usage. The study was done to find out the problems the woman students faced in gaining access and using Internet and how they can be empowered through Internet usage. Future workshop was conducted to find out the problems...... and reflecting. The paper will explore the various cultural issues and explicate how the social context plays a major role in the use of Internet even if there is sufficient access. These issues will be addressed from an empowerment perspective. The paper ends by recommending the methods to be adopted for more......Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has been widely recognized as a tool for human development (UNDP 2001). The rate at which ICT are growing is changing the way knowledge is developed, acquired and delivered. (Tongia, et al. 2005) Internet is one of the Information & Communication...

Internet use among head and neck cancer survivors in the North West of England.

Science.gov (United States)

Rogers, Simon N; Rozek, Aleksandra; Aleyaasin, Narges; Promod, Prakash; Lowe, Derek

2012-04-01

In general, use of the internet by patients in their healthcare is increasing. However, its use specifically among those with head and neck cancer in the UK has not been reported. The aims of this study were to report access to the internet by survivors of head and neck cancer, to indicate where it fits within their information sources, how they have used it, and how they might use it in future. A question on its use has been included in annual surveys of patients since 2006. Patient-reported access to the internet increased from 32% in 2006 to 54% in 2010. There were considerable differences in access by age; currently (2010) 83% of those under 55 years, and 40% of those aged 65-84 years. Binary logistic regression modelling involving age at survey (peducation (psex (p=0.01), gave all three as independent predictors of access. In the 2010 survey 49% (234/473) never used the internet, 10% (49/473) used it rarely, 15% (70/473) used it occasionally, and 25% (120/473) used it often. The main reasons for its use for head and neck cancer were to find information, learn about treatment, side effects, and medication, and obtain advice from members of multidisciplinary teams. The findings of this study show that the internet has an important role for patients in providing information and support about their cancer, although other sources are still very important. Data from the study will help inform those promoting e-health about the type of resource that is wanted by patients. Copyright © 2011 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Internet access to scanned paper documents

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Worring, M.; Smeulders, A.W.M.; Witten, I.; Akscyn, R.; Shipman, F.M.

1998-01-01

In this contribution we identify the different structures to encounterin a hyperdocument. Methods are described for deriving those structures from scanned paper originals. The content and structure of the document is then made available in a form suited for an Internet browser. It provides

Extending the Internet of Things to the Future Internet Through IPv6 Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Antonio J. Jara

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Emerging Internet of Things (IoT/Machine-to-Machine (M2M systems require a transparent access to information and services through a seamless integration into the Future Internet. This integration exploits infrastructure and services found on the Internet by the IoT. On the one hand, the so-called Web of Things aims for direct Web connectivity by pushing its technology down to devices and smart things. On the other hand, the current and Future Internet offer stable, scalable, extensive, and tested protocols for node and service discovery, mobility, security, and auto-configuration, which are also required for the IoT. In order to integrate the IoT into the Internet, this work adapts, extends, and bridges using IPv6 the existing IoT building blocks (such as solutions from IEEE 802.15.4, BT-LE, RFID while maintaining backwards compatibility with legacy networked embedded systems from building and industrial automation. Specifically, this work presents an extended Internet stack with a set of adaptation layers from non-IP towards the IPv6-based network layer in order to enable homogeneous access for applications and services.

The Internet Debate.

Science.gov (United States)

Wampler, Angela Mallicote

1996-01-01

Examines whether the Internet will be an equalizer or will increase social stratification, whether the Internet will be a boon to rural areas, and how it can be made more appealing or acceptable to rural areas. Discusses the "missionary movement" model of economic change and rural issues related to access to infrastructure, censorship,…

Development and evaluation of an internet and personal health record training program for low-income patients with HIV or hepatitis C.

Science.gov (United States)

McInnes, D Keith; Solomon, Jeffrey L; Shimada, Stephanie L; Petrakis, Beth A; Bokhour, Barbara G; Asch, Steven M; Nazi, Kim M; Houston, Thomas K; Gifford, Allen L

2013-03-01

Vulnerable populations face difficulties accessing and using the internet and personal health record (PHR) systems for health-related purposes. Populations disconnected from the internet also tend to be disconnected from health care services. To develop and evaluate an intervention to increase skills in health-related internet and PHR use for vulnerable populations with limited computer and internet experience. Preevaluation and postevaluation using quantitative surveys, semistructured interviews, focus groups, and ethnographic observation. Fourteen low-income Veterans receiving care at Veterans Affairs medical centers for human immunodeficiency virus or hepatitis C. Internet and PHR use, self-efficacy, patient activation, disease knowledge, predictors of medication adherence. At follow-up one (FU1), mean number of internet for health features used increased from 1.57 to 4.07 (Pinternet and PHRs and their contribution to increased engagement in care. Training cost per participant was $287. Group training of vulnerable patients represents a cost-effective method to increase internet and PHR skills, and improve patient confidence in finding health-related information, making online health-related transactions, and interacting with health care providers.

Learning Clinical Procedures Through Internet Digital Objects: Experience of Undergraduate Students Across Clinical Faculties.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Tse Yan; Gao, Xiaoli; Wong, Kin; Tse, Christine Shuk Kwan; Chan, Ying Yee

2015-04-14

Various digital learning objects (DLOs) are available via the World Wide Web, showing the flow of clinical procedures. It is unclear to what extent these freely accessible Internet DLOs facilitate or hamper students' acquisition of clinical competence. This study aimed to understand the experience of undergraduate students across clinical disciplines-medicine, dentistry, and nursing-in using openly accessible Internet DLOs, and to investigate the role of Internet DLOs in facilitating their clinical learning. Mid-year and final-year groups were selected from each undergraduate clinical degree program of the University of Hong Kong-Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS), and Bachelor of Nursing (BNurs). All students were invited to complete a questionnaire on their personal and educational backgrounds, and their experiences and views on using Internet DLOs in learning clinical procedures. The questionnaire design was informed by the findings of six focus groups. Among 439 respondents, 97.5% (428/439) learned a variety of clinical procedures through Internet DLOs. Most nursing students (107/122, 87.7%) learned preventive measures through Internet DLOs, with a lower percentage of medical students (99/215, 46.0%) and dental students (43/96, 45%) having learned them this way (both Plearning in the planned curriculum. This trend calls for a transformation of the educator's role from dispensing knowledge to guidance and support.

Internet Usage Habits and Internet Usage in Educational Studies of Vocational School Students

OpenAIRE

Zehra Deniz Yakıncı; Perihan Gürbüz; Gülsüm Yetiş

2018-01-01

Internet is the easiest way to access information. It provides positive contributions to individual and surroundings, in learning and information era. At this point the answers of the questions: ‘How do young people use internet and how much do they use internet for their education?’ come into prominence. In order to find the answers; a questionnaire prepared by resarchers and Young Internet Addiction Test- Short Form (YIAT-SF) was used on ‘Health Services Vocational High School’ students, in...

Using Internet Search Engines to Obtain Medical Information: A Comparative Study

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Liupu; Wang, Juexin; Wang, Michael; Li, Yong; Liang, Yanchun

2012-01-01

Background The Internet has become one of the most important means to obtain health and medical information. It is often the first step in checking for basic information about a disease and its treatment. The search results are often useful to general users. Various search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com can play an important role in obtaining medical information for both medical professionals and lay people. However, the usability and effectiveness of various search engines for medical information have not been comprehensively compared and evaluated. Objective To compare major Internet search engines in their usability of obtaining medical and health information. Methods We applied usability testing as a software engineering technique and a standard industry practice to compare the four major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com) in obtaining health and medical information. For this purpose, we searched the keyword breast cancer in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com and saved the results of the top 200 links from each search engine. We combined nonredundant links from the four search engines and gave them to volunteer users in an alphabetical order. The volunteer users evaluated the websites and scored each website from 0 to 10 (lowest to highest) based on the usefulness of the content relevant to breast cancer. A medical expert identified six well-known websites related to breast cancer in advance as standards. We also used five keywords associated with breast cancer defined in the latest release of Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and analyzed their occurrence in the websites. Results Each search engine provided rich information related to breast cancer in the search results. All six standard websites were among the top 30 in search results of all four search engines. Google had the best search validity (in terms of whether a website could be opened), followed by Bing, Ask.com, and Yahoo!. The search

Using Internet search engines to obtain medical information: a comparative study.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Liupu; Wang, Juexin; Wang, Michael; Li, Yong; Liang, Yanchun; Xu, Dong

2012-05-16

The Internet has become one of the most important means to obtain health and medical information. It is often the first step in checking for basic information about a disease and its treatment. The search results are often useful to general users. Various search engines such as Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com can play an important role in obtaining medical information for both medical professionals and lay people. However, the usability and effectiveness of various search engines for medical information have not been comprehensively compared and evaluated. To compare major Internet search engines in their usability of obtaining medical and health information. We applied usability testing as a software engineering technique and a standard industry practice to compare the four major search engines (Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com) in obtaining health and medical information. For this purpose, we searched the keyword breast cancer in Google, Yahoo!, Bing, and Ask.com and saved the results of the top 200 links from each search engine. We combined nonredundant links from the four search engines and gave them to volunteer users in an alphabetical order. The volunteer users evaluated the websites and scored each website from 0 to 10 (lowest to highest) based on the usefulness of the content relevant to breast cancer. A medical expert identified six well-known websites related to breast cancer in advance as standards. We also used five keywords associated with breast cancer defined in the latest release of Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine-Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT) and analyzed their occurrence in the websites. Each search engine provided rich information related to breast cancer in the search results. All six standard websites were among the top 30 in search results of all four search engines. Google had the best search validity (in terms of whether a website could be opened), followed by Bing, Ask.com, and Yahoo!. The search results highly overlapped between the

Internet pharmacy: Need to be implemented in India

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ankit Anand

2010-01-01

Full Text Available In this era of science and technology, computer plays an important role in community. Today, computer is so ubiq-uitous in pharmaceutical research and development. The advent of the internet has had a significant impact on the formation of an information-driven, rapid-paced society. The number of internet users reached 150 million in only five years compared to 13 years for television and 38 years for radio. Consumer expectation for access, conven-ience, and speed has made the cyberspace superhighway a medium for knowledge exchange and for e-commerce. The internet offers a wide variety of health services and products to healthcare professionals as well as to the pub-lic. Online pharmaceutical sales have reached more than nearly $50 billion. This is a dramatic increase when com-pared to the $1.9 billion in 1999. At the click of the mouse, medications can be ordered and delivered conveniently to your door. Internet has evolved into a self-organizing media, capable of multiple interactions within. A large number of consumer products including drugs are being advertised and sold over the Internet. Though the market-ing of drugs over the Internet is an inevitable outcome of the booming e-economy, it poses unique ethical, legal and quality challenges- the prime cause being the anarchic structure of the Internet. These challenges are important from the consumer, physician and regulator perspectives. This paper begins with a summary of historical considera-tions and the shifting organization of internet pharmacy. The advantages and disadvantages of internet pharmacy practice are listed. Internet pharmacy is not only affordable but also can be source of easy availability of medicine.

WISE-MD usage among millennial medical students.

Science.gov (United States)

Phitayakorn, Roy; Nick, Michael W; Alseidi, Adnan; Lind, David Scott; Sudan, Ranjan; Isenberg, Gerald; Capella, Jeannette; Hopkins, Mary A; Petrusa, Emil R

2015-01-01

E-learning is increasingly common in undergraduate medical education. Internet-based multimedia materials should be designed with millennial learner utilization preferences in mind for maximal impact. Medical students used all 20 Web Initiative for Surgical Education of Medical Doctors modules from July 1, 2013 to October 1, 2013. Data were analyzed for topic frequency, time and week day, and access to questions. Three thousand five hundred eighty-seven students completed 35,848 modules. Students accessed modules for average of 51 minutes. Most frequent use occurred on Sunday (23.1%), Saturday (15.4%), and Monday (14.3%). Friday had the least use (8.2%). A predominance of students accessed the modules between 7 and 10 PM (34.4%). About 80.4% of students accessed questions for at least one module. They completed an average of 40 ± 30 of the questions. Only 827 students (2.3%) repeated the questions. Web Initiative for Surgical Education of Medical Doctors has peak usage during the weekend and evenings. Most frequently used modules reflect core surgical problems. Multiple factors influence the manner module questions are accessed. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Associations among Different Internet Access Time, Gender and Cyberbullying Behaviors in Taiwan’s Adolescents

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng-Min Chao

2017-06-01

Full Text Available With the increasing convenience of social networking sites and their interconnectedness with human interaction, verbal and image bullying have turned digital, making cyberbullying a new form of bullying attracting the attention of researchers, social workers, and schools. This study focuses on the status quo of attitude toward cyberbullying and cyberbullying behavior, explores associations of attitude toward behavior on cyberbullying behavior in gender and different internet access times. In a cross-sectional survey, adolescents were surveyed through self-report questionnaires, 13,864 respondents were received among 150 high schools in Taiwan. Statistical analyses were performed using structural equation modeling (SEM. The study revealed that attitude toward cyberbullying has a direct effect on cyberbullying behavior; among the greatest direct impact were when students use the Internet during the time frame 10:00–14:00. Parents and schoolteachers pay special attention to students using the Internet during this time frame 10:00–14:00 and give guidance, express care, and help those being bullied to communicate and use the Internet in a correct manner. Among genders, male student attitude toward behavior has a greater effect than those of female students. Both male and female students know what cyberbullying is and have witnessed, heard of, or personally encountered cyberbullying behavior. We recommend students talk to parents or teachers or other people who care to reduce the negative effects of cyberbullying. We hopeful that the conceptualization model presented in this study serves as an activator for researches on attitude toward cyberbullying and cyberbullying behavior, and serves a guide and a call to attract more researches in this area.

Associations among Different Internet Access Time, Gender and Cyberbullying Behaviors in Taiwan’s Adolescents

Science.gov (United States)

Chao, Cheng-Min; Yu, Tai-Kuei

2017-01-01

With the increasing convenience of social networking sites and their interconnectedness with human interaction, verbal and image bullying have turned digital, making cyberbullying a new form of bullying attracting the attention of researchers, social workers, and schools. This study focuses on the status quo of attitude toward cyberbullying and cyberbullying behavior, explores associations of attitude toward behavior on cyberbullying behavior in gender and different internet access times. In a cross-sectional survey, adolescents were surveyed through self-report questionnaires, 13,864 respondents were received among 150 high schools in Taiwan. Statistical analyses were performed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The study revealed that attitude toward cyberbullying has a direct effect on cyberbullying behavior; among the greatest direct impact were when students use the Internet during the time frame 10:00–14:00. Parents and schoolteachers pay special attention to students using the Internet during this time frame 10:00–14:00 and give guidance, express care, and help those being bullied to communicate and use the Internet in a correct manner. Among genders, male student attitude toward behavior has a greater effect than those of female students. Both male and female students know what cyberbullying is and have witnessed, heard of, or personally encountered cyberbullying behavior. We recommend students talk to parents or teachers or other people who care to reduce the negative effects of cyberbullying. We hopeful that the conceptualization model presented in this study serves as an activator for researches on attitude toward cyberbullying and cyberbullying behavior, and serves a guide and a call to attract more researches in this area. PMID:28713309

Economics and Governance of the wireless Internet

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Falch, Morten; Henten, Anders; Tadayoni, Reza

barriers of entry. In this paper three issues are discussed: 1) Developments in pricing schemes for Internet interconnection and Internet access with special focus on the role of wireless access. 2) Developments in supporting infrastructures with special focus on the increasing role of wireless......The Internet has undergone a growing diversification with regard to types of users, kinds of services and use of transmission technologies and infrastructures. Today, internet services are delivered by the use of many different wired and wireless communication technologies with different technical...... capabilities and limitations, and with different techno-economic characteristics. The question is whether these trends challenge the current mode of governance for the Internet. In the early days, the Internet was considered to be open, free, competitive, with a high level of entrepreneurialism, and with low...

Survey on the use of the Internet as a source of oral health information among dental patients in Bangalore City, India.

Science.gov (United States)

Naganandini, S; Rao, Rekha; Kulkarni, Smitha B

2014-01-01

Widespread internet usage worldwide allows increased access to medical and dental information and can be used for patient self-education. However, because there is little evidence about how the internet is impacting dentistry, this survey was conducted to determine how dental patients in Bangalore, India, use it as a source of information on oral health and to discover how it affects oral hygiene practices of patients. The data was collected from 572 patients attending the outpatient departments of public and private hospitals by administering a specially designed proforma questionnaire. The chi-square test (P gender and age groups was due to higher internet access at the work place and through cybercafés. A significantly higher number of patients from the private sector and with higher educational background used the internet. Low socioeconomic status and a low educational level act as barriers to using the internet, which may explain the results of this study. Creating awareness amongst people of different educational backgrounds through appropriate means (following an individualised approach based on educational qualification) would increase internet use for acquiring information on oral health.

Internet advertising effectiveness by using hierarchical model

OpenAIRE

RAHMANI, Samaneh

2015-01-01

Abstract. Present paper has been developed with the title of internet advertising effectiveness by using hierarchical model. Presenting the question: Today Internet is an important channel in marketing and advertising. The reason for this could be the ability of the Internet to reduce costs and people’s access to online services[1]. Also advertisers can easily access a multitude of users and communicate with them at low cost [9]. On the other hand, compared to traditional advertising, interne...

Internet applications in radiation safety

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, P.; Geisse, C.; Wuest, E.

1998-01-01

As a means of effective communication the Internet is presently becoming more and more important in German speaking countries, too. Its possibilities to exchange and to obtain information efficiently and rapidly are excellent. Internet and email access are available now in most institutions for professional use. Internet services of importance to radiation safety professionals are described. (orig.) [de

Australian internet policy

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Angela Daly

2017-03-01

Full Text Available This special issue focussing on internet policy in Australia provides a snapshot of developments on various topics (access, privacy, censorship as a means of understanding better the state of play in Australia, and also how this compares to internet policy in other parts of the world, especially Europe and North America. Given changing geopolitics, the influence of internet policy in the rest of the Asia Pacific through vehicles such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP may become increasingly important in Australia in the coming years. This leaves Australia, and its internet policy, at a crossroads, which may reflect broader dynamics in internet policy internationally, and makes this an interesting time in which to explore what is happening in this particular country.

INTERNET AND SENIORS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rain, Tomáš

2010-12-01

Full Text Available The article deals about the possibilities of using the internet for seniors. Authors suggest using www pages as alternative of retrospective therapy. Authors describe barriers of internet access for seniors. The authors of the article consider about utilization of internet for the reminiscent therapy of seniors. The target group of this article are the workers of the information centres, gerontopeds and the other persons working as the pedagogues. The objective of this article is to summarize ways of using internet for helping seniors to better life. The authors describe terms e-senior. The authors suggest methodological approach to exercising user’s skills.

Wearable Devices in Medical Internet of Things: Scientific Research and Commercially Available Devices.

Science.gov (United States)

Haghi, Mostafa; Thurow, Kerstin; Stoll, Regina

2017-01-01

Wearable devices are currently at the heart of just about every discussion related to the Internet of Things. The requirement for self-health monitoring and preventive medicine is increasing due to the projected dramatic increase in the number of elderly people until 2020. Developed technologies are truly able to reduce the overall costs for prevention and monitoring. This is possible by constantly monitoring health indicators in various areas, and in particular, wearable devices are considered to carry this task out. These wearable devices and mobile apps now have been integrated with telemedicine and telehealth efficiently, to structure the medical Internet of Things. This paper reviews wearable health care devices both in scientific papers and commercial efforts. MIoT is demonstrated through a defined architecture design, including hardware and software dealing with wearable devices, sensors, smart phones, medical application, and medical station analyzers for further diagnosis and data storage. Wearables, with the help of improved technology have been developed greatly and are considered reliable tools for long-term health monitoring systems. These are applied in the observation of a large variety of health monitoring indicators in the environment, vital signs, and fitness. Wearable devices are now used for a wide range of healthcare observation. One of the most important elements essential in data collection is the sensor. During recent years with improvement in semiconductor technology, sensors have made investigation of a full range of parameters closer to realization.

World tour through the internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jang, Ji Hwan; Kang, Ho Seong; Kim, Jong Hun

1994-03-01

This book deals with basic knowledge and familiarity with internet use, which is composed of seven chapters ; the world of internet, the basic knowledge for internet use such as telnet, mail, talk, basic command on Unix and command for communication, to access to the internet, if you get on the internet for the first time, useful service of internet such as archie service, gopher service, who is service, Use net, IRC and Netiquette on IRC, interesting internet trip like Billboard charts, TV-Rating, Solar Report, Agricultural Info, CARL, Nat'l Education BBS, internet service in Sydney university FEDIX, CAIR, NOAA, SDDAS, Stock, MUD and international Go server. The last chapter is computer networks connected to the internet ; computer services, BITNET, and FidoNet.

World tour through the internet

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Jang, Ji Hwan; Kang, Ho Seong; Kim, Jong Hun

1994-03-15

This book deals with basic knowledge and familiarity with internet use, which is composed of seven chapters ; the world of internet, the basic knowledge for internet use such as telnet, mail, talk, basic command on Unix and command for communication, to access to the internet, if you get on the internet for the first time, useful service of internet such as archie service, gopher service, who is service, Use net, IRC and Netiquette on IRC, interesting internet trip like Billboard charts, TV-Rating, Solar Report, Agricultural Info, CARL, Nat'l Education BBS, internet service in Sydney university FEDIX, CAIR, NOAA, SDDAS, Stock, MUD and international Go server. The last chapter is computer networks connected to the internet ; computer services, BITNET, and FidoNet.

Security Issues in Networks with Internet Access

National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

Landwehr, Carl E; Goldschlag, David M

1997-01-01

.... The principles are illustrated by describing the security issues a hypothetical company faces as the networks that support its operations evolve from strictly private, through a mix of Internet...

Nuclear medicine resources in the internet

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Obaldo, J.M.

1996-01-01

The internet is a global collection of networked computers linked by a set of protocols which allows the otherwise disperate computer systems to communicate with each other. In contrast to text-only data available previously, the World Wide Web allows multimedia content to be available on the internet. Graphics can now likewise be used as links. The development of World Wide Web client software such as Mosaic, or the currently more popular Netscape Navigator, makes linking from one document to another (colloquially referred to as 'surfing the Net') fast and simple. While these software are commonly called Web browsers their function extends to the other internet services such as e-mail, file transfer protocol, remote login, Gopher and WAIS. A prototype application being developed as a case-based teaching file which could include clinical data and case discussion, aside of course from the nuclear medicine and related images. Contributions from various institutions can be made available on their own servers and linked together through hypertext. Examples of these are websites of the Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology and the Joint Program in Nuclear Medicine of the Harvard Medical School. The university of Iowa also has its Virtual Hospital, a collection of clinical cases with radiologic images. Most major universities and medical centers have websites where information on on-going research, facilities and personnel are made available. Links to various special interest discussion groups (e.g. those developing the common image file format) are also accessible and the documents often contain further links to related fields in nuclear technology. The very nature of the hypertext transfer protocol of the World Wide Web makes it a relatively simple matter for a developer of a teaching system to include links to necessary resources. It is envisioned that an internet-based teaching module will be incorporated in some nuclear medicine training programs in the United States

The Status of Internet Addiction Disorder and its Relationship with the Mental Health; a Case Study among Medical Sciences Students of Khalkhal University

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nasiri Kh. MSc,

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract Aims: As a talented and educated groups, university students have a critical role in country, thus, their mental health has an especial importance in learning. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between internet addiction disorder and mental health among University students of Medical Sciences in Khalkhal. Instrument & Methods: As a descriptive-analytical research, this study conducted on 428 university students in Khalkhal who were studying the Medical Sciences in 2015. The instrument used in this study was a three-part questionnaire; the first part included the demographic characteristics of the participants; the second part was Young Internet Addiction Test and the third part consisted of General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28. Sampling was done randomly. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, Pierson correlation, and multiple linear regression were used to analysis the data. Findings: 77.3% of the participants had no internet addiction, 21.7% were at the risk of internet addiction and 0.9% suffered from internet addiction. Moreover, there was a significant relationship between the mental health and internet addiction disorder (p<0.05. Conclusion: There is a relationship between the internet addiction and mental health of students.

"La Comunidad Habla": Using Internet Community-Based Information Interventions to Increase Empowerment and Access to Health Care of Low Income Latino/a Immigrants

Science.gov (United States)

Ginossar, Tamar; Nelson, Sara

2010-01-01

The innovative educational communication interventions described in this paper include the use of bi-lingual, low literacy level websites and training created by low income Latina women to increase access to health care, health information, and the internet. We focus on one grassroots intervention, aimed at increasing access to health care for…

Ethical Challenges of Medicine and Health on the Internet: A Review

Science.gov (United States)

2001-01-01

Knowledge and capabilities, particularly of a new technology or in a new area of study, frequently develop faster than the guidelines and principles needed for practitioners to practice ethically in the new arena; this is particularly true in medicine. The blending of medicine and healthcare with e-commerce and the Internet raises many questions involving what sort of ethical conduct should be expected by practitioners and developers of the medical Internet. Some of the early pioneers in medical and healthcare Web sites pushed the ethical boundaries with questionable, even unethical, practices. Many involved with the medical Internet are now working to reestablish patient and consumer trust by establishing guidelines to determine how the fundamentals of the medical code of ethical conduct can best be adapted for the medical/healthcare Internet. Ultimately, all those involved in the creation, maintenance, and marketing of medical and healthcare Web sites should be required to adhere to a strict code of ethical conduct, one that has been fairly determined by an impartial international organization with reasonable power to regulate the code. This code could also serve as a desirable, recognizable label-of-distinction for ethical Web sites within the medical and healthcare Internet community. One challenge for those involved with the medical and healthcare Internet will be to determine what constitutes "Medical Internet Ethics" or "Healthcare Internet Ethics," since the definition of medical ethics can vary from country to country. Therefore, the emerging field of Medical/ Healthcare Internet Ethics will require careful thought and insights from an international collection of ethicists in many contributing areas. This paper is a review of the current status of the evolving field of Medical/Healthcare Internet Ethics, including proposed definitions and identification of many diverse areas that may ultimately contribute to this multidisciplinary field. The current role

Ethical challenges of medicine and health on the Internet: a review.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyer, K A

2001-01-01

Knowledge and capabilities, particularly of a new technology or in a new area of study, frequently develop faster than the guidelines and principles needed for practitioners to practice ethically in the new arena; this is particularly true in medicine. The blending of medicine and healthcare with e-commerce and the Internet raises many questions involving what sort of ethical conduct should be expected by practitioners and developers of the medical Internet. Some of the early pioneers in medical and healthcare Web sites pushed the ethical boundaries with questionable, even unethical, practices. Many involved with the medical Internet are now working to reestablish patient and consumer trust by establishing guidelines to determine how the fundamentals of the medical code of ethical conduct can best be adapted for the medical/healthcare Internet. Ultimately, all those involved in the creation, maintenance, and marketing of medical and healthcare Web sites should be required to adhere to a strict code of ethical conduct, one that has been fairly determined by an impartial international organization with reasonable power to regulate the code. This code could also serve as a desirable, recognizable label-of-distinction for ethical Web sites within the medical and healthcare Internet community. One challenge for those involved with the medical and healthcare Internet will be to determine what constitutes "Medical Internet Ethics" or "Healthcare Internet Ethics," since the definition of medical ethics can vary from country to country. Therefore, the emerging field of Medical/ Healthcare Internet Ethics will require careful thought and insights from an international collection of ethicists in many contributing areas. This paper is a review of the current status of the evolving field of Medical/Healthcare Internet Ethics, including proposed definitions and identification of many diverse areas that may ultimately contribute to this multidisciplinary field. The current role

Wireless Multi Hop Access Networks and Protocols

OpenAIRE

Nilsson Plymoth, Anders

2007-01-01

As more and more applications and services in our society now depend on the Internet, it is important that dynamically deployed wireless multi hop networks are able to gain access to the Internet and other infrastructure networks and services. This thesis proposes and evaluates solutions for providing multi hop Internet Access. It investigates how ad hoc networks can be combined with wireless and mesh networks in order to create wireless multi hop access networks. When several access points t...

An Internet of Things Based Multi-Level Privacy-Preserving Access Control for Smart Living

OpenAIRE