BACKGROUND The internet is a valuable tool for access to health-related information.There is limited literature regarding its use by parents of children with surgical conditions.AIM To investigate internet usage by pa...BACKGROUND The internet is a valuable tool for access to health-related information.There is limited literature regarding its use by parents of children with surgical conditions.AIM To investigate internet usage by parents seeking information about the surgical conditions of their offspring in relation to epidemiological factors such as family residential area and parental educational level and to subsequently review the literature regarding this topic.METHODS An anonymous questionnaire about internet usage was completed by eligible parents of children who were admitted to our clinic for minor surgical procedures during a six-month period.RESULTS Our results demonstrated that the internet has been mostly used by mothers for children’s health information.Google was the most commonly used search engine,while pediatricians were the first parental choice for‘live’information.Only one-quarter of the parents informed their doctor about the information found online.Nine of ten parents had a positive opinion of an official website managed by the doctors of our clinic.Our results mostly agreed with the international literature.CONCLUSION In conclusion,the establishment of official websites(designed and managed by specialists)that parents can access to receive appropriate health information is mandatory in the internet era.展开更多
文摘BACKGROUND The internet is a valuable tool for access to health-related information.There is limited literature regarding its use by parents of children with surgical conditions.AIM To investigate internet usage by parents seeking information about the surgical conditions of their offspring in relation to epidemiological factors such as family residential area and parental educational level and to subsequently review the literature regarding this topic.METHODS An anonymous questionnaire about internet usage was completed by eligible parents of children who were admitted to our clinic for minor surgical procedures during a six-month period.RESULTS Our results demonstrated that the internet has been mostly used by mothers for children’s health information.Google was the most commonly used search engine,while pediatricians were the first parental choice for‘live’information.Only one-quarter of the parents informed their doctor about the information found online.Nine of ten parents had a positive opinion of an official website managed by the doctors of our clinic.Our results mostly agreed with the international literature.CONCLUSION In conclusion,the establishment of official websites(designed and managed by specialists)that parents can access to receive appropriate health information is mandatory in the internet era.
