The Impact of the Internet on Cancer Outcomes

@article{Eysenbach2003TheIO,
  title={The Impact of the Internet on Cancer Outcomes},
  author={Gunther Eysenbach},
  journal={CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians},
  year={2003},
  volume={53}
}
  • G. Eysenbach
  • Published 1 November 2003
  • Medicine
  • CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians
Each day, more than 12.5 million health‐related computer searches are conducted on the World Wide Web. Based on a meta‐analysis of 24 published surveys, the author estimates that in the developed world, about 39% of persons with cancer are using the Internet, and approximately 2.3 million persons living with cancer worldwide are online. In addition, 15% to 20% of persons with cancer use the Internet “indirectly” through family and friends. Based on a comprehensive review of the literature, the… 
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603 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
52
Background Citations
281
Methods Citations
15
Results Citations
19

603 Citations

A survey of Internet utilization among patients with cancer
TLDR
Almost two thirds of patients with cancer used the Internet to obtain information about their disease, and factors affecting Internet use for cancer information included age, race, and education.
Internet uses for health information seeking: A literature review.
Internet Health Resources and the Cancer Patient
TLDR
It is important to better understand how patients access health information online and their associated preferences so that cancer patient's access to high quality health information on the internet to facilitate decision-making and health outcomes is improved.
Internet Cancer Information Use by Newly Diagnosed Individuals and Interactions With the Health System
TLDR
This study aims to qualitatively explore the content of commonly used websites from a holistic nursing perspective, to explore the prompts to use the Internet and how it informs the ways patients utilize and interact with health services, and to document the types of Internet resources and amounts of usage.
Using the Internet for Health-Related Activities: Findings From a National Probability Sample
TLDR
The Internet was most widely used as a health information resource, with less participation in the purchase of medicine and vitamins and in online support groups, suggesting that modifying survey questions to better capture forms of online support and medications purchased could provide greater understanding of the nature of participation in these activities.
Use of the internet to obtain cancer information among cancer patients at an urban county hospital.
TLDR
Significant opportunities for Web-based interventions aimed at improving cancer care outcomes in this population of cancer patients exist, however, further study will be needed to determine how to make such intervention accessible, trustworthy, and understandable to the disadvantaged.
Information on the Internet about colorectal cancer: patient attitude and potential toward Web browsing. A prospective observational study.
TLDR
The level of potential interest in patients' use of the Internet is sufficient to justify the development of a departmental or regional colorectal cancer network of websites and indicates areas of interest for patients.
Information from the Internet and Health
TLDR
The research hypothesis that assumes a possible relationship between the use of Internet information by patients and the consumption of healthcare resources is confirmed and the estimated path coefficient of about 0.267 between the two studied variables is statistically significant.
Determinants of the frequency of online health information seeking: Results of a Web-based survey conducted in France in 2007
TLDR
Higher health concerns and some issues in the physician–patient relationship were associated with higher frequencies of Internet use for HIS in the general population, and increasing use of online tools for HIS is consistent with current public health policies that promote the development of the ‘informed patient’.
The Content and Quality of Health Information on the Internet for Patients and Families on Adult Kidney Cancer
TLDR
The content and quality of health-related information on the Internet for adult kidney cancer are variable in comprehensiveness and quality, and many websites are difficult to read without a high school education.
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References

SHOWING 1-10 OF 129 REFERENCES
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TLDR
Older patients are increasing using the Internet for self-education in lung cancer, and patients from rural areas use the Internet to the same degree, as do patients from urban areas, although patients do overrate the quality of information on the Internet.
Use of the Internet by Women with Breast Cancer
TLDR
Patients with higher income or education, and patients of white race/ethnicity are more likely to use the Internet for breast health issues.
Internet usage among women with breast cancer: an exploratory study.
TLDR
This exploratory study underscores the need for more research in this area, specifically with the aims of identifying and verifying factors that lead patients to use the Internet and the impact of their online activities on their medical care.
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TLDR
The Internet becomes the great equalizer: experts, specialists, authorities, professionals, alternative therapy promoters, interested lay people, charlatans, and hucksters all may set up sites containing information regarding specific topics of interest via the Internet.
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TLDR
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TLDR
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  • X. Chen, L. Siu
  • Medicine
    Journal of clinical oncology : official journal of the American Society of Clinical Oncology
  • 2001
TLDR
Information searching is common among cancer patients in Canada and it does not affect the patient-physician relationship, but strategic efforts are needed to improve the quality of medical news reporting by the media and on the Internet.
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TLDR
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TLDR
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TLDR
The importance of the medium internet for the information of tumor patients is currently still low but likely to increase based on demographic factors.
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