Smith R P, Devine P, Jones H, DeNittis A, Whittington R, Metz J M
Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Urology. 2003 Aug;62(2):273-7. doi: 10.1016/s0090-4295(03)00251-6.
To analyze the amount of Internet use, type of Internet use, and factors that predict Internet use by patients with prostate cancer.
A questionnaire evaluating the use of the Internet was given to 295 patients undergoing radiotherapy for prostate cancer in three different settings: an academic center (AC), a Veterans Affairs center (VA), and a community hospital. The study included 171 AC patients (58%), 104 VA patients (35%), and 20 community hospital patients (7%).
The response rate to the questionnaire was greater than 99%. Overall, 128 (43%) of 295 patients had a home computer. This differed among the institutions, with 64% of AC patients and only 5% of VA patients having a home computer (P <0.0001). Overall, 94 (32%) of 295 patients used the Internet to access cancer information, with 48% of AC patients and 8% of VA patients using the Internet (P <0.0001). Seventeen percent of black patients (n = 113) had a home computer compared with 62% of white patients (n = 175; P <0.0001). Equal access to computers did not influence Internet use because, among those patients who had access to computers, black patients used the Internet less than did white patients (32% versus 61%, P <0.0001). Men 65 years of age or younger were more likely to use the Internet (45%) than those older than 65 years (28%; P = 0.004). Patients used many sites to access different types of information.
A significant number of patients with prostate cancer access the Internet to obtain cancer information. Urologists and radiation oncologists should be familiar with this important resource to help patients access appropriate material.
分析前列腺癌患者的互联网使用量、互联网使用类型以及预测互联网使用的因素。
向在三个不同机构（一个学术中心（AC）、一个退伍军人事务中心（VA）和一家社区医院）接受前列腺癌放疗的295名患者发放了一份评估互联网使用情况的问卷。该研究包括171名AC患者（58%）、104名VA患者（35%）和20名社区医院患者（7%）。
问卷的回复率超过99%。总体而言，295名患者中有128名（43%）拥有家用电脑。各机构之间存在差异，64%的AC患者和仅5%的VA患者拥有家用电脑（P<0.0001）。总体而言，295名患者中有94名（32%）使用互联网获取癌症信息，48%的AC患者和8%的VA患者使用互联网（P<0.0001）。17%的黑人患者（n = 113）拥有家用电脑，而白人患者中有62%（n = 175；P<0.0001）拥有家用电脑。计算机的平等获取并未影响互联网使用，因为在那些能够使用计算机的患者中，黑人患者使用互联网的比例低于白人患者（32%对61%，P<0.0001）。65岁及以下的男性比65岁以上的男性更有可能使用互联网（45%对28%；P = 0.004）。患者使用许多网站获取不同类型的信息。
大量前列腺癌患者通过互联网获取癌症信息。泌尿外科医生和放射肿瘤学家应熟悉这一重要资源，以帮助患者获取合适的资料。
