Hand F, McDowell Dermot Thomas, Glynn R W, Rowley H, Mortell A
Department of Pediatric Surgery, Children's University Hospital, Temple Street, Dublin 1, Ireland.
Pediatr Surg Int. 2013 Jul;29(7):729-33. doi: 10.1007/s00383-013-3317-5. Epub 2013 Apr 25.
The internet has revolutionised the way we search for information. We determined the level of internet use by parents of children attending general surgical services and identified trends in online information-seeking behaviour.
A questionnaire based on the work by Boston and Tassone was distributed to parents attending both the day surgical units and surgical outpatients department in a paediatric tertiary referral centre.
There were 214 (82.3 %) questionnaires returned, with 82 (38.3 %) of respondents having searched the internet regarding their child's surgical issue. Access to a smartphone, a university education and private health insurance were factors that positively influenced online searching (p < 0.005). Of those respondents who searched the internet, 42 (51 %) felt that information they found online was understandable, while only 14 (17 %) admitted to online sourced information influencing the treatment decisions they had made for their children. When asked to rank information sources on Likert-type scales in terms of importance; parents ranked the surgeon as most important (mean = 4.73), whilst the internet ranked lowest (mean = 3.02).
We demonstrated significant use of the internet amongst those attending paediatric general surgical services. Clinician sourced information remains important, however we should engage with patients to utilise this vast resource effectively.
互联网彻底改变了我们搜索信息的方式。我们确定了接受普通外科手术服务患儿的家长的互联网使用水平，并确定了在线信息搜索行为的趋势。
向一家儿科三级转诊中心日间手术科室和外科门诊的患儿家长发放了一份基于波士顿和塔索尼研究成果的问卷。
共收回214份问卷（82.3%），其中82名受访者（38.3%）曾就其孩子的手术问题在互联网上进行搜索。能使用智能手机、接受过大学教育和拥有私人医疗保险是对在线搜索有积极影响的因素（p<0.005）。在那些进行过互联网搜索的受访者中，42人（51%）认为他们在网上找到的信息是可以理解的，而只有14人（17%）承认网上获取的信息影响了他们为孩子做出的治疗决定。当被要求按照李克特量表对信息来源的重要性进行排序时；家长们将外科医生排在最重要的位置（平均分为4.73），而互联网的排名最低（平均分为3.02）。
我们证明了在接受儿科普通外科手术服务的人群中互联网的使用非常普遍。临床医生提供的信息仍然很重要，然而我们应该与患者合作，以有效地利用这一巨大资源。
