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Internet Websites (internet + website)
Selected AbstractsPatient-orientated web sites on laryngectomy: is their information readable?EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CANCER CARE, Issue 6 2009L. POTHIER m, language therapist , macmillan, speech POTHIER L. & POTHIER D.D. (2009) European Journal of Cancer Care Patient-orientated web sites on laryngectomy: is their information readable? The objective of the study was to determine levels of readability of commonly accessed websites containing patient information on laryngectomy. A Cross-sectional study of Internet websites was designed. The first 20 websites obtained from a Google® search of the word "laryngectomy" that contained a patient information section were selected. Primary outcome measures were the Flesch Readability Ease Score (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid readability grade (FKRG) score; from these data UK reading age was calculated. The secondary outcome measure was whether or not a site was accredited by an online readability organisation. The reading ages of the 20 sites ranged from 7.8 to 14.7 years with a median of 11.7 years. Half of the Flesch Reading Ease scores were in the "Difficult" or "Fairly difficult" category with 30% falling into the "Standard" or "Fairly easy" categories. Only 20% sites fell into the "Easy" or "Very Easy" categories that are the recommended level for comprehension by the general UK population. Sites not accredited by an online healthcare quality and content control organisation had worse readability scores than those that were not (FRE: p = 0.007, FKRG: p = 0.012). The poor readability of many of the encountered sites about laryngectomy on the Internet may confuse patients who turn to the Internet for information. Methods to improve patient information websites are discussed. [source] Use of the internet and of the NHS direct telephone helpline for medical information by a cognitive function clinic populationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2003A. J. Larner Abstract Background Internet websites and medical telephone helplines are relatively new and huge resources of medical information (,cybermedicine' and ,telemedicine', respectively) accessible to the general public without prior recourse to a doctor. Study Objectives To measure use of internet websites and of the NHS Direct telephone helpline as sources of medical information by patients and their families and/or carers attending a cognitive function clinic. Design and Setting Consecutive patients seen by one consultant neurologist over a six-month period in the Cognitive Function Clinic at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, a regional neuroscience centre in Liverpool, UK. Results More than 50% of patients and families/carers had internet access; 27% had accessed relevant information, but none volunteered this. 82% expressed interest in, or willingness to access, websites with relevant medical information if these were suggested by the clinic doctor. Although 61% had heard of the NHS Direct telephone helpline, only 10% of all patients had used this service and few calls related to the reason for attendance at the Cognitive Function Clinic. Conclusions Internet access and use is common in a cognitive function clinic population. Since information from internet websites may shape health beliefs and expectations of patients and families/carers, appropriately or inappropriately, it may be important for the clinic doctor to inquire about these searches. Since most would use websites suggested by the doctor, a readiness to provide addresses for appropriate sites may prove helpful. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Electronic doors to education: study of high school website accessibility in Iowa,BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES & THE LAW, Issue 1 2003David Klein M.A. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Sections 504 and 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, prohibit discrimination against people with disabilities in all aspects of daily life, including education, work, and access to places of public accommodations. Increasingly, these antidiscrimination laws are used by persons with disabilities to ensure equal access to e-commerce, and to private and public Internet websites. To help assess the impact of the anti-discrimination mandate for educational communities, this study examined 157 website home pages of Iowa public high schools (52% of high schools in Iowa) in terms of their electronic accessibility for persons with disabilities. We predicted that accessibility problems would limit students and others in obtaining information from the web pages as well as limiting ability to navigate to other web pages. Findings show that although many web pages examined included information in accessible formats, none of the home pages met World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) standards for accessibility. The most frequent accessibility problem was lack of alternative text (ALT tags) for graphics. Technical sophistication built into pages was found to reduce accessibility. Implications are discussed for schools and educational institutions, and for laws, policies, and procedures on website accessibility. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Urology and the Internet: an evaluation of Internet use by urology patients and of information available on urological topicsBJU INTERNATIONAL, Issue 3 2000G.O. Hellawell Objective To determine the use of the Internet by urological patients for obtaining information about their disease, and to conduct an evaluation of urological websites to determine the quality of information available. Patients and methods Questionnaires about Internet use were completed by 180 patients attending a general urological outpatient clinic and by 143 patients attending a prostate cancer outpatient clinic. The Internet evaluation was conducted by reviewing 50 websites listed by the HotbotÔ search engine for two urological topics, prostate cancer and testicular cancer, and recording details such as authorship, information content, references and information scores. Results Of the patients actively seeking further information about their health, 19% of the general urological outpatient group and 24% of the prostate cancer group used the Internet to obtain this information. Most websites were either academic or biomedical (62%), provided conventional information (95%), and were not referenced (71%). The information score (range 10,100) was 44.3 for testicular cancer and 50.7 for prostate cancer; the difference in scores was not significant. Conclusion The use of the Internet by patients is increasing, with > 20% of urology patients using the Internet to obtain further information about their health. Most Internet websites for urological topics provide conventional and good quality information. Urologists should be aware of the need to familiarize themselves with urological websites. Patients can then be directed to high-quality sites to allow them to educate themselves and to help them avoid misleading or unconventional websites. [source] Repeated high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex reduces cigarette craving and consumptionADDICTION, Issue 4 2009Revital Amiaz ABSTRACT Aims To evaluate the effect of repeated high-frequency transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), combined with either smoking or neutral cues, on cigarette consumption, dependence and craving. Design Participants were divided randomly to real and sham stimulation groups. Each group was subdivided randomly into two subgroups presented with either smoking-related or neutral pictures just before the daily TMS intervention. Ten daily rTMS sessions were applied every week-day and then a maintenance phase was conducted in which rTMS sessions were less frequent. Setting Single-site, out-patient, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled. Participants Forty-eight chronic smokers who smoked at least 20 cigarettes per day and were motivated to quit smoking. Healthy males and females were recruited from the general population using advertisements in newspapers and on internet websites. Intervention Ten daily rTMS sessions were administered using a standard figure-8 coil over the DLPFC. Stimulation included 20 trains/day at 100% of motor threshold. Each train consisted of 50 pulses at 10 Hz with an inter-train interval of 15 seconds. Measurements Cigarette consumption was evaluated objectively by measuring cotinine levels in urine samples and subjectively by participants' self-reports. Dependence and craving were evaluated by standard questionnaires. Findings Ten daily rTMS sessions over the DLPFC reduced cigarette consumption and nicotine dependence. Furthermore, treatment blocked the craving induced by daily presentation of smoking-related pictures. However, these effects tended to dissipate over time. Conclusions Multiple high-frequency rTMS of the DLPFC can attenuate nicotine craving. [source] Life cycle assessment: An international experienceENVIRONMENTAL PROGRESS & SUSTAINABLE ENERGY, Issue 2 2000Mary Ann Curran Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is used to evaluate environmental burdens associated with a product, process or activity by identifying and quantifying relevant inputs and outputs of the defined system and evaluating their potential impacts. This article outlines the four components that comprise LCA (goal definition, inventory, impact assessment and interpretation) and addresses various applications of LCA within industry and government. Included are references to several resources that may be used to better understand and apply LCA, such as books, journals, software programs and internet websites. [source] Use of the internet and of the NHS direct telephone helpline for medical information by a cognitive function clinic populationINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY, Issue 2 2003A. J. Larner Abstract Background Internet websites and medical telephone helplines are relatively new and huge resources of medical information (,cybermedicine' and ,telemedicine', respectively) accessible to the general public without prior recourse to a doctor. Study Objectives To measure use of internet websites and of the NHS Direct telephone helpline as sources of medical information by patients and their families and/or carers attending a cognitive function clinic. Design and Setting Consecutive patients seen by one consultant neurologist over a six-month period in the Cognitive Function Clinic at the Walton Centre for Neurology and Neurosurgery, a regional neuroscience centre in Liverpool, UK. Results More than 50% of patients and families/carers had internet access; 27% had accessed relevant information, but none volunteered this. 82% expressed interest in, or willingness to access, websites with relevant medical information if these were suggested by the clinic doctor. Although 61% had heard of the NHS Direct telephone helpline, only 10% of all patients had used this service and few calls related to the reason for attendance at the Cognitive Function Clinic. Conclusions Internet access and use is common in a cognitive function clinic population. Since information from internet websites may shape health beliefs and expectations of patients and families/carers, appropriately or inappropriately, it may be important for the clinic doctor to inquire about these searches. Since most would use websites suggested by the doctor, a readiness to provide addresses for appropriate sites may prove helpful. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Marathon of eponyms: 12 Ludwig anginaORAL DISEASES, Issue 5 2010C Scully Oral Diseases (2010) 16, 496,497 The use of eponyms has long been contentious, but many remain in common use, as discussed elsewhere (Editorial: Oral Diseases. 2009: 15; 185). The use of eponyms in diseases of the head and neck is found mainly in specialties dealing with medically compromised individuals (paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, oral and maxillofacial medicine, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology and oral and maxillofacial surgery) and particularly by hospital-centred practitioners. This series has selected some of the more recognised relevant eponymous conditions and presents them alphabetically. The information is based largely on data available from MEDLINE and a number of internet websites as noted below: the authors would welcome any corrections. This document summarises data about Ludwig angina. [source] Marathon of eponyms: 2 Bell palsy (idiopathic facial palsy)ORAL DISEASES, Issue 4 2009C Scully The use of eponyms has long been contentious, but many remain in common use, as discussed elsewhere (Editorial: Oral Diseases. 2009: 15; 185,186). The use of eponyms in diseases of the head and neck is found mainly in specialties dealing with medically compromised individuals (paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, oral and maxillofacial medicine, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology and oral and maxillofacial surgery) and particularly by hospital-centred practitioners. This series has selected some of the more recognised relevant eponymous conditions and presents them alphabetically. The information is based largely on data available from MEDLINE and a number of internet websites as noted below: the authors would welcome any corrections. This document summarises data about Bell paralysis. [source] Marathon of Eponyms: 1 Albers-Schönberg disease (osteopetrosis)ORAL DISEASES, Issue 3 2009C Scully Abstract: The use of eponyms has long been contentious, but many remain in common use, as discussed elsewhere (Editorial: Oral Diseases. 2009 in press). The use of eponyms in diseases of the head and neck is mainly in specialities dealing with medically compromised individuals (paediatric dentistry, special care dentistry, oral and maxillofacial medicine, oral and maxillofacial pathology, oral and maxillofacial radiology and oral and maxillofacial surgery) and particularly by hospital-centred practitioners. This series has selected some of the more recognised relevant eponymous conditions and presents them alphabetically. The information is based largely on data available from MEDLINE and a number of internet websites as noted below: the authors would welcome any corrections. This paper summarises data about Albers-Schönberg disease. [source] | ||||||||||