The Internet continues to be a popular tool for gathering healthcare information. A study published in the Archives of Otolaryngology-Head & Neck Surgery this month indicates that online information helped parents of children scheduled to undergo surgery or certain outpatient procedures make medical decisions.
Researchers surveyed 204 parents whose children were undergoing outpatient otolaryngology (ear, nose or throat) procedures. Of the 170 parents who had Internet access, 48 percent of parents used the Internet to look for information about their child's diagnosis and/or surgical procedure. Sixty-seven percent said the information influenced the medical decisions they made for their children, but only 47 percent discussed the information they found online with their child's surgeon.
Summary of the study available here.
1. In my opinion Internet is useful for medical information. It helped parents and children.
Posted at 1:06AM on Sep 13th 2005 by Info for Health