1. Internet and social media preferences of orthopaedic patients vary according to factors such as age and education levels.
- Author
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Gencer, Batuhan, Doğan, Özgür, Çulcu, Ahmet, Ülgen, Nuri Koray, Çamoğlu, Can, Arslan, Mehmet Murat, Mert, Orhan, Yiğit, Alperen, Yeni, Teoman Bekir, Hanege, Furkan, Gencer, Elif Nur, and Biçimoğlu, Ali
- Subjects
MEDICINE information services ,INTERNET ,SOCIAL media ,AGE distribution ,FISHER exact test ,PATIENTS' attitudes ,HEALTH information services ,SEX distribution ,CHI-squared test ,SEARCH engines ,DESCRIPTIVE statistics ,ORTHOPEDICS ,DATA analysis software ,EDUCATIONAL attainment ,TRUST - Abstract
Background: Patients can often access the internet and social media for health information but it is not clear how much they trust and use the information retrieved. Objective: To investigate the social media and internet use rates and preferences of orthopaedic patients, to reveal to what extent they self‐treat, and to probe the affecting factors. Methods: Two thousand fifty‐eight patients admitted to an orthopaedic polyclinic were asked to fill out a survey (voluntarily) consisting of 15 items, to collect demographic data, preference for platforms and sources used, trusted sources, and the extent to which information obtained was used for self‐care. Results: The most preferred and most trusted sources of information were Google and other search engines, and physicians' personal websites (p < 0.001). Discussion: Variables such as age, gender, educational level and occupation affect the research preferences. Reliance on social media decreases with increasing educational levels (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Health information and knowledge services should work with health professionals to improve aspects of health literacy among orthopaedic patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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