Consumers of e-health: patterns of use and barriers
Social Science Computer Review - Special issue: Sociology and computing
HCMS: conceptual description of a health content management system
Proceedings of the 3rd Workshop on Software Engineering in Health Care
Automated and user involved data synchronization in collaborative e-health environments
Computers in Human Behavior
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While the internet is emerging as an important transforming mechanism for health care and public health, questions remain about its limitations. Growing evidence indicates that a significant proportion of internet health information consumers is engaging treatment strategies inconsistent with professional recommendations. This study aimed to distinguish internet users who report non-adherence behavior from their counterparts based on several personal and environmental determinants. Using information obtained via the internet to refuse or discontinue treatment recommended by a doctor or dentist proved to be a widespread (11.2%) behavior. Internet health information bolstered non-adherence appears strongly linked with personal determinants such as anxiety, diminishing health, and gender - a pattern consistent with prior adherence research - and with environmental determinants including the perceived importance of both internet health information and internet-facilitated interpersonal interactions as well as using the internet as a social support vehicle.