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Internet Use and Perceptions of Information Reliability by Parents in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit

Journal of Perinatology volume 23, pages 420–424 (2003)Cite this article

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: To assess Internet use and perceptions of formation reliability by parents in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

STUDY DESIGN: A standardized questionnaire study.

RESULTS: A total of 100 parents were approached and 90% participated. In all, 79% owned a computer, 85.5% had Internet access, and 75.5% regularly spent >1 to 2 hour/day on the computer. There was a significant reduction in the proportion of parents using the Internet after birth of their baby (before birth: nonmedical searches 84% and medical searches 47%; after birth: nonmedical searches 40% and medical searches 29%; p<0.0001 and <0.03, respectively). Internet access was more likely in those with higher level of education (p=0.006) and fluency in reading English (p=0.05). In all, 80% considered the NICU doctors as a reliable source of medical information compared with 10% in the case of the Internet.

CONCLUSIONS:Although a considerable proportion of parents use the Internet for medical information, many still view the information obtained as unreliable.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Kuljit Bains and Ada Pang, Research Nurses involved in this project, for their assistance in recruiting parents and conducting interviews.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Neonatology, University of British Columbia and Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Amrit S Dhillon MRCP(UK), MSc, Susan G Albersheim MD, FRCPC & Sulaiman Alsaad MD

  2. Department of Neonatology, Birmingham Women's Hospital, Birmingham, UK

    Amrit S Dhillon MRCP(UK), MSc & Nisha S Pargass MRCPUK

  3. Ministry of Health, Al Jahra Hospital, State of Kuwait

    Sulaiman Alsaad MD

  4. Department of Neonatology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA

    John A F Zupancic MD, ScD

  5. Harvard Newborn Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    John A F Zupancic MD, ScD

Authors
  1. Amrit S Dhillon MRCP(UK), MSc
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  2. Susan G Albersheim MD, FRCPC
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  3. Sulaiman Alsaad MD
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  4. Nisha S Pargass MRCPUK
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  5. John A F Zupancic MD, ScD
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Dhillon, A., Albersheim, S., Alsaad, S. et al. Internet Use and Perceptions of Information Reliability by Parents in a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit. J Perinatol 23, 420–424 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.jp.7210945

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