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. 2009 Jul-Aug;75(4):517-23.
doi: 10.1016/S1808-8694(15)30490-0.

Is the information available on the Web influencing the way parents see ENT surgical procedures?

João Flávio Nogueira Júnior  1 , Diego Rodrigo Hermann, Maria Laura Solferini Silva, Fábio Pires Santos, Shirley Shizue Nagata Pignatari, Aldo Cassol Stamm
Affiliations

Is the information available on the Web influencing the way parents see ENT surgical procedures?

João Flávio Nogueira Júnior et al. Braz J Otorhinolaryngol. 2009 Jul-Aug.

Abstract

Introduction and aims: the Internet is the world's fastest growing source of health related information. Parents and guardians are increasingly turning to the Internet for information about their children's medical conditions and treatments. This paper has the following objectives 1) determine the prevalence of web searches for medical information performed by parents/guardians of children undergoing ENT surgery in a private hospital of Sao Paulo, Brazil. 2) assess whether the gathered information influenced the parents/guardians' decision on the treatment/surgery.

Method: questionnaire voluntarily responded by 132 parents/guardians of children submitted to ENT surgery in a private hospital in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Conclusions: 117 parents/guardians (90%) used the Internet to search for information on the disease and surgical treatment of the children. Only 12 parents/guardians (10%) discussed the information with the physician assigned to perform the surgical procedure. 91 parents/guardians (78%) said that the information had impact upon the decision to have surgery performed on their children.

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Figures

Graph 1
Graph 1
Mean scores assigned by parents/guardians to 7 different means of medical information according to relevance and information on diagnosis and surgical treatment. Scale going from 1 to 5 (1 = least important; 5 = most important). * Other health care workers such as nurses, dentists, and pharmacists.
Graph 2
Graph 2
Websites most frequently accessed by parents/guardians in search for medical information:
Figure 1
Figure 1
Top search results on GOOGLE for keyword 'tonsillectomy' (amigdelectomia).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Top search results on GOOGLE for keyword 'tonsil surgery' (cirurgia das amígdalas).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Top search results on GOOGLE for keyword 'adenoid surgery' (cirurgia das adenoides).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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