The unmet needs of carers of stroke survivors: An evaluation of Google search results

Abstract

Google is the most used search engine in the world, and likely to be used by caregivers of stroke survivors to find online forums and online communities to connect with other caregivers. This study aims to identify the types of websites accessed by caregivers of stroke survivors to connect with other caregivers, and analyse the online content produced by caregivers to identify their unmet needs. The first 20 websites from eight search strings entered into Google were systematically reviewed. Unmet needs on included websites were identified using a pre-determined coding schedule. Six websites were analysed. Most were discussion boards (n = 5, 83%) developed by organisations in the United States (n = 4, 66.6%). Overall, 2124 unmet needs appeared in 896 posts from caregivers. 'Emotional and psychological' were the most reported needs across posts (n = 765, 36%). Content produced on websites may address social isolation and provide insight into delivering and developing services to meet the needs of caregivers of stroke survivors.

Keywords: consumer health information; eHealth; health information on the web; information and knowledge management; social media.