Background: Recent studies have shown the potential of Web-based interventions for changing dietary and physical activity (PA) behavior. However, the pathways of these changes are not clear. In addition, nonusage poses a threat to these interventions. Little is known of characteristics of participants that predict usage. Objective: In this study we investigated the users and effect of the Healthy Weight Assistant (HWA), a Web-based intervention aimed at healthy dietary and PA behavior. We...

Background: Little is known about the efficacy of Internet-based information interventions in increasing depression literacy or reducing depression stigma and depressive symptoms in people from non–English-speaking backgrounds. Objective: Our objective was to investigate the effects of Multicultural Information on Depression Online (MIDonline), an Internet-based multilingual depression-specific information resource, on depression literacy, depression stigma, and depressive symptoms in...

Background: Internet-based cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) has been shown to be a promising method to disseminate cognitive behavior therapy for social anxiety disorder (SAD). Several trials have demonstrated that Internet-based CBT can be effective for SAD in the shorter term. However, the long-term effects of Internet-based CBT for SAD are less well known. Objective: Our objective was to investigate the effect of Internet-based CBT for SAD 5 years after completed treatment. Method: We...

Background: Self-help interventions without professional contact to curb adult problem drinking in the community are increasingly being delivered via the Internet. Objective: The objective of this meta-analysis was to assess the overall effectiveness of these eHealth interventions. Methods: In all, 9 randomized controlled trials (RCTs), all from high-income countries, with 9 comparison conditions and a total of 1553 participants, were identified, and their combined effectiveness in reducing...

Background: In recent years, interventions that deliver online personalized feedback on alcohol use have been developed and appear to be a feasible way to curb heavy drinking. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) among the general adult population, however, are scarce. The present study offers an RCT of Drinktest.nl, an online personalized feedback intervention in the Netherlands. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of computer-based personalized feedback on heavy...

Background: Recent advances in the treatment of acute ischemic stroke have made rapid acquisition, visualization, and interpretation of images a key factor for positive patient outcomes. We have developed a new teleradiology system based on a client-server architecture that enables rapid access to interactive advanced 2-D and 3-D visualization on a current generation smartphone device (Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, or an Android phone) without requiring patient image data to be stored on the...

Background: The Internet has become an increasingly popular venue for men who have sex with men (MSM) to meet potential sex partners. Given this rapid increase in online sex-seeking among MSM, Internet-based interventions represent an important HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) prevention strategy. Unfortunately, black and Hispanic MSM, who are disproportionately impacted by the HIV epidemic in the United States, have been underrepresented in online research studies. Objective: Our...

Background: Consumer health vocabularies (CHVs) have been developed to aid consumer health informatics applications. This purpose is best served if the vocabulary evolves with consumers’ language. Objective: Our objective was to create a computer assisted update (CAU) system that works with live corpora to identify new candidate terms for inclusion in the open access and collaborative (OAC) CHV. Methods: The CAU system consisted of three main parts: a Web crawler and an HTML parser, a...

Background: Patient satisfaction has not been widely studied with respect to implementation of the electronic medical record (EMR). There are few reports of the impact of the EMR in pediatrics. Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of implementation of an electronic medical record system on families in an academic pediatric rheumatology practice. Methods: Families were surveyed 1 month pre-EMR implementation and 3 months post-EMR implementation. Results: Overall, EMR...

Background: Internet portal technologies that provide access to portions of electronic health records have the potential to revolutionize patients’ involvement in their care. However, relatively few descriptions of the demographic characteristics of portal enrollees or of the effects of portal technology on quality outcomes exist. This study examined data from patients who attended one of seven Duke Medicine clinics and who were offered the option of enrolling in and using the Duke...

Background: Older adults often have multiple chronic problems requiring them to manage complex medication regimens overseen by various clinicians. Personal health applications (PHAs) show promise assisting in medication self-management, but adoption of new computer technologies by this population is challenging. Optimizing the utility of PHAs requires a thorough understanding of older adults’ needs, preferences, and practices. Objective: The objective of our study was to understand the...

Background: As the incidence of H1N1 increases, the lay public may turn to the Internet for information about natural supplements for prevention and treatment. Objective: Our objective was to identify and characterize websites that provide information about herbal and natural supplements with information about H1N1 and to examine trends in the public’s behavior in searching for information about supplement use in preventing or treating H1N1. Methods: This was a retrospective...

Background: Older adults are the most frequent and heaviest users of health services in the United States; however, previous research on older adults’ use of health information technology (HIT) has not examined the possible association of HIT use among older adults with their use of health services. Objective: This study examined the relationship between US older adults’ use of health services and their use of the Internet for health-related activities, controlling for...

Background: Despite the amount of online health information, there are several barriers that limit the Internet’s adoption as a source of health information. One of these barriers is highlighted in conceptualizations of the digital divide which include the differential possession of Internet skills, or “eHealth literacy”. Most measures of Internet skills among populations at large use self-assessments. The research discussed here applies a multifaceted definition of Internet...