Differences in Internet Use and eHealth Needs of Adolescent and Young Adult Versus Older Cancer Patients; Results from the PROFILES Registry

Cancers

Winette T. A. van der Graaf¹  Suzanne E. J. Kaal²  Rhodé Bijlsma³  Olga Husson⁴  Sophia H. E. Sleeman⁵  Mies C. van Eenbergen⁶  Carla Vlooswijk⁶  Lonneke V. van de Poll-Franse⁶  Emiel J. Krahmer⁷  Nadine Bol⁷ 

[1] Department of Medical Oncology, Netherlands Cancer Institute—Antoni van Leeuwenhoek, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Department of Medical Oncology, Radboud University Medical Center, 6525 GA Nijmegen, The Netherlands;Department of Medical Oncology, University Medical Center, 3584 CX Utrecht, The Netherlands;Department of Psychosocial Research and Epidemiology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, 1066 CX Amsterdam, The Netherlands;Dutch AYA ‘Young and Cancer’ Care Network Utrecht, 3511 DT Utrecht, The Netherlands;Research and Development, Netherlands Comprehensive Cancer Organisation, 3511 DT Utrecht, The Netherlands;Tilburg Center for Cognition and Communication (TiCC), Department of Communication and Cognition, Tilburg University, 5037 AB Tilburg, The Netherlands;

关键词: AYAs;    internet use;    eHealth;    cancer patients;   

DOI  :  10.3390/cancers13246308

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Background: Our aim was to evaluate differences in cancer-related internet patterns between AYAs (adolescents and young adults; 18–39 years at time of diagnosis) and older adult cancer patients (40+ years). Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were distributed among AYA and older adult cancer patients regarding cancer-related internet use and eHealth needs. Results: 299 AYAs (mean age 31.8 years) and 270 older adults (mean age 55.8 years) participated. AYAs searched significantly more often on the internet on a daily basis just before diagnosis (45% vs. 37%), right after diagnosis (71% vs. 62%) and during treatment (65% vs. 59%) compared to older adults. During follow up, there was a trend that AYAs searched less often on the internet compared to older adults (15% vs. 17%). AYAs searched more often on topics, such as alternative or complementary therapies, treatment guidelines, fertility, end of life, sexuality and intimacy, lifestyle and insurance. AYAs felt significantly better informed (75%) after searching for cancer-related information compared to older adults (65%) and had significantly less unmet needs regarding access to their own medical information (22% vs. 47%). AYAs search more on the internet on a daily basis/several times per week in the diagnosis and treatment phase than older cancer patients. They search on different topics than older adults and seems to have less unmet eHealth needs.It is important that these are easy to find and reliable.

【 授权许可】

Unknown