Psychologists aim to help Dr. Google
Psychologists are to improve online health information on lung cancer after research showed that family members are more likely to search online to encourage loved ones to seek help
2015-05-06
(Press-News.org) Psychologists are to improve online health information on lung cancer after research showed that family members are more likely to search online to encourage loved ones to seek help.
This is one of the outcomes from research by PhD student Julia Mueller based in the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work at The University of Manchester (part of the Manchester Cancer Research Centre) who will present her study today, Thursday 7 May 2015, at the Annual Conference of the British Psychology Society being held in Liverpool.
Julia Mueller said: "People displaying symptoms of lung cancer often don't seek medical diagnosis for several months, which can affect their recovery or even their survival. Online health information could be a key factor influencing their decision to seek medical help. This study explored whether those with suspected lung cancer researched symptoms online prior to diagnosis and if this impacted on help-seeking behaviour."
Some 120 patients recently diagnosed with lung cancer (within six months) completed questionnaires, with a further 24 taking part in interviews.
The results showed that only 2 per cent patients had researched their own symptoms online, while 18 per cent reported a relative had done this on their behalf. Relatives used the information to encourage the patients to seek further medical diagnosis and to check doctor's advice. However, most encountered problems retrieving and assessing online information.
Julia Mueller said: "Our findings highlight the importance of relatives in triggering help-seeking for lung cancer symptoms and that online information contributes to this process. Being able to easily access appropriate information online could be crucial in getting people to the doctor earlier - which will improve recovery and survival rates.
"We plan to develop and evaluate a website that will provide information for those experiencing lung cancer symptoms that have not gone to their doctor for a diagnosis. This will involve tailoring information to the individuals own circumstances, such as age and gender, and whether they are searching for themselves or behalf of someone else."
INFORMATION:
The study was funded by the Medical Research Council.
PR15.051
Date: 5 May 2015
DURING THE CONFERENCE (5 - 7 May) contact the conference press office on 0151 707 4642/ 079524 84140 or presscentre@bps.org.uk
Editor's notes
Lung cancer is the second most common cancer diagnosed in the UK after breast cancer. Around 43,500 people were diagnosed with lung cancer in the UK in 2011, that's around 120 people every day.
Full poster presentation title: ''Information-seeking behaviour in people with lung cancer and the World Wide Web: Does Dr Google promote early help"
The British Psychological Society annual conference is from 5 - 7 May 2015 at the Arena and Convention Centre (ACC) Liverpool, L3 4FP. For details of the programme visit: http://www.bps.org.uk/ac2015
The BPS is the representative body for psychology and psychologists in the UK. We are responsible for the development, promotion and application of psychology for the public good. For more information visit http://www.bps.org.uk
The University of Manchester
The University of Manchester, a member of the Russell Group, is one of the largest and most popular universities in the UK. It has 20 academic schools and hundreds of specialist research groups undertaking pioneering multi-disciplinary teaching and research of worldwide significance. According to the results of the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise, The University of Manchester is one of the country's major research institutions, rated third in the UK in terms of 'research power'. The University has an annual income of £807 million and is ranked 40th in the world and fifth in the UK for the quality of its teaching and impact of its research.
Medical Research Council
The Medical Research Council has been at the forefront of scientific discovery to improve human health. Founded in 1913 to tackle tuberculosis, the MRC now invests taxpayers' money in some of the best medical research in the world across every area of health. Twenty-nine MRC-funded researchers have won Nobel prizes in a wide range of disciplines, and MRC scientists have been behind such diverse discoveries as vitamins, the structure of DNA and the link between smoking and cancer, as well as achievements such as pioneering the use of randomised controlled trials, the invention of MRI scanning, and the development of a group of antibodies used in the making of some of the most successful drugs ever developed. Today, MRC-funded scientists tackle some of the greatest health problems facing humanity in the 21st century, from the rising tide of chronic diseases associated with ageing to the threats posed by rapidly mutating micro-organisms. http://www.mrc.ac.uk
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
2015-05-06
The ulcer-causing bacterium Helicobacter pylori can directly interact with stomach stem cells, causing the cells to divide more rapidly, according to a new study by researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
The increased cell division was observed in mice, but the findings could explain why H. pylori is a risk factor for gastric cancer in humans, the researchers said.
They used 3-D microscopy to identified colonies of the bacteria deep within human stomach glands, where stem cells and precursor cells that replenish the stomach's lining reside.
One ...
2015-05-06
MADISON, Wis. -- The suspicion that the federal Affordable Care Act reduces options for patients to choose their health care providers proves to be true, according to a new study co-authored by David Weimer, a professor with the La Follette School of Public Affairs at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. However, the quality of hospitals in insurance exchange networks was as good or better than those in commercial insurance networks.
The study, just published in the May issue of the journal Health Affairs, compared the hospital networks available to California consumers ...
2015-05-06
Creative athletes have been using geographic information systems to transform their running routes into kangaroos, robots and other works of art that they share online, and one romantic cyclist last year even spelled out "Will you marry me, Emily?" with his bike.
A new mobile app developed at the University of Washington does the opposite. The Trace app turns a digital sketch that you draw on your smartphone screen -- a heart, maple leaf, raindrop, sailboat -- into a walking route that you can send to a friend or loved one. The recipient of the "gift" tells the app how ...
2015-05-06
Scientists at the National Institutes of Health have solved a long-standing mystery about the origin of one of the cell types that make up the ovary. The team also discovered how ovarian cells share information during development of an ovarian follicle, which holds the maturing egg. Researchers believe this new information on basic ovarian biology will help them better understand the cause of ovarian disorders, such as premature ovarian failure and polycystic ovarian syndrome, conditions that both result in hormone imbalances and infertility in women.
Researchers at the ...
2015-05-06
The Alaska salmon fishery is touted as one of the best in the world. When measured with an ecological yardstick, it is - fish stocks are healthy and the fishery is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as consistently meeting rigorous biological standards. Fish are individually counted as they swim upstream to ensure there are enough to breed.
But Alaska salmon falls short and lags behind some of the world's fisheries in how it benefits local fishermen, processing workers and nearby rural communities, according to a new assessment that ranks the vitality of a fishery ...
2015-05-06
Diets of snakes from a temperate region in South America may depend more on phylogeny (ancestry) than ecology, according to a study published May 6, 2015 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Gisela Bellini from Instituto Nacional de Limnología, Argentina and colleagues.
Some scientists believe that the deep history hypothesis based on phylogeny -- the history of evolution, or ancestry and relationships between snakes -- and ecological interactions from the competition-predation hypothesis may act together to determine the structure of snake communities. The authors ...
2015-05-06
Post-surgical leaks that develop after a segment of the colon has been removed and stitched back together often are caused not by negligence or technical error but by bacteria in the bowel that elude antibiotics, according to new evidence about this devastating complication of gastrointestinal surgery.
Such leaks, which can develop days or weeks after the procedure, allow the bowel's contents to spill into the abdomen and can cause pain, fever, sepsis and even death.
In patients undergoing high risk surgery such as in the rectum, leak rates can approach 30 percent. ...
2015-05-06
Berkeley -- A research team led by engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed a new mobile phone microscope that uses video to automatically detect and quantify infection by parasitic worms in a drop of blood. This next generation of UC Berkeley's CellScope technology could help revive efforts to eradicate debilitating diseases in Africa by providing critical information for health providers in the field.
"We previously showed that mobile phones can be used for microscopy, but this is the first device that combines the imaging technology with ...
2015-05-06
The rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is a growing problem in the United States and the world. New findings by researchers in evolutionary biology and mathematics could help doctors better address the problem in a clinical setting.
Biologist Miriam Barlow of the University of California, Merced, and mathematician Kristina Crona of American University tested and found a way to return bacteria to a pre-resistant state. In research published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE, they show how to rewind the evolution of bacteria and verify treatment options for a family ...
2015-05-06
Scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), part of the National Institutes of Health, and the University of California, Berkeley, and colleagues have developed a mobile phone microscope to measure blood levels of the parasitic filarial worm Loa loa. The point-of-care device may enable safe resumption of mass drug administration campaigns to eradicate the parasitic diseases onchocerciasis (river blindness) and lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis).
Efforts to eliminate these diseases in Central Africa through community-wide administration ...
LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:
[Press-News.org] Psychologists aim to help Dr. Google
Psychologists are to improve online health information on lung cancer after research showed that family members are more likely to search online to encourage loved ones to seek help
