SynthesisJournal of medical Internet research2017
Web Use for Symptom Appraisal of Physical Health Conditions: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in Journal of medical Internet research, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed.
- Patients' Use of the Internet to Find Reliable Medical Information About Minor Ailments: Vignette-Based Experimental Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Trial
- Developing and testing a web-based intervention to encourage early help-seeking in people with symptoms associated with lung cancer.British journal of health psychology · 2019Trial
- The readability of total elbow arthroplasty educational materials.Journal of shoulder and elbow arthroplasty · 2026Article
- Quality and readability of Turkish online patient information websites on benign paroxysmal positional vertigo.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Online search interest in major depressive disorder: Infodemiology study using the most visited search engine in Japan.PloS one · 2026Observational
- Navigating the Lay Referral System for Treatment-Seeking Decisions During Illness in the Digital Age: A Qualitative Study of Adults Living in Slums in Nigeria.Sociology of health & illness · 2025Article
- Article
- Evaluating the effectiveness and limitations of online health information tools in assessing the quality of medication-related content.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Capabilities of ChatGPT-3.5 as a Urological Triage System.European urology open science · 2024Article
- Enhancing Ophthalmic Triage: identification of new clinical features to support healthcare professionals in triage.Eye (London, England) · 2024Article
- Differences in Fear and Negativity Levels Between Formal and Informal Health-Related Websites: Analysis of Sentiments and Emotions.Journal of medical Internet research · 2024Article
- Evaluating the diagnostic and triage performance of digital and online symptom checkers for the presentation of myocardial infarction; A retrospective cross-sectional study.PLOS digital health · 2024Article
- Otosclerosis online: a critical analysis of quality, reliability, readability and content of otosclerosis information.European archives of oto-rhino-laryngology : official journal of the European Federation of Oto-Rhino-Laryngological Societies (EUFOS) : affiliated with the German Society for Oto-Rhino-Laryngology - Head and Neck Surgery · 2024Article
- Did the COVID-19 pandemic impact urticaria information-seeking behavior in China? A retrospective longitudinal study.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
- Health Information Seeking From an Intelligent Web-Based Symptom Checker: Cross-sectional Questionnaire Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- The diagnostic and triage accuracy of digital and online symptom checker tools: a systematic review.NPJ digital medicine · 2022Review
- Spontaneously generated online patient experience data - how and why is it being used in health research: an umbrella scoping review.BMC medical research methodology · 2022Article
- Triage Accuracy of Symptom Checker Apps: 5-Year Follow-up Evaluation.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Article
- Online Health Information Seeking for Self and Child: An Experimental Study of Parental Symptom Search.JMIR pediatrics and parenting · 2022Article
- User Experience of Symptom Checkers: A Systematic Review.AMIA ... Annual Symposium proceedings. AMIA Symposium · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundThe Web has become an important information source for appraising symptoms. We need to understand the role it currently plays in help seeking and symptom evaluation to leverage its potential to support health care delivery.
objectiveThe aim was to systematically review the literature currently available on Web use for symptom appraisal.
methodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ACM Digital Library, SCOPUS, and Web of Science for any empirical studies that addressed the use of the Web by lay people to evaluate symptoms for physical conditions. Articles were excluded if they did not meet minimum quality criteria. Study findings were synthesized using a thematic approach.
resultsA total of 32 studies were included. Study designs included cross-sectional surveys, qualitative studies, experimental studies, and studies involving website/search engine usage data. Approximately 35% of adults engage in Web use for symptom appraisal, but this proportion varies between 23% and 75% depending on sociodemographic and disease-related factors. Most searches were symptom-based rather than condition-based. Users viewed only the top search results and interacted more with results that mentioned serious conditions. Web use for symptom appraisal appears to impact on the decision to present to health services, communication with health professionals, and anxiety.
conclusionsWeb use for symptom appraisal has the potential to influence the timing of help seeking for symptoms and the communication between patients and health care professionals during consultations. However, studies lack suitable comparison groups as well as follow-up of participants over time to determine whether Web use results in health care utilization and diagnosis. Future research should involve longitudinal follow-up so that we can weigh the benefits of Web use for symptom appraisal (eg, reductions in delays to diagnosis) against the disadvantages (eg, unnecessary anxiety and health care use) and relate these to health care costs.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.