Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31654110›Full record

ArticlePediatric surgery international2020

A pilot study comparing parent and adolescent online health information seeking behaviours in elective pediatric surgical situations.

Sophia S M Wong, Kenneth P L Wong, Mark I L Angus, Yong Chen, Candy S C Choo, Shireen Anne Nah

Abstract readComparative Study
PubMed Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Pediatric surgery international, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
1.5field-weighted citation impact, top 13% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Public awareness of testicular torsion is lacking in Edmonton.Canadian Urological Association journal = Journal de l'Association des urologues du Canada · 2025
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.

Sophia S M WongLee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.
Kenneth P L WongDepartment of Orthopaedic Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, Singapore, Singapore.
Mark I L AngusDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, 229899, Singapore.
Yong ChenDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, 229899, Singapore.
Candy S C ChooDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, 229899, Singapore.
Shireen Anne NahDepartment of Paediatric Surgery, KK Women's and Children's Hospital, 100 Bukit Timah Road, Singapore, 229899, Singapore. shireen.nah@kkh.com.sg.
KK Women's and Children's Hospital · SGDuke-NUS Medical School · SGNanyang Technological University · SG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeLittle is known of how children seek health information. This study evaluates online health information (OHI) seeking behaviours in adolescents undergoing major elective surgical procedures and compares responses within parent-child dyads.

methodsWith institutional approval, we prospectively surveyed parents of children admitted to our institution for major elective operations between November 2017 and November 2018, using convenience sampling. Patients aged 12 years and above were also invited. Each respondent completed an anonymized modification of a previously published survey on Internet usage. Chi squared tests were used for categorical data, with significance at P value < 0.05.

resultsNinety-one parents and 19 patients (median age 15 years, range 12-18) responded, with 13 parent-child pairs. Daily Internet access was reported by 84 (93%) parents and 18 (95%) children, but OHI was sought in 77% of parents and 74% of children. Six (32%) children could not name their admitting condition, compared to 10 (11%) parents. Nine (50%) children consulted family and friends for information compared to 27 (30%) parents. Parents were more likely to access hospital websites (n = 15, 44%) compared to no children (p = 0.01), while most children (n = 7, 70%) accessed non-health websites (e.g. Wikipedia). In the 13 parent-child pairs, only one parent accurately assessed what their child understood of their condition. Most patients (63.6%) did not understand the aspects of their condition that their parents deemed important.

conclusionsThis study highlights the differences in parental and child behaviours. Children are equally important to include when counselling. Surgeons can guide both parties to reliable Internet sources for health information.

Indexed as

Elective Surgical ProceduresInformation Seeking BehaviorInternetAdolescentAdolescent BehaviorChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansInfantMaleParentsPilot ProjectsSurveys and QuestionnairesAdolescentHealth informationHealth literacyInternetSurgery

Identifiers

PMID31654110
OpenAlexW2981758062

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.