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Exploring the Interest in and the Usage of the Internet Among Patients Eligible for Osteoporosis Screening

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest in the Internet and its usage for health-related issues among people eligible for osteoporosis screening. Self-administered questionnaires have been distributed to subjects who were screened for osteoporosis and to menopausal women. 177 patients have responded to the survey (64.5 ± 10.1 years, 88.1 % of women). There are 78.5 % of Internet users. Among them, 67.2 % said searching information about their health and 74.5 % said using the Internet for this purpose. All respondents attributed an average score, out of 10, of 5.7 ± 2.3 regarding the reliability of information that they could find on the Internet. The use of the Internet differs significantly depending on age: those who use the Internet are younger (62.1 ± 8.91 years) than those who do not use it (73.3 ± 9.42 years). The socioeconomic status also has an impact on the Internet use: Internet users have a higher education, are more professionally active and have a higher net monthly household income compared to the group of non-users. Even if age and socioeconomic status appear to be determining factors in the use of the Internet for the search of health information in patients eligible for osteoporosis screening, almost 75 % of the study population use the Internet for this purpose. Action to promote health through an Internet platform must therefore take these parameters into account.

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Conflict of Interest

Justine Slomian, Jean-Yves Reginster, Ulysse Gaspard, Sylvie Streel, Charlotte Beaudart, Fanny Buckinx and Olivier Bruyère declare that they have no conflict of interest. Geoffrey Appelboom declares equity interest in Folup, Inc and Youv Labs, Inc.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This study was conducted in accordance with ethics approved by the University Hospital Centre of Liège, under the number 2013/254. All participants gave written informed consent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Support Unit in Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Liège, Avenue de l’Hôpital 3 - CHU B23, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    J. Slomian, J. Y. Reginster, S. Streel, C. Beaudart, F. Buckinx & O. Bruyère

  2. Department of Public Health, Epidemiology and Health Economics, University of Liège, Avenue de l’Hôpital 3 – CHU B23, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    J. Slomian, J. Y. Reginster, S. Streel, C. Beaudart, F. Buckinx & O. Bruyère

  3. Bone and Cartilage Metabolism Department, CHU Liège, Liège, Belgium

    J. Y. Reginster

  4. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, CHU Liège, University of Liège, Avenue de l’Hôpital 3 – CHU B23, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    U. Gaspard

  5. Neuro-digital Initiative, Columbia University, 630 West 168th street, New York, NY, USA

    G. Appelboom

  6. Department of Motricity Science, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    O. Bruyère

Authors
  1. J. Slomian
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  2. J. Y. Reginster
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  3. U. Gaspard
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  4. S. Streel
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  5. C. Beaudart
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  6. G. Appelboom
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  7. F. Buckinx
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  8. O. Bruyère
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Correspondence to J. Slomian.

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Slomian, J., Reginster, J.Y., Gaspard, U. et al. Exploring the Interest in and the Usage of the Internet Among Patients Eligible for Osteoporosis Screening. Calcif Tissue Int 96, 518–526 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-015-9987-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00223-015-9987-3

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