Journal article
The usage, quality and relevance of information and communications technologies in patients with chronic urticaria: A UCARE study.
- Maurer M Dermatological Allergology, Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
- Weller K Dermatological Allergology, Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
- Magerl M Dermatological Allergology, Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
- Maurer RR Dermatological Allergology, Allergie-Centrum-Charité, Department of Dermatology and Allergy, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany.
- Vanegas E Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
- Felix M Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
- Cherrez A Respiralab, Respiralab Research Group, Guayaquil, Ecuador.
- Mata VL Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
- Kasperska-Zajac A European Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Urticaria, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
- Sikora A European Center for Diagnosis and Treatment of Urticaria, Medical University of Silesia, Katowice, Poland.
- Fomina D City Center of Allergy and Immunology, Clinical City Hospital #52, Moscow, Russia.
- Kovalkova E City Center of Allergy and Immunology, Clinical City Hospital #52, Moscow, Russia.
- Godse K Department of Dermatology, D Y, Patil University School of Medicine and Hospital, Mumbai, India.
- Rao ND Department of Dermatology, D Y, Patil University School of Medicine and Hospital, Mumbai, India.
- Khoshkhui M Allergy Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
- Rastgoo S Department of Allergy and Immunology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.
- Criado RFJ Department of Dermatology, Faculdade de Medicina do ABC, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Abuzakouk M Allergy and Immunology Department, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, The Uae.
- Grandon D Allergy and Immunology Department, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, The Uae.
- van Doorn M Department of Dermatology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
- Valle SOR Department of Internal Medicine, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- de Souza Lima EM Faculty of Science and Health of Juiz de Fora - SUPREMA - Minas Gerais.
- Thomsen SF Department of Dermatology, Bispebjerg Hospital, University of Copenhagen, Biomedical Sciences, Copenhagen, Denmark.
- Ramón GD Instituto de Alergia e Inmunología del Sur, Bahía Blanca, De Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Matos Benavides EE Centro de Referencia de Alergia, Asma e Inmunología - Instituto Nacional del Niño, Lima-Perú.
- Bauer A Department of Dermatology, University Allergy Center, University Hospital Carl Gustav Carus, Technical University, Dresden, Germany.
- Giménez-Arnau AM Department of Dermatology, Hospital del Mar, IMIM, Universitat Autònoma, Barcelona, Spain.
- Kocatürk E Department of Dermatology, Koç University School of Medicine, Istanbul, Turkey.
- Guillet C Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
- Ignacio Larco J Allergy Department, Clinica San Felipe, Lima, Peru.
- Zhao ZT Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Peking University First Hospital, Beijing, China.
- Makris M Allergy Unit, 2nd Department of Dermatology and Venereology, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, "Attikon" University Hospital, Greece.
- Ritchie C Allergy Division, Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- Xepapadaki P Allergy Department, 2nd Pediatric Clinic, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
- Ensina LF Federal University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
- Cherrez S Department of Dermatology, SRH Zentralklinikum Suhl, Germany.
- Cherrez-Ojeda I Universidad Espíritu Santo, Samborondón, Ecuador.
- 2020-11-18
Published in:
- The World Allergy Organization journal. - 2020
(3–5) ICT
Apps, applications
CIndU, chronic inducible urticaria
CSU, chronic spontaneous urticaria
CU, chronic urticaria
HCP, healthcare provider
ICT, information and communications technologies
Information and communications technology
SEM, self-management education
SMS, short messaging service
Self-management
UAE, United Arab Emirates
UCARE, Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence
Urticaria
English
Background
Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterized by itchy recurrent wheals, angioedema, or both for 6 weeks or longer. CU can greatly impact patients' physical and emotional quality of life. Patients with chronic conditions are increasingly seeking information from information and communications technologies (ICTs) to manage their health. The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of usage and preference of ICTs from the perspective of patients with CU.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, 1800 patients were recruited from primary healthcare centers, university hospitals or specialized clinics that form part of the UCARE (Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence) network throughout 16 countries. Patients were >12 years old and had physician-diagnosed chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) or chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU). Patients completed a 23-item questionnaire containing questions about ICT usage, including the type, frequency, preference, and quality, answers to which were recorded in a standardized database at each center. For analysis, ICTs were categorized into 3 groups as follows: one-to-one: SMS, WhatsApp, Skype, and email; one-to-many: YouTube, web browsers, and blogs or forums; many-to-many: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Results
Overall, 99.6% of CU patients had access to ICT platforms and 96.7% had internet access. Daily, 85.4% patients used one-to-one ICT platforms most often, followed by one-to-many ICTs (75.5%) and many-to-many ICTs (59.2%). The daily ICT usage was highest for web browsers (72.7%) and WhatsApp (70.0%). The general usage of ICT platforms increased in patients with higher levels of education. One-to-many was the preferred ICT category for obtaining general health information (78.3%) and for CU-related information (75.4%). A web browser (77.6%) was by far the most commonly used ICT to obtain general health information, followed by YouTube (25.8%) and Facebook (16.3%). Similarly, for CU-specific information, 3 out of 4 patients (74.6%) used a web browser, 20.9% used YouTube, and 13.6% used Facebook. One in 5 (21.6%) patients did not use any form of ICT for obtaining information on CU. The quality of the information obtained from one-to-many ICTs was rated much more often as very interesting and of good quality for general health information (53.5%) and CU-related information (51.5%) as compared to the other categories.
Conclusions
Usage of ICTs for health and CU-specific information is extremely high in all countries analyzed, with web browsers being the preferred ICT platform.
Chronic urticaria (CU) is characterized by itchy recurrent wheals, angioedema, or both for 6 weeks or longer. CU can greatly impact patients' physical and emotional quality of life. Patients with chronic conditions are increasingly seeking information from information and communications technologies (ICTs) to manage their health. The objective of this study was to assess the frequency of usage and preference of ICTs from the perspective of patients with CU.
Methods
In this cross-sectional study, 1800 patients were recruited from primary healthcare centers, university hospitals or specialized clinics that form part of the UCARE (Urticaria Centers of Reference and Excellence) network throughout 16 countries. Patients were >12 years old and had physician-diagnosed chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) or chronic inducible urticaria (CIndU). Patients completed a 23-item questionnaire containing questions about ICT usage, including the type, frequency, preference, and quality, answers to which were recorded in a standardized database at each center. For analysis, ICTs were categorized into 3 groups as follows: one-to-one: SMS, WhatsApp, Skype, and email; one-to-many: YouTube, web browsers, and blogs or forums; many-to-many: Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Results
Overall, 99.6% of CU patients had access to ICT platforms and 96.7% had internet access. Daily, 85.4% patients used one-to-one ICT platforms most often, followed by one-to-many ICTs (75.5%) and many-to-many ICTs (59.2%). The daily ICT usage was highest for web browsers (72.7%) and WhatsApp (70.0%). The general usage of ICT platforms increased in patients with higher levels of education. One-to-many was the preferred ICT category for obtaining general health information (78.3%) and for CU-related information (75.4%). A web browser (77.6%) was by far the most commonly used ICT to obtain general health information, followed by YouTube (25.8%) and Facebook (16.3%). Similarly, for CU-specific information, 3 out of 4 patients (74.6%) used a web browser, 20.9% used YouTube, and 13.6% used Facebook. One in 5 (21.6%) patients did not use any form of ICT for obtaining information on CU. The quality of the information obtained from one-to-many ICTs was rated much more often as very interesting and of good quality for general health information (53.5%) and CU-related information (51.5%) as compared to the other categories.
Conclusions
Usage of ICTs for health and CU-specific information is extremely high in all countries analyzed, with web browsers being the preferred ICT platform.
- Language
-
- English
- Open access status
- gold
- Identifiers
-
- DOI 10.1016/j.waojou.2020.100475
- PMID 33204387
- Persistent URL
- https://sonar.ch/global/documents/230449
Statistics
Document views: 22
File downloads: