• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer

Susannah Fox

I help people navigate health and technology.

  • Home
  • Writing
    • greatest hits
    • beauty and wonder
    • demographics
    • featured commenters
    • health data
    • key people
    • peer-to-peer health care
    • positive patterns
    • public Q&A
    • trends & principles
  • Research
    • How Young People Use Digital Media to Manage Their Health
    • Digital Health Practices Among Teens and Young Adults: Key Findings
    • Fact sheet: teens and young adults, social media, online health resources
    • Fact sheet: differences between young women and young men in their use of social media, online health resources
    • Pew Research: Americans’ Data Worries
  • About me
    • Now
    • Curriculum vitae
  • Upcoming events

Health Education vs. Outcomes–Susannah Fox

June 28, 2007 By Susannah Fox Leave a Comment

The Pew Internet Project has found that the internet has a significant impact on some life decisions (which school to attend, for example), but it does not play a big role in other “major life moments.” Is there something similar in health care? Are there conditions and diseases which are more likely to yield to an e-patient’s ability to change the outcome? Is it enough that e-patients are more informed and feel empowered by information, or should we expect more?

I was reminded of these questions when I saw the current issue of the British Medical Journal. If only the cover story were as arresting as the cover image of a giant pregnant belly. A randomized controlled trial found, once again, that pregnant women who are given decision aids about VBAC are more likely than the control group to be informed about their choices, but no more likely to have a different outcome. Two editorials accompany the article and both are worth reading, along with the study (see: Evidence to inform and Decision aids for women with a previous caesarean section).


I post these links for a few reasons.

First, to remind everyone to check out BMJ on a regular basis since they do a good job of tracking the first generation of e-patients.

Second, to elicit people’s thoughts about the benefits of health education. Kate Lorig and her colleagues conducted a randomized controlled trial of people with chronic back pain and found that participation in a closed, moderated, email discussion group had an effect on health outcomes. But many of the other studies I’ve read are likely to report what one of the BMJ editorialists describe: Information interventions can “improve people’s knowledge of the options, create realistic expectations of their benefits and harms, improve decision making, and increase participation in the process” but not actually change the outcomes. (For example: smoking cessation and breast cancer)

Share this:

  • Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window)
  • Click to print (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Tumblr (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: reforming hc Tagged With: cancer, chronic pain, e-patient, patient networks, pregnancy

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Before Footer

Don't miss a post

Enter your email address and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Recent Comments

  • Susannah Fox on Caregiver starter pack: “Thanks, Raj! You capture what I only implied: I wanted to send only what is absolutely necessary for this moment…” Jan 31, 12:38
  • Rajiv Mehta on Caregiver starter pack: “I know how important it is that the initial help is measured and focused — enough to be helpful immediately,…” Jan 31, 11:34
  • Susannah Fox on Caregiver starter pack: “Yes! Creating a habit of taking breaks, or putting on your own oxygen mask, is key. I realized that the…” Jan 31, 08:46

Footer

Follow me on Twitter

My Tweets

Topics

  • Beauty and Wonder
  • Demographics
  • Key People
  • Participatory Research
  • Peer-to-Peer Health Care
  • Positive Patterns
  • Public Q&A
  • Trends and Principles

popular posts

  • Caregiver starter pack
  • Hack needed: Tiny pills, trembling hands
  • Engage with Grace
  • A taxonomy of health data

Explore

Copyright Susannah Fox © 2023 · WordPress · Log in

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.