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Updated: Aug 23, 2026
E-Patient Counseling Trial (E-PACO): Computer Based Education versus Nurse Counseling for Patients to Prepare for Colonoscopy
Published on: August 1, 2019
Patterns of Internet use: bariatric versus colorectal patients in a private institution
Nahid Hamoui1, Jeffrey Lake, Robert W Beart
1Department of Surgery, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
Background:
The frequency of Internet use for self-directed medical care in different patient populations is increasing. We evaluated Internet use by patients presenting for bariatric surgery.
Study Design:
Surveys were completed by 136 patients (109 women, 22 men) presenting to a private academic clinic for bariatric surgery. Data collected included age, gender, education level, household income, and pattern of Internet use. Comparisons were made with a group of 135 patients who visited a colorectal surgery clinic in the same institution.
Results:
Bariatric patients who used the Internet were more likely than colorectal patients to inform themselves about their medical problem (76% versus 49%, p < 0.001) and tended to use the Internet more overall (85% versus 78%, p = ns). Use of the Internet to research bariatric surgery was associated with education level (p = 0.002) and household income (p = 0.01), but not with age or gender. Bariatric patients were more likely than colorectal patients to search our institution's Web site (40% versus 17%, p < 0.001) and to use the Internet to find out about their surgeon (47% versus 31%, p = 0.01). Only 9% of bariatric patients used a chat room. Ninety-six percent of bariatric patients found the information on the Internet easy to understand and 58% described it as very helpful.
Conclusions:
Bariatric patients are especially likely to use the Internet to gain information about their medical condition, possibly reflecting their limited mobility. This represents an educational opportunity for the surgical community.
