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Donna M. D'Alessandro, MD; Clarence D. Kreiter, PhD; Susan L. Kinzer, MPH; Michael W. Peterson, MD

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158:857-862.

Background  Information perscriptions (IPs) are prescriptions of specific, evidence-based information to manage health problems.

Objective  To determine whether a pediatrician-provided IP would change parents' attitudes/behaviors about using Internet health information resources.

Design, Setting, and Participants  We conducted a randomized controlled trial of parents visiting an academic general pediatric practice. Both groups received a preintervention paper survey and a telephone survey 2 to 3 weeks after their clinic visit. The intervention group was offered computer training and received the IP and training summary handout.

Results  Final groups included 100 control and 97 intervention subjects. Of all parents, 68.0% had used the Internet in the past 6 months for health information and 52.8% used it for children's health information. The intervention group used the Internet more for general health informa-tion (P = .05) and child health information (P<.001) than the control group. At follow-up, 51 (66.2%) of 77 Internet information resources used by the intervention group were prescribed by the pediatricians. Parents who used the IP (31 [32%] of 97 intervention parents) used the Internet for general health information (P<.001) and child health information (P = .001) more than nonusers. Compared with nonusers, IP users were more likely to state they would use the IP again in the future (P = .02) and had already recommended the IP to family or friends more than nonusers (P = .001).

Conclusions  Parents of children in pediatric practices commonly use the Internet for general and children's health information. In this study, IPs were associated with specific parental attitude and behavior changes resulting in increased Internet utilization for general and child health information and for specific high-quality information resources. Pediatricians can implement IPs in their office.

From the Department of Pediatrics (Dr D'Alessandro and Ms Kinzer), the Office of Consultation and Research in Medical Education (Dr Kreiter), and the Department of Family Medicine (Dr Kreiter), The University of Iowa Roy J. and Lucille A. Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City; and the Department of Internal Medicine, University of California–San Francisco Fresno Medical Education Program, Fresno (Dr Peterson). Dr D'Alessandro is the curator of GeneralPediatrics.com.

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