Health and Internet

Assessment 1: Quantitative Social Health Research Design Proposal Topic: Health and the Internet Assessing the knowledge of adults residing in Perth, WA on online medication Name Institution Introduction Internet is nearly available to everyone in Australia including the adults consequently increasing their access to online medication (Atkinson, Saperstein, & Pleis, 2009). Research on online medication and its effects on adults’ attitudes are limited. However, the pervasive use of internet and its persuasion among users has drawn increasing attention from scholars and industry players. This study aimed at assessing the knowledge of adult residents in Perth, WA regarding online medication purchases and to offer essential data on general health to the public health education. In other words, it seeks to establish how the level of knowledge about companies selling medication influence attitudes of Perth adults towards buying online medication. The study sections are divided into the companies offering medication online, online medication purchases and level of knowledge of internet medication among adults. Literature Review This study seeks to establish the knowledge level of adults residing in Perth, WA towards online medication. It will then evaluate how differences in knowledge level influence their attitudes towards buying online medication. Specifically, the research focuses on differences in attitudes between high and low level knowledge adults towards buying medication online. The paper will also assess the difference in attitudes towards online medication purchases between age and gender of adults in Perth, WA. Nature of online medication Online medication has become popular in recent years with advent of internet technology. There is massive amount of medical information on the web which can be easily accessible but have significant variation in quality (Bails et al, 2008). There are both rogue and safe online pharmacies of over 11,000 websites selling medication services online. Approximately 96% of them are rogue and operate in conflict with industry laws and standard of practice. Nonetheless most people have turned to buying drugs and other medication services from online pharmacies and treatment centers due to convenience, affordability and time efficient. For instance buyers can be able to easily compare prices of various online stores at the comfort of their houses or office (Lian & Lin, 2008). But buying medication online is different from other products because not all sites are providing safety and quality practices. This means that knowing how to find a safe online pharmacy and treatment center is critical to avoid risks of buying unsafe and poor quality medication. Regulators such as NABP have launched programmes and vetting of internet Pharmacies to protect consumers from the risks of rogue pharmacies. Accordingly, companies to adhere to laws and regulations have been allowed to use domain “pharmacy” in their websites. The list of recommended pharmacies is also available and viewed at “recommended VIPPS online pharmacies”. This is believed to improve access to credible pharmacy and medical information online. Consequently, adults of Perth can be assured of safe online medication from pharmacies accredited by regulators (Csorba, 2011). Because of high number of illegal online pharmacies and treatment centers, it is essential to offer tips on how to identify rogue online pharmacies. Most illegal pharmacy do not physical address and toll free phone number on website. They can only communicate to clients through mails and such ones should be avoided. Rogue pharmacies do not require prescription to dispense drugs. Secondly, patients should be weary of online medication whose prescription relies solely on online questionnaire. They are also characterized by lack of clinical and pharmaceutical consultation, limited medicine, require patients to sign for waivers before providing medication (Van der Heijden, Pletneva & Boyer, 2013). This information is essential in enhancing information credibility and knowledge of adults on online medication and improves attitudes towards online medication. Level of knowledge on online medication The knowledge and experience one has of internet is critical in establishing the credibility of web contents. A number of studies has revealed age differences in the use of internet and hence knowledge about online medication (Sharit, 2008). Accordingly, older adults have low internet knowledge than the younger adults. One reason being their lower ability to analyze online contents (Sharit, 2008). The other reason is frequency of use which is lower in adults and higher in younger adults because certainty and confidence in online information increases with frequency of uses. This finding is supported by a study by Liao (2010) associating it to the lower abilities to analyze credibility of online contents. Nonetheless, other studies have found that unlike young adults that use internet for fun and networking, older adults use internet for research, banking and shopping purposes (Sydney 2009). This can provide them with sufficient knowledge of online medication than their younger counterparts. This means there are no conclusive research findings on difference in online medication knowledge between male and female adults as well as younger and older adults. The research will seeks to establish the level of online medication knowledge among the adults of Perth, WA. Attitudes of adults towards online medication The attitudes of consumers’ towards online medication information were found to vary across younger and older adults (Liao % Fu 2011). They further established that attitudes of adults towards purchase of online medications are positively related to their level of knowledge. However, credilibility judgment was key factors influencing the attitudes of adults towards purchace of online medication. It implies that providing credible and supplemental content to adults have positive effects towards buyer decisions of adults of online medication. This means credibility of companies and information is critical factor influencing the purchase attitudes of online medication consumers. Most studies on web content credibility are based on persuasive communications models of dual processing like the ELM (Sillence et al 2006). The change of attitudes due to online content has been explained in terms of message content and features of the websites. The findings are consistent with earlier results stressing the importance of familiarizing adults with credible web content to improve online medication (Skunk & Yoon 2005). This study is good in establishing the importance of credible online medication information but does not offer information on differences in attitudes across gender. According to Wathen & Burkell (2002) adults have low sensitivity to even positive online medication appearing on the less credible website than younger adults. They are also less susceptible to attitude change and resistance to external influence. From this perspective, we can infer that older adult attitudes are less influenced by online medication than younger adults. This information is essential in establishing the interactions between knowledge level and attitudes towards purchase decisions of adults. Conclusion It is apparent that most people are buying online medication because they convenient and saves time and money. However there are considerable risks associated with online medication as most online pharmacies are rogue. Therefore knowing how to find a safe online pharmacy is critical to avoiding associated risks and ultimately improve attitudes towards buying medication online. Although adults are not frequent users of internet, they use internet constructively for research, shopping and banking. The use of internet for research makes them more knowledgeable in online medication. It is evident that attitudes of adults towards purchase of online medications are positively related to their level of knowledge. The credibility of online content is paramount in developing positive attitudes among adults. This means adults knowledge and attitudes improves when they get information from websites approved by industry regulators. Therefore providing credible and supplemental content to adults has positive effects on purchase of online medication. This means credibility of companies and information is critical factor influencing the purchase attitudes of online medication. Research question Research aim The aim of this study is to assess the knowledge of adults residing in Perth, WA on online medication and offer relevant data on general health to the public health education. Significance of study Every is conducted to help various stakeholders about their areas of concern. This study is of significance to both companies offering online medication online, scholars in public health and public health industry in Perth and WA in general. It will provide them with update information on the knowledge level of adults towards online medication and the influence of knowledge level on purchase attitudes. This is necessary in improve access to credible online medication by the adults. Main research question Has the knowledge level on companies dispensing medication online influence attitudes of Perth adults in 2015 to buy online medication? Does this differ across gender and age? Sub questions 1. What level of research are WA adults undertaking on the companies selling the concept of online medication? Does the research differ across gender and age? 2. What is the attitude of Perth adults towards the concept of buying medication online? Does this attitude vary across age and gender? There is empirical gap existing on the above research questions which this study will be seeking to fill. Identify the level of research being undertaken by adults on online medication as this will help to determine their level of knowledge towards the concepts. Establishing the attitudes of adults towards buying online medication shall inform stakeholders on improving public health and sales. Definition of key concepts Every research has to define key terms and variables stating how various variables shall be classified as independent or dependent variables and methods of measurement (Bono & McNamara, 2011). Companies that sell medication online These are online outlets selling drugs to consumers mainly on prescription that will be measured numerically (Csorba, 2011). There are good companies accredited by industry regulators as well as rogue companies. The researcher will establish from respondents about companies they have researched and those they buy drugs from. There companies shall be grouped under rogue and accredited companies. The concept of purchasing medication online The concept of purchasing medication online shall be measured by the amount of traffic to the websites. The amount of traffic to website of companies engaged in online medication will be found on the website. Level of knowledge of online medication The level of knowledge on online medication services is the experience and information one has about the medication offered via internet (Sillence, 2006). The respondents shall be required to state alternative medicine for a friend from the internet. These shall be numerically measured based on ratio of credible to non credible online companies mentioned by respondents. A customer who mentioned high number of accredited web selling companies is deemed to be highly knowledgeable than the one mentioning high number of unaccredited online pharmacies. Attitudes of adults towards online medication purchase This shall be measured by the proportion of purchases made on online and physical stores by respondents between January and August 2015. Specifically, high number of online store purchase than physical stores indicates positive attitudes towards the concept of online medication. This finding shall then be used to evaluate if they significantly differ across age and gender of the adults. Research Participants Research participants are basically the population or item that will be used in carrying the study (Leary, 2011). The target population of research includes adult residents of Perth, Western Australia. These residents shall be classified based on age as younger adults and older adults and gender as male and female adults. This is aimed at establishing whether knowledge level and attitudes of adults towards online medication differ across age and gender. Calculation of sample size is based on about 350,000 adult residents of Perth, WA. A sample of 360 adults shall be randomly recruited with expected response rate of 60%. The participants shall be selected from public places such as coffee shops, grocery stores and metro stations among others. Getting a final sample of 190 respondents will provide a good cross of target population in terms of age and gender. Study plan will involve collecting information about research and knowledge level of adult and their attitudes with regard to online medication concept and purchase. There will be no manipulation of variables. Data collection instruments will include survey questionnaire and instruction sheet on subjects of age and gender. Pilot testing involving not less than 15 adult volunteers living in Perth shall be conducted to refine data collection plans. Four types of data analysis for the proposed research shall be used: the first is descriptive analysis to generate descriptive information on age, gender, level of knowledge and attitudes towards online medication in terms of mean, median, mode, standard and standard deviation. Correlation analysis using Pearson correlation between level of knowledge and attitudes. Others include chi-square and analysis of variance for testing significant difference between variable scores (Gay, Mills & Airasian, 2011). The proposed study has limitation; first is generalization of findings to total older population since the older population is heterogeneous. Even if proposed sample shall be as diverseas possible, some segments of older population would likely to be left out of study. Table summarizing the characteristic of sample participants Target Population Over 355000 adults residents of Perth, WA Sampling procedure Probability random sampling Type of sample Young and older adults Male and female of equal number Reliability test Pilot study on 15 adult volunteers Data collection instruments Survey questionnaire self administered to respondents Data analysis tools Descriptive, correlation, chi-square and ANOVA References Atkinson, N. L., Saperstein, S. L., & Pleis, J. (2009). Using the internet for health-related activities: findings from a national probability sample. Journal of medical Internet research, 11(1). Bails, D., Clayton, K., Roy, K., & Cantor, M. N. (2008). Implementing online medication reconciliation at a large academic medical center. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 34(9), 499-508. Bono, J. E., & McNamara, G. (2011). Publishing in AMJ—Part 2: Research design. Academy of Management Journal, 54(4), 657-660. Csorba, L. M. 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