Grant Number:	5R01CA122894-05 Interpret this number
Primary Investigator:	Viswanath, Kasisomayajula
Organization:	Dana-Farber Cancer Inst
Project Title:	Click to Connect: Improving Health Literacy Through Internet Literacy
Fiscal Year:	2010

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Health Literacy is defined as the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions (US DHHS, 2000). Yet there is well-documented evidence for profound inequalities in the distribution of communications services, the digital divide, and advantages accruing from it thus threatening the normative goal of developing a health literate public. The research question guiding this project is: Does improving access to the Internet, and training in how to use the Internet for health information, among the socially disadvantaged lead to changes in health literacy, and secondarily in health knowledge and beliefs about health compared to a control group in usual care condition? We will recruit 258 subjects from adult education centers in Boston, the most diverse city in New England, and randomize them to either the intervention or control conditions. 129 subjects in the intervention group will be provided with free computers and high-speed Internet at home. They will also be provided with training on how to use computers and navigate the Internet, as well as a web portal that will help in the use of the Internet for one year. Intervention will occur in three waves with 43 subjects per wave per year. Baseline and post-Intervention data .will be gathered through a telephone survey of subjects in both groups and Internet and computer use will be tracked in the Intervention group. The data from this project will provide the necessary information to design future information architecture that can address health literacy and digital divide issues specific to the needs of the socially disadvantaged.




Beliefs about smoking-related lung cancer risk among low socioeconomic individuals: the role of smoking experience and interpersonal communication.
Authors: Bekalu M.A. , Minsky S. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Global Health Promotion, 2019 09; 26(3), p. 88-93.
EPub date: 2017-11-07 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 29110569
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Beyond access: barriers to internet health information seeking among the urban poor.
Authors: McCloud R.F. , Okechukwu C.A. , Sorensen G. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Journal Of The American Medical Informatics Association : Jamia, 2016 11; 23(6), p. 1053-1059.
EPub date: 2016-05-20 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 27206459
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Entertainment or Health? Exploring the Internet Usage Patterns of the Urban Poor: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
Authors: McCloud R.F. , Okechukwu C.A. , Sorensen G. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Journal Of Medical Internet Research, 2016-03-03 00:00:00.0; 18(3), p. e46.
EPub date: 2016-03-03 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 26940637
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Internet use, browsing, and the urban poor: implications for cancer control.
Authors: Viswanath K. , McCloud R. , Minsky S. , Puleo E. , Kontos E. , Bigman-Galimore C. , Rudd R. , Emmons K.M. .
Source: Journal Of The National Cancer Institute. Monographs, 2013 Dec; 2013(47), p. 199-205.
PMID: 24395992
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Recruitment and Retention for Community-Based eHealth Interventions with Populations of Low Socioeconomic Position: Strategies and Challenges.
Authors: Nagler R.H. , Ramanadhan S. , Minsky S. , Viswanath K. .
Source: The Journal Of Communication, 2013-02-01 00:00:00.0; 63(1), p. 201-220.
EPub date: 2013-02-01 00:00:00.0.
PMID: 23439871
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Social disparities, communication inequalities, and HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes in India.
Authors: Ackerson L.K. , Ramanadhan S. , Arya M. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Aids And Behavior, 2012 Oct; 16(7), p. 2072-81.
PMID: 21870161
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Contribution of communication inequalities to disparities in human papillomavirus vaccine awareness and knowledge.
Authors: Kontos E.Z. , Emmons K.M. , Puleo E. , Viswanath K. .
Source: American Journal Of Public Health, 2012 Oct; 102(10), p. 1911-20.
PMID: 22970692
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The communications revolution and health inequalities in the 21st century: implications for cancer control.
Authors: Viswanath K. , Nagler R.H. , Bigman-Galimore C.A. , McCauley M.P. , Jung M. , Ramanadhan S. .
Source: Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention : A Publication Of The American Association For Cancer Research, Cosponsored By The American Society Of Preventive Oncology, 2012 Oct; 21(10), p. 1701-8.
PMID: 23045545
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Determinants and beliefs of health information mavens among a lower-socioeconomic position and minority population.
Authors: Kontos E.Z. , Emmons K.M. , Puleo E. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Social Science & Medicine (1982), 2011 Jul; 73(1), p. 22-32.
PMID: 21683493
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Communication inequalities and public health implications of adult social networking site use in the United States.
Authors: Kontos E.Z. , Emmons K.M. , Puleo E. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Journal Of Health Communication, 2010; 15 Suppl 3, p. 216-35.
PMID: 21154095
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The social context of interpersonal communication and health.
Authors: Ackerson L.K. , Viswanath K. .
Source: Journal Of Health Communication, 2009; 14 Suppl 1, p. 5-17.
PMID: 19449264
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Health disparities, communication inequalities, and eHealth.
Authors: Viswanath K. , Kreuter M.W. .
Source: American Journal Of Preventive Medicine, 2007 May; 32(5 Suppl), p. S131-3.
PMID: 17466818
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