Topics, Delivery Modes, and Social-Epistemological Dimensions of Web-Based Information for Patients Undergoing Renal Transplant and Living Donors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis

Charlotte W van Klaveren; Peter G M de Jong; Renée A Hendriks; Franka Luk; Aiko P J de Vries; Paul J M van der Boog; Marlies E J Reinders

doi:10.2196/22068

Topics, Delivery Modes, and Social-Epistemological Dimensions of Web-Based Information for Patients Undergoing Renal Transplant and Living Donors During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Content Analysis

J Med Internet Res. 2020 Oct 8;22(10):e22068. doi: 10.2196/22068.

Authors

Charlotte W van Klaveren¹, Peter G M de Jong², Renée A Hendriks², Franka Luk¹, Aiko P J de Vries¹, Paul J M van der Boog¹, Marlies E J Reinders^{1

3}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Nephrology and Transplant Center, Department of Internal Medicine, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
² Center for Innovation in Medical Education, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, Netherlands.
³ Division of Nephrology and Transplantation, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands.

PMID: 32946412
PMCID: PMC7546867
DOI: 10.2196/22068

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has markedly affected renal transplant care. During this time of social distancing, limited in-person visits, and uncertainty, patients and donors are relying more than ever on telemedicine and web-based information. Several factors can influence patients' understanding of web-based information, such as delivery modes (instruction, interaction, and assessment) and social-epistemological dimensions (choices in interactive knowledge building).

Objective: The aim of this study was to systemically evaluate the content, delivery modes, and social-epistemological dimensions of web-based information on COVID-19 and renal transplantation at time of the pandemic.

Methods: Multiple keyword combinations were used to retrieve websites on COVID-19 and renal transplantation using the search engines Google.com and Google.nl. From 14 different websites, 30 webpages were examined to determine their organizational sources, topics, delivery modes, and social-epistemological dimensions.

Results: The variety of topics and delivery modes was limited. A total of 13 different delivery modes were encountered, of which 8 (62%) were instructional and 5 (38%) were interactional; no assessment delivery modes were observed. No website offered all available delivery modes. The majority of delivery modes (8/13, 62%) focused on individual and passive learning, whereas group learning and active construction of knowledge were rarely encountered.

Conclusions: By taking interactive knowledge transfer into account, the educational quality of eHealth for transplant care could increase, especially in times of crisis when rapid knowledge transfer is needed.

Keywords: COVID-19; constructivism; eHealth; health communication; internet; patient education; renal transplantation; social-epistemological dimensions; teaching modes; web-based information; websites.

©Charlotte W van Klaveren, Peter G M de Jong, Renée A Hendriks, Franka Luk, Aiko P J de Vries, Paul J M van der Boog, Marlies E J Reinders. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 08.10.2020.

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Humans
Internet*
Kidney Transplantation*
Knowledge*
Living Donors / education*
Pandemics
Patient Education as Topic* / standards
Patient Education as Topic* / statistics & numerical data
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
SARS-CoV-2
Search Engine
Telemedicine*
Uncertainty