Digital Media and Health and Wellbeing (VCE SSCE Health and Human Development): Revision Notes

Digital Media and Health and Wellbeing

What is digital media?

Digital media has become an essential part of our everyday lives, including in the healthcare sector. Understanding how digital media works in health and wellbeing contexts helps us make informed decisions about using these technologies.

Digital media refers to audio (sound), video and photographic content that has been converted into a digital format. Once converted, this information can be easily manipulated, distributed and played by computers, and transmitted to others over computer networks.

Common examples of digital media products include:

• Websites
• Mobile apps
• Social media
• Games
• Data and databases
• Digital audio (MP3)
• Digital images and video
• Computer software
• E-books
• Virtual reality

The health and wellbeing industry has seen a large uptake of digital media technology. There are many applications for providing and distributing health information in different formats, including:

• Technology-based patient consultations
• Virtual reality
• Symptom checkers
• General health and wellbeing websites and mobile apps
• Search engines (such as Google)

Types of digital media for health and wellbeing

Technology-based patient consultations

Technology-based patient consultations (also called telehealth) are doctor–patient consultations that use technology as an alternative to face-to-face appointments. These can include:

• Video conferencing
• Internet-based consultations
• Telephone consultations

These services are increasingly used by all medical specialties in Australia, alongside traditional face-to-face consultations. Telehealth consultations work best when the patient and their medical history are well known to the doctor.

Virtual reality

Virtual reality technology has a wide range of emerging applications in healthcare. These include:

Patient care applications:

• Distraction therapy for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy
• Helping patients manage pain and anxiety during treatment

Doctor training applications:

• Training surgeons in procedures that are difficult to observe
• Improving doctor–patient relations for elderly people or those with dementia
• Allowing doctors to experience what it's like to be elderly with low vision and hearing, or to experience life as a dementia patient

Symptom checkers

Many Australian websites and mobile apps have web-based symptom checkers available 24 hours a day. People can either search for symptoms they are experiencing or answer questions to determine the best action when feeling unwell.

Examples of symptom checker services:

Healthdirect (Australian government website):

• Provides a symptom checker that advises whether to see a GP, pharmacist or go to a hospital emergency department
• Users answer questions about their symptoms
• Provides basic self-care information based on the answers

myDr:

• Provides a drop-down menu of symptoms to choose from
• Opening a symptom (for example, back pain) gives general information, causes and advice on relieving the problem

mayoclinic.org (overseas-based website):

• Provides symptom checking services

Mobile apps

Mobile apps provide access to specific health information on a wide range of topics. These can help people manage various aspects of their health and wellbeing.

Types of health apps:

• Food ingredient lists for people with allergies
• Exercise trackers
• Menstrual period trackers
• Skin checks for moles
• Diet and calorie trackers

Specific health condition apps:

Government and non-government organisations have developed apps to assist consumers with specific health issues:

• BeyondNow (Beyondblue) - For people experiencing suicidal thoughts and feelings. Provides a mobile, personalised safety plan that people can carry at all times to help them through tough times or get help when needed.
• On Track with The Right Mix (Department of Veterans' Affairs) - Allows people to keep track of their drinking over time and provides information on the short- and long-term health effects of drinking alcohol.
• SkinVision - Designed to evaluate moles and other skin lesions for skin cancer risk. Users take photos of moles or skin conditions, then the app analyses the photo and gives a recommendation based on a traffic light system. Allows people to track changes over time and share information with doctors.
• My QuitBuddy (Quitnow initiative) - Free app to help people get and stay smoke-free. Provides helpful tips and distractions to overcome cravings, tracking systems to chart progress, and facts about the health effects of smoking. Versions target Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and pregnant women.

General health and wellbeing websites

Many websites globally provide general health and wellbeing information. In Australia, both government and non-government organisations make large volumes of health information available.

Government websites:

Healthdirect (www.healthdirect.gov.au):

• Federal government service providing free Australian health advice
• Extensive A–Z listing of health information based on conditions, symptoms or common health experiences for different life stages
• Has a mobile app with similar information and assistance
• Includes symptom tracker

Better Health Channel (www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au):

• Comprehensive health and wellbeing website from the Victorian Government
• Tools such as BMI calculator
• Health-related apps including:
  • Vax On Time - Reminds parents and carers when their child's vaccinations are due
  • Better Health Channel app - Lets people set personal health alerts and notifications for pollen, UV levels and smog
• Range of healthy recipes and articles on healthy living topics

Non-government websites:

myDr.com.au (project of DrMe Pty Ltd):

• Independent website providing reliable Australian health information
• Health tools and calculators covering symptoms, diseases, tests and investigations, medicines, treatments, nutrition and fitness
• Health information categorised by age and gender
• Can be browsed for common concerns
• Has a search engine to find a GP

Search engines

One in 20 Google searches are for health-related information. In 2016, Google responded by adding medical facts about common ailments, including symptoms, treatments and useful facts when basic health conditions are searched.

Google's health information features:

• Provides a single reliable source of health information checked by doctors from the Mayo Clinic and Harvard Medical School
• Instead of numerous poor or unreliable websites, users can access verified information
• Helps users gather relevant information and decide which course of action to take

How it works:

• Searching for specific symptoms (e.g., "headache on one side") results in a list of associated conditions such as "migraine", "common cold" or "tension headache"
• For general searches (e.g., "headache"), Google provides an overview description with information on self-treatment options or symptoms that warrant a doctor's visit

Usage in Australia: Around one quarter of all Australians regularly seek health information online. One study showed that searching for health and medical information was among the top ten internet activities for Australians aged over 16.

Opportunities for health and wellbeing created by digital media

Digital media presents significant opportunities to improve health and wellbeing, particularly for certain population groups who face barriers to traditional healthcare access.

Health and wellbeing issue	Opportunity created by digital media
Australians living in rural and remote areas	Increased access to health information resources such as websites and mobile apps without having to travel long distances to see a healthcare professional. This means less time away from work and family and less money spent on travel. Telehealth consultations mean that people living far from their health providers can still access one-on-one care without having to travel.
Australians of low socioeconomic status	Apart from the cost of the internet or phone connection, large amounts of health-related information is available on websites or via mobile apps that are free. This makes healthcare more accessible for those who struggle with the cost of individual appointments.
Language barriers	Those with language barriers can access health information, as many websites offer information in a variety of languages, or an online translator can be used to interpret information.
Expanding on a diagnosis	Websites can be useful for someone who wants to find out more about an injury or disease diagnosis from a doctor. The consultation time might be limited, the patient might think of more questions after they have left the clinic, or the doctor might have given large amounts of information that is difficult to process all at once.
Support groups	Through the internet or social media sites, people can share their experiences, treatments or offer advice and support to people with certain health conditions. They can connect with people and ask questions without having to travel long distances to seek personal support, or remain anonymous if they choose.

Case study: GPs and telehealth

A survey by the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) in July 2020 showed that GPs and patients were seeing the benefits of telehealth consultations during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Survey findings:

• More than 420 GPs were surveyed
• One in five respondents reported that 61–80% of their patients had requested a telehealth consultation
• More than 99% of GPs were offering consultations via video or telephone
• Almost 97% of practices were still offering face-to-face consultations, providing patients with flexible access options
• The majority of GPs used telephone for telehealth, but more than half (54%) had used video at least once

Patient perspective:

• A June 2020 survey of more than 700 Australians revealed 32% had delayed or avoided seeing their GP in the previous three months due to fears of contracting COVID-19
• 37% of respondents said they would be willing to try video consultations

Barriers to video consultations:

• A quarter of respondents reported not having the necessary hardware or software to use video technology
• Additional support and education for GPs and practice teams was needed

Future of telehealth: The vast majority of GPs welcomed the prospect of temporary COVID-19 Medicare Benefits Schedule items being extended, indicating they would continue to provide care via telehealth. There is strong demand for flexible telehealth and telephone consultations to continue beyond the pandemic.

Challenges for health and wellbeing created by digital media

While digital media offers many opportunities, it also presents several challenges that can negatively impact health and wellbeing. Understanding these challenges is crucial for using digital health resources safely and effectively.

Challenge	Description
Reliability of information	Online sources are not always accurate, truthful, reliable or even honest. Users rarely know exactly who is providing the information or advice. Because of the nature of medical advice about conditions or treatments, misinformation can be particularly harmful as it may directly affect a person's health and wellbeing.
Low health literacy	Many people do not have the levels of health literacy to give them the skills or knowledge to seek reliable advice, and therefore act on ill-informed opinions or information. High levels of health literacy are needed to sort through the massive amount of information available and decide what is useful, accurate and safe.
Self-diagnosis	Internet resources give information only and cannot ask the questions required to accurately diagnose or identify a health condition, increasing the risk of people misdiagnosing their health concerns. This may result in people dismissing serious symptoms as nothing of concern, or beginning inappropriate treatments for symptoms that may have been misdiagnosed. Self-diagnosing can cause a delay in seeing a doctor and beginning treatment for health conditions.
Self-medicating	Choosing medications based on a self-diagnosis may mean the real condition is not treated or the medication chosen may cause health problems itself. This can mean that potentially life-threatening health conditions are not adequately treated, or dangerous medications may be taken when not appropriate.
Cyberchondria	This term describes people who research any and all symptoms of a rare disease, illness or condition, and cause themselves a state of medical anxiety. People who fear catastrophic injuries or diseases may search their symptoms online and become even more anxious because of the (often dubious) information they have found.

The problem with online diagnosis

Different websites can suggest vastly different diagnoses for the same symptom. This inconsistency demonstrates why self-diagnosis using online resources can be dangerous and unreliable.