[Bipolar disorder and manic-depressive disorder on the Internet]

(Bipolare Störung und manisch-depressive Erkrankung im Internet.)

Full Abstract

OBJECTIVE:
The internet is an important source of information and exchange for patients and can exert considerable influence on their health-related behaviours and decisions. This makes the quality of information on the internet an important factor. The present study analyzes the quality of German-language internet information on "bipolar disorder" and "manic-depressive disorder".

METHODS:
Two separate searches were conducted with the terms "bipolar disorder" and "manic-depressive disorder", using the Google search engine set to produce only German hits. The quality of the first hundred resulting sites was assessed according to a range of criteria considering form and content.

RESULTS:
Comprehensive information on the nature of the illness (such as symptoms and diagnosis) was provided more frequently by sites resulting from the search term "manic-depressive disorder". The term "bipolar disorder" produced more results offering information on evidence-based therapeutic strategies.

DISCUSSION:
It is necessary to improve the available internet information on the term "bipolar disorder", and to establish the term as firmly as its predecessor, the term "manic-depressive disorder".

Learn Faster Today Improve your study skills

Author information

Author/s: Seyringer, Michaela-Elena (ME); Schrank, Beate (B); Berger, Peter (P); Katschnig, Heinz (H); Amering, Michaela (M);

Affiliation: Universitätsklinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie, Klinische Abteilung für Sozialpsychiatrie, Medizinische Universität Wien.

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: English Abstract; Journal Article

Journal: Neuropsychiatrie : Klinik, Diagnostik, Therapie und Rehabilitation : Organ der Gesellschaft Österreichischer Nervenärzte und Psychiater (Neuropsychiatr), published in Germany. (Language: ger)

Reference: 2007-; vol 21 (issue 2) : pp 172-8

Dates: Created 2007/07/20; Completed 2007/10/31;

PMID: 17640501, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

External Links for this article (including full text providers, if available):

Click Electronic Full-text Provider Links to see options for finding the electronic full text links to this article. Note there may be a subscription or fee required for access to the full text. See our FAQ for information on finding FREE full text articles.

This article may also be located in paper journal collections available in many libraries. Use the Journal and Publication Information above to find the full article.

MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Bipolar Disorder - diagnosis; therapy
Evidence-Based Medicine
Germany
Humans

These are the highest related articles currently in the database:

See 100+ related articles.