Patterns of internet use by parents of children attending a pediatric surgical service

Purpose The internet has revolutionised the way we search for information. We determined the level of internet use by parents of children attending general surgical services and identified trends in online information-seeking behaviour. Methods A questionnaire based on the work by Boston and Tassone was distributed to parents attending both the day surgical units and surgical outpatients department in a paediatric tertiary referral centre. Results There were 214 (82.3 %) questionnaires returned, with 82 (38.3 %) of respondents having searched the internet regarding their child’s surgical issue. Access to a smartphone, a university education and private health insurance were factors that positively influenced online searching ( p