The Role of the Internet in Patient-Practitioner Relationships
Author Information
Author(s): Angie Hart, Flis Henwood, Sally Wyatt, James Anderson, Robert Mrtek
Primary Institution: University of Brighton
Hypothesis
How does the use of the Internet affect the relationships between patients and health-care practitioners?
Conclusion
The study suggests that the Internet is contributing to subtle changes in the relationship between health-care practitioners and their patients.
Supporting Evidence
- Patients often feel overwhelmed by the information available on the Internet.
- Most patients still prefer to consult their health-care practitioners for health issues.
- Many patients and practitioners lack IT literacy when searching for health information online.
Takeaway
Patients are using the Internet to learn about their health, but they often feel overwhelmed by the information and still trust their doctors more.
Methodology
Qualitative interviews and observations of patient-practitioner interactions.
Potential Biases
Participants may have been biased towards trusting health practitioners due to high levels of trust reported.
Limitations
The sample may not be typical of patients with other health conditions and the study is small-scale.
Participant Demographics
The sample included 47 patients (32 women and 15 men) aged 39 to 73, mostly white and British born.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
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