Access to health information on the internet and possible implications for the physician-patient relationship

Authors

Keywords:

Uso da Internet, Acesso à Informação, Comunicação em Saúde, Assistência Centrada no Paciente, Relações Médico-Paciente

Abstract

Objective: to evaluate the use of the internet by patients to access health information and the possible implications for the physician-patient relationship. Method: descriptive, cross-sectional and quantitative study carried out in April and May 2022 in Anápolis, Goiás. A validated questionnaire on internet use was used in the study. The G test was applied to associate internet use with sex and age group, with a significance level of 5% (p<0.05). Results: among the 109 patients, there was a prevalence of females (80.7%), aged 18 to 59 years (83.5%), with complete high school (42.2%). Most spend between two and four hours a day on the Internet (68.0%; p=0.992) and had already searched for health information on the Internet (84.4%; p=0.095), especially about medications (86.2%; p=0.940). Participants of sexes used the internet for a second opinion on the medical diagnosis (men - 52.4%; women - 68.2%; p=0.185), but did not discuss their searches carried out on the internet with the doctors (men - 57, 1%; women - 86.4%; p=0.005). Conclusion: the Internet has been used quite frequently by patients to access health information, but they do not discuss their findings with professionals, which tends to weaken the doctor-patient relationship.

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Published

2023-06-01

Issue

Section

Artigo Original/ Original Article/ Artículo Originale

How to Cite

Access to health information on the internet and possible implications for the physician-patient relationship. (2023). Journal Health NPEPS, 8(1). https://periodicos.unemat.br/index.php/jhnpeps/article/view/10922

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