Abstract
BackgroundPrevious studies have suggested that patients’ online health information seeking affects their medical consultations and patient-doctor relationships. An up-to-date picture of patients’ online health information-seeking behaviors can inform and prepare frontline health care professionals to collaborate, facilitate, or empower their patients to access and manage health information found online.ObjectiveThis study explores the prevalence, patterns, and predictors of online health information-seeking behaviors among primary care patients in Hong Kong, and the relations between online health information seeking and electronic health (eHealth) literacy.MethodsPatients attending a university primary care clinic in Hong Kong were asked to complete a questionnaire survey on their demographic backgrounds; health status; frequency and pattern of online health information seeking; contents, sources, and reasons for online health information seeking; and their eHealth literacy. eHealth literacy was measured by the validated eHealth Literacy Scale (eHEALS). Regression analyses explored various demographic and behavioral predictors to online health information seeking, and predictors to eHealth literacy.ResultsIn all, 97.32% (1162/1194) respondents used the internet, of which 87.44% (1016/1162) had used the internet to find health information. Most respondents (65.97%, 665/1008) searched once monthly or more. Few (26.88%, 271/1008) asked their doctor about health information found online, but most doctors (56.1%, 152/271) showed little or no interest at all. The most sought topic was symptom (81.59%, 829/1016), the top reason was noticing new symptoms or change in health (70.08%, 712/1016), the most popular source was online encyclopedia (69.98%, 711/1016), and the top reason for choosing a source was convenience (55.41%, 563/1016). Poisson regression analysis identified high eHEALS score, fair or poor self-rated health, having a chronic medical condition, and using the internet several times a day as significant predictors of online health information seeking. Multiple regression analysis identified lower age, better self-rated health, more frequent internet use, more frequent online health information seeking, and more types of health information sought as significant predictors to higher eHealth literacy.ConclusionsOnline health information seeking is prevalent among primary care patients in Hong Kong, but only a minority shared the information with doctors. Websites were chosen more for convenience than for accuracy or authoritativeness. Doctors should recognize patients’ online health information-seeking behavior, and facilitate and empower them to search for high-quality online health information.
Highlights
The rapid development of the internet has significantly changed the way people obtain information
Online health information seeking is prevalent among primary care patients in Hong Kong, but only a minority shared the information with doctors
The Pew Internet and American Life Project has shown that female gender, young age, and high education level were associated with more online health information seeking [12]; whereas, in a survey of primary care patients in Scotland, employment status, educational attainment, geographic location, age, and gender were associated with online health information seeking [10]
Summary
The rapid development of the internet has significantly changed the way people obtain information. Patients increasingly turn to the internet to prepare for doctors’ consultations, to discuss information they found online with their doctors, or to complement, validate, and challenge the information offered by doctors [7,9,10,11]. Various predictors, such as age, gender, education, socioeconomic status, health status, and internet usage, were shown to affect the prevalence and extent of online health information seeking in previous studies [10,11,12,13,14]. An up-to-date picture of patients’ online health information-seeking behaviors can inform and prepare frontline health care professionals to collaborate, facilitate, or empower their patients to access and manage health information found online
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