Abstract
Background: In recent years, China has witnessed a surge in medical disputes, including many widely reported violent riots, attacks, and protests in hospitals. Asymmetric information between patient and physicians is one of the most critical enablers in this phenomenon, but the Web has become the primary resource for Chinese Internet applications to learn about health information and could potentially play a role in this pathway to patient–physician interaction and patient–physician trust. While considerable attention has been paid in some countries, there are few researches about China’s situation for this issue. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of online health information and the online guidance of doctors in patient health information literacy on patient–physician interaction and patient–physician trust in China. Methods: A web-based survey was conducted to collect data from online applications with health problems. A structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data to test the hypotheses. A total of 446 participants from the Tongji Hospital in Wuhan and Huazhong University of Science and Technology hospital participated in the study. Results: Our analysis shows that the usefulness of online health information and the online guidance of doctors both significantly influence the trust of the patient toward physicians and interaction with physicians. Furthermore, the patient–physician interaction also has a significant impact on the patient–physician trust. Conclusions: There are many studies on the influence of online health information on the doctor–patient relationship, whereas a little research has examined this relationship between health information online support from doctors and patient–physician interaction by quantitative empirical analysis. This study also explores the online guidance role of doctors and whether doctor–patient communication will affect the trust of doctors and patients. The practical implications of this study include an improved understanding of the function of online health information and potential impacts regarding the interaction with physicians and trust toward physicians that can be used to resolve conflicts between doctors and patients.
Highlights
According to the statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of February 2019, the total number of Internet applications in China is 829 million, and the Internet penetration rate reached 59.6% [1]
We argue that the patient–physician interaction after seeking online health information and perceived online help from doctors will have a positive significance to improve patient–physician trust
As the second-generation multivariate causal analysis method, partial least square (PLS) can be applied to complex structural equation models and is less restrictive on sample size than other methods
Summary
According to the statistics released by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC), as of February 2019, the total number of Internet applications in China is 829 million, and the Internet penetration rate reached 59.6% [1]. The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the influence of online health information and the online guidance of doctors in patient health information literacy on patient–physician interaction and patient–physician trust in China. Results: Our analysis shows that the usefulness of online health information and the online guidance of doctors both significantly influence the trust of the patient toward physicians and interaction with physicians. Conclusions: There are many studies on the influence of online health information on the doctor–patient relationship, whereas a little research has examined this relationship between health information online support from doctors and patient–physician interaction by quantitative empirical analysis. The practical implications of this study include an improved understanding of the function of online health information and potential impacts regarding the interaction with physicians and trust toward physicians that can be used to resolve conflicts between doctors and patients
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callMore From: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
