Use of online resources by patients with cancer: The Canadian experience.

Abstract

318 Background: Canadians are among the highest users of the Internet. Online health information resources are easily accessible and provide quick information, but concerns exist about their role within a physician–patient relationship. Methods: Cancer patients across multiple disease sites, recruited from a regional cancer center, were interviewed regarding their internet use for health-related data. Descriptive statistics characterized online resource usage. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression models evaluated the association between socio-demographics, functional status, clinico-pathological variables and internet usage. Results: Of 191 patients in an interim analysis, 87% had home internet access. Google was the most commonly accessed website (79%), followed by cancer society websites (43%), Mayo Clinic (32%) and Wikipedia (28%). Disease-specific information (91%) was more commonly researched than information about specific physicians (30%). As expected, being married, having completed high school, earning a higher income and having home internet access were each associated with accessing information online (p<0.05). Patients were more likely to access disease-specific information through eMedicine than Wikipedia. Younger patients were more likely to evaluate support group information (aOR=5.9, 95%CI [1.6-21.3], p=0.02) and cancer society websites (aOR=2.6 [1.2-5.4], p=0.04). More educated patients used cancer society (aOR=2.7 [1.3-6.0], p=0.03) and subscription websites (aOR=3.8 [1.6-8.8], p=0.01). Surgical patients used subscription websites more than non-surgical patients (aOR=3.9 [1.7-8.8], p=0.006), obtaining disease-specific information (aOR=5.0 [1.4-18.5], p=0.04). Conclusions: Cancer patients commonly acquire health information from search engine queries. Socio-demographic and clinico-pathological variables affect online information access among cancer patients. Oncologists need to consider the potential benefits and pitfalls of patient online use in cancer management and in their physician-patient communication and shared decision making. Recruitment ends in August 2012 and data on the full 400 patient cohort will be presented. GL and SCG are co-senior authors.