Engelsk titel: Danish patients' use of the Internet
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Författare:
Nielsen S
;
Eidner A
;
Dörup JG
Email: jd@hi.au.dk
Språk: Dan
Antal referenser: 14
Dokumenttyp:
Artikel
UI-nummer: 05061009
Sammanfattning
Introduction: The Internet is playing an ever-increasing role in everyday life, and in the future it will become an important factor in the relationship between patients and their physicians. This study was performed to investigate the importance of Internet searches to the consultation and to what extent patients use the Internet to obtain information about health-related issues. Materials and methods: We conducted a survey using a questionnaire in the waiting rooms of four Danish practices over three days in December 2003. The study included 100 patients. Results: Fifty-one percent of the patients responding had used the Internet to search for health-related information within the previous six months. Only 7% had made a specific search before the consultation, 90% had never discussed the information they had found on the Internet with their GP and only 4% had been recommended to consult a health-related Web site by their GP. 48% of the patients indicated an interest in Internet-based consultations. Discussion: Patients search mostly for information on specific diseases, less on general health issues; 75% of those surveyed indicated that they had found the information to be useful or very useful. Compared to other studies, these findings indicate an increase in use of the Internet to obtain information on health-related issues. It is likely that this increase is associated with the increase in availability of the Internet and also with an increased understanding of the Internet on the part of patients.