The Role of Patient Satisfaction in Online Health Information Seeking

Studies of online health information seeking are beginning to address a basic question: why do people turn to the Internet? This study draws upon the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) and Media System Dependency (MSD) perspectives to examine in this process the role played by satisfaction with care. The sample comprised 178 cancer listserv users, of whom 35% chose the Internet as their preferred source of health information compared with 19% who named their oncologist. Dissatisfied patients were significantly more likely to rate the Internet as a better source of information than the provider (p = .001). The level of empathy shown by the provider and the quality of time spent with the patient had a significant negative association with choosing the Internet as a preferred source of information, and a significant positive association with choosing the oncologist as an information source. The results from this study emphasize the significance of the patient–provider interaction. Dissatisfied patients' tendency to seek and trust information sources other than their physician also may have implications for compliance with treatment.

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