Parent’s use of the Internet in the search for healthcare information and subsequent impact on the doctor–patient relationship

Abstract

Parents showed a willingness to learn about diseases and treatments, and felt that the Internet was a good resource to do so. This study shows that open discussion about Internet usage between parents and doctors is not common and carers feel at risk of judgment should they admit to Internet usage. The Internet should be seen as a positive adjunct to patient education which can improve understanding, thus strengthening the doctor-patient relationship. The Internet will never replace the role of healthcare professionals but must be seen as an integral part of a multi-disciplinary approach.

Online Health Information Seeking by Parents for Their Children: Systematic Review and Agenda for Further Research

“…An additional 13 studies addressed specific circumstances, mainly prior to a surgical procedure [ 46 - 51 ], after childbirth [ 52 ], 24 hours before an emergency department visit [ 53 ], during stay in a neonatal intensive care unit [ 54 ], in a pediatric outpatient clinic [ 55 , 56 ], in palliative care [ 57 ], and regarding attitudes towards human papillomavirus vaccination [ 58 ]. In addition, 7 studies dealt with general OHIS without specified diseases or particular circumstances [ 14 , 59 - 64 ].…”

“…Only 3 studies explicitly distinguished between general OHIS and specific OHIS [ 36 , 53 , 62 ]. Recent studies from 2017 or later showed the highest prevalences, with around three-fourths [ 51 , 59 , 60 ] to roughly 9 out of 10 parents who searched for health information related to their child [ 14 , 33 , 35 , 44 ]. Likewise, the health-related internet use among parents of children with rare diseases seems to be relatively high [ 44 , 45 ], even for older studies that deal with rare conditions [ 36 , 37 ].…”

“…Unfortunately, only a few studies examined search content in detail. Information about characteristics of specific diseases, current treatments, and diagnoses were the most common search topics [ 36 , 44 , 45 , 50 , 51 , 55 , 59 ], while looking for alternative treatments [ 40 , 44 , 50 , 51 , 55 ] was comparatively less common. However, the choice of treatment could be influenced by the information from the internet [ 46 - 48 , 56 ].…”

“…Although parents wished for more guidance regarding good websites from their physicians [ 14 , 41 , 48 , 52 , 53 ], parents rarely or never discussed their findings with them [ 14 , 34 , 40 , 46 - 48 , 50 , 51 ]. Reasons for not discussing findings included a lack of time and a fear of doctors’ disapproval [ 33 , 51 , 52 , 59 ]. Other problems mentioned included nonnative language information [ 34 , 38 ], technical language [ 34 , 51 ], and information overload [ 33 , 38 , 51 ].…”

Quality of health websites and their influence on perceived usefulness, trust and intention to use: an analysis from Thailand

“…The global Internet continues to grow at an exponential rate, bringing with it innovative ways of transacting, communicating, learning, socializing, and transforming just about every aspect of daily life. In addition, the growth of health information on the Internet affects the doctor-patient relationship because of the use of medical information on the Internet (Harvey et al 2017). It is clear that the Internet could change the information-seeking behavior of users and their attitudes.…”