The Attitudes of Egyptian Web-Based Health Information Seekers Toward Health Information Provided Through the Internet: Qualitative Study (Preprint)

Abstract

BACKGROUND The Internet has become an established source of health information for many Egyptian internet users. Understanding users’ perceptions of the benefits and limitations of online health information will explain the influence of this information on users’ health-related behaviour and decisions. OBJECTIVE This qualitative study aimed to understand the attitude of Egyptian internet users towards internet health information and to explore the impact of obtained health information on users’ behaviour and on their doctor-patient relationship. METHODS For this qualitative study, semi-structured interviews were conducted with a total of 49 participants (41 Egyptian internet users, and 8 physicians) who took part in focus groups or individual interviews. We used a thematic analysis approach to explain and demonstrate participants' views, thoughts, and experiences in using OHI. RESULTS The internet has become an important source of health information in comparison to other health information sources” is the central theme that has emerged across the thematic analysis. The attitude towards the use of internet health was classified into three main themes: 1) feeling towards the online health information (with sub-themes: favouring, disliking, neutral, or having ambivalence feelings.), 2) motivators to seek internet health information and 3) behavioural changes with using internet health (sub-themes: confidence, satisfaction and improv knowledge). Themes emerged from physicians’ interview included the accessibility of the internet health information, good communication, and coordination of care between patients and their physicians, and the active engagement of patients with their management plan. CONCLUSIONS Internet became an essential source of health information for Egyptian adults. Internet health information can improve the patient-physician relationship especially when users discuss the obtained health information with their physician. Internet health information provided seekers with social support and self-confidence when taking health decisions.

“Doctors” or “Influencers”? Physicians’ Presentation of Self in Health Vlogs

“…"Doctors" or "Influencers"? Physicians' Presentation of Self in Health Vlogs With so many health services moving online (Liu et al, 2020;Zanaboni & Fagerlund, 2020) and with patients actively seeking health information from the internet (Ghweeba et al, 2021;Jiang et al, 2021), it is perhaps unsurprising that physicians have taken to social media to engage with patients (Chen & Wang, 2021). They can do so using a variety of social media platforms and content formats, including video blogs, or vlogs.…”

“…Studying a group of Egyptian physician vloggers offers an opportunity to examine how physicians navigate these challenges in a context where the internet is a primary source of health information (Ghweeba et al, 2021) but where health literacy is limited (Almaleh et al, 2017; UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021). We investigate the complexities of physicians' online selfpresentation through an in-depth qualitative study of 12 Egyptian physician vloggers who have achieved a high degree of visibility on YouTube or Facebook.…”