Virtual Health: The Impact of Health-Related Websites on Patient-Doctor Interactions
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Portions of this chapter were presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Portions of this chapter were presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Technology, Communication, Disparities and Government Options in Health and Health Care Services
ISBN: 978-1-78350-645-3, eISBN: 978-1-78350-636-1
Publication date: 15 September 2014
Abstract
Purpose
This study illustrates that differences across health-related websites, as well as different Internet usage patterns, have significant implications for how individuals view and interact with their health care providers.
Methodology/approach
We rely on a qualitative study of three health-related websites and an ordinary least squares regression analysis of survey data to explore how websites with different organizational motives frame health-related issues and how variations in Internet usage patterns affect patients’ perceptions of the patient-doctor interaction.
Findings
Results reveal differences across three health-related websites and show that both the number and the type of websites patients visit affect their perceptions of physicians’ responses. Specifically, visiting multiple websites decreased perceptions of how well doctors listened to or answered patients’ questions, whereas using nonprofit or government health-related websites increased evaluations of how well doctors listened to and answered questions.
Research limitations/implications
This study suggests that practitioners and scholars should look more closely at how patients use the Internet to understand how it affects doctor-patient interactions. Future research could expand the analysis of website framing or use methods such as in-depth interviewing to more fully understand on-the-ground processes and mechanisms.
Originality/value of chapter
This study highlights the importance of fleshing out nuances about what it means to be an Internet-informed patient given that varying patterns of Internet use may affect how patients perceive their physicians.
Keywords
Citation
Savage, S.V., Kwan, S. and Bergstrand, K. (2014), "Virtual Health: The Impact of Health-Related Websites on Patient-Doctor Interactions Portions of this chapter were presented at the 2009 annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
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