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The bidirectional mistrust: Callers’ online discussions about their experiences of using the national telephone advice service

Annica Björkman (Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Health Services Research, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden)
Martin Salzmann-Erikson (Faculty of Health and Occupational Studies, University of Gavle, Gavle, Sweden)

Internet Research

ISSN: 1066-2243

Article publication date: 2 October 2018

319

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to explore and describe online communication about the experiences and attitudes toward Swedish Healthcare Direct, a national telephone advice nursing (TAN) service.

Design/methodology/approach

A descriptive research design was adopted using a six-step netnographic method. Three Swedish forums were purposefully selected and data from the virtual discussions were collected.

Findings

Three themes emerged: expectancy and performativity of the nurses, absurdity in accessibility and the scrutinizing game. The most prominent finding was the scrutinizing game, which included aspects of bidirectional mistrust from both nurses and callers. Another salient finding was the attitudes that callers held toward nurses who used a technique interpreted as “passing the buck.”

Research limitations/implications

The use of a nethnographic method is novel in this area of research. Consequently, the body of knowledge has regarding telephone advise nursing service has significantly been broadened. A limitation in this study is that demographic data for the posters are not available.

Practical implications

Bidirectional distrust is an important issue that must be acknowledged by TAN services, since it might damage the service on a fundamental level. Healthcare providers, politicians, and researchers should account for the power and availability of virtual discussions when seeking consumers’ opinions and evaluating the quality of the care provided.

Originality/value

This analysis of the ongoing discussions that take place on the internet provides insight into callers’ perceptions of a national TAN service. The bidirectional mistrust found from both the nurses and the callers might be a threat to callers’ compliance with the advice given and their care-seeking behavior.

Keywords

Citation

Björkman, A. and Salzmann-Erikson, M. (2018), "The bidirectional mistrust: Callers’ online discussions about their experiences of using the national telephone advice service", Internet Research, Vol. 28 No. 5, pp. 1336-1350. https://doi.org/10.1108/IntR-11-2016-0330

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited

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