Influencing Factors of Online Health Information Seeking in Selected European Countries

Abstract

Patients’ participation in healthcare requires comprehensive health knowledge and can benefit from online health information seeking behaviours (O-HISB). The internet is a particularly vital source for seeking health-related information in many regions of the world. Therefore, we take a European cross-country comparative perspective on O-HISB. We aim to compare the importance of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive determinants of using the internet for health-related purposes in four European countries. We conducted online surveys among the German, Swiss, Dutch, and Austrian public and described patterns of health information seeking online. The internet seemed to be a widely used source of health information in the four selected European countries. The explanation patterns of personal, health(care)-related, and cognitive factors differ by country and between selecting the internet as a source of health information and the frequency of online use. Using online media appeared to be more common for women and for current health problems. Respondents’ willingness and competencies are essential for online health information seeking. To prevent the increase of social and health-related disparities, there is an urgent need to support underprivileged population groups and increase motivations and eHealth literacy to use the internet for health-related purposes.

Sick for Information?

“…This trend is also visible in crisis communication (Bridgman et al, 2020). In comparison to other European countries such as Switzerland, Austria and Germany, the percentage of internet users for healthrelated information is significantly higher in the Netherlands (Link et al, 2021). It is therefore not unlikely that during the Covid-19 outbreak, the preference for traditional channels may have shifted towards mass media 2.0, referring to online sources such as search engines, social media, forums, blogs, health websites and news sites.…”

“…In the European Union, searching for online health information has increased from on average 20% in 2007 to more than 50% in 2019 (Eurostat, 2020). In the Netherlands, presently almost eight out of ten people search for health information online, compared to less than 50% in 2012 (Dubbeldam, 2016;Eurostat, 2020;Link et al, 2021), making it the most often used source for health information, followed by the general practitioner (Van de Belt et al, 2013). This trend is also visible in crisis communication (Bridgman et al, 2020).…”

YouTube-videos for patient education in lymphangioleiomyomatosis?

“…Despite existing guidelines [ 8 ], physicians are often poorly informed about pathophysiology and treatment options for LAM due to the rarity of the disease, and affected patients often rely on actively seeking additional information on their own [ 9 ]. Over the past 10 years, social media has become an important resource for patients seeking health-related information [ 10 , 11 ]. YouTube is the most widely used video platform and the website domain with the second most views in the world after Google [ 12 ].…”

Direct‐to‐consumer advertising and the advancement of the quadruple aim: A narrative review

“…63 When a patient requests a medication, informed by DTCA, and the prescriber reviews and consents, should we always view this as a negative outcome? The counterfactual scenario of no DTCA may result in a patient with less awareness of their symptoms or treatment options, 13,21,60,64 obtaining information from sources not produced by the manufacturer (potentially reputable or nonreputable), 65,66 and potentially less activation in seeking a treatment. 13 In the wake of effective misinformation campaigns throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, 67 we are reminded health information availability and reliability are critical to advancing public health.…”