Patient Targeted Googling by nurses and midwives in Poland

Abstract

Introduction: Patient Targeted Googling (PTG) is not a new phenomenon, but in Poland — according to the information available to the authors — there has been no research in this area among nurses and midwives. The above-mentioned activity is associated with many doubts and concerns of legal and ethical issues, and therefore there is a need to explore it. Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of PTG among nurses and midwives in Poland. Material and Methods: The study conducted among 300 working nurses and midwives used a diag-nostic survey based on the author’s survey questionnaire. Statistical analysis was performed using PQStat version: 1.8.4.142. Mann–Whitney U tests, chi^2 and Fisher’s correlations were used. The significance level was adopted at p <0.05 and highly significant at p <0.01. Results: The respondents’ reasons for patient targeted googling were mainly lack of other sources of information, controlling adherence to recommendations, ascertaining the patient’s mental disorders, behavior, substance abuse status and physical appearance. PTG without informing the patient was con-sidered unethical and likely to violate the principle of informed consent and privacy. Respondents ex-pressed the need for PTG training. Conclusions: The study presents the prevalence of PTG phenomenon among Polish nurses and mid-wives along with the different determinants of this activity.