Qualitative Research Studies Addressing Patient-Practitioner Communication about Online Health Information

Abstract

Modern healthcare is becoming increasingly technologized, knowledge-intensive, and specialized, which has consequences for communication between patients andpractitioners in clinical encounters. Health information is increasingly accessible to patients through online resources . The objective of this paper is to provide an overview of existing studies that address how patients communicate with practitioners about online health information and to identify the key topics raised in these studies. With the concept of eHealth literacy as its point of departure, this paper specifically highlights the eHealth literacy topic of how patients comprehend, appraise and communicate online health information before and during the encounter with the healthcare professionals. In the literature search, we focus on qualitative studies that consider patients’ and/or practitioners’ reflections on online health information. We searched PUBMED, SCOPUS and Web of Science to capture research from various fields. Sixteen studies were included that met the following criteria: Qualitative study, focus on patient-practitioner communication, eHealth literacy and online information. The results show that the vast majority of studies were based on qualitative interviews, addressing patients’ and practitioners’ perspectives. Key topics in studies addressing patient perspectives were: reasons for seeking online information; calibrating understanding of online information with the practitioner; and barriers to discussing online information with practitioners. Key topics raised in studies focusing on practitioners were: trust in the patient and the online health information he/she presented as well as strategies to respond to patients who referred to online health information. The review highlights the need for further qualitative studies, preferably observational studies from authentic clinical communication situations, in order to capture how patients and practitioners communicate about online health information.

How socioeconomically disadvantaged people access, understand, appraise, and apply health information: A qualitative study exploring health literacy skills

“…Our findings showed that socioeconomically disadvantaged people turn to the internet as a compensatory strategy, mainly to find self-treatment solutions or inexpensive home remedies. As such, it reflects the poor access to healthcare of people with a precarious or disadvantaged socioeconomic status in the Swiss context, due to the financial difficulties and a poorly developed primary healthcare system in Switzerland [ 44 , 45 ].…”

“…In addition, women are more likely to use the internet for searching health information than men [93], and have thus a better knowledge of online health resources. Fifthly, the age range of the sample is rather narrow (age range [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60]. This can be explained by the recruitment sites chosen, which are specifically PLOS ONE aimed at the working population.…”

An Introduction to Health Literacy and Social Contexts with Recommendations for Health Professionals and Researchers

“…A more conventional study in the knowledge tradition of social health literacy research was offered by Larson and Gilstad (2022) [44]. Using a systematic review approach, Larson and Gilstad (2022) [44] analyzed qualitative studies focusing on how patients understand online health information and communicate their findings with healthcare professionals. Of the 16 studies included in their review, ten focused on the patient perspective, four addressed the provider perspective, and two articles included both perspectives.…”