Web Use for Symptom Appraisal of Physical Health Conditions: A Systematic Review

Abstract

BackgroundThe Web has become an important information source for appraising symptoms. We need to understand the role it currently plays in help seeking and symptom evaluation to leverage its potential to support health care delivery.ObjectiveThe aim was to systematically review the literature currently available on Web use for symptom appraisal.MethodsWe searched PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, ACM Digital Library, SCOPUS, and Web of Science for any empirical studies that addressed the use of the Web by lay people to evaluate symptoms for physical conditions. Articles were excluded if they did not meet minimum quality criteria. Study findings were synthesized using a thematic approach.ResultsA total of 32 studies were included. Study designs included cross-sectional surveys, qualitative studies, experimental studies, and studies involving website/search engine usage data. Approximately 35% of adults engage in Web use for symptom appraisal, but this proportion varies between 23% and 75% depending on sociodemographic and disease-related factors. Most searches were symptom-based rather than condition-based. Users viewed only the top search results and interacted more with results that mentioned serious conditions. Web use for symptom appraisal appears to impact on the decision to present to health services, communication with health professionals, and anxiety.ConclusionsWeb use for symptom appraisal has the potential to influence the timing of help seeking for symptoms and the communication between patients and health care professionals during consultations. However, studies lack suitable comparison groups as well as follow-up of participants over time to determine whether Web use results in health care utilization and diagnosis. Future research should involve longitudinal follow-up so that we can weigh the benefits of Web use for symptom appraisal (eg, reductions in delays to diagnosis) against the disadvantages (eg, unnecessary anxiety and health care use) and relate these to health care costs.

Quality of consumer-oriented websites containing information about the second trimester ultrasound examination during pregnancy

“…Indeed, studies on search strategies among the public show that most rely on the first links in the hit list and the most popular websites [25,26]. Thus, high-ranking websites and popular domains will have the highest impact and spread among information consumers [37]. However, our results indicate no association between popularity/search rank and quality, illustrating that parents who use the most common methods for web-based searches encounter websites of low quality.…”

Penile cancer information on the internet: a needle in a haystack

“…It must also be taken into account that a website can be influenced by commercial interests, with 44.7% of overall websites across all languages found to have a commercial sponsor. Websites may be a conduit for advertising, with health information increasingly being controlled by marketing and commercial interests, taking advantage of a significant proportion of the population searching for health information . This can induce selective disclosure of evidence and the presence of biased information.…”

Health-related internet use among opioid treatment patients

“…While the Internet can be an important medium for disseminating health information influencing health-seeking behaviors (Mueller et al, 2017), the use of the Internet as a health information resource is much lower among disadvantaged populations. For example, a large survey of California residents, (Nguyen, Mosadeghi, & Almario, 2017) found evidence of digital disparities in online health information seeking: Elderly, racial/ethnic minority, non-English speaking, and less educated individuals were less likely to ever use the Internet or to engage in online health information seeking.…”