Cancer patients' decisions about discussing Internet information with their doctors Journal Article


Authors: Bylund, C. L.; Gueguen, J. A.; D'Agostino, T. A.; Imes, R. S.; Sonet, E.
Article Title: Cancer patients' decisions about discussing Internet information with their doctors
Abstract: Objective: To explore cancer patients' and caregivers' decisions regarding whether to discuss cancer-related information they found on the Internet with their doctors. Methods: 238 participants (cancer patients and caregivers) from three online cancer communities responded to a survey about their experiences finding information on the Internet about their cancer and their reasons for discussing or not discussing that information with their doctors. The reasons were coded into mutually exclusive categories. Results: Participants most frequently reported discussing information in order to be proactive in improving their health. Other reasons included appealing to the doctor as expert, wanting to become more educated, meeting a psychological or coping need, and checking up on or testing the doctor. Of the participants, caregivers were more likely than patients to cite checking up on or testing the doctor as a reason for discussing Internet information. Sixty-two percent of participants reported sometimes or never talking about Internet information that they thought was important with their doctors. Across all participants, the most frequently reported reasons for not talking about Internet information were attributions about the information and systems-related reasons. Participants who reported information attribution as a reason for not discussing it with their doctors had higher overall comfort levels with these types of discussions. Conclusions: Many factors influence cancer patients' and caregivers' decisions about discussing Internet information with their doctors. The coherence of the reasons across the communities in this study and in other studies suggests that this typology of reasons is both thorough and valid. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Keywords: adult; controlled study; aged; middle aged; major clinical study; cancer patient; neoplasms; internet; patient education; patient education as topic; attitude to health; oncology; patient participation; doctor patient relation; medical information; physician-patient relations; information dissemination; doctor-patient communication; attitude to illness; caregiver; clinical decision making; coping behavior; patient decision making; verbal communication; information seeking behavior
Journal Title: Psycho-Oncology
Volume: 18
Issue: 11
ISSN: 1057-9249
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons  
Date Published: 2009-11-01
Start Page: 1139
End Page: 1146
Language: English
DOI: 10.1002/pon.1511
PUBMED: 19137507
PROVIDER: scopus
DOI/URL:
Notes: --- - "Export Date: 30 November 2010" - "CODEN: POJCE" - "Source: Scopus"
Altmetric
Citation Impact
BMJ Impact Analytics
MSK Authors
  1. Jennifer Gueguen
    14 Gueguen