What Cancer Patients Really Want When Talking to Their Doctors About Internet Health Information

Newswise — Washington, DC (May 23, 2012) - Physicians might be surprised to learn their patients’ primary goals for discussing health information found on the Internet. A new study in the National Communication Association’s Journal of Applied Communication Research shows that most cancer patients want to obtain more information or advice from their doctors or verify the accuracy of the information they read online.

“It seems that patients were not necessarily trying to influence their doctors, but rather they wanted to better understand their options,” said Christina Sabee, PhD, associate professor of communication studies at San Francisco State University and lead author of the study, published online today.

Conducted jointly with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, the study focused on what cancer patients wanted when talking to their doctors about their online health research, and about their experiences with this conversation. The authors recruited 238 cancer patients and caregivers from three online cancer communities to complete an online questionnaire.

Survey respondents who reported that they sometimes or often talked with their doctor about Internet health information they thought was important were asked to think of a recent such conversation and answer two questions. The questions were “Why was it important to you to discuss this Internet information with your doctor?” and “Why do you think your doctor responded the way that she/he did?”

Data came from 145 participants who answered both questions. Investigators grouped responses by themes, with some replies fitting more than one theme.

Only about 13 percent of participants’ responses indicated that they discussed Internet information to test their doctor’s knowledge or find out why the doctor’s advice differed from online information, the authors reported.

The most common responses regarding goals were to learn more about a condition or treatment (37 percent) or to seek the doctor’s opinion or advice (19 percent). Another 10 percent of participants sought to verify the accuracy of the online information.

Thirteen percent of participants wanted to manage the impression their doctor had of them, such as by taking an active role in treatment and being a “good” patient. Some of these patients felt that their doctors had strict ideas about treatment and were unwilling to consider other options. Sabee said it is important for health care providers to recognize these patients. “Patients who discuss Internet health information to show that they are a ‘good’ patient, or to express competence and knowledge about their illness, may respond poorly to a stark criticism of their Internet research or a refusal to support certain options,” she said. Other study participants had what Sabee called “very positive experiences,” reporting that their doctors were open to new ideas, were collaborative in decision making and were knowledgeable in their field.

“The driving goals that patients have for their conversations about online health research may influence how they perceive their doctors’ responses,” Sabee said. “Practitioners, by learning more about their patients’ specific goals and desired outcomes of discussing online health information, might encourage more positive feelings and, consequently, better health.”

To better understand a patient’s goals in presenting Internet information, Sabee suggested that health care providers might respond with an appreciative comment that validates the patient’s research work and then ask “What led you to present this information?” The article, “The Association of Patients’ Primary Interaction Goals with Attributions for their Doctors’ Responses in Conversations about Online Health Research,” will appear in the August 2012 print issue of the National Communication Association’s Journal of Applied Communication Research.

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