Kessler Sabrina Heike, Schmidt-Weitmann Sabine
Department of Communication and Media Research, University of Zurich.
Institute of Primary Care, University Hospital of Zurich.
Health Commun. 2021 Feb;36(2):226-235. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2019.1673950. Epub 2019 Oct 4.
The internet is increasingly used as a source of health-related information by individuals making a medical decision. Online consultation services offer a safe and anonymous time- and place-independent space in which users can ask health-related questions combined with related individual health narratives, including associated emotions. Research on emotions in health narratives and medical communication is still at an early stage. This study investigates the users of an online consultation service themselves and the content of their inquiries related to health narratives, queried diseases, and the emotions expressed. An automated content analysis of all online inquiries to the University Hospital Zurich from 09/08/1999 to 07/06/2018 was conducted ( = 55,476 inquiries). The majority of users were female. Over time, however, significantly more men and older adults began to submit inquiries. The wide variety of medical inquiries submitted to the service extended across all categories in the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and correlated with the statistical incidence of diseases in Switzerland. In line with theoretical assumptions about mood management and mood adjustment, users' health narratives most frequently expressed negative emotions like suffering, fear, worry, and shame. The results find support for a close link between health narratives and emotions. By providing an anonymous space where users can talk about diseases that may be a source of stigma or shame, online consultation services can empower patients and promote health literacy through the provision of individualized health information.
在做出医疗决策时，互联网越来越多地被个人用作获取健康相关信息的来源。在线咨询服务提供了一个安全、匿名且不受时间和地点限制的空间，用户可以在其中提出与健康相关的问题，并结合相关的个人健康经历，包括相关情绪。关于健康经历和医疗沟通中情绪的研究仍处于早期阶段。本研究调查了在线咨询服务的用户本身，以及他们与健康经历、所询问的疾病和所表达的情绪相关的咨询内容。对1999年9月8日至2018年6月7日向苏黎世大学医院提交的所有在线咨询进行了自动内容分析（=55476次咨询）。大多数用户为女性。然而，随着时间的推移，提交咨询的男性和老年人明显增多。提交给该服务的各种医疗咨询涵盖了国际疾病统计分类中的所有类别，并且与瑞士疾病的统计发病率相关。与关于情绪管理和情绪调节的理论假设一致，用户的健康经历最常表达痛苦、恐惧、担忧和羞耻等负面情绪。研究结果支持了健康经历与情绪之间的紧密联系。通过提供一个匿名空间，让用户可以谈论可能成为耻辱或羞耻来源的疾病，在线咨询服务可以增强患者的能力，并通过提供个性化的健康信息来提高健康素养。
