School of Social Sciences, Humanities and Law, Teesside University.
PaCT Lab, Department of Psychology, Northumbria University.
Health Commun. 2024 May;39(6):1094-1101. doi: 10.1080/10410236.2023.2204580. Epub 2023 May 7.
In the last ten years the use of the internet as a health resource has transformed, and while patients increasingly consult online resources for health decision-making, less is known about how healthcare professionals (HCPs) currently discuss decision-making with internet informed patients (IIPs). In this paper we examine how HCPs perceive IIPs and specifically how bringing online information into appointments can prompt different communicative strategies around decision-making. Ten HCPs with experience working across different healthcare roles, took part in semi-structured interviews and discussed their interactions with IIPs around decision-making. Vignettes based on descriptions of real patients bringing online health information to their HCPs were used to prompt further discussion. The analysis identified two themes in relation to communication: (i) being honest about information sources and (ii) from compliance to co-construction: improving communication around decision-making. HCPs were overwhelmingly positive toward IIPs and encouraged patients to be transparent about their online searching to understand their motivations, priorities, and concerns. Although compliance remains part of the narrative, HCPs recognized practical ways in which discussing online health information could improve HCP-patient communication around shared decision-making. We discuss the findings in relation to early work on communicative strategies between HCP's and patients bringing resources to their consultations. We argue that for HCPs the concept of the internet as a provider of health information is no longer seen as inherently damaging or risky. There is growing acceptance of pre-consultation internet searching with the caveat that any information sourced online should inform rather than dictate decision-making with HCPs.
在过去的十年中，互联网作为健康资源的使用方式发生了转变，尽管患者越来越多地在线查询健康信息以辅助健康决策，但对于医疗保健专业人员（HCPs）如何与具有互联网健康信息的患者（IIPs）进行当前的决策讨论，人们知之甚少。在本文中，我们研究了 HCPs 如何看待 IIPs，特别是在线信息如何在预约时引发不同的决策沟通策略。10 名具有跨不同医疗保健角色工作经验的 HCP 参加了半结构化访谈，并讨论了他们围绕决策与 IIPs 的互动。使用基于向 HCP 提供在线健康信息的真实患者描述的情景片段来进一步讨论。分析确定了与沟通相关的两个主题：（i）对信息来源保持诚实；（ii）从合规到共同构建：改善决策沟通。HCP 对 IIPs 持压倒性的积极态度，并鼓励患者对其在线搜索保持透明，以了解他们的动机、优先事项和关注点。尽管合规性仍然是叙述的一部分，但 HCPs 认识到讨论在线健康信息可以改善 HCP-患者在共同决策方面的沟通的实际方法。我们根据 HCP 和患者在咨询时将资源带来的沟通策略的早期工作来讨论这些发现。我们认为，对于 HCPs 来说，互联网作为健康信息提供者的概念不再被视为固有地具有破坏性或风险。HCP 越来越接受在线咨询前的搜索，但前提是任何在线来源的信息都应告知而不是决定与 HCP 的决策。
