title: The role of patient satisfaction in online health information seeking.
abstract: Studies of online health information seeking are beginning to address a basic question: why do people turn to the Internet? This study draws upon the Uses and Gratifications (U&G) and Media System Dependency (MSD) perspectives to examine in this process the role played by satisfaction with care. The sample comprised 178 cancer listserv users, of whom 35% chose the Internet as their preferred source of health information compared with 19% who named their oncologist. Dissatisfied patients were significantly more likely to rate the Internet as a better source of information than the provider (p = .001). The level of empathy shown by the provider and the quality of time spent with the patient had a significant negative association with choosing the Internet as a preferred source of information, and a significant positive association with choosing the oncologist as an information source. The results from this study emphasize the significance of the patient-provider interaction. Dissatisfied patients' tendency to seek and trust information sources other than their physician also may have implications for compliance with treatment.
authors.affiliation: University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA. nsen@usc.edu
authors.forename: Nupur
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Tustin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D054626:Consumer Health Information; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D057226:Information Seeking Behavior; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009369:Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000628:therapy; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011582:Psychological Theory; D055815:Young Adult