Informed citizen and empowered citizen in health: results from an European survey
Open Access
- 16 April 2011
- journal article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in BMC Family Practice
- Vol. 12 (1), 20
- https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2296-12-20
Abstract
Background: The knowledge about the relationship between health-related activities on the Internet (i.e. informed citizens) and individuals' control over their own experiences of health or illness (i.e. empowered citizens) is valuable but scarce. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between four ways of using the Internet for information on health or illness and citizens attitudes and behaviours toward health professionals and health systems and establish the profile of empowered eHealth citizens in Europe. Methods. Data was collected during April and May 2007 (N = 7022), through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). Respondents from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Portugal participated in the survey. The profiles were generated using logistic regressions and are based on: a) socio-demographic and health information, b) the level of use of health-related online services, c) the level of use of the Internet to get health information to decide whether to consult a health professional, prepare for a medical appointment and assess its outcome, and d) the impact of online health information on citizens' attitudes and behavior towards health professionals and health systems. Results: Citizens using the Internet to decide whether to consult a health professional or to get a second opinion are likely to be frequent visitors of health sites, active participants of online health forums and recurrent buyers of medicines and other health related products online, while only infrequent epatients, visiting doctors they have never met face-to-face. Participation in online health communities seems to be related with more inquisitive and autonomous patients. Conclusions: The profiles of empowered eHealth citizens in Europe are situational and country dependent. The number of Europeans using the Internet to get health information to help them deal with a consultation is raising and having access to online health information seems to be associated with growing number of inquisitive and self-reliant patients. Doctors are increasingly likely to experience consultations with knowledgeable and empowered patients, who will challenge them in various ways. © 2011 Santana et al; licensee BioMed Central LtdKeywords
This publication has 52 references indexed in Scilit:
- Effectiveness of Web-based Interventions on Patient Empowerment: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysisJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2010
- Online Communication Between Doctors and Patients in Europe: Status and PerspectivesJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2010
- eHealth Trends in Europe 2005-2007: A Population-Based SurveyJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2008
- Consumer Health Information Seeking as Hypothesis TestingJournal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 2008
- Self-Reported Differences in Empowerment Between Lurkers and Posters in Online Patient Support GroupsJournal of Medical Internet Research, 2008
- Use of the Internet to Communicate with Health Care Providers in the United States: Estimates from the 2003 and 2005 Health Information National Trends Surveys (HINTS)Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2007
- European citizens' use of E-health services: A study of seven countriesBMC Public Health, 2007
- Development and Validation of an Instrument Measuring Individual Empowerment in Relation to Personal Health Care: The Health Care Empowerment Questionnaire (HCEQ)American Journal of Health Promotion, 2006
- Trust and Sources of Health InformationArchives of Internal Medicine, 2005
- Implementing an Empowerment-Based Diabetes Self-management Education ProgramThe Diabetes Educator, 2005