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Cited by 25Health Literacy and Information AccessibilityInformation Retrieval and Search BehaviorHealth, Technology, Consumer Behavior

Dr Google as the source of health information—The results of pilot qualitative study

Kłak, Anna, Gawińska, Emilia, Samoliński, Bolesław, Raciborski, Filip·2017·Polish Annals of Medicine
DOI 10.1016/j.poamed.2017.02.002
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Abstract

Google is the most popular search engine that covers nearly 90% of the total online searches. It is likely to be used by both, patients and physicians to look for health information. The objective of the study was to find out deep motives for using the Internet to obtain health information. Anonymous study was carried out with the use of individual in-depth interviews (IDI). As many as 20 persons participated in the study (10 women and 10 men). The IDI scenario included the questions on health, the Internet as the source of health information and the credibility of information published online. The majority of respondents (15 persons) admit that they sometimes search the Internet for health information because of curiosity, concern, and motivation to increase knowledge as well as broad and quick access to the network. The respondents search for useful information when the information provided by a physician and medical terms are incomprehensible or when the therapy prescribed by a physician is ineffective. For the majority of respondents Internet portals dedicated to one topic only are the most credible. Women search the Internet for health information more often than men and the scope of their search is broader. The Internet helps to shape basic knowledge, makes it possible to formulate questions asked to the physician and to understand the information provided by a physician.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.poamed.2017.02.002

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  • The anecdotal use of internet searches for medical information, commonly referred to as "Dr Google", has been reported to facilitate the clinical encounter between the patient and the physician without impacting adherence to treatment.

    “The anecdotal use of internet searches for medical information, commonly referred to as “Dr Google” has been reported to facilitate the clinical encounter between the patient and the physician [124,125] without impacting adherence to treatment [126].”

    From Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and the Internet of Things: A Scoping Review (2024) · cites this paper as [124]

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Authors
Kłak, A., Gawińska, E., Samoliński, B., & Raciborski, F.
Affiliations
Medical University of Warsaw (PL)
Corresponding author
Kłak, Anna
ORCID
Venue
Polish Annals of Medicine
Publisher
Uniwersytet Warminsko-Mazurski
Published
2017-08
Volume
24
Issue
2
Pages
188-193
ISSN
1230-8013 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.poamed.2017.02.002
OpenAlex
W2731486566
Cited by
25
References
21
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 2
FWCI
3.10
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
Polish Annals of Medicine (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information Retrieval and Search Behavior
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Health, Technology, Consumer Behavior
Keywords
Google, online health information seeking, search engines, health information credibility, online health information sources, physician-patient communication

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