INTERNET USAGE FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AMONG NONTEACHING STAFF OF HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY

  • Kalyani S Nalagune, Supriya.S. Patil, Aparna.V.S, S.R Patil, Viyusha.T.Viswanathan

Abstract

Background: Internet has not only become easily accessible globally but most importantly it has become
increasingly very popular as a ready source of medical information as patient search information online.
Internet provide both health care providers and patient’s a free access to an expanding volume of health
information that was previously inaccessible. Objectives: 1) To determine the extent of use of internet for
health related information. 2) To evaluate patient’s perception of quality of information available on the
internet compared to that provided by their health care providers. 3) To assess whether use of internet has
an impact on doctor-patient relationship. Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted among 130 staff
members aged between 20 to 50 years during period of 6 months in Krishna Institute of Medical Sciences,
Deemed to be University, Karad Maharashtra, based on a 16-point questionnaire to identify how many
people use internet to search medical information and whether its use impact doctor-patient relationship.
Result: Among the workers 78% used internet to get medical information, 65.38% used internet for their
own medical condition, 80.76% trusts medical information obtained from internet, 84.61% stated that
doctor was the main information source and 44.61% believed internet will improve the doctor-patient
relationship. Conclusion: Since a large amount of health related information is easily available on internet
now a days, people uses this information to search their own, their friends or family member’s medical
condition. As patient search information before consulting the doctor, it can affect doctor-patient
relationship. To avoid this a good communication must be developed between them and doctors must be
aware about information available on internet.

Published
2020-04-13
How to Cite
Kalyani S Nalagune, Supriya.S. Patil, Aparna.V.S, S.R Patil, Viyusha.T.Viswanathan. (2020). INTERNET USAGE FOR HEALTH INFORMATION AMONG NONTEACHING STAFF OF HEALTH SCIENCES UNIVERSITY. International Journal of Advanced Science and Technology, 29(9s), 416-424. Retrieved from http://sersc.org/journals/index.php/IJAST/article/view/13109