Rebecca S. Imes, MA¹, Carma L. Bylund, PhD², Christina Sabee, PhD³, and Amy Aldridge, MA¹. (1) Communication Studies, University of Iowa, 105 BCSB, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242, 319.887.3858, rebecca-imes@uiowa.edu, (2) Department of Communication Studies; Department of Community and Behavioral Health, University of Iowa, 121 BCSB, Iowa City, IA 52242, (3) Communication Studies, San Jose State University, One Washington Square, San Jose, CA 95192

Introduction: Two Healthy People 2010 objectives relate to improving the ability to access the Internet and assess the information quality of the information, however, if patients do not share this information with clinicians, collaborative medical encounters cannot be realized, and patients’ health may be compromised. This study examines why patients do not talk with clinicians about Internet health information.

Methods: Participants (n=1306) were recruited from Internet health message boards to participate in an online survey, with a qualifying criterion of researching health on the Internet within the last year. Specific to this abstract, participants answered a question about why they don’t talk with their providers about Internet health information. Answers to this question were content analyzed; two coders achieved reliability. To date, 50% of the data has been coded.

Results: The primary reasons that patients report not talking to their providers about Internet health information are: information related (–e.g., quality), systems/circumstance related (e.g., time), concerns about invading the provider’s “turf” the patient’s desire to save face, the health care provider being closed to the information, and the patient using an indirect strategy to introduce the information without revealing the Internet as the source. Although we will complete coding, these categories appear to be exhaustive.

Implications: If patients do not feel comfortable talking to clinicians about their health research, better health outcomes will be difficult to achieve. A better understanding of what prevents patients from talking about Internet information is necessary to improve patient satisfaction and health.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant will be able to

• Recognize the demographics of the population that is researching their health and not talking to their clinicians about what they find.
• List the six primary reasons why patients do not feel they can talk to their clinicians about health information they find on the internet.

Keywords: Patient Perspective, Health Communications

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.