Patients' Use of the Internet to Find Reliable Medical Information About Minor Ailments: Vignette-Based Experimental Study.
Joyce KwakernaakJust A H EekhofMargot W M de WaalElisabeth A M BarenbrugNiels Henrik ChavannesPublished in: Journal of medical Internet research (2019)
Our findings suggest that most patients use a symptom-based approach; however, if patients expect the potential diagnosis to be severe, they tend to use a hypothesis verification strategy more often and are therefore prone to certain forms of bias. In addition, self-diagnosing accuracy is related to younger age, the symptom scenario, and the use of high-quality websites. We should find ways to guide patients toward search strategies and websites that may more likely lead to accurate decision making.