The Association of Patients’ Primary Interaction Goals with Attributions for their Doctors’ Responses in Conversations about Online Health Research

Abstract

Cancer diagnosis is often an unexpected, traumatic and overwhelming event for patients, and many seek clarity by researching their condition on the Internet. Conversations between patients and health care providers about patients’ Internet research could be supportive and helpful, but others may be discouraging. We explored potential differences in these conversations by soliciting open-ended responses from 238 cancer patients about their experiences talking with their health care providers about their Internet research. Our content analysis of those responses revealed that patients had 7 different goals for discussing Internet research with their health care provider, which included: seeking opinion or advice, verifying information, managing impression, learning, and testing. Additionally, patients’ perceptions about the reasons (attributions) their health care providers responded in the way they did to the Internet information included: knowledge or familiarity with the field, inexperience or lack of knowledge, open to new treatments or options, strict/particular about treatments or interpretations, collaborative/involved in decision making. Finally, we found that goals patients had for the conversations accounted, in part, for differences in the attributions that patients made. We proposed ways that health care providers and patients alike may strategize to ensure more supportive conversations about their research and health conditions.

Keywords:

• Online Health Information
• Interaction Goals
• Attributions
• Doctor–Patient Interaction

Acknowledgments

This publication acknowledges Grant Number NCI P30 CA08748, which provided partial support for the Behavioral Research Methods Core used in conducting this investigation. A version of this manuscript was presented at the 2010 annual meeting of the National Communication Association in San Francisco.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christina M. Sabee

Christina M. Sabee (PhD) is Associate Professor in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University

Carma L. Bylund

Carma L. Bylund (PhD) is Associate Attending Behavioral Scientist and Director of Training for Communication Skills Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Jennifer Gueguen Weber

Jennifer Gueguen Weber (EdM, SM) is a PsyD candidate at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology, Yeshiva University

Ellen Sonet

Ellen Sonet (JD) is Vice President of Marketing at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center