Paging Dr. Google: The Effect of Online Health Information on Trust in Pediatricians’ Diagnoses
- Resource Type
- Authors
- Ruth Milanaik; Nikita Sood; Tammy Pham; Nicol Awadalla; David E. Jimenez; Kyla Cordrey
- Source
- Clinical Pediatrics. 58:889-896
- Subject
- Adult
Male
medicine.medical_specialty
Information Seeking Behavior
education
Control (management)
Trust
03 medical and health sciences
0302 clinical medicine
Professional-Family Relations
030225 pediatrics
medicine
Humans
Pediatricians
Medical diagnosis
Child
Psychiatry
Internet
Physician-Patient Relations
Consumer Health Information
business.industry
Second opinion
Vignette
Scale (social sciences)
Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health
Female
The Internet
Health information
business
- Language
- ISSN
- 1938-2707
0009-9228
This study investigates how parental trust in physician diagnoses and likelihood of seeking a second opinion (SO) are affected by Internet sources. In an anonymous survey, 1374 parents of minors viewed a vignette describing their child's symptoms followed by Internet results that either supported or contradicted the pediatrician's diagnosis (Dx). A control group did not view any Internet results. After learning the Dx, participants rated trust in the Dx and likelihood of seeking a SO on a 7-point Likert-type scale. Participants who viewed contradicting results were less likely to trust the Dx ( P < .001) and more likely to seek a SO than the control ( P < .001). Participants who viewed supporting results were more likely to trust the Dx ( P < .001) and less likely to seek a SO than the control ( P < .001). Physicians must be aware of the influence the Internet may have on patients' trust.