Abstract
This study shows an initial direction of research where online behaviour is linked to offline behaviour of health consumers. Although no significance where found between online medical resources, it is stipulated that people are influenced by online medical information about their (possible) diseases or symptoms. Medical care providers should be aware of consumers that are heavily using the Internet as a resource of information reflecting back to their own situation. They should not reject this information immediately, but emphasize this and guide these people to professional websites or online communities to prevent unhealthy situations. Discussing online information can only increase the knowledge of the patient, to the extent that he or she can act upon it.
Recommended Citation
Ongena, Guido; Batenburg, Ronald S.; and van den Wijngaert, Lidwien, "Self-reported effects of online medical information on offline medical behaviour" (2012). BLED 2012 Proceedings. 25.
https://aisel.aisnet.org/bled2012/25