Self-diagnosis and online health information seekers: the Chilean case

Abstract

The factors that affect users as they search for health information and conduct a self-diagnosis online among a nationally representative sample of Chileans with internet access were analysed. The results indicate that three groups of variables largely explain this phenomenon: 1) the experiences that users had when commenting to their doctors about what they found online; 2) individual-psychological aspects such as pre-existing medical conditions; and 3) technological factors such as confidence and efficacy regarding internet use. Our research showed that this is a growing trend: more than 90% of respondents said that during the last year they had searched for health information on the internet at least once, while 85% said they had revised their symptoms and self-diagnosed.