Online DTC and health information seeking: we are talking. But to whom are we talking?

Eagle, Lynne, and Dahl, Stephan (2015) Online DTC and health information seeking: we are talking. But to whom are we talking? In: Proceedings of AM2015: Academy of Marketing Conference. pp. 1-7. From: AM2015: Academy of Marketing Conference, 7-9 July 2015, Limerick, Ireland.

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Abstract

[Extract]: The concept of active and empowered patients able to effectively partake in the management of their health requires insights into the diverse range of potential information and how this information is used and integrated into the decision-making. Uses and Gratification Theory suggests that people actively seek out information from specific media such as the internet to satisfy specific needs or achieve specific goals which may extend beyond information to encompass social and psychological needs(Hou & Shim, 2010). Current focus has been on post-consultation information seeking (Li, Orrange, Kravitz, & Bell, 2014) particularly if the consultation was evaluated as unsatisfactory by the patient (Bell, Hu, Orrange, & Kravitz, 2011). Motivations for, and extent of online searches pre-consultation is not well understood, despite it being claimed to result in more productive visits (Lee, 2008). Doctors may view patients who have accessed online information pre-consultation as a burden due to the time needed to evaluate the information, correct misconceptions and modify unrealistic patient expectations, even if patients themselves feel empowered by their prior information gathering (Massey, 2013; Tustin, 2010). It is likely that there are diverse patient segments with differing information acquisition strategies and resulting outcomes (Acosta-Deprez et al., 2013). There is thus a clear need to understand the use of digital media such as the Internet as a health information source across patient segments and to understand the consequences, both positive and negative, of information seeking behaviours using such sources for both the patient and the medical practitioner. From this understanding, strategies to help medical practitioners respond effectively to patients who have gathered online health information can be developed.

Item ID: 41248
Item Type: Conference Item (Research - E1)
ISBN: 978-1-905952-64-9
Keywords: marketing communication, on-line, direct-to-consumer, readability, pharmaceutical marketing
Date Deposited: 06 Jan 2016 02:22
FoR Codes: 15 COMMERCE, MANAGEMENT, TOURISM AND SERVICES > 1505 Marketing > 150502 Marketing Communications @ 100%
SEO Codes: 91 ECONOMIC FRAMEWORK > 9104 Management and Productivity > 910403 Marketing @ 100%
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