Internet use by Patients with Psychiatric Disorders Searching for Medical Information

2009

Aims:Despite the increasing use of the Internet to seek medical information, little is known about the web search for mental health information among psychiatric patients. We aimed to identify the patients’ demographic and clinical characteristics that better predict the search for medical information, as well as the most consulted aspects of psychiatric disorders.Method:Over a one-month period, a consecutive series of patients followed at one Spanish hospital psychiatric outpatient clinic completed a 13-item questionnaire about their personal Internet use.Results:Among the 144 participating patients (72% women), 61% reported having ever used the Internet, with lower search rates for genera…