Health information sources: trust and satisfaction

Abstract

During the past two decades, the environment in which consumers seek health information has faced dramatic changes, especially due to the technological advancement and the vast increase of internet usage, as well as due to the diversity of the dissemination of health information. The purpose of this study was to investigate the health information sources mostly used in Greece and the level of satisfaction and trust towards specific health information sources. Data was collected in Greece in September 2013, by conduct a telephone survey with the use of a structured questionnaire. A representative national sample of 1,227 adults (687 males and 540 females) was reached. Data analysis was performed on the results using descriptive and logistic regression. The results demonstrated that the Internet (90%) and health professionals (79%) were the two sources that most respondents used in seeking health information, and that most of them found these sources to be both satisfactory and trustworthy. A significant difference exists in the sourcing of health information, influenced by various demographic variables. Furthermore, as more and more people use the Internet as a source of health information, the issue of source credibility and trust in websites gains significance and, hence, future research is needed to provide insight into the particularities of Internet-based health-related information.