Consumers prefer the ‘personal touch’ for online health

Research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council has found that people searching for health advice online prefer websites with the ‘human touch’ to websites with high quality medical information.

Researchers from Northumbria and Sheffield universities observed the strategies of people interested in finding health information and found that consumers went through an ‘initial weeding-out process’ before deciding whether or not to carry on reading.

Results found that many consumers were put off by sites with too much information and did not feel inclined to stay on NHS and drug company websites for long periods of time.

Professor Pamela Briggs of Northumbria University said: “One thing that really put people off was advertising, so people clicked off drug company websites straight away. People don’t have the patience to scroll through pages in order to find something useful. Ease of access is so important.”

The researchers observed the search strategies of people who wanted to find specific health information and advice – about issues such as hypertension, menopause and HRT, the MMR vaccine or how to improve their own health and fitness.

They found that the participants tested rejected many ‘reputable’ sites, but still managed to find information of a reasonable quality. The research suggests that even if a site makes a favourable first impression, it is unlikely to keep a person’s attention if there are no personal stories they can relate to.

Information should relate to the reader, and not be demonstrative of the authors’ motivation and agenda say the researchers.

“People are looking for advice from like-minded people and are drawn to sites such as the charity based DIPEx and ProjectAWARE where they can read about the experiences of other people who have the same problems and concerns,” the research suggests.

Professor Briggs warned however that such a searching strategy has the potential to let a person down.

“The tendency to particularly trust sites that contain contributions from like-minded peers could have dangerous effects on some groups of consumers, such as those with anorexia, by reinforcing unhealthy behaviour patterns.”

The research does however point out that information on health websites can help a consumer’s lifestyle. It found that moderate to heavy drinkers who viewed trustworthy websites describing the health risks involved with alcohol consumption reduced their alcohol intake.

Professor Briggs said the most important advice for consumers was to remember: “The great strength of the internet is that you have and see how they have coped with it – to forget about that, or to act as if it’s not happening, is missing the point.”

Dr Paul Cundy, a GP and member of the British Medical Association’s IT committee, told the BBC there was also a danger that personal testimonies were planted by drugs companies.

He said drugs companies had been known to sponsor self-help sites which appeared at first glance to be independent.

“People should be encouraged to gather information from the web, but they should then take it to a doctor to discuss face-to-face rather than immediately taking action based on what they have found.”