Dr. Google: phenomenological study of self-diagnosing permanent non-teaching staff from a state university in the Philippines

Abstract

Background: The increasing use of the Internet as a tool for health information has been associated with increased patient engagement and participation, but it has also been associated with health anxiety and low patient satisfaction. The advantage of potentially more effective communication and the disadvantage of potential drug misuse, then, are effects of online health-information-seeking that must be weighted to provide patients both optimal care and satisfaction. One of the state university in the Philippines provide accessible healthcare via its medical center. This accessibility, in the context of the increased use of online health information for self-diagnosis led the researchers to investigate the self-diagnosing behavior of non teaching personnel from that state university.

Objective: The study aimed to explore the essence of the lived experiences of individuals who self-diagnose using the Internet.

Methods: The study used phenomenology to focus on the lived experience of a state university's permanent non-teaching personnel who self-diagnose. Seven patients were chosen from a pool of personnel who met the defined inclusion criteria, and they were interviewed using a semi-structured interview format that explored the phenomenon of self-diagnosis. The researchers extracted significant statements from the interview and formulated meanings, clustered these meanings into themes and established a representation of self-diagnosing behavior using the Internet.

Results: The experiences of self-diagnosis among the participants were found to show 3 major themes: desire to learn, supplementing the acquired knowledge from the consult, and self medicating using alternative management. Overall, the lived experience of self-diagnosis among the participants differed in their manner of experiencing their respective conditions and managing their symptoms, but essentially, their decision whether or not to self-diagnose and ultimately self-medicate is affected by their individual online searches, input from friends and family, and the consequences of past experiences with self-diagnosing.

Conclusion: Self-diagnosing behavior is dependent on the interplay of internal and external factors. The participants' respective experiences of self-diagnosis encapsulated in the three major themes and the perceived effects of these behaviors will predict the likelihood of its recurrence.