Internet use and information-seeking style among cancer patients.

摘要

It has become clear that the Internet is being increasingly utilized by medical patients. Investigators are becoming increasingly interested in the impact of age, race, gender, education, and SES on Internet use and ultimately on health care outcomes. The current investigation is interested in understanding how cancer patients use the Internet, how they differ demographically, and if there are personality styles that emerge as important indicators of Internet use. Specifically, the current investigation will focus on "information-seeking style" as a predictor of Internet use in cancer patients. Nineteen participants, with varying cancer diagnosis, completed a demographic sheet, the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL-90-R), the Threatening Medical Situation Inventory (TMSI), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and seven days of an Internet diary. Results suggest that higher scores on the monitoring subscale of the TMSI predict more information gathering and use of communication on the Internet than lower scores on the TMSI. This relationship is not seen in the area of giving or receiving social support. The blunting subscale of the TMSI was not used in analysis, as it was not valid in this population. Future research should include a measure that is better able to identify information-seeking style in a cancer population.