2015 Volume 13 Issue 2 Pages 35-42
The purpose of this research was to clarify the actual use of internet by guardians at home, and what kinds of medical information the guardians of children who have completed late medical examinations utilized to make consultation decisions. We investigated a total of 20 items, including how guardians acquired medical information, their reasons for consultations, the internet environment of the guardians, and the expectations of guardians for published information. A total of 286 successful replies were analyzed, revealing that 52.8% of the guardians used municipal newsletters as a source of medical information, while 46.9% of the guardians used the internet as a source of medical information. The date also revealed that there was an age difference concerning the usage of the information source.Concerning the decision to seek consultation with the onset of illness of children, most guardians (52.8%) made the decision based on their own self-experience, whereas only 7.2% of guardians made the decision based on internet usage, revealing that the decision of most guardians to seek consultation was not based on medical information found on the internet. It is thought that the use of internet by guardians will continue to increase, and that it is necessary that easy to understand medical information be published on the internet that guardians can use to make consultation decisions.
