zdrowie

choroba

leczenie

Internet

metody szukania informacji

Introduction:
At present, more than 60% of Polish internauts use the Internet searching for contents concerning health and disease. In this community, the largest group are students, who increasingly more often use information obtained from the websites resources in order to independently diagnose diseases and undertake an attempt to treat them. This growing phenomenon confirms that at present, in health care there is taking place a transition from the paternalistic model towards the model of shared decision making, in which the patient is a fully aware and educated participant in the therapeutic process.

Objective:
The objective of the study was evaluation of the use of the Internet as a source of information concerning health, as well as diseases and methods of their treatment, among students’ community in Lublin.

Material and Methods:
In May 2012, a survey was conducted among students attending universities in Lublin: the Medical University, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University, University of Natural Sciences, and the University of Technology. An anonymous questionnaire consisted of 14 items (including 1 open question) was applied.

Results:
The results obtained confirm that today the Internet is the first source of information about health and disease for 59% of respondents. The students in the study most frequently use medical websites (64%), as well as social networking and discussion forums (55.3%).

Conclusions:
In order to find contents in the area of medicine, the students willingly use the Internet, which is due to its easy and quick access. Young people seek mainly information concerning symptoms and forms of treatment, which is translated into an increasing tendency towards undertaking self-diagnosis and self-treatment.