Table 5.
OR (95% CI) Comparing Never Sought Health Information on the Internet to Ever Sought and the Timing of Seeking by Psychological and Doctor-Patient Relationship Characteristics* Among WLS Respondents with Internet Access (N=4,528)
| Variable | Ever sought health information on internet (N=2,123) | Sought information before doctor visit (N=305) | Sought information after doctor visit (N=645) | Sought information instead of or unrelated to doctor visit (N=1,127) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Personality | ||||
| Extraversion | 0.96 (0.9, 1.04) | 0.97 (0.84, 1.11) | 0.96 (0.87, 1.07) | 0.96 (0.89, 1.05) |
| Agreeableness | 0.99 (0.92, 1.07) | 0.90 (0.78, 1.05) | 1.05 (0.94, 1.17) | 0.97 (0.88, 1.06) |
| Conscientiousness | 0.92 (0.86, 1.00) | 0.94 (0.82, 1.09) | 0.98 (0.88, 1.09) | 0.88 (0.81, 0.97) |
| Neuroticism | 1.03 (0.95, 1.11) | 1.20 (1.03, 1.41) | 1.08 (0.96, 1.21) | 0.96 (0.87, 1.05) |
| Openness-to-experience | 1.26 (1.16, 1.36) | 1.29 (1.11, 1.5) | 1.28 (1.15, 1.43) | 1.24 (1.13, 1.36) |
| Attitudes | ||||
| Work hard to stay healthy | 1.17 (1.06, 1.29) | 1.40 (1.15, 1.71) | 1.10 (0.95, 1.26) | 1.15 (1.02, 1.3) |
| Want to be told all options | 1.11 (0.97, 1.27) | 1.20 (0.91, 1.58) | 1.00 (0.82, 1.22) | 1.16 (0.99, 1.37) |
| Want doctor to know history | 1.02 (0.91, 1.15) | 0.95 (0.76, 1.18) | 1.07 (0.91, 1.27) | 1.01 (0.88, 1.16) |
| Want many choices | 1.10 (1.03, 1.18) | 1.20 (1.03, 1.39) | 1.07 (0.96, 1.18) | 1.11 (1.02, 1.21) |
| Want to make decisions | 1.01 (0.95, 1.09) | 0.99 (0.86, 1.14) | 1.08 (0.97, 1.19) | 0.99 (0.91, 1.07) |
| Relationship with usual provider | ||||
| Length (in years) | 1.00 (0.99, 1.00) | 0.99 (0.98, 1.01) | 0.99 (0.98, 1) | 1.00 (0.99, 1.01) |
*
Adjusted for all other variables in the table as well as sociodemographic and health characteristics.
OR, odds ratio; CI, confidence interval; WLS, Wisconsin Longitudinal Study.