The aim of this study was to observe laypersons’ perception and use of Internet for medical information. A cross-sectional study was conducted on a convenience sample of laypersons. Most of them declared that they had previously used the Internet for searching medical information, their motivation being mainly related to know more about diseases and their treatment, and to look for or know more about a certain physician. The most trusted sources were considered to be online encyclopedias and physicians’ interviews. Most of the participants only searched information in mother tongue, i.e. Romanian, considering that the layout most easily to understand was text combined with images. Considering the high potential of Internet resources to be used for medical mass education of laypersons, adequate sources with validity and an appropriate format for their users should be more largely used.
Keywords:- health information
- online
- patient