ArticleBMC family practice2011
Informed citizen and empowered citizen in health: results from an European survey.
Article in BMC family practice, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 54 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
54 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 144 citations in OpenAlex.
- The Relation Between eHealth Literacy and Health-Related Behaviors: Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Online Communities as a Driver for Patient Empowerment: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- Educational interventions to improve people's understanding of key concepts in assessing the effects of health interventions: a systematic review.Systematic reviews · 2018Pooled it
- Informing Adults With Back Pain About Placebo Effects: Randomized Controlled Evaluation of a New Website With Potential to Improve Informed Consent in Clinical Research.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Trial
- Motivation to persist with internet-based cognitive behavioural treatment using blended care: a qualitative study.BMC psychiatry · 2013Trial
- Effectiveness of a multidisciplinary care program on recovery and return to work of patients after gynaecological surgery; design of a randomized controlled trial.BMC health services research · 2012Trial
- Structural Inequalities in Online Health Information Seeking: Cross-National Multilevel Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Pain-responsive to digital self-management in lumbar disc herniation: the mediating role of patient activation and the moderating effect of pain intensity.BMC health services research · 2026Article
- Evaluating online health information on PIFP: A cross-platform analysis of content quality and readability.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- The relationship between eHealth literacy and oral frailty among older adults: the serial mediating effects of self-efficacy and oral health.BMC oral health · 2025Article
- Identifying the e-health prevalence and influence pattern: A cross-sectional study.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2025Article
- Citizen engagement in national health insurance in rural western Kenya.Health policy and planning · 2024Article
- Research on the impact of artificial intelligence technology on urban public health resilience.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Factors Associated With Limited Digital Health Literacy Among Chinese Male Populations: Cross-sectional Study.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Self- and surrogate-seeking of information about mental health and illness in Germany.BMC public health · 2023Article
- Motivations of the participants who post a message in an online health forum: a qualitative and quantitative descriptive study in French health forum Doctissimo.BMC primary care · 2022Article
- Self-reported medication information needs among medication users in a general population aged 40 years and above - the Tromsø study.BMC public health · 2022Article
- Preferences for WeChat-Based and Hospital-Based Family Intervention Among Caregivers of People Living with Schizophrenia.Patient preference and adherence · 2022Article
- Understanding undergraduate students' eHealth usage and views of the patient-provider relationship.PloS one · 2022Article
- Evolution of Online Health-Related Information Seeking in France From 2010 to 2017: Results From Nationally Representative Surveys.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 6 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe knowledge about the relationship between health-related activities on the Internet (i.e. informed citizens) and individuals' control over their own experiences of health or illness (i.e. empowered citizens) is valuable but scarce. In this paper, we investigate the correlation between four ways of using the Internet for information on health or illness and citizens attitudes and behaviours toward health professionals and health systems and establish the profile of empowered eHealth citizens in Europe.
methodsData was collected during April and May 2007 (N = 7022), through computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATI). Respondents from Denmark, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Norway, Poland and Portugal participated in the survey. The profiles were generated using logistic regressions and are based on: a) socio-demographic and health information, b) the level of use of health-related online services, c) the level of use of the Internet to get health information to decide whether to consult a health professional, prepare for a medical appointment and assess its outcome, and d) the impact of online health information on citizens' attitudes and behavior towards health professionals and health systems.
resultsCitizens using the Internet to decide whether to consult a health professional or to get a second opinion are likely to be frequent visitors of health sites, active participants of online health forums and recurrent buyers of medicines and other health related products online, while only infrequent epatients, visiting doctors they have never met face-to-face. Participation in online health communities seems to be related with more inquisitive and autonomous patients.
conclusionsThe profiles of empowered eHealth citizens in Europe are situational and country dependent. The number of Europeans using the Internet to get health information to help them deal with a consultation is raising and having access to online health information seems to be associated with growing number of inquisitive and self-reliant patients. Doctors are increasingly likely to experience consultations with knowledgeable and empowered patients, who will challenge them in various ways.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.