I am now in week 2 of my three year, eek!
'Online self-diagnosis in Scotland's 'smartphone society': effects on the patient-healthcare professional relationship and medical authority.' is my working title.
As a nurse I regularly research related issues online. The sheer volume of information publicly available on the internet is remarkable. One aspect of this is the growing phenomenon of self-diagnosis. I will research the effect this trend is having on health professionals to understand the possible downsides and potential upsides of online self-diagnosis. As the proliferation of online self-diagnosis is relatively new, and with Scotland now labelled the ‘smartphone society’ this research is both timely and significant.
While academic interest in this area has already been strong in the United States it is very much still an emerging area in the Scotland and the UK. Clearly, while the amount of research is quite small so far it is a relevant, current and important area of study.
What appealed to me most about this topic is that it is so current. Technology is growing and people are relying more and more on it. Can this impact the patient - healthcare relationships? Let’s soon find out.
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