1147 IS THE WEB CHANGING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CLINICIANS AND THE URO-ANDROLOGICAL PATIENTS? RESULTS OF AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS

You have accessJournal of UrologySexual Function/Dysfunction/Andrology: Evaluation I1 Apr 20121147 IS THE WEB CHANGING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CLINICIANS AND THE URO-ANDROLOGICAL PATIENTS? RESULTS OF AN EXPLORATORY ANALYSIS Andrea Salonia, Antonino Saccà, Matteo Ferrari, Firas Abdollah, Fabio Castiglione, Maria Chiara Clementi, Giulia Castagna, Donatella Moretti, Andrea Russo, Giuseppe Zanni, Patrizio Rigatti, and Francesco Montorsi Andrea SaloniaAndrea Salonia Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Antonino SaccàAntonino Saccà Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Matteo FerrariMatteo Ferrari Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Firas AbdollahFiras Abdollah Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Fabio CastiglioneFabio Castiglione Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Maria Chiara ClementiMaria Chiara Clementi Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Giulia CastagnaGiulia Castagna Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Donatella MorettiDonatella Moretti Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Andrea RussoAndrea Russo Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Giuseppe ZanniGiuseppe Zanni Milan, Italy More articles by this author , Patrizio RigattiPatrizio Rigatti Milan, Italy More articles by this author , and Francesco MontorsiFrancesco Montorsi Milan, Italy More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.juro.2012.02.1257AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookTwitterLinked InEmail INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES This study was aimed at assessing the patients habit to surf the web before asking a specialist consultation for sexual disorders. METHODS A cohort of 479 consecutive patients consecutively attending for the first time a sexual and reproductive medicine center was used for this analysis. Patients anonymously completed a brief self-administered structured questionnaire including general demographic data and questions about individual's habit to surf the web regarding health-related problems. Descriptive statistics and regression models tested the association between patients attitude and predictors. RESULTS Complete data collection was available for 476 (99.4%) patients [women: 115 (24.2%); men 361 (75.8%)]. Educational status was secondary school, high school and university degree in 47 (9.9%), 210 (44.1%), and 219 (46%), respectively. Primary reason for attending the office was couple's infertility in 273 (57.4%), erectile dysfunction (ED) in 63 (13.2%), premature ejaculation (PE) in 17 (3.6), Peyronie's disease in 13 (2.7), and miscellanea of genital disorders in were 111 (23.3%) patients, respectively. Overall, 376/476 (78.9%) reported having surfed the web regarding their specific health disorder; of them, 140 (37.2%), 143 (38%), 38 (10.1%), and 55 (14.7%) did surf about the question only once, between 1 and 5 times, between 5 and 10 times, and more than 10 time throughout the last 30 days before the outpatient visit. At multivariate analysis younger age (OR: 0.947, p=0.01) was the only independent predictor of web surfing. Google was chosen by 344/376 (88.8%) web surfers. Among the web surfers, 152 (40.2%) reported to feel themselves prepared on the subject after having surfed the web. Likewise, 200/476 (42%) patients participated in a web blog regarding the object of their visit. Younger age (p=0.001), female sex (p<0.001), and having a stable relationship (p=0.03) emerged as independent predictors of patients' participation to a web blog. Couple's infertility, PE, and Peyronie's disease emerged as the main reasons for participating in a web blog (chi2 trend: 12.292; p=0.02). CONCLUSIONS This exploratory analysis showed that the vast majority of patients usually surf the web regarding the specific problem and they also participate in web blogs related to the specific problem. This attitude is rapidly changing the scenario of the doctor-patient relationship. © 2012 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 187Issue 4SApril 2012Page: e465 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2012 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Andrea Salonia Milan, Italy More articles by this author Antonino Saccà Milan, Italy More articles by this author Matteo Ferrari Milan, Italy More articles by this author Firas Abdollah Milan, Italy More articles by this author Fabio Castiglione Milan, Italy More articles by this author Maria Chiara Clementi Milan, Italy More articles by this author Giulia Castagna Milan, Italy More articles by this author Donatella Moretti Milan, Italy More articles by this author Andrea Russo Milan, Italy More articles by this author Giuseppe Zanni Milan, Italy More articles by this author Patrizio Rigatti Milan, Italy More articles by this author Francesco Montorsi Milan, Italy More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement Advertisement PDF downloadLoading ...