E-Patients: Online Health Seeking Behaviour of Cancer Patients in South Western Nigeria

Background: Cancer has been reported to be one of the top three diseases that patients research on the Internet. This is because the Internet is an evolving hub of cancer information and social support for patients. With the increasing connectivity and over 92,000,000 Internet enabled devices in Nigeria, it is expected that mobile health will proliferate and this will change the way cancer patients gather health information and resources, propagating a new age of e-patients. An e-patient is a health consumer who uses the Internet as a health resource. With over 100,000 new cancer cases diagnosed yearly in Nigeria, low doctor to patient ratio, constrained consultation time and limited access to specialist care, the need to promote patients to become e-patients could efficiently empower them to become better-educated healthcare consumers. However, there is a paucity of data on how Nigerian cancer patients use the Internet. Aim: To measure the utilization rate and patient attitudes toward the Internet. Metho...