Consultation preferences and continuity of care of people with glucose management needs in an online interpersonal support context——a large-scale survey of China’s online health communities

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Continuity of care (CoC), entailing consistent, coherent, and integrated healthcare delivery by healthcare providers throughout a patient's lifetime, is multifaceted, encompassing relational, informational, and managerial dimensions. This study delves into the prevailing consultation preferences, continuity of care, and influential determinants among Chinese patients requiring blood glucose management, with the aim of optimizing healthcare consultations and enhancing continuity of care. Methods Questionnaires were disseminated across multiple digital health platforms, yielding a total of 548 valid responses. Employed analytical methods included descriptive statistical analysis, scale reliability assessment, chi-square tests for multiple response frequency cross-tabulation, independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, Pearson and Spearman correlation analyses, quantile regression modeling, and multiple linear regression, all executed through IBM SPSS25. Results Approximately 58.21% of participants underscored the importance of a physician familiar with their comprehensive medical history, while 58.03% prioritized physicians who take the time to listen. Conversely, 41.7% and 40.0% of participants, respectively, reported lacking access to physicians exhibiting these characteristics during actual consultations. Individuals with suboptimal quality of life or medication adherence reported lower CoC than their counterparts (p < 0.01). Continuity of care was significantly higher among those with access to a familiar physician (p < 0.01). Regarding online health consultations, frequent users exhibited higher CoC compared to infrequent or non-users (p < 0.01). The influence of four variables - quality of life, medication adherence, access to a familiar physician, and frequency of online health consultations - on continuity of care was statistically significant at the quantile point. Conclusion This research offers critical insights for healthcare practitioners and policy designers to bolster continuity of care. Factors such as diminished quality of life, inadequate medication adherence, absence of a familiar physician, and infrequent or non-existent online health consultations potentially contribute to low continuity of care.