Online health information seeking behavior of Croatian urological patients and liability for the violation of an individual’s right to health by disinformation

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to explore online health information seeking behavior. The method used in this study was conducting a survey by means of a questionnaire which was distributed to the urological patients of the “Dr. Juraj Navro” National Memorial Hospital in Vukovar in Croatia. The results were analysed by the SPSS statistical package utilising descriptive and inferential statistical methods (Chi-square, Mann Whitney U test). Regarding the online information sources that urological patients consult, as many as 21% of the respondents indicated that they searched for health information on Facebook. The obtained research results point to the conclusion that urological patients have a medium level of trust in online health information and indicate the need to increase the level of health literacy among patients in Croatia through various educational campaigns at the national and international level. The problem of online disinformation raises also numerous legal issues. Therefore, the legal framework of liability due to the violation of an individual’s right to health, by disinformation, was explored.