JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

If purposefully designed, patient information can support patients in making well-founded decisions about their care. The study was initiated to improve the online information about whiplash injuries at the patient information portal of the Swedish government.

Objective:

To describe how patients and relatives perceive the national online information about whiplash injuries as well as the Swedish health care system’s management for whiplash injuries.

Methods:

Five interviews were made with patients (n = 9) who had had a whiplash injury and with relatives (n = 4) of such patients. Interviews were held, until no more sub-themes appeared and we estimated that saturation was reached. The interviews were taped, transcribed verbatim and analysed by means of conventional content analysis.

Results:

Two themes emerged from the latent content analysis: on the one hand, a confidence and trust in the public health care system (hereinafter health care), and on the other, a disappointment with health care encounters.

Conclusions:

We found that taking part of the online information had caused distress to most of the study participants because of discrepancy between the sender’s authority and deficient information. The online information on whiplash injuries may greatly impact patients’ care decisions as well as their physical, mental and social wellbeing. We would recommend that patient information about whiplash injuries is made highly informative, with less emphasis on psychology and a patient wide perspective on pathophysiology, prognosis and treatment.