Information seeking behavior of patients with diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study in an outpatient clinic of a university-affiliated hospital in Athens, Greece

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study is to examine the information behavior of diabetic patients, a relatively unexplored field of diabetes care, including their needs for information, resources used, obstacles encountered and degree of satisfaction for diabetes-related information acquisition. METHODS: 203 patients (males: 110, type 2:172) followed-up in the outpatient Diabetes Clinics of a University-affiliated hospital in Greece were assessed, using a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: Patients identified diet (61.4%) and diabetic complications (41.9%) as “the most important” for their information needs and the treating physician (94.6%) for information resources. Internet importance and frequency of use ranked low. Main obstacles to information seeking were “lack of time” and “cost”. Most patients (71.4%) stated they were “quite” or “very satisfied” with the current possibilities of information seeking. CONCLUSIONS: Diabetic patients’ stated information needs and information sources, as well as main obstacles to obtaining information could potentially have important implications in designing a future information campaign.