With the increased use of computers in medical fields. we can consider introducing computer mediated communication into the area of patient care suct- as medical or health counseling and education. But little was known about what problems can be counseled, what is the main direction of counseling, and what difficulties are met during the computer mediated counseling. So I conducted this study.
This is a fundamental study concerning the health counseling by the inter-net. In this study. medical counseling using a method of questioning -an:~wering through a computer mediated communication system was carried out from June 1998 to )\~Iay 1999. I analyzed the contents of questions and answers by the ICPC classification.
The ICPC classification emerged as a standard for information categorization in Primary Health Care within a few years. One of the most prominent features of this classification is the inclusion of the complaints of the patients (symptoms c2 complaints) and the social problems (Chapter 7). Thus. and for the first time, the demand of patients may be assessed such as it is expressed in the reality. The ICPC list is now an international standard whose validity is not questioned any more: It is translated in more than twenty different languages.
The data collected were analyzed by descriptive statistical method. c2 test by cross tabulations.
Followings are the results of this study.
1. The 3.054 users composed of 64% of males and 36% of females. The highest number of users was showed in the age group of 2529 (39.4%).
2. During the one-year period. the average number of counseling per user was 2.5 cases and per day was 21.1 cases.
3. In classifying symptoms and complaints by 17 chapter, digestive(17.6%). general and unspecified (12.7%), skin(12.7%) and musculoskeletal system (9.6%) were most common questions.
4. The distribution of diagnosis by 17 chapter. general and unspecified (21.4%). digestive (15. 3%), skin (11.9%) and mus- culoskeletal system (8.9%) were most common answers.
5. Many users wanted to know symptoms and complaints(3.609 cases), treatment principles (2.9 28 cases), prognosis and preventive methods for health problems which were previously diagnosed 1284 cases).
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