How Should I Choose My Dentist? A Preliminary Study Investigating the Effectiveness of Decision Aids on Healthcare Online Review Portals

Abstract

Information on healthcare providers on the internet can be found in both public reports and/or anecdotal comments. Healthcare consumers rely more on the anecdotal comments than public reports as they are easier to understand, more engaging and convincing. However, the anecdotal comments can be misleading as they are based on a relatively smaller and less representative sample. Hence, it’s important to understand how users make sense of the anecdotal information and define the factors that influence their decisions. This study utilized the domain of dentistry, focusing on how the nature of the review and other decision aids affect the sensemaking process of healthcare seekers. We conducted a mixed-method study with twenty participants, finding the nature of the review (the text) to be the most influential factor and the wait time to be the least contributing factor in the decision.