Mothers turn to Google for medical advice before GP
Mothers are more likely to turn to “Dr Google” than their family doctor to seek advice if their child is poorly, a UK-based poll suggests.
A new survey found that GPs are third on the list of sources of advice for mothers there, behind seeking help from their own mothers and going online.
The poll, conducted by law firm Irwin Mitchell on 2,000 mothers from across the UK, found that one in five would go to their GP as their first port of call if their child was ill.
29% said they would first ask their own mother for advice and 26% said they would rely on the internet for information.
Not wanting to bother their family doctor unnecessarily was the most common reason for mother’s turning to other places for advice, with 58% saying this was their reason for seeking help elsewhere.
But one in 10 said they feel like their doctor does not really listen to them and another 14% said they feared they would be “fobbed off”.
Almost three in five said that past experience with a doctor has made them feel like a “paranoid mother”.
Meanwhile the poll also found that two in five mothers (41%) had questioned a doctor’s diagnosis of their child because it differed from what an internet search had suggested.
Of these mothers, some 38% had sought a second opinion for this reason.
The poll was carried out by Irwin Mitchell Solicitors, which provides medical negligence legal advice, among other personal and business legal services.
