Is Polish patients’ fear too big to be true? Emotions expressed by patients on medical portals

Abstract

The article examines the question of emotions experienced by patients, users of medical portals, who “found themselves” in the complex structure of the healthcare system in Poland, emotions arising from interactions with medical professionals, and in the process of experiencing the course of disease. Statements published by users of medical portals/internet forums were analyzed. The research sample consisted of 15 medical portals with high level of activity of registered users. The analysis was based on statements describing the situation (or its context, or actions of participants involved in the interactions) determining the experienced emotions.