Sex and Gender Differences in Health Information Needs for Arthritis Patients

Background: The onset and progression of both degenerative and inflammatory arthritis can be affected by sex and gender. Both age and gender can affect people's decisions about their health. Men, for instance, may employ fewer, and less varied coping mechanisms than women. Objectives: To focus on the health information needs of arthritis patients and investigate the experiences of arthritis patients from various sexes and genders, as well as how they think their sex and/or gender might influence their health information needs. It also sought to determine whether they would benefit from a health information intervention, and if so, what kind of intervention they would like and how it should be delivered. Methods: This study followed a qualitative approach, interpretive description, where 13 participants were recruited from Roth McFarlane Hand & Upper Limb Centre at St. Joseph's Health Centre. The inclusion criteria were patients with confirmed arthritis aged 18-75, who could speak and understand English, and could consent to participate. Thematic analysis was conducted. Results: Ten overarching themes were identified with various subthemes across 13 transcripts. These themes were: positive therapeutically alliance with physicians, need for online resources, men are more reluctant to seek help, systemic challenges to accessing healthcare, patients' health information needs, perceived facilitators, level of satisfaction with the information or services provided by physicians, gender affects information needs but not the ability to establish a therapeutic alliance, dire need for more access to arthritis information programs, and mixed understanding about the meaning of sex/gender. Conclusion: The demands of patients for health information are influenced by their gender and/or sexual orientation. Given patients' challenges while accessing health information, it is critical to adopt a patient-centred strategy that focuses on their needs and allows them to express their opinions.