Can You Trust Advice from Other Patients?

When we have a problem, we often ask friends and family for advice. How to fix a leak under the sink? How to get a baby to sleep? And we use Yelp and Google to read reviews on places to eat and hotels to stay in. But where can we find reliable information and support around a medical condition? Yes, we can, and should, get information from our doctors. But can we also trust advice from other patients?

Peer health advice, the sharing of health stories and information from other patients, is a great way to get information and support from those who have been in your shoes.

What is peer health advice?

Peer health advice, also referred to as peer-to-peer healthcare or peer support, involves learning from people who have personal experience with similar health conditions. This includes connecting in-person, online, by texting or on the phone.

And the advice is free, from non-paid people with an interest in helping others by sharing their experiences. Fortunately, the internet makes it fairly easy to connect with people all over the world who have similar health problems.

Don’t confuse peer advice with internet research!

A recent survey found that almost 25% of people look for information and/or support from someone with a similar condition.

Why is peer health advice so helpful?

In a nutshell, peer health advice facilitates the emotional, social and practical assistance needed when managing a serious medical condition.

When you hear that you or a loved one has a serious illness or injury, you are completely overwhelmed with the change in health status. Your head is spinning. You don’t know what questions to ask. And you certainly “don’t know what you don’t know”.

Furthermore, there is so much information available online, it’s impossible to read or process it all. Peer health advice to the rescue!

People who have experience can help us figure out what we need to know. And they can provide tips for managing an illness, including managing side effects, treatments to consider, questions to ask a doctor, and more.

Additionally, peer support can help patients and their families feel like they are not alone in their medical journey.

According to Jane Weida, MD, President, American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation, there are proven benefits. Peer support helps patients carry out in their daily lives the plans and strategies they worked out with their medical providers. Additionally, it often links support among patients, their families, and their communities. And peer support places a strong emphasis on the whole person, her or his interests, strengths, and needs.

What does the research show?

It looks like we can trust advice from other patients. Studies relating to diabetes management show that peer support provides significant benefits.

A review of journal articles published between 2000-2012, 19 out of 20 showed significant evidence of the benefits of peer support for diabetes management. Additionally, researchers found that diabetes patients who participated in peer-to-peer healthcare lowered their blood sugar levels more than those who didn’t participate.

Furthermore, an extensive review of past research found that across 8 countries and 14 conditions “there is substantial and strong evidence that peer support works as a chronic disease-management strategy“.

Additionally, researchers analyzed the information shared over a 4-month period in an online breast cancer support group. Of the 4,600 posts reviewed, the experts considered only 10 (0.22%) false or misleading. Moreover, other participants corrected the information for 7 of the 10 “false” posts within an average of 4 hours and 33 minutes. Only 3 posts with false information remained.

What do patients say about peer support?

A survey of patients found that receiving peer support through the PatientsLikeMe platform help users better understand their condition and treatment. Specifically, respondents reported that peer support gave them an increased understanding of:

• How their condition may affect them.
• What might help them live better with their condition.
• Which treatments were available.
• Treatment side effects.
• Important factors in making treatment decisions.

The downsides of advice from other patients.

Unfortunately, as with most things in life, there are some potentially negative aspects of peer health advice that you should consider.

First, it’s important to remember that people respond differently to treatments. What worked for Charlie in Kansas might not help you at all. Or it might even make you sicker.

When dealing with a serious medical condition, do not rely solely on peer advice. Talk to your doctor about your diagnosis, treatment options, medications, and side effects. But don’t be afraid to ask your doctor about items you heard about through peer support. And use good judgement.

Additionally, you might unknowingly read what seems like a personal story but is actually fake news. And you might encounter some unpleasant people online who are determined to make other people feel badly.

Importantly, don’t share personal information you wouldn’t want on the cover of the local newspaper! Anything you discuss in an online forum can find its way to the public, so beware.

In summary, you can trust advice from other patients – but don’t blindly trust everything you hear.