Exploring young women’s experiences with online symptom checkers

Engineering notes

Engineering notes will be added by the aipentium editorial team.

Chinese explanation / 中文解读

中文解读待补充：本站会优先为大语言模型、生成式AI、ChatGPT相关技术、计算机视觉、深度学习等高价值论文补充中文说明。

Original abstract

<b>Background: </b>Recently the use of symptom checkers has increased substantially, owing in part to the expansion of generative AI. A growing body of research considers how tools like ChatGPT can augment or complicate healthcare. One area which remains under-examined is that of women’s health, where symptom checkers and/or GenAI may find use due to 1) stigma, and 2) delays in receiving diagnoses and care in the Irish system. <b>Aims:</b> This study explores young women’s experiences of using online symptom checkers, particularly motivations for use, emotional responses, and interpretations and representations of women’s health concerns. <b>Methods:</b> A qualitative design was employed using semi-structured interviews with women aged 18-34 who had used an online tool to check their symptoms. Interviews incorporated a think aloud exercise in which hypothetical vignettes drawing from ChatGPT-derived advice were presented to participants. <b>Results:</b> Preliminary results indicate that women use symptom checkers as supplementary tools to prepare for healthcare appointments, rather than as definitive diagnostic resources. Participants displayed a psychological need for validation, seeking reassurance that their symptoms were legitimate and “not all in their head”. In addition to this, advice was often perceived as well-intentioned yet misaligned with reality, particularly finances. Participants also expressed frustration with the habitual framing of birth control as a default solution to women’s health concerns.<b>Conclusions:</b> Findings suggest that symptom checker use among young women is shaped as much by psychological needs for validation, control and emotional safety as by informational goals, highlighting practical implications for future digital health design.

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