The Impact of Medical Terminology in Self-Triage Decision-Making

The study, involving 36 undergraduate psychology students, examined the impact of medical terminology on self-triage decisions. Participants were presented with 32 hypothetical health scenarios and asked to rate the urgency of seeking medical care on a seven-point scale. Scenarios were described using either medical or lay terminology. Results indicated that participants were more likely to seek care urgently when newer medical terms were used (mean urgency rating of 4.08) compared to lay terms (3.32). For well-known medical terms, the terminology did not significantly affect urgency ratings. The study suggests that medical terminology, particularly for newer medicalized conditions, can influence individuals to seek care more urgently due to unfamiliarity and perceived seriousness. However, the study's findings may not generalize to actual patient populations or those from different cultural and linguistic backgrounds due to its limitations, including the use of a healthy undergraduate sample and hypothetical scenarios.