From Searching to Coping, How Chinese Patients With Breast Cancer Navigate Web-Based Health Information: Semistructured Interview Study

Background: With the development of digital health platforms, patients with breast cancer are increasingly relying on web-based resources to search for disease-related information. Proper usage of web-based health information by patients with breast cancer is crucial for understanding disease information and participating in treatment decisions. However, in the face of the large amount and complexity of information, it is still unclear how patients can make psychological adjustments and behavioral responses. Problems such as variable information quality and conflicting information are also affecting the cognitive and treatment decision-making process of patients with breast cancer. Objective: This study aims to explore the real experiences of Chinese patients with breast cancer in their search for web-based health information from a phenomenological perspective, providing insights for optimizing future web-based health information support for patients. Methods: This qualitative study used semistructured, in-depth face-to-face interviews to collect data. Through purposive and convenience sampling, 18 female patients with breast cancer were recruited from a tertiary cancer hospital in China. The data saturation principle was observed to determine the endpoint of data collection. The collected data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: From 18 original interview documents, three themes and 11 subthemes were categorized as follows: (1) driving force of information search (emotion-based information search, problem-solving–oriented information search), (2) cognitive judgments amidst the information fog (interweaving of multichannel information, judgment of information authenticity, information applicability assessment, cognitive confusion in the context of information conflict, and construction of information meaning), and (3) adaptation under the pressure of web-based information (transform information into action, emotional regulatory coping, build a support network, and acceptance and adjustment of expectations). Conclusions: This study reveals that the experiences of patients with breast cancer within web-based health information environments resemble an information navigation journey. Patients continuously search, evaluate, and adjust within the sea of information to maintain cognitive clarity and emotional equilibrium. The findings offer valuable insights for clinical health care providers, health information platform developers, and policymakers. They can help optimize digital health services and design personalized information support that better meets patients’ needs.