mhealth technologies and doctor-patient relationships in the context of consumer culture in Winnipeg, Canada

The purpose of this study was to examine how the use of mHealth technologies by lay individuals influenced their relationships with their doctors in the context of consumer cultures. Ten individuals living in Winnipeg, Canada who used varying mHealth technologies ranging from fitness devices, thermometers and cardiovascular monitoring devices for personal health monitoring were interviewed. Using reflexive sociological interviewing, the participants were engaged in conversations on health, their use of their devices, and their relations with their doctors. The interviews were conducted via Zoom Video conferencing between September to November 2020 and audio recorded using the audio recording function on Zoom. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and coded using the NVIVO software. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. The central themes that emerged from the interviews are the monitored life; consumerism in health; mHealth, health decisions and doctors; interpersonal doctor-patient relationships. The themes were interpreted using existing literature, Foucault’s concept of biopower and Lupton’s digital cyborg assemblage. Participants could be identified as consumer-patients who used mHealth technologies to gain knowledge on their bodies and health. The knowledge gained is specific and unique to participants’ health needs which they use to practice health and self-care individually or with assistance from their doctors. With this, mHealth technologies influence doctor-patient relationships such that patients partner with doctors in diagnosing and treatment. However, depending on the social location, patients may either be passive patients or consumer patients during medical encounters. These findings contribute to the existing literature on the use of mHealth technologies and consumerism in doctor-patient relationships.