Use of the Internet for Health Information by the Chronically Ill

Details

• Journal Article:
  Preventing Chronic Disease (PCD)
• Personal Author:
  Wagner, Todd H. ; Baker, Laurence C. ; Bundorf, M. Kate ; Singer, Sara
• Description:
  Introduction ; Chronic conditions are among the leading causes of death and disability in the United States. The Internet is a source of health information and advice for individuals with chronic conditions and shows promise for helping individuals manage their conditions and improve their quality of life. ; Methods ; We assessed Internet use for health information by people who had one or more of five common chronic conditions. We conducted a national survey of adults aged 21 and older, then analyzed data from 1980 respondents who had Internet access and who reported that they had hypertension, diabetes, cancer, heart problems, and/or depression. ; Results ; Adjusted rates for any Internet use for health information ranged from 33.8% (heart problems only) to 52.0% (diabetes only). A sizable minority of respondents — particularly individuals with diabetes — reported that the Internet helped them to manage their condition themselves, and 7.9% said information on the Internet led them to seek care from a different doctor. ; Conclusion ; Use of the Internet for health information by chronically ill patients is moderate. Self-reported effects on choice of treatment or provider are small but noteworthy.
• Subjects:
  • Adult
  • Choice Behavior
  • Chronic Disease
  • Data Collection
  • Depression
  • Diabetes Mellitus
  • Electronic Mail
  • Female
  • Heart Diseases
  • Humans
  More +
• Source:
  Prev Chronic Dis. 2004; 1(4).
• ISSN:
  1545-1151
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  United States
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  1
• Issue:
  4
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/19866/cdc_19866_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 374.31 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Preventing Chronic Disease
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:27f1d32b6b94264734cc328b838ec1f7b7761f4d902292821106e9f8320d77cfcd860dd3891e98a098bc31f7fc305cdc2a6ae3a753af8acd5e28d3b14ab881d4