Reasons, assessments, and actions taken: A national study of consumer use of Internet health information

Ybarra, Michele & Suman, Michael. (2005, December). Reasons, assessments, and actions taken: A national study of consumer use of Internet health information. Presented at the American Public Health Association Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.

Summary:

This presentation analyzes data from the Surveying the Digital Future Year 4 study to explore the research questions:

1. What are the common reasons, assessments and actions taken as a result of Internet health information

2. How do the reasons, assesssment and actions vary by sex and age?

Findings include:

- As age increases, so too does the likelihood of reporting:

       The reason for using the Internet was the wide availability of information

- But also, the search took a lot of effort and more information was wanted but the consumer didn’t know where to find it.

- Men and women were equally likely to be searching for information about a personal problem as well as a loved one’s health problem.

- Women were significantly more likely to report a negative assessment of the seeking experience than men.

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