FROM THE FOUNDATION

Patient Health Data, Understood

Most patient health records today are hard for consumers to understand. CHCF asked high-end designers what a "human-centered" approach might look like.

The Health Datapalooza

Register now for the June 5-6 HDI Forum III in Washington, DC, on health innovation that will include renowned speakers, breakout sessions, and an apps expo replete with demos, developers, and designers.

Data Points

Wednesday, November 30, 2011

What Percentage of U.S. Adults Are Searching for Health-Related Information on the Internet?

Data Point Image

About 33% of surveyed U.S. adults used the Internet to search for health information in 2010, up from about 31% who did so in 2007 and about 16% who did so in 2001, according to a survey from the Center for Studying Health System Change.

Other research has shown that residential access to high-speed Internet grew from 47% in 2007 to 66% in 2010, but the proportion of Web-based health information seeking has not shown comparable increases, according to the Center for Studying Health System Change.

Results are based on a nationally representative survey of 17,000 U.S. adults conducted through a landline phone sample and cellphone sample.

Source: Center for Studying Health System Change, "Surprising Decline in Consumers Seeking Health Information"

Reader Comments:
  • 1
  • 12/01/2011
  • Bobby Lee

Study's headline of the survey reflects the fall of those seeking health information from 56% to 50% between 2007 and 2010 surveys. This “surprise” seems to be quite simple to explain – given the economy, researching about personal health concern is not on top of people’s priority list.



Readers are also invited to send feedback to: ihb@chcf.org
Click to register for iHealthBeat