Among adults ages 18 to 64, about 59% of those with private health insurance went online in the past 12 months to look up health information, compared with about one-third of those without insurance and about 31% of Medicaid beneficiaries, according to a data brief from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics.
The data brief found that about 53% of employed adults went online in the past 12 months for health information, compared with about 41% of unemployed adults.
In addition, the data brief found that adults with incomes at or above 300% of the federal poverty level were more than twice as likely to have sought health information online in the past 12 months as adults with incomes less than 100% of the federal poverty level.
Results are based on data from the 2009 National Health Interview Survey, which collected information from 27,731 U.S. adults ages 18 and older.
What does this mean to you?
The internet is a major place where people begin their healthcare research. They also ask their family and friends. The internet is becoming an area that healthcare providers can reach out and join the conversation – or, at least be available for consultation.
Women were more likely than men to have used the Internet for health information in the past 12 months for each age group except 65 and over (Figure 1).
The percentage of adults who used the Internet for health information was highest among women aged 25–34 (65.8%) and lowest among adults aged 65 and over (under 25%).
