Characteristics of online and offline health information seekers and factors that discriminate between them
Characteristics of online and offline health information seekers and factors that discriminate between them
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DOI：
10.1016/j.socscimed.2004.02.020
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发表时间：
2004-11-01
影响因子：
5.4
通讯作者：
Gupta, SS
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Cotten, SR;Gupta, SS
越来越多的人使用互联网来满足他们的健康信息需求；然而，人们对在线健康信息搜索者的特征以及他们是否与从线下来源搜索健康信息的人是否不同知之甚少。研究人员必须检查线上和线下健康信息寻求者的主要特征，以便更好地认识他们的需求，强调互联网健康信息质量和可用性方面可能做出的改进，并了解区分线上和线下健康信息寻求者的因素。本研究探讨了美国线上和线下健康信息寻求者之间的区别因素。本研究的数据来自 2000 年综合社会调查的子样本 (n = 385)。子样本包括那些被问及互联网和健康寻求模块问题的受访者。与之前的研究类似，本研究的结果表明，大多数在线和离线健康信息寻求者都报告依赖医疗保健专业人员作为健康信息来源。这项研究的独特之处在于，结果表明，有几个关键因素（年龄、收入和教育程度）区分了美国线上和线下健康信息寻求者；这表明一般的“数字鸿沟”特征影响着寻求健康信息的地点。除了传统的数字鸿沟因素之外，那些更健康、更快乐的人不太可能只通过线下方式获取健康信息。我们从数字鸿沟和医患关系的角度讨论了这些发现的含义。 (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. 保留所有权利。
Increasing number of individuals are using the internet to meet their health information needs; however, little is known about the characteristics of online health information seekers and whether they differ from individuals who search for health information from offline sources. Researchers must examine the primary characteristics of online and offline health information seekers in order to better recognize their needs, highlight improvements that may be made in the arena of internet health information quality and availability, and understand factors that discriminate between those who seek online vs. offline health information. This study examines factors that differentiate between online and offline health information seekers in the United States. Data for this study are from a subsample (n = 385) of individuals from the 2000 General Social Survey. The subsample includes those respondents who were asked Internet and health seeking module questions. Similar to prior research, results of this study show that the majority of both online and offline health information seekers report reliance upon health care professionals as a source of health information. This study is unique in that the results illustrate that there are several key factors (age, income, and education) that discriminate between US online and offline health information seekers; this suggests that General "digital divide" characteristics influence where health information is sought. In addition to traditional digital divide factors, those who are healthier and happier are less likely to look exclusively offline for health information. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the digital divide and the patient-provider relationship. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.