Health Information Accessed on the Internet: The Development in 5 European Countries

Per Egil Kummervold,Rolf Wynn

doi:10.1155/2012/297416

Abstract

The aim of this study was to summarize and analyse findings from four prior studies on the use of the Internet as a source of health information in five European countries (Norway, Denmark, Germany, Greece, and Portugal). A cross-study comparison of data was performed. All the studies included fit with a trend of a sharp and continuous growth in the use of the Internet for health information access in the major part of the last decade. Importantly, the Internet has become an important mass media source of health information in northern Europe. While the use of the Internet for health information is somewhat less common in the south European countries, its use is also clearly increasing there. We discuss the advantages of cross-study comparisons of data and methodological challenges. As the use of the Internet for health information is likely to peak in some countries in the near future, new population surveys on health information access should focus more on the details of information that is accessed and which sites that are most used and trusted.

Highlights

Most people are, at some point, in need of information about health and illness
Few attempts have been made at comparing the outcomes of the various studies. We address this gap in the literature by comparing results from four European surveys on the use of the Internet for health information access [6,7,8,9]
Our main finding is that all the included studies fit with a trend of a sharp and continuous growth in the use of the Internet for health information

Summary

Introduction

At some point, in need of information about health and illness. Health information may help patients and the public improve health-related decisions, and hopefully, improve health outcomes [1,2,3]. Before the Internet, people relied on other sources for health information, including newspapers and magazines, books, and information given by their doctors, family, and friends. While these sources are still important, the Internet is rapidly establishing itself as a central source of health information [4, 5]. We address this gap in the literature by comparing results from four European surveys on the use of the Internet for health information access [6,7,8,9].

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Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion