Online health information seeking, medical care beliefs and timeliness of medical check-ups among African Americans

Abstract

ObjectiveThis study aims to investigate the relationship among different types of internet sources for health, medical check-up beliefs and the timeliness of annual medical check-ups among African Americans, accounting for both health TV usage and health service use. MethodsHierarchical linear regression analysis was conducted on data from 1734 African Americans surveyed in the 2013 Consumer Health Multimedia Audience Research Systems national pharmaceutical study of 19,420 U.S. adults. ResultsThe results indicate a positive association between seeking health information on medical websites (β = 0.052, p = 0.04) and consumer-driven health sites (β = 0.066, p < 0.01), and the timeliness of check-ups among African Americans, an association not found in relation to mainstream or news-related sites. Health TV program use was not associated with timeliness of medical check-ups. Medical check-up belief is positively associated with seeking health info on consumer-driven health sites (β = 0.072, p < 0.01) but not on medical sites or on TV. ConclusionSeeking information on health-specific websites was associated with more timely check-ups in African Americans and more positive preventative medical care belief, even after controlling for traditional barriers, such as poor provider relationship. Practice ImplicationsHealth specific websites may provide an avenue for intervention to improve preventative care use in African Americans.