Access to health information on the internet: A public health issue?

Abstract

Objective: To progress in the understanding of the user profile and of search trends for health information on the internet. Methods: Analyses were performed based on 1,828 individuals who completed an electronic questionnaire available on a very popular health website. At the same time, through the "elite survey" method, 20 specialists were interviewed, aiming at assessing quality control strategies regarding health information disseminated online. Results: A predominance of female users who research information for themselves (≈ 90%), who consider the internet one of their main sources of health information (86%), and who spend from 5 to 35 hours online every week (62%) was verified. High reliability is assigned to information from specialists (76%), and low reliability to television, radio, or blogs (14%). Conclusion: It can be concluded that the internet is proving to be a major source of health information for the population, and that website certification is a strategy to be contemplated to improve the quality of information and to promote public health. © 2012 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved.