Consumers are tracking their own health data online, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and the California HealthCare Foundation.
The report, titled The Social Life of Health Information, 2011 by Susannah Fox, Pew's associate director, is billed as the first time anyone has reported, in a national consumer survey, how consumers are using the Internet for self-tracking of their health.
Self-tracking
According to the report, 27 percent of Internet users, and 20 percent of adults, have tracked their weight, diet, exercise routine or some other health indicators or symptoms online.
Fox says these findings are likely to generate the most "buzz" because, as the healthcare industry invests in ways to access data, the big question has always been, "Will consumers engage in the data?"
Online reviews
The report found that 24 percent of Internet users have consulted online reviews of particular drugs or medical treatments. Fox says Pew decided to ask this question not knowing whether the FDA would issue guidance on social media use for this purpose, but as of yet nothing has been issued.
She says it is interesting to look at who is using these reviews. Thirty-eight percent of caregivers have consulted online drug reviews, compared with 18 percent who are not caring for a loved one.
"When you look at the demographics, older adults are less likely to be online," she says, even though this population is most likely the heaviest users of drugs.
Fox says it is important to note, however, that even though they may not have access themselves, they do have "second degree access in that they may have loved ones who are doing health information searches on their behalf and participating in healthcare decisions from what they find online."
Wireless access
Fox says the report shows "a pretty significant trend toward people going online wirelessly on cellphones, laptops or tablets for health information," which she says is "changing the information landscape."
"With wireless access they can get information wherever they are and can get location-enabled-information, which is very powerful." So, for instance, wireless users can go online to find the nearest clinic or closest healthcare resource, says Fox.
Consumers who have a mobile device are also more likely to comment on a blog or user generated health information content, she says.
Social media
"The report allows people to see how low the use of social network sites for health information is," says Fox.
Just 15 percent of social network site users, or 7 percent of adults, have gotten any health information on sites like Facebook or Myspace, according to the report.
"There is no denying that social network sites are popular, but they are not the only pathway to health information," says Fox.
She says it is more common to find people using social media sites to follow other people's health experiences. For example, social network sites are often used to memorialize someone who has died, says Fox.
"For now, social networks are being used to give and find support for people, but are not a significant source of health information."
The report's findings are based on a national telephone survey conducted in August and September 2010 among 3,001 adults in the U.S.
Click here to download the full report.
