According to recent surveys by the Pew Internet Trust, 60 – 80 percent of Americans have used the Internet to find health information; and as of January 2008, the Internet rivaled physicians as the leading source for health information. In fact, iCrossing’s “How America Searches: Health and Wellness” January 2008 report states:
Internet is the most widely used resource for health information: 59% of adults use online resources to obtain health and wellness information, versus 55% who go to their doctors and 29% who talk to relatives, friends or co-workers
Yahoo! Health has found that 80 percent of online searchers are looking for themselves, while 20 percent are looking for someone else. For cancer and Alzheimer’s, the proportion of people searching for others is higher. (Source: Jane Sarashon Kahn, The Wisdom of Patients: Health Care Meets Online Social Media)
And consumers aren’t just going one place in their search for health information online, although the vast majority start with a search engine. Once they begin their quest, they’re route takes them through multiple sites (WebMD, Wikipedia, Mayo Clinic), blogs and social networks to gather information. (ibid)
What are they going online? According to JupiterResearch, the top three reasons people congregate online are:
- To see what other consumers say about a medication or treatment (36%)
- To research other consumers’ knowledge and experiences (31%)
- To learn skills or get education to manage a condition (27%)
(Source: JupiterResearch. Online Health: Assessing the Risks and Opportunity of Social and One-to-One Media, 2007)
These are all powerful motivators for consumers… but they also should be powerful motivators for those who provide medication, treatment and education to begin to listen, track and monitor the conversations they’re having…
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