Social and Demographic Patterns of Health-Related Internet Use Among Adults in the United States: A Secondary Data Analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey

Rose Calixte, Argelis Rivera, Olutobi Oridota, William Beauchamp and Marlene Camacho-Rivera
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Rose Calixte: Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine, New York, NY 10031, USA
Argelis Rivera: Department of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10027, USA
Olutobi Oridota: Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine, New York, NY 10031, USA
William Beauchamp: Department of Community Health and Social Medicine, CUNY School of Medicine, New York, NY 10031, USA
Marlene Camacho-Rivera: Department of Community Health Sciences, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-16

Abstract: National surveys of U.S. adults have observed significant increases in health-related internet use (HRIU), but there are documented disparities. The study aims to identify social and demographic patterns of health-related internet use among U.S. adults. Using data from the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) 4 cycle 3 and HINTS 5 cycle 1, we examined HRIU across healthcare, health information seeking, and participation on social media. Primary predictors were gender, race/ethnicity, age, education, income, and nativity with adjustments for smoking and survey year. We used multivariable logistic regression with survey weights to identify independent predictors of HRIU. Of the 4817 respondents, 43% had used the internet to find a doctor; 80% had looked online for health information. Only 20% had used social media for a health issue; 7% participated in an online health support group. In multivariable models, older and low SES participants were significantly less likely to use the internet to look for a provider, use the internet to look for health information for themselves or someone else, and less likely to use social media for health issues. Use of the internet for health-related purposes is vast but varies significantly by demographics and intended use.

Keywords: mobile health; health communication; internet use (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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