Use of the Internet for Health Purposes—A National Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey among Adults in Poland

Krzysztof Płaciszewski (), Waldemar Wierzba, Janusz Ostrowski, Jarosław Pinkas and Mateusz Jankowski
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Krzysztof Płaciszewski: Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Warsaw, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
Waldemar Wierzba: Central Clinical Hospital of the Ministry of the Interior and Administration in Warsaw, 02-507 Warsaw, Poland
Janusz Ostrowski: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Jarosław Pinkas: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland
Mateusz Jankowski: School of Public Health, Centre of Postgraduate Medical Education, 01-826 Warsaw, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 23, 1-18

Abstract: The Internet is one of the most popular information sources. This study aimed to assess the public attitudes towards the use of the Internet for health purposes as well as to identify factors associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes among adults in Poland. A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out between 9 and 12 September 2022 on a nationwide random-quota sample of 1092 adults in Poland. The study questionnaire included 10 questions on Internet use for health purposes. The most common reason for the use of the Internet for health purposes was searching for information on drugs and their effects (69.9%). Almost two-thirds of participants used the Internet for searching for health information (64.9%), for doctors/medical services (63.4%), or for medical facilities (65.3%). Over half of the participants used the Internet for checking online reviews of doctors (55.2%) and 43.5% of the participants ordered drugs or dietary supplements online. Out of 9 different socioeconomic factors analyzed in this study, having higher education, being female, as well as living in cities from 100,000 to 499,999 residents were the most important factors ( p < 0.05) associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes. This study confirmed a high level of adoption of medical Internet in Poland.

Keywords: eHealth; internet use; online health information; internet use for health purposes; health behaviors; health information; Poland (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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