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Online health
information poised to become important resource for seniors, but not
there yet…Digital
Divide puts many seniors at disadvantage
WASHINGTON,
Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Internet becomes an increasingly
important resource for informing decisions about health and health
care options, a new national survey of older Americans by the Kaiser
Family Foundation finds that less than a third (31%) of seniors (age
65 and older) have ever gone online, but that more than two-thirds
(70%) of the next generation of seniors (50-64 year-olds) have done
so.
The
differences among seniors and 50-64 year-olds are striking and
indicate that online resources for health information may soon play
a much larger role among older Americans. Twenty-one percent of
seniors have gone online to look for health information compared to
53% of 50-64 year-olds; 8% of seniors get "a lot" of health
information online compared to 24% of 50-64 year-olds; the Internet
is 5th on a list of media sources of health information for seniors
compared to first among 50-64 year-olds; and 26% of seniors trust
the Internet "a lot" or "some" to provide accurate health
information, compared to 58% of 50-64 year-olds.
The survey
also finds that a significant digital divide could leave those most
in need with less information on which to base important health care
decisions. Seniors whose annual household income is under $20,000 a
year are much less likely to have gone online (15%) than those with
incomes between $20,000-49,000 (40%) or those with incomes of
$50,000 a year or more (65%). Most seniors (64%) on Medicare fall
into that lowest income category of under $20,000 a year, while just
8% have an income of $50,000 or more. Furthermore, seniors with only
a high school degree or less are much less likely to have gone
online than those with some college or a college degree (18% v. 45%
v. 60%).
"We know
that the Internet can be a great health tool for seniors, but the
majority are lower-income, less well educated and not online," said
Drew Altman, President and CEO, Kaiser Family Foundation. "It's time
for a national discussion on how to get seniors online."
With the
passage of Medicare reform that allows recipients to choose
prescription drug discount cards, the federal Web site Medicare.gov
has become an important resource for comparing the benefits of
competing cards. The survey, conducted in March-April 2004, found
that 2% of all seniors had gone online to Medicare.gov (further
tracking surveys by the Foundation indicate that number has remained
relatively stable, at 4% in June, 8% in October, and 3% in December
2004).
The survey
-- e-health and the Elderly: How Seniors Use the Internet for Health
-- is being released at a briefing today in Washington, D.C. that
includes representatives of AOL, the National Institute on Aging,
the AARP, and SeniorNet, an organization that helps train older
Americans in computer skills.
Additional Findings:
Most Popular Health
Topics Researched Online
-- Prescription
drugs top the list of health care topics researched, with
more than a third
(37%) of online seniors (13% of all seniors) saying they've looked
online for drug information, including 16% (5% of all seniors) who say
they have used the Internet to compare prices for prescription
drugs, and 15% (5% of all seniors) who say they have actually
purchased prescription drugs online. Other popular health-related searches
include nutrition, exercise or weight issues (30% of online seniors;
9% of all); cancer (23% of online, 7% of all); and heart disease and
arthritis (21% each of online and 6% of all).
-- 16% of online
seniors say they have used the Internet to follow news coverage of
health policy issues (5% of all seniors), while 14% saythey have looked
for information about health providers online (4% of all).
Influence of Online
Information on Health Behaviors
-- Among those
seniors who have gone online for health information, a third (34%; 7% of
all seniors) say they have talked with a doctor or other provider
about information they found online; 23% (5% of all seniors) say they
changed their own behavior because of information they found
online; and 23% say they made a decision about how to treat an illness or
condition.
-- 19% of those who
have looked for health information online say they check the source
"always" or "most of the time," while 58% say they "never" or
"hardly ever" do this.
Online Contact From
Doctors and Drug Companies
-- Just 3% of 50-64
year-olds and 1% of seniors say a doctor has ever recommended a
particular health or medical Web site to them.
-- Among those
seniors who have ever used e-mail, 7% have communicated with a doctor or
other provider via e-mail, while more than half (54%) have received
e-mails from pharmaceutical companies and others advertising
drugs, supplements, or other medical products.
Seniors Keeping in
Touch
-- Among those
seniors who go online, about a third say they consider email (34%) and
the Internet (33%) "an important part of your life that they wouldn't
want to do without."
-- About half (56%)
of seniors who use e-mail say it makes it "a lot" easier for them
to stay in touch with family and friends. |
