Trumblog

The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a new report E-patients With a Disability or Chronic Disease that paints an interesting picture of adults with disabilities or chronic disease states as being less likely to go online, but when they do use it more and the information that that they find there having a greater impact on their health care.

This provides an interesting set of opportunities for those of us developing health care websites. E-patients with chronic diseases or disabilities may be few, but they are of great value because they are more receptive and have a better experience therefore communicating the information that they find to their community who remains offline. These patients are more likely to be looking online for information soon after they are diagnosed and seem to go directly to known websites rather than searching. Therefore targeting the recently diagnosed and promoting the website itself on and offline may be a path to success.

Here is a summary of the findings.

Adults with chronic disease states are less likely to go online…

• Half (51%) of those living with a disability or chronic disease go online, compared to 74% of those who report no chronic conditions.

But those that do use the internet with more voracity than other e-patients…

• 86% of internet users living with disability or chronic illness have looked online for information about at least one of 17 health topics, compared with 79% of internet users with no chronic conditions.

And the information that they receive impacts their treatment to a greater degree…

• 75% of e-patients with chronic conditions say the information they found in their last search affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition, compared with 55% of e-patients who report no disability or illness.
• 69% of e-patients with chronic conditions say the information led them to ask a doctor new questions or to get a second opinion from another doctor, compared with 52% of other e-patients.
• 57% of e-patients with chronic conditions say the information changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain, compared with 36% of other e-patients.
• 56% of e-patients with chronic conditions say the information changed the way they think about diet, exercise, or stress management, compared with 42% of other e-patients.

Other interesting data…

• E-patients with chronic conditions are less likely than others to start their information queries at search engines than e-patients without chronic conditions (56% compared to 67%).
• General search engines still dominate, but e-patients with chronic conditions are more likely than others to turn to trusted health sites (37% compared to 26% of e-patients without chronic conditions).
• E-patients with chronic conditions have mostly positive things to say about their online health searches, but they are more likely than others to report frustration as well.
• Online health information had the greatest impact for users who had received a serious diagnosis or experienced a health crisis in the past year.
• Like most other e-patients, patients with chronic conditions also do not consistently check the source and date of the health information they find online. But they are less likely to “never” check the source and date (13%, compared with 22%).

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