Skip Navigation


Health Education Research Advance Access originally published online on July 31, 2006
Health Education Research 2008 23(3):512-521; doi:10.1093/her/cyl062
This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
23/3/512    most recent
cyl062v1
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ybarra, M.
Right arrow Articles by Suman, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Ybarra, M.
Right arrow Articles by Suman, M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Reasons, assessments and actions taken: sex and age differences in uses of Internet health information

Michele Ybarra1,* and Michael Suman2

1 Internet Solutions for Kids, Inc., 74 Ashford, Irvine, CA 92618, USA
2 Center for the Digital Future, USC Annenberg School for Communication, 300 S. Grand Avenue, Suite 3950, Los Angeles, CA 90071, USA

* Correspondence to: M. Ybarra. E-mail: Michele{at}ISolutions4Kids.org

The Internet is transforming the way in which consumers approach their health care needs. Sex and age are influential aspects of one's health as well as disease risk and are thus integral components of the emerging picture of health information seekers. Using data from Surveying the Digital Future, Year 4, a nationally representative, longitudinal telephone survey of Americans 12 years of age and older (n = 2010), we examine the reasons for, assessments of and actions taken as a result of health information found online among men and women and older and younger people. Although we tend to think of the Internet as a young person's technology, the percent of adults 60 years of age and older is similar to that of adolescents using the Internet as a health care information resource, thus suggesting an untapped opportunity with online interventions for older adults. Nonetheless, as age increases so too does the report of frustration with the experience. Men are more likely to report a positive seeking experience than women. Differences in Internet use fail to explain these observed sex and age differences in the seeking experience. Across the spectrum of age, sex and Internet skill, Internet health information seeking appears to enhance the patient–provider relationship.

Received on October 30, 2005; accepted on June 5, 2006


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
M. L. Ybarra, M. Diener-West, D. Markow, P. J. Leaf, M. Hamburger, and P. Boxer
Linkages Between Internet and Other Media Violence With Seriously Violent Behavior by Youth
Pediatrics, November 1, 2008; 122(5): 929 - 937.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.