Nearly four out of five (78.1%) Americans turn to the Internet to gather health information, according to a recent survey from online media and technology firm Burst Media.
Last month, Burst Media conducted an online study of 3,759 Web users 18 and older about how they research healthcare information.
The purpose of the survey was to examine how people research medical and health related information, when that information was accessed and what types of information was most highly in demand.
Key findings included:
*Nine out of 10 of women between the ages of 25-34 (90.1%) seek health information online.
*Web sites and condition-specific Web sites/chats/forums are the most popular resources to turn to for healthcare information, 35.1% and 33.8%, respectively.
* Symptoms and treatments are the most sought after information: More than one-half (54.2%) of respondents use the Internet to gather information about specific illnesses’ symptoms and 51.0% use the Web to find information about treatments for a specific illness.
