Women's health and the internet: understanding emerging trends and implications.

Internet has become a major information source, yet little is known about why women use the internet for obtaining health information. In this paper, we propose and test three exploratory models to explain internet use for obtaining health information: health and wellness model, health needs model, and search costs model. The health and wellness model is based on the notion that internet has become such an integral part of daily life that health-conscious women use the internet in a pro-active manner for health promotion.