Patients retrieving additional information via the Internet: a trend analysis in a Swedish population, 2000-05.

Aims: To examine the trends over five years for patients' seeking online additional health information about their disease/health problem to what the doctor has been giving, and investigate any differences in information-seeking behaviour according to age, gender, self-perceived health status, living area, and type of medical encounter.

Methods: Data from three independent surveys conducted in 2000, 2002, and 2005 of a population with a recent experience of outpatient care[n]typesetter: please remove blue shading here and elsewhere[/n], including 24,800 respondents aged between 20 and 95, were analysed in a trend analysis and a logistic regression regarding background factors that may influence the seeking behaviour.

Results: During the study period, there was a significant increase in Internet use in most age groups. The total use among men 20-95 years old increased from 7% in 2000 to 18% in 2005 and from 9% to 25% for women respectively. The predictors for using the Internet as a source of information were: age, gender, self-perceived health status, living area, and the type of medical encounter (first or repeated). In 2005, women aged 20-49 used the Internet as a source to a significantly greater extent than men, even when all background factors were controlled for (OR 1.46 and CI 1.21-1.77).

Conclusions: Swedish patients, especially the young and middle-aged, are to a substantial degree using the Internet to gather additional information on their disease. The benefits of this increase include more informed patients; however, there are inherent quality issues that require strategies for ensuring public access to high-quality health information online.