Legal Research

Health Information and the Internet: A Canadian Study

By Agnese Caruso

Statistics Canada’s February 2008 Health Reports has a study “Getting a second opinion: Health information and the Internet” that explores Canadian adults’ use of the Internet to find health information. Using data from the 2005 Canadian Internet Use Survey, the study found:

• more than one-third of Canadian adults, over half of them women, used the Internet to find health information
• about 38% reported that they had discussed their findings with a doctor or other health care professional
• of the estimated 15 million Canadians who used the Internet from home in 2005, 58% went online at some point to find health information
• The type of health information sought by Canadian adults online include information on specific diseases, lifestyle information (diet, nutrition, exercise), specific symptoms, drugs or medications, and alternative therapies 

Full post as published by Slaw.ca on March 06, 2008 (boomark / email).