Online Health Information Poised to Become Important Resource For Seniors, But Not There Yet

Online Health Information Poised to Become Important Resource For Seniors, But Not There Yet

Digital Divide Puts Many Seniors At Disadvantage

WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- As the Internet becomes an increasingly important resource for informing decisions about health and health care options, a new national survey of older Americans by the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that less than a third (31%) of seniors (age 65 and older) have ever gone online, but that more than two-thirds (70%) of the next generation of seniors (50-64 year-olds) have done so.

The differences among seniors and 50-64 year-olds are striking and indicate that online resources for health information may soon play a much larger role among older Americans. Twenty-one percent of seniors have gone online to look for health information compared to 53% of 50-64 year-olds; 8% of seniors get "a lot" of health information online compared to 24% of 50-64 year-olds; the Internet is 5th on a list of media sources of health information for seniors compared to first among 50-64 year-olds; and 26% of seniors trust the Internet "a lot" or "some" to provide accurate health information, compared to 58% of 50-64 year-olds.

The survey also finds that a significant digital divide could leave those most in need with less information on which to base important health care decisions. Seniors whose annual household income is under $20,000 a year are much less likely to have gone online (15%) than those with incomes between $20,000-49,000 (40%) or those with incomes of $50,000 a year or more (65%). Most seniors (64%) on Medicare fall into that lowest income category of under $20,000 a year, while just 8% have an income of $50,000 or more. Furthermore, seniors with only a high school degree or less are much less likely to have gone online than those with some college or a college degree (18% v. 45% v. 60%).

"We know that the Internet can be a great health tool for seniors, but the majority are lower-income, less well educated and not online," said Drew Altman, President and CEO, Kaiser Family Foundation. "It's time for a national discussion on how to get seniors online."

With the passage of Medicare reform that allows recipients to choose prescription drug discount cards, the federal Web site Medicare.gov has become an important resource for comparing the benefits of competing cards. The survey, conducted in March-April 2004, found that 2% of all seniors had gone online to Medicare.gov (further tracking surveys by the Foundation indicate that number has remained relatively stable, at 4% in June, 8% in October, and 3% in December 2004).

The survey -- e-health and the Elderly: How Seniors Use the Internet for Health -- is being released at a briefing today in Washington, D.C. that includes representatives of AOL, the National Institute on Aging, the AARP, and SeniorNet, an organization that helps train older Americans in computer skills.

Additional Findings:

Most Popular Health Topics Researched Online
-- Prescription drugs top the list of health care topics researched, with
more than a third (37%) of online seniors (13% of all seniors) saying
they've looked online for drug information, including 16% (5% of all
seniors) who say they have used the Internet to compare prices for
prescription drugs, and 15% (5% of all seniors) who say they have
actually purchased prescription drugs online. Other popular health-
related searches include nutrition, exercise or weight issues (30% of
online seniors; 9% of all); cancer (23% of online, 7% of all); and
heart disease and arthritis (21% each of online and 6% of all).
-- 16% of online seniors say they have used the Internet to follow news
coverage of health policy issues (5% of all seniors), while 14% say
they have looked for information about health providers online (4% of
all).

Influence of Online Information on Health Behaviors
-- Among those seniors who have gone online for health information, a
third (34%; 7% of all seniors) say they have talked with a doctor or
other provider about information they found online; 23% (5% of all
seniors) say they changed their own behavior because of information
they found online; and 23% say they made a decision about how to treat
an illness or condition.
-- 19% of those who have looked for health information online say they
check the source "always" or "most of the time," while 58% say they
"never" or "hardly ever" do this.

Online Contact From Doctors and Drug Companies
-- Just 3% of 50-64 year-olds and 1% of seniors say a doctor has ever
recommended a particular health or medical Web site to them.
-- Among those seniors who have ever used e-mail, 7% have communicated
with a doctor or other provider via e-mail, while more than half (54%)
have received e-mails from pharmaceutical companies and others
advertising drugs, supplements, or other medical products.

Seniors Keeping in Touch
-- Among those seniors who go online, about a third say they consider e-
mail (34%) and the Internet (33%) "an important part of your life that
they wouldn't want to do without."
-- About half (56%) of seniors who use e-mail say it makes it "a lot"
easier for them to stay in touch with family and friends.

Methodology



e-Health and the Elderly is a nationally representative, random digit dial telephone survey of 1,450 adults age 50 and older, including 583 respondents age 65 and older. The survey was designed and analyzed by staff at the Kaiser Family Foundation in consultation with Princeton Survey Research Associates (PSRA), with fieldwork conducted by PSRA. The interviews were conducted from March 5 - April 18, 2004.

The margin of sampling error for the complete set of weighted data is +/- 3%, and for those aged 65 and older it is +/- 4%. For results based on smaller subsets of respondents the margin of error is higher. Note that sampling error is only of many potential sources of error in this or any other public opinion poll.

A webcast of this event will be provided by kaisernetwork.org, a free service of the Kaiser Family Foundation. The webcast, transcript, and related resources will be available after 5 p.m. ET, Wednesday, January 12 at http://www.kaisernetwork.org/healthcast/kff/12jan05 .

Copies of the report (#7223) are available on the Kaiser Family Foundation's Web site at www.kff.org.

The Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health care issues to policymakers, the media, the health care community, and the general public. The Foundation is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries.


Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

CONTACT: Rob Graham or Sarah Williams Kingsley, +1-650-854-9400 or
+1-202-347-5270 on the day of the release, both for Kaiser Family Foundation

Web site: http://www.kff.org/


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