March 24, 2005

A new survey conducted by Burst Media found that approximately 66 percent of Internet users have searched for health information using the Web. In viewing some of the results of the study, women were more likely to search for health information using the Internet.

In fact, 73.9 percent of females were online health searchers, versus only 62.1 percent for men. This gender gap was consistent through all age groups, and females generally exhibited a high likelihood of using the Net to find health information.

Just over 50% of female respondents in the 18 and over group used the Net to search for health topics, and among female Internet users between the ages of 25 and 64 over 80% had searched the Web for health information.

Older surfers were more likely to respond to online drug advertising. Roughly 20% of males and females of all age groups said they had clicked on an ad. But among those 65 and over, 32.3% of males and 25.2% of females said they had done so.

Other studies have found that seniors are leery about health information on the Net. A Kaiser Family Foundation survey in January 2005 found that adults over 65 are much less likely to trust online health information than those between 50 and 64 years old.

Almost 40% of the younger group said that they trust online health information "somewhat," compared to 18% of those ages 65 and over. Conversely, over 45% of the older group said that they do not trust online health information "at all," compared to 26% of the younger group.

Taken together, the studies suggest that older Web users may be willing to click on ads, but also skeptical about the information they uncover.

Source: eMarketer