Do an online search for “chronic cough in children” and about 3 million sites pop up ready to tell you about it. Try “fibromyalgia symptoms women” and you get 2.6 million choices.
So is it any wonder one in three people turn to the Internet for information about medical conditions as these online sources, from universities to dedicated medical websites, blossom?
Heading online to dig up medical information has even developed the name in news stories and other articles of “Dr. Google”, which is appropriate since that’s where a lot of people start their quest for self-diagnosis, according to a survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
The survey revealed 72% of adults in the country who use the internet have looked for health information online. Of those, 59% turned to a more focused online search about what specific condition they or someone else may have.
That translates into 35% of all adults in the country turning to the internet to at least start diagnosing an ailment, though half of the time they are searching on behalf of another person such as a child’s parents who are more likely to be looking for someone else than are non-parents.
The study came from the Pew Internet & American Life Project that explores the Internet’s impact on aspects of daily life including families, health care and education. The project’s first health survey was done in 2000. It is part of seven projects from the non-partisan and non-profit Pew Research Center, a subsidiary of Pew Charitable Trusts.
Online sources weren’t the last stop for people, though. Whatever information about half the people found sent them to a doctor, the survey found, though only 41% of the time did doctors confirm the self-diagnosis.
The situation changes when it comes to serious medical issues.
The study found for serious problems 70% of those who started searching online ultimately got care, information or support from a doctor or other health professional with the second most-turned-to source, friends and family, at 60%.
At 68% compared to 53%, women were more likely than men to turn to friends and family and were more likely in general to search online for a diagnosis.
For most, 77%, the hunt started by typing into a search engine, a trend that has remained steady since the Pew Research Center did its first health survey in 2000. Those over 50 were less likely at 73% than those 18-29 at 82% to begin with a general search engine.
Another 13% started at a site that specialized in medical information, such as WebMD, while 1% began at a social network site like Facebook.
For slightly more than one in four searchers, the hunt bumped against a pay wall or site that wanted money for the information. For 13% of those hitting the wall, the prospect of paying ended the search entirely.
But 83% of those who hit the wall tried to find a way around it to discover another free source. Two percent paid up.
The study also found age makes some difference in accessing health information with those 18-49 more likely to go online and to use the Internet for health information than older age groups.
The younger users are also more likely to use cell phones to search online for health information.
The study concluded that people were adding to resources the Internet offers to the searches for health information they have always performed, the study said. People have always tried to learn about health issues themselves and used the information to decide whether a doctor’s attention was necessary.
The study did not make a value judgment about using the internet to diagnosis a medical condition and the Pew projects take no position on policy issues related to the internet. Other internet topics studied through the project include viruses, cloud computing, blogging, online banking, video games and social networking sites.
The study included 3,014 adults in the United States interviewed by telephone between Aug. 7 and Sept. 6, 2012 by Princeton Survey Research Associates International.