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. 2012 Nov-Dec;58(6):650-8.
doi: 10.1590/s0104-42302012000600008.

Access to health information on the internet: a public health issue?

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Felipe Azevedo Moretti  1 , Vanessa Elias de Oliveira, Edina Mariko Koga da Silva
Affiliations
Free article

Access to health information on the internet: a public health issue?

[Article in English, Portuguese]
Felipe Azevedo Moretti et al. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2012 Nov-Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Objective: To progress in the understanding of the user profile and of search trends for health information on the internet.

Methods: Analyses were performed based on 1,828 individuals who completed an electronic questionnaire available on a very popular health website. At the same time, through the "elite survey" method, 20 specialists were interviewed, aiming at assessing quality control strategies regarding health information disseminated online.

Results: A predominance of female users who research information for themselves (= 90%), who consider the internet one of their main sources of health information (86%), and who spend from 5 to 35 hours online every week (62%) was verified. High reliability is assigned to information from specialists (76%), and low reliability to television, radio, or blogs (14%).

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the internet is proving to be a major source of health information for the population, and that website certification is a strategy to be contemplated to improve the quality of information and to promote public health.

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