Highlights

• In the countries surveyed, 30.6% of the adult population have used the Internet to search for health information (Chart 1); this has risen from just 19.1% in 2002 (Chart 2)
• Amongst those who do not currently use the Internet for this purpose there are substantial levels of interest in the possibility of doing so; more then three-quarters (78.6%) of Internet users are interested and more than half (53.9%) of non Internet users (Chart 7)
• In the countries surveyed, the Internet is already the most important method of looking for health information for 17.2% of the adult population overall, and for 28.2% of people who ever search for health information from any source; in some countries (Denmark, Ireland and the UK) its importance is much higher (Chart 8; Chart 9)
• Most people who use the Internet to get health information have little difficulty in finding what they want, but more than one-in-four (28.9%) have experienced some barriers to usage (Chart 13); the main user problems have been difficulties to find an appropriate site (14.8%) and usability of the site once found (16.3%); language has been a barrier for 7.8% (Chart 14)
• The majority of eHealth users (70.2%) typically rely on standard search engines to find health information, and only 1-in-10 go directly to a known health site; this suggests a lack of availability and / or awareness of suitable eHealth portals (Chart 15)
• eHealth users reported that they attach considerable importance to various quality features of eHealth resources they visit; about one-in-eight eHealth users have come across health-related information or advice that they considered to be wrong (Chart 16)
• One in fourteen (7.3%) of the population in the countries surveyed have used the Internet in preparation for a visit to a doctor (this rises to almost one-in-seven in Denmark, Ireland and the UK); one-in-seven (14.4%) of the population have used the Internet to get more information as a follow-up after a visit to a doctor (this rises to 30.5% in Ireland (Chart 19)
• Most (92.5%) of those who have used the Internet as a source of health information say that it has made them more informed about health matters; overall, 28% of the population say that they have become more informed about health matters through the Internet. (Chart 20)
• Up to one-in-five of users say that the information they have found on the Internet has informed their decision-making about health matters or encouraged them to change health behaviours. (Chart 21)
• Telephone-based health information services are also used, but by fewer than one-in-ten (9.1%) of the population in the countries surveyed; telephone-based services are especially important in the UK, being used nearly as much as online services (Chart 23)
• In contrast, telephone consultation with one’s doctor is much more common than e-mail consultation; more than one-quarter (28.4%) of the population have had a telephone consultation but only 1.4% have consulted by e-mail (Chart 24)
• The arrival of the Internet as a central feature in the health practices of those who have access to the Internet raises risks of new health divides - at present those gaining the benefits are mainly better educated and generally more advantaged; however, the results of the survey suggest that once people do have access to it, the Internet can become something of an ‘equaliser’ (Chart 25; Chart 26: Chart 27)