Transcript Part II: Researching the supply side of women’s health

Women’s Health Information
Online
Meghan McGreevey
Randi Weiss
LIS 391
Part I: Researching the demand
side of women’s health
information: How are women
using online information?
Differences in Health Seekers
• Women are more active health seekers and they
feel the benefits of online searches make them a
notable health resource (Women’s different online
lives – PEW).
61% of women with online access get health
information online; only 47% of men have used
the Internet for medical information (Women’s
favorite web activities – PEW).
Who is getting medial information online?
• 43% of new Internet users visit health-related
sites; 58% of those who have been online for over
a year seek health-related material (Women’s
favorite web activities – PEW).
• 83% of health seekers visited health-related sites
from their home computers as opposed to logging
on at work (Case-study: The last time each healthseeker went online – PEW).
What kind of health information are Internet
users looking for online?
• Health seekers rely on their search skills to use the
Internet as a library resource (What health seekers
want and how they hunt for it – PEW).
• 81% of health seekers find sites with an Internet
search (Case-study: The last time each health
seeker went online – PEW).
• 62% don’t know about sites before they visit them
(What health seekers want… – PEW).
• Health seekers rarely interact with doctors online.
What kind of health information are users
looking for online – Cont’d
• 62% of users don’t know about sites before they visit them
(For research, more than interaction with providers –
PEW).
• Most go to sites for research and reference purposes; few
use it to communicate with their caregivers or buy
medicine – less than 10% of Internet health users have
ordered pharmaceuticals online.
• 91% of health seekers are mostly interested in
investigating specific physical and mental ailments and
their searches often occur in conjunction with visits to the
doctor.
How is information used once it’s accessed?
• Only 5% use the Internet health information
instead of visiting a doctor (Case-study).
• Health seekers in search of specific health
information usually visit more than four sites on a
specific topic.
• 42% of health seekers bookmark health sites.
Why do people go online for medical
information instead of utilizing other
resources?
• 93% of health seekers cite convenience;
information is available 24 hours a day/7 days a
week.
• 80% cite anonymity.
• Health seekers feel there is more information
available online than from other sources.
Accuracy of Online Health
Information
• Most online health information is not monitored
for accuracy or quality (Verify the quality of
information)
• 82% of health seekers worry about getting false
information online
• Internet users with more information are more
likely to check the source of information
– Health seekers under 40 are more likely to believe
information found online
Health Seeker Summary
• 92% of health seekers feel the information they
find online is useful (Case-study)
• 70% say the information they found online
affected their decision about how to treat an illness
• 50% say the information lead them to ask their
doctor new questions or get a second opinion
• 28% say the information they found online
affected their decision to see a doctor
Health Seeker Summary – Cont’d
• Health seekers are more protective of their privacy
than the general Internet population (The absolute
value of anonymity)
• 16% of health seekers chose the Internet because it
provides anonymity
• Only 9% of health seekers participate in online
support groups in contrast to the 36% who have
visited a support group site
• Most health information is available without a
significant trade-off by giving up personal
information
Part II: Researching the supply
side of women’s health
information – the information
presented on Web sites
Similarities among the Web sites
• Provide health information and many
resources to women
• Promote and support female diversity
• Offer a political presence by recognizing the
need for women-specific health care and
research
• Become a tool for the media and the doctors
and nurses in the health care industry
Differences among the Web sites
OBGYN.net:
The Universe of
Women’s Health
(OBGYN)
www.obgyn.net
• Provides an extensive
forum with replies from
multiple doctors
• Helps educate the health
care industry by supplying
information for doctors,
nurses, and others in the
medical industry
Differences among the Web sites
Planned
Parenthood
Federation of
America
www.planned
parenthood.
org
• Provides a political presence by
supporting self-determination
(women’s right to choose)
• Focuses on specific areas of
women’s health, including
reproductive health
• Has a physical space – 900
health care facilities across the
U.S. to increase their credibility
Differences among the Web sites
National
Women’s Health
Resource Center
(NWHRC)
www.healthy
women.org
• Creates campaigns to educate
women and help them
embrace their gender and all
its medical conditions
• Openly admits to taking help
from corporations
• Publishes material from other
organizations who do not
have Web site resources
Differences among the Web sites
Canadian
Women’s Health
Network
(CWHN)
www.cwhn.ca/
indexeng.html
• Political focus by trying to
change “inequitable health
policies and practices” in
women’s health
• Created and lead only by
women from different
organizations across Canada
• Publishes material for
organizations who do not have
Web site resources
Differences among the Web sites
Society for
Women’s Health
Research
(the Society)
www.womenshealth.org
• Improves women’s health
through research, especially
research on how women are
affected differently by medical
conditions and surgeries
Differences among the Web sites
The National
Women’s
Information
Center (4woman)
www.4woman.gov
• U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services
sponsors this Web site,
which may make viewers
question if there is a bias
• Provides a tool-free number
for women to call with
questions at any time
Differences among the Web sites
National
Women’s Health
Network
(NWHN)
www.nwhn.org
• Offers a dominant political
tone because their mission is
prominently placed at the top
of the Web site and it states, “A
voice for women, a network for
change”
• Aims to “affect policy and
support consumer decision
making about women’s health”
Differences among the Web sites
Women’s Health
Matters
(WHM)
www.womens
healthmatters.ca
• Sunnybrook and Women’s
College Health Centre provide
this organization with a
physical space and added
credibility
• Supplies a guided forum,
called “Le Club,” which
provides a sense of community
for the users
Differences among the Web sites
Estronaut: A • People with an expertise in
research methodology and
Forum for
statistics maintain this Web site
Women’s Health
• The organization checks actual
(Estronaut)
data from published reports to
make sure they are correct
www.estronaut. • “We were the first to warn of
com
the dangers of Fen-Phen (1996),
the ineffectiveness of Fosamax
(1996), and the problems with
Tamoxifen (1998)”
Web site maintenance problems
• Need funding to continue doing research
and maintaining the information placed on
the Web site – might have to go to the
corporate realm
• Extensive forums are difficult to keep up
(Example: OBGYN’s problems with getting
doctor’s time, viruses attacking the forums,
and users inappropriately using the forums)
Comparison to general health
Web sites
• Similarities: both provide essential health
information to their viewers
• Differences because general health Web
sites do not:
– offer the interactive services, such as forums,
campaigns, and toll-free call centers
– support the political causes for an improvement
in health care and research