In collaboration with:

First Doctoralia Report on

Health and the Internet 2015

  2

   

Index

1. Introduction ................................................................................. 3

2. New patient profiles .................................................................... 5

3. New information and communication flow .................................. 8

4. Further information .................................................................... 14

5. New trends ............................................................................... 20

6. Users create content ................................................................. 23  

7. Barriers and impact ................................................................... 26    

  3

1. Introduction

The object of this report is to analyze the current state of access and use of information

and communication technology among Internet users in the field of health on a global

level. To achieve this goal we created an online survey that was distributed between

October 2014 and January 2015 through the Doctoralia website in eight countries:

Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Spain, France, Italy and Mexico. The following table

describes the characteristics of the final sample collected (N = 3621).

Table 1: Sample % Gender Female 67% Male 34% Age 18-30 12% 31-40 18% 41-50 23% 51-60 24% Over 60 22% Education level Low 5% Medium 28% High 67% Health Poor 6% Moderate 25% Good 39% Very good 25% Excellent 6% Chronic illness No 45% Yes 55% Doctor visits in the past 12 months None 16% Between 1 and 2 19% Between 3 and 4 21%

  4

More than 4 44%

N=3621

It is important to note that in order to carry out the statistical analysis of the whole sample

different weight was assigned to each country according to their population. The following

table shows the number of responses in each country:

Table 2: Sample by country Countries Argentina 699 – 19% Brazil 646 – 18% Chile 265 – 7% Colombia 229 – 6% Spain 412 – 11% France 353 – 10% Italy 232 – 6% Mexico 785 – 22%

N=3621

  5

2. New patient profiles The use of information and communication technology for health-related issues is a reality

for the vast majority of Internet users: 90% report having used this technology to search

for content or services related to their health. If Internet usage is a consolidated reality, the

results of this study also show the emergence of the use of smartphones (35%) and other

"wearable" devices (14%).

Figure 1: Distribution of information and communication technology

N=3621

The combination of use of these three technologies allows the identification of three

distinct profiles. A first group related to those Internet users who only use the Internet. This

group is traditionally known as ePatients and includes 60% of the surveyed population.

The second profile includes those individuals who, in addition to Internet, also have some

type of application in their smartphone and / or tablet to help them manage, measure or to

track issues related to health, lifestyle and well-being. We have called this group

mPatients and they make up 26% of the surveyed population.

14%

35%

90%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Wearable

Mobile

Internet

  6

Finally, the third group of users consists of individuals who, as well as the technologies mentioned

above, have also used some kind of smart device (bracelets, watches, etc ...) to help them

manage, measure or monitor issues relating to health , lifestyle, well-being (physical exercise, diet,

etc...). We have called this group of users wPatients, where "w" refers to the term "wearable".

Figure 2: Type of Internet users related to health

N=3621

These three profiles have different socio-demographic characteristics. Firstly, women

(28%) stand out slightly over men (22%) in the use of mobile phones, while the percentage

of men is higher (18%) than women (12%) in the case of use of "wearables." Secondly, the

percentage of ePatients increases as age increases, while in the case of wPatients and

mPatients percentages are higher among young and middle-aged people. Thirdly,

differences in education are only noticeable in the case of wPatients. There are no

remarkable differences in other profiles. Fourthly, as expected, given the age ranges,

there is a higher than expected percentage of people with poor health among ePatients

than in the other two profiles. This also means that ePatients make more visits to the

doctor than mPatients and wPatients.

Table 3: Socio-demographic profiles

14%

26%

60%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

w-Patient

m-Patient

e-Patient

ePatient mPatient wPatient Gender Female 59% 28% 12% Male 60% 22% 18% Age 18-30 55% 35% 11% 31-40 56% 29% 16%

  7

N=3621

If we look at the distribution of different profiles in each country, no great differences are

observed. The profile of Internet users is similar in all countries. However, Chile stands out

for a greater presence of ePatients than other countries, while Italy is notable for a greater

presence of wPatients.

Table 4: Profiles by country

ePatient mPatient wPatient Argentina 63% 25% 12% Brazil 59% 28% 13% Chile 72% 18% 10% Colombia 64% 24% 12% Spain 62% 24% 14% France 53% 27% 21% Italy 51% 31% 18% Mexico 62% 25% 13%

N=3621

41-50 59% 25% 16% 51-60 60% 26% 15% Over 60 66% 22% 12% Education level Low 59% 27% 14% Medium 63% 26% 12% High 58% 27% 15% Health Poor 65% 21% 15% Moderate 62% 26% 12% Good 61% 25% 14% Very good 55% 30% 15% Excellent 53% 27% 20% Doctor visits in the past 12 months None 60% 27% 13% Between 1 and 2 55% 29% 17% Between 3 and 4 63% 25% 12% More than 4 59% 26% 15%

  8

3. New information and communication flow The emergence of new patient profiles is not only related to the use of technology but also

to the transformation of information and communication flow between patients, healthcare

professionals and health organizations. Some 71% of those surveyed said they had talked

to their doctor about the subjects found on the Internet.

If we look at the socio-demographic characteristics of these individuals we can see that

women (73%) are more likely to share information found on the Internet about health than

men (68%).

By age, the group of younger individuals (77%) stands out for having more fluid

conversations on the Internet than people over 60 (71%). However, it is noteworthy that

more than two thirds of Internet users aged over 60 are now talking about the Internet in

the doctor’s surgery. No doubt this phenomenon will soon reach most Internet users.

The education level plays a key role in the aspects of doctor-patient communication.

Those with a higher level of education tend to talk things over more with their doctor (75%)

than those with a lower level of education (55%).

The results concerning the state of health do not allow for clear conclusions, although

what is clear is that those individuals who report having a chronic illness tend to talk more

about the internet with their doctors (74%) than those who do not have this type of health

problem (67%). As expected, a higher number of visits to the doctor is associated with

increased dialogue about the information found on the internet.

Table 5: Health professional – patient communication No yes Gender Female 27% 73%

  9

Male 32% 68% Age 18-30 33% 77% 31-40 29% 71% 41-50 26% 74% 51-60 29% 71% Over 60 29% 71% Education level Low 44% 55% Medium 35% 65% High 25% 75% Health Poor 35% 66% Moderate 30% 70% Good 29% 71% Very good 26% 74% Excellent 37% 63% Chronic illness No 33% 67% Yes 26% 74% Doctor visits in the past 12 months None 41% 59% Between 1 and 2 33% 67% Between 3 and 4 31% 69% More than 4 22% 78%

N=3615

The breakdown by country shows that Italy is the leader in this practice, where 81% of the

individuals surveyed reported having shared information found on the Internet with their

doctor. By contrast, countries where the practice is less widespread are Brazil (68%) and

France (64%).

Table 6: Health professional –patient communication by country

No Yes Argentina 28% 72% Brazil 32% 68% Chile 34% 66% Colombia 27% 73% Spain 30% 70% France 35% 65% Italy 19% 81% Mexico 27% 73%

N=3615

  10

In addition, internet use is not only limited to individual use, but users become "nodes" of

information for other users. Some 44% of the individuals surveyed used the Internet to

search for health information for themselves, 21% for someone else, and 34% for

themselves and someone else. Therefore, the Internet is present in both patient-to-patient

conversations as well as talks between patients and their doctors.

Figure 3: Finding health information on the Internet

N=3600

The socio-demographic characterization shows that men tend to seek information for

themselves (49%) to a greater extent than women (41%), while women (37%) tend to seek

information for themselves and others at higher rates than men (30%). Without doubt,

women are also the main nodes of information in the internet field. We saw that people

aged between 31 and 40 years and those between 51 and 60 years are the most active in

seeking information from third parties. This shows that during this period of their lives

these individuals become health nodes in the household for both children and older

dependents. In this sense, segmentation by level of education reveals that it is those with

higher education who are leading this type of activity, when compared to individuals with

low / medium education. Finally, state of health, suffering from a chronic illness and trips to

see the doctor are related to a higher percentage of searching for oneself. As we saw

earlier, these people are the most likely to be sharing these searches with healthcare

professionals. However, those with a better state of health, are searching for information

for others in greater proportions than was expected.

21%

34%

44%

For oneself

Both

For someone else

  11

Table 7: Searching for health information on the Internet

N=3602

Undoubtedly, these different profiles pose a challenge when it comes to defining who is

the target of health information because it can be both the person with a health problem

and those who, without being in the situation themselves, play the role of information

gatherer. Therefore, the contents should take into account both the end user and possible

intermediaries, who in some cases could be their caregivers. In this sense, there is no

difference between ePatients, mPatients or wPatients, since the need for information and

communication to health care professionals is not dependent on variables related to

access and use of technology among internet users.

For oneself For someone else Both Gender Female 41% 22% 37% Male 49% 21% 30% Age 18-30 48% 19% 33% 31-40 43% 21% 36% 41-50 40% 26% 34% 51-60 42% 22% 36% Over 60 50% 17% 33% Education level Low 50% 20% 30% Medium 47% 22% 31% High 43% 21% 36% Health Poor 64% 8% 28% Moderate 51% 15% 34% Good 42% 21% 37% Very good 37% 28% 35% Excellent 38% 34% 28% Chronic illness No 38% 30% 32% Yes 49% 15% 36% Doctor visits in the past 12 months

None 34% 32% 34% Between 1 and 2 33% 31% 36% Between 3 and 4 47% 19% 36% More than 4 52% 15% 33%

  12

This trend is also observed if we analyze the different sources of information and means

used by users to a health problem that affects their well-being. Most individuals surveyed

(68%) use their doctor first or other health professional in person either offline- (45%),

exclusively online (5%) or using both (18%). The second most consulted source are family

and / or friends (54%) either offline - in person (29%), exclusively online (6%) or using both

(20%). Finally, 45% of respondents also turn to other people with the same health problem

only in person (21%), exclusively online (7%) or using both means (17%).

The data show that the combination of different sources and media is a reality. A meeting

in person with a health care professional is the preferred choice for almost half of

respondents (45%). If in addition to the in-person only option we add the combination of

this and the use of online media the percentage rises to 63%. In this sense, the use of

Internet either exclusively or in combination with meetings in person remains almost

constant regardless of whether the source is a health professional (23%); family member

and / or friend (26%) or another person with the same health problem (24%).

Figure 4: Sources and media

N=3561

All these data show us the social approach that individuals make to the sources of

information as well as to the different means- offline and online. In this regard, there are no

5%

6% 7%

18%

20% 17%

32% 46%

55%

A doctor or healthcare

professional

Family members and/or friends

Someone else with the same health problem

I haven't used any of these means/sources

Both online and offline

Online online, email, video conference call, Skype…

Only offline, visit in person or via phone call

  13

significant differences between the identified patient profiles. The different technologies

available (Internet, mobile and "wearables") are socialized, either in person (offline),

virtually (online) or in both spaces, through different streams of information and

communication between the different actors (individuals, families, friends, health

professionals).

  14

4. Beyond information

Undoubtedly finding information on the Internet relating to health is the main activity

carried out by respondents. Most individuals who responded to the survey reported having

searched online about a specific disease or health problem (96%) about drugs (92%),

about doctors or other health professionals (91%) about a treatment or surgical procedure

(89%) about hospitals or other medical institutions including private- practices (80%) and

about health insurance (54%). In addition to these issues related to health problems, the

majority of Internet users surveyed (90%) also looked at issues related to lifestyle or

wellbeing (diet, physical activity, beauty, etc.).

Figure 5: Internet searches – Health topics

These data demonstrate that health information is already a "commodity" on the internet,

something users already assume they will find. However, there are significant differences

between the profiles identified and consultation topics, especially in the consultations

related to health insurance, hospitals and other medical institutions or private

consultations, treatments and doctors.

54%

80%

89%

90%

91%

92%

96%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Health insurance

A treatment or medical procedure

Lifestyle/Wellbeing (diets…)

Doctors or other healthcare professionals

Medicines

An illness or health problem

  15

Figure 6: Topics consulted in Internet health searches and patient profiles

In addition to finding information, there are other activities related to health and well-being

that can be performed online. The following table shows the percentage of respondents

who during the past 12 months have used the internet beyond the search for health

information. The activities that most respondents carried out were related to looking at

other people's comments about their health experiences (84%) and reading opinions about

medicines or treatments (80%). In second place is reading opinions and reviews about

doctors or medical visits (62%) followed by finding people with the same health problem

(61%) and reviews of hospitals or other institutions (59%). Finally, less than 35% of

respondents make inquiries through videoconference or Skype, access their medical

records online; they buy drugs or share their experience about any medication, hospital or

other medical facility.

3,36 3,57 3,55

2,99 3,35 3,49

3,18 3,44 3,41

2,99 3,21 3,38

2,91 3,15 3,15

2,59 2,86 2,95 1,83

2,14 2,28

ePatient mPatient wPatient

Health insurance

Hospitals or other types of medical centres, including private consultancies A treatment or medical procedure

Doctors or other healthcare professionals

Medicines

Lifestyle/Wellbeing (diets, exercise, beauty, etc…)

An illness or a specific health problem

  16

Figure 7: Activities related to health and wellbeing

The following table shows the percentage of individuals who perform these activities in

each country:

Table 8: Uses of the Internet by country

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Colom

bia

Spain

France

Italy

Mexico

Subscribe to a website to receive emails or messages related to health or specific illnesses 44% 52% 47% 39% 51% 33% 72% 48%

Send or receive emails from a doctor, nurse or health center 32% 37% 30% 42% 40% 31% 44% 38% Download or fill out online forms related to health services, including private health insurance 32% 35% 30% 27% 31% 46% 45% 37%

Make, cancel or change an appointment with a doctor or other healthcare professional online 29% 32% 26% 27% 30% 67% 44% 34%

9%

23%

31%

31%

31%

35%

36%

38%

38%

46%

49%

59%

61%

62%

80%

84%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Have an appointment via video conference or Skype

Access or upload one’s health information to an online clinical history

Buy medicines or vitamins

Comment on or share experience online about some medicine or treatment

Comment on or rate a hospital or other health centre

Download/fill out online forms, including private health insurance

Comment on or rate a doctor or other healthcare professional

Send or receive emails from a doctor, nurse or health centre

Make/cancel/change a doctor’s appointment online

Receive medical test results online

Subscribe to a health website

Search online for opinions, reviews and ratings of hospitals or other medical centres

Look for people with the same health problem or the same worries

Search online for opinions, reviews and ratings of doctors and appointments

Search online for opinions and reviews of medicines or treatments

Read or view comments from other people about their health experiences

  17

Have an appointment with a doctor or nurse via video conference call or Skye 7% 9% 9% 12% 7% 4% 22% 8%

Receive medical test results or diagnoses online 37% 41% 55% 59% 42% 46% 49% 43%

Access or upload one’s health information (or that of a family member) to an online clinical history 26% 20% 18% 22% 21% 21% 38% 22%

Buy medicines or vitamins 36% 30% 47% 40% 28% 22% 40% 31%

Search on the internet for opinions, reviews or ratings of doctors or appointments 55% 58% 64% 65% 62% 71% 73% 61%

Search on the internet for opinions, reviews or ratings of hospitals or other health centers 53% 53% 63% 70% 62% 66% 66% 59%

Search on the internet for opinions or reviews of medicines and treatments 75% 81% 79% 79% 80% 76% 89% 74%

Make a comment or rate a doctor or other healthcare professional 36% 32% 40% 43% 35% 36% 46% 36%

Make a comment or rate a hospital or other health center 30% 26% 40% 40% 29% 27% 41% 32%

Make a comment or share an experience about a medicine or treatment 34% 24% 33% 32% 28% 19% 53% 34%

Read or view comments from others about their health experiences 74% 85% 82% 82% 84% 86% 93% 81%

Search for people with the same health problem or the same worries 60% 55% 72% 63% 58% 63% 79% 60%

All these activities can be grouped into four main factors that can be interpreted as the

dimensions that drive the use of the internet in health beyond searching for information.

These dimensions group related activities: Experience, Participation, Services and Visits.

Figure 8: Dimensions of Internet use in Health.

 

   

0

1

2

3

4

5

Read or view comments from other people about

Look for people with the same health problem or

Search online for opinions and reviews of

Search online for opinions, reviews and

Comment on or rate a hospital or other health

Search online for opinions, reviews and

Comment on or rate a doctor or other

Comment on or share experience online about

Access or upload one’s health information to an

Have an appointment via video conference or

Subscribe to a health website

Download/fill out online forms, including private

Buy medicines or vitamins

Send or receive emails from a doctor, nurse or

Receive medical test results online

Make/cancel/change a doctor’s appointment

Experience Participation Services Visits

  18

In first place, would be activities related to the experience of other users. Internet users

not only seek health information, nor information related only to the "expert" knowledge of

professionals, but they also seek knowledge from the experiences of other users with

problems relating to health, medications or treatments and healthcare professionals.

Secondly we can highlight activities related to participation. Users not only seek the

experience of others, but they themselves share theirs through comments or ratings of

hospitals, healthcare professionals, medications and treatments.

Thirdly, we have identified a dimension related to the services that users use via the

Internet. This dimension encompasses the activities related to access to medical records

online, consultations via video conferencing; subscriptions to receive alerts or use of

online forms.

Finally, the fourth dimension is related to the management of the medical visit that

combines activities related to communication via email with health care professionals;

receiving medical test results online and the online management of medical visits.

If we approach these dimensions understanding them as drivers driving Internet usage

beyond simply the search for health information, we see that users characterized by the

use of internet, mobile and "wearables" (wPatient) are noticeable in all aspects, especially

in that related to services and managing visits. The second most prominent group is the

mPatients. This group stands out as having the same level of use in all four dimensions.

Finally ePatients or "traditional" patients have a lower level of use of the four dimensions

compared to other profiles. In this case the type of technology used by the users

themselves does determine the type of activities they perform. The greater the number of

devices used the greater the range of activities.

  19

Figure 9: Dimensions of Internet use in health and patient profiles

1

2

3

4

5

Experience Participation Services Visits

ePatient mPatient wPatient

  20

5. New trends Mobile telephones have burst into the field of health. As we saw earlier 35% of those

surveyed reported having used their smartphone for questions related to health issues.

The main applications used are related to health information online (86%), exercise (77%),

diet (66%) and medication management (66%). About half of the users of mobile apps

have also used apps related to sleep management (56%), Doctoralia online appointment

(56%), mood monitoring (55%) and blood pressure (51 %). Finally, less than half have

used apps related to diabetes (44%), the menstrual cycle (35%) and pregnancy / maternity

(32%) applications.

 Figure 10: mHealth activities

N=1253

The following table shows the percentage of users by country performing each type of

activity related to mHealth:

32%

35%

44%

51%

53%

55%

56%

56%

66%

66%

77%

86%

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Pregnancy/maternity

Menstrual cycle

Diabetes/glucose

Online appointments with healthcare

Blood pressure

Mood

Doctoralia online appointment app

Sleep

Drug management (monitoring…)

Diets, calorie counter

Exercise

Online health information

  21

Table 9: mHealth activities by country

Argentina

Brazil

Chile

Colom

bia

Spain

France

Italy

Mexico

Exercise, fitness, heart rate…including activities such as running, weight training, yoga, etc… 65% 59% 59% 75% 64% 56% 72% 69%

Diets, calorie counter 49% 45% 56% 55% 55% 35% 53% 59% Menstrual cycle 23% 19% 23% 31% 20% 19% 28% 29% Blood pressure 45% 43% 43% 48% 48% 24% 56% 44% Doctoralia online appointment app 42% 43% 42% 45% 44% 65% 57% 48% Online health information 79% 76% 81% 81% 76% 71% 83% 83% Pregnancy / Maternity 22% 19% 15% 19% 19% 18% 29% 28% Diabetes / glucose 29% 33% 35% 47% 37% 15% 41% 33% Drug management (monitoring, alerts, etc.) 58% 64% 57% 58% 58% 37% 77% 63% Mood 44% 45% 47% 53% 46% 24% 59% 47% Sleep 43% 44% 47% 40% 46% 27% 53% 51% Online appointments with healthcare professionals 34% 33% 29% 39% 35% 69% 45% 47% Other 59% 52% 56% 57% 50% 37% 67% 57%

N=1253 As with internet activities, the activities of mHealth can be grouped into three dimensions.

On the one hand, the activities related to monitoring or "Tracking" constants related to

health or well-being. Furthermore, those activities related to the management of "Health"

and finally activities related to the "Well-being". In this case, most of the traditional

ePatients are not using these applications. It is only mPatients and wPacients alike who

are using their mobile actively in all dimensions identified.

  22

Figure 11: Dimensions of mHealth

 

0

1

2

3

4

5 Mood

Blood pressure

Sleep

Diabetes/Glucose

Drug management Exercise

Diets/calorie counter

Online appointments with healthcare professionals

Doctoralia appoinnent app

Tracking Wellbeing Health

  23

6. Users as content creators

The field of health has not been isolated from the web 2.0 phenomenon. 26% of Internet

users surveyed said in the past 12 months they had asked questions or shared their state

of health (experience) through Internet forums, social networks, Twitter...

The socio-demographic analysis shows that women (27%) tend to be more active than

men (22%) at generating content on the Internet. By age, as expected, younger users are

the most active participants at sharing their opinions and experiences on the internet. The

analysis of education levels shows us that people with low and medium levels of education

participate more than those with a higher level of education. Despite the relationship

between age and participation in Web 2.0, it is the people with poor health (43%) who are

most likely to share their experiences or to ask questions via the Internet. This trend is

reinforced because those users who have a chronic health problem are also shown to be

more active than those who do not declare this type of health problem. The same trend is

observed with the user visits to the doctor. Undoubtedly, these data are a clear sign of the

type of patient who is facing the health systems today.

Table 10: Users as content creators

No Yes Gender Female 72% 27% Male 78% 22% Age 18-30 71% 29% 31-40 73% 27% 41-50 73% 27% 51-60 75% 25% Over 60 77% 23% Education level Low 67% 33% Medium 70% 30% High 76% 24% Health Poor 57% 43%

  24

Moderate 71% 29% Good 75% 25% Very good 80% 20% Excellent 74% 26% Chronic illness No 79% 21% Yes 70% 30% Doctor visits in the past 12 months

None 80% 20% Between 1 and 2 79% 21% Between 3 and 4 78% 22% More than 4 69% 31%

N=3619

We have also checked whether there are significant differences between the countries

surveyed. In this case, Mexico and Spain are the countries with the highest percentage of

users generating content, while France stands out as the country with a smaller number of

users than expected.

Table 11: Health professional – patient communication by country No Yes Argentina 75% 25% Chile 76% 24% Colombia 77% 23% Spain 72% 28% France 85% 15% Mexico 61% 39%

N=3615

Finally we have found that there is a positive and significant relationship between access

and use of different technologies and the generation of content by internet users. In this

respect, those who use the internet, equally via their mobile and "wearables" (wPatients)

are the most active at generating content (33%), while those who only use the internet

(ePatient) are less active (22%). Therefore diversity of access through different

technologies facilitates participation. In this sense, both the mobile and especially the

"wearables" could be the first step for the arrival of the "Internet of Things" in the field of

health.

  25

Figure 12: Profiles of content generating users

22% 30% 33%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

ePatient mPatient wPatient

  26

7. Barriers and impact Most users surveyed, despite being Internet, users also face numerous inhibitors or

brakes. More than 70% of respondents stated issues related to security, privacy and trust

as important. The second group of barriers is related to health training of individuals, the

specific use of Internet related to health and motivation or interest in the subject. In this

case more than half of the individuals, 55%, 54% and 50% respectively, consider these

barriers as very important. Finally only 36% of individuals consider barriers related to their

digital skills as important.

Figure 12: Major inhibitors

N=3621

Finally the individuals surveyed were asked about the benefits they receive from the use of

information and communication technology in relation to their health. The perception of

these benefits is very high among all individuals. Some 90% of respondents state that by

using the Internet they have learned something new. 77% pointed out that they find

questions to ask healthcare professionals on the Internet. In addition, 73% say that using

the Internet facilitates decision-making that can be beneficial to their health. In this regard,

53% agree or strongly agree that the Internet gives them the confidence to share their

health concerns with others.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Digital skills Motivation/Interest

Knowledge of the Internet for health use Health training

Trust Privacy

Security

Very important Important up to a certaint point

Up to a certaint point not important Not important at all

  27

Figure 13: Main benefits

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I’ve learnt something new using the internet

I feel I have a lot in common with other people who use the internet for issues…

Using the internet allows me to make decisions which can be beneficial to my health

On the internet I find questions which I can ask my doctor or nurse

The internet gives me the confidence to share my health concerns with others…

Totally disagree Disagree Agree Totally agree

  28

www.doctoralia.com