The relationship between self‐reported health status and the increasing likelihood of South Australians seeking Internet health information
Open accessAbstract
Objective To determine the proportion of South Australians seeking health information on the Internet and the relationship between searches for health information and self-reported health status.Methods Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 3,034 South Australians in 2008 using a clustered, multi-stage, self-weighting area sample.Results Compared to 2001, rates of Internet usage were 48% higher and Internet health seeking increased by 57%. All participant categories, except those in school or younger than 25, showed an increase in use of the Internet and online health information seeking. In multiple logistic regression, poorer self-reported physical and mental health were associated with greater likelihood of Internet health information searches but also less use of the Internet.Conclusions South Australians' use of the Internet as a source of health information has risen between 2001 and 2008, even among groups that historically made little use of the Internet to search for health information. In Australia, health information on the Internet may be appropriately targeted towards groups who have previously been under-serviced in this medium.
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- Authors
- Reinfeld‐Kirkman, N., Kalucy, E., & Roeger, L.
- Affiliations
- Flinders University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Reinfeld‐Kirkman, Nova
- ORCID
- Roeger, Leigh
- Venue
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2010-08
- Volume
- 34
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 422-426
- ISSN
- 1326-0200 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2005416880
- Semantic Scholar
- e7357be3522377cdbf452109ad122a777226de0a
- Cited by
- 35
- References
- 13
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 6 · 2020: 1 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 5.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Flinders Academic Commons (Flinders University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- Primary Health Care Research, Evaluation and Development
- Australian Government
- Monash University
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Information Systems › Information Retrieval and Search Behavior
- Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
- Keywords
- online health information seeking, self-rated health, online health information, physical health, mental health, internet use, South Australia, health disparities
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Female, Health Status, Health Surveys, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Self Disclosure, Socioeconomic Factors, South Australia, Cluster Analysis, Logistic Models, Internet, Access to Information, Consumer Health Information, Young Adult, Information Seeking Behavior
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