News > Using electronic media
Doctors and electronic health information
05 March 2010
News > Using electronic media
A survey published in the New England Journal of Medicine this week shows that despite the growing popularity of the Internet, American's put more trust in the health expertise of their doctors.
In 2001, The national Cancer Institute launched the Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS) to provide an evidence base for practice and policy decisions. Sponsored by the National Cancer Institute, the HINTS program provides data every 2 years from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults 18 years of age or older. The researchers analysed data from 16,000 people over a period of 7 years to gain a better understanding of the public's trust in and use of sources of health information, especially information from doctors, the Internet, and other sources, such as the mass media.
The study found that:
- Trust in Web-based sources of health information has declined slightly over time;
- Trust in health information from television and other sources has dropped dramatically;
- More people are corresponding directly with their physicians via e-mail; and
- Many people are using the Internet as a first source for health information before discussing questions with their physicians.
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