Digital Pulp Blog

Health information is abundant on the web and we can only imagine this is for the better. Not only can you research the medication your doctor prescribed but you can chat about it with others who share your condition.

Recently Pew Research Center posted a finding that adults in the U.S. living with chronic disease are more likely to participate in online discussion but much less likely to actually have internet access. In fact, 81% do not have the ability to easily go online…

U.S. adults living with chronic disease are significantly less likely than healthy adults to have access to the internet (62% vs. 81%). The internet access gap creates an online health information gap. However, lack of internet access, not lack of interest in the topic, is the primary reason for the difference. Once online, having a chronic disease increases the probability that someone will take advantage of social media to share what they know and learn from their peers.

When other demographic factors are held constant, having a chronic disease significantly increases an internet user’s likelihood to say they work on a blog or contribute to an online discussion, a listserv, or other online group forum that helps people with personal issues or health problems.

Read the full article: Chronic Disease and the Internet

We’re always interested in understanding audiences and their motivations online. When thinking about your clients and customers it’s important to consider not only their desires in engaging with you but the barriers that might stand in their way.