A new European survey has found women are more likely than men to seek health information online. Although men are far more likely to use the internet for general use and to send emails than women, the survey finds that women are 12 per cent more likely than men to use the Internet to search for health information.
Forty-four per cent of women in the US and Europe, compared to 32 percent of men, use the Internet for this purpose.
Datamonitor say the figures are due to women being generally more health conscious than men, and because women use the Internet to search for health information on behalf of other family members.
Over 60% of Europeans consider themselves to be more health conscious than most people, and a further 60% of these consumers have looked for health information, either online or offline in the past year.
Seventy-six percent of respondents in Datamonitor’s IMPACT survey indicated that they sought health information from their doctors, 73 percent from books, magazines and TV, and 53 percent from friends and family. Online sources include general health information websites, government or medical institution sites and pharmaceutical company websites.
The survey argues that women are not only interested in the health issues that affect them, but are also more likely to look for health information for family members; for example, searching for information on ear infections for their children or Alzheimer’s Disease for a parent.
It suggests that health sites should appeal to women by covering their health concerns or addressing them as caregivers of others, such as children, parents or husbands. The only three health topics that are more popular among men than women are not surprising; they are: cardiovascular problems, men’s health and HIV/AIDS.