How Does the Internet Affect Your Health? Health Information Sharing and Seeking Behavior in the U.S.

The Internet has fundamentally changed the way we gather health information. This has created an opportunity to examine how Americans use the Internet to search for information. However, there are limited studies on the health outcomes for individuals who engage in internet use for health information. This study aimed to examine the association between internet use for health information and health outcomes by analyzing nationally representative data from the 2020 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS). Multivariate logistic regression models examined the odds of having a poor self-rated health score and worse chronic health conditions based on social media use for health information and electronic means use for health information. In addition, the moderating effects of gender, race, and SES were examined for the health outcomes. No significant results were found for the association between social media use for health information and health outcomes. However, participants who had high use of electronic means for health information had a higher likelihood of having worse chronic health conditions (OR=1.457, 95% CI=1.217-1.743). Analysis of the moderating effects of gender, race, and SES resulted in no significant associations. Electronic means for health information amongst participants with high chronic conditions may reflect a need for health care providers to seek more ways to utilize electronic means to improve health outcomes.