INTERNET ACCESS: More Adults Look for Health Information Online
The number of Americans accessing online health information has nearly doubled since July 1998, a recently released Harris Poll found. According to the survey, 98 million adults reported using the Internet to look up health information, compared to 54 million in a similar July 1998 poll. Conducted between May 26 and June 10, the telephone survey of 1,001 adults found that 56% of adults now have Internet access, up from 38% two years ago. Of those adults accessing the Internet, 86% reported using the Web to reference health information, compared to 71% in 1998. The poll found that only 14% of adults surfing the Web "never" looked up health information. The poll has a 3-point margin of error (Harris Poll release, 8/11).
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