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How does searching for health information on the Internet affect individuals' demand for health care services?

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  • Suziedelyte, Agne

Abstract

The emergence of the Internet made health information, which previously was almost exclusively available to health professionals, accessible to the general public. Access to health information on the Internet is likely to affect individuals' health care related decisions. The aim of this analysis is to determine how health information that people obtain from the Internet affects their demand for health care. I use a novel data set, the U.S. Health Information National Trends Survey (2003–07), to answer this question. The causal variable of interest is a binary variable that indicates whether or not an individual has recently searched for health information on the Internet. Health care utilization is measured by an individual's number of visits to a health professional in the past 12 months. An individual's decision to use the Internet to search for health information is likely to be correlated to other variables that can also affect his/her demand for health care. To separate the effect of Internet health information from other confounding variables, I control for a number of individual characteristics and use the instrumental variable estimation method. As an instrument for Internet health information, I use U.S. state telecommunication regulations that are shown to affect the supply of Internet services. I find that searching for health information on the Internet has a positive, relatively large, and statistically significant effect on an individual's demand for health care. This effect is larger for the individuals who search for health information online more frequently and people who have health care coverage. Among cancer patients, the effect of Internet health information seeking on health professional visits varies by how long ago they were diagnosed with cancer. Thus, the Internet is found to be a complement to formal health care rather than a substitute for health professional services.

Suggested Citation

  • Suziedelyte, Agne, 2012. "How does searching for health information on the Internet affect individuals' demand for health care services?," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(10), pages 1828-1835.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:75:y:2012:i:10:p:1828-1835
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.07.022
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Richard B. Smith, 2005. "An Alternative Perspective On Information Asymmetry; Implications For Consumer Authority In Physician Services Markets," Journal of Economics & Management Strategy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 14(3), pages 665-699, September.
    2. Jeffrey M. Wooldridge, 2003. "Cluster-Sample Methods in Applied Econometrics," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 93(2), pages 133-138, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Principe, Francesco & Weber, Guglielmo, 2023. "Online health information seeking and Covid-19 vaccine hesitancy: Evidence from 50+ Europeans," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    2. Denzil G. Fiebig, 2017. "Big Data: Will It Improve Patient-Centered Care?," The Patient: Patient-Centered Outcomes Research, Springer;International Academy of Health Preference Research, vol. 10(2), pages 133-139, April.
    3. Zhang, Jiaping & Yan, Qing & Guo, Wenxin & Gong, Xiaomei & Cheng, Mingwang & Yu, Ning, 2020. "Rainbow over the Internet: How Internet use curtails homophobia in China," Technology in Society, Elsevier, vol. 62(C).
    4. Vincenza Capone & Daniela Caso & Anna Rosa Donizzetti & Fortuna Procentese, 2020. "University Student Mental Well-Being during COVID-19 Outbreak: What Are the Relationships between Information Seeking, Perceived Risk and Personal Resources Related to the Academic Context?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Chen, Lipeng & Liu, Wanlin, 2022. "The effect of Internet access on body weight: Evidence from China," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 85(C).
    6. Christian Schmid, 2015. "Consumer Health Information and the Demand for Physician Visits," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 24(12), pages 1619-1631, December.
    7. Dwyer, Debra Sabatini & Liu, Hong, 2013. "The impact of consumer health information on the demand for health services," The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 53(1), pages 1-11.
    8. Hiroaki Suenaga & Maria Rosalía Vicente, 2022. "Online and offline health information seeking and the demand for physician services," The European Journal of Health Economics, Springer;Deutsche Gesellschaft für Gesundheitsökonomie (DGGÖ), vol. 23(3), pages 337-356, April.
    9. Tian, Xiaoli & Zhang, Sai, 2022. "Expert or experiential knowledge? How knowledge informs situated action in childcare practices," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 307(C).
    10. Di Novi, Cinzia & Kovacic, Matija & Orso, Cristina Elisa, 2024. "Online health information seeking behavior, healthcare access, and health status during exceptional times," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 675-690.
    11. Fuhmei Wang & Jung-Der Wang, 2017. "Telehealth and Sustainable Improvements to Quality of Life," Applied Research in Quality of Life, Springer;International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, vol. 12(1), pages 173-184, March.

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