@Article{info:doi/10.2196/jmir.2297,
author="Thackeray, Rosemary
and Crookston, Benjamin T
and West, Joshua H",
title="Correlates of Health-Related Social Media Use Among Adults",
journal="J Med Internet Res",
year="2013",
month="Jan",
day="30",
volume="15",
number="1",
pages="e21",
keywords="social media; Internet; health information; consumer",
abstract="Background: Sixty percent of Internet users report using the Internet to look for health information. Social media sites are emerging as a potential source for online health information. However, little is known about how people use social media for such purposes. Objectives: The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to establish the frequency of various types of online health-seeking behaviors, and (2) to identify correlates of 2 health-related online activities, social networking sites (SNS) for health-related activities and consulting online user-generated content for answers about health care providers, health facilities, or medical treatment. Methods: The study consisted of a telephone survey of 1745 adults who reported going online to look for health-related information. Four subscales were created to measure use of online resources for (1) using SNS for health-related activities; (2) consulting online rankings and reviews of doctors, hospitals or medical facilities, and drugs or medical treatments; (3) posting a review online of doctors, hospitals or medical facilities, and drugs or medical treatments, and (4) posting a comment or question about health or medical issues on various social media. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed. Results: Respondents consulted online rankings or reviews (41.15{\%}), used SNS for health (31.58{\%}), posted reviews (9.91{\%}), and posted a comment, question, or information (15.19{\%}). Respondents with a chronic disease were nearly twice as likely to consult online rankings (odds ratio [OR] 2.09, 95{\%} CI 1.66-2.63, P<.001). Lower odds of consulting online reviews were associated with less formal education (OR 0.49, 95{\%} CI 0.37-0.65, P<.001) and being male (OR 0.71, 95{\%} CI 0.57-0.87, P<.001). Respondents with higher incomes were 1.5 times as likely to consult online rankings or reviews (OR 1.49, 95{\%} CI 0.10-2.24, P=.05), than respondents with a regular provider (OR 2.05, 95{\%} CI 1.52-2.78, P<.001), or living in an urban/suburban location (OR 1.61, 95{\%} CI 1.17-2.22, P<.001). Older respondents were less likely to use SNS for health-related activities (OR 0.96, 95{\%} CI 0.95-0.97, P<.001), as were males (OR 0.70, 95{\%} CI 0.56-0.87, P<.001), whereas respondents with a regular provider had nearly twice the likelihood of using SNS for health-related activities (OR 1.89, 95{\%} CI 1.43-2.52, P<.001). Conclusions: People are using social media for seeking health information. However, individuals are more likely to consume information than they are to contribute to the dialog. The inherent value of ``social'' in social media is not being captured with online health information seeking. People with a regular health care provider, chronic disease, and those in younger age groups are more likely to consult online rankings and reviews and use SNS for health-related activities. ",
issn="1438-8871",
doi="10.2196/jmir.2297",
url="http://www.jmir.org/2013/1/e21/",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/jmir.2297",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23367505"
}