Exploring the Interest in and the Usage of the Internet Among Patients Eligible for Osteoporosis Screening.

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the interest in the Internet and its usage for health-related issues among people eligible for osteoporosis screening. Self-administered questionnaires have been distributed to subjects who were screened for osteoporosis and to menopausal women. 177 patients have responded to the survey (64.5 +/- 10.1 years, 88.1 % of women). There are 78.5 % of Internet users. Among them, 67.2 % said searching information about their health and 74.5 % said using the Internet for this purpose. All respondents attributed an average score, out of 10, of 5.7 +/- 2.3 regarding the reliability of information that they could find on the Internet. The use of the Internet differs significantly depending on age: those who use the Internet are younger (62.1 +/- 8.91 years) than those who do not use it (73.3 +/- 9.42 years). The socioeconomic status also has an impact on the Internet use: Internet users have a higher education, are more professionally active and have a higher net monthly household income compared to the group of non-users. Even if age and socioeconomic status appear to be determining factors in the use of the Internet for the search of health information in patients eligible for osteoporosis screening, almost 75 % of the study population use the Internet for this purpose. Action to promote health through an Internet platform must therefore take these parameters into account