Medical Information on the Internet: Evaluation of Usage in College Students

The Internet has become an important medium for seeking health information with advancing technological innovations. However, the scope of misinformation is vast and uncontrolled. The quality of information can be critical to health outcomes, particularly to patients who wish to seek information in privacy to self-diagnose and self-treat. The undergraduate college student demographic was investigated due to their ease of internet access on campus, but limited access to their own general physicians during the academic year. Online health information-seeking habits of 100 college students were studied using two cross-sectional questionnaires administered on a Massachusetts college campus. These surveys determined the proportion of students who sought medical information online, the types of websites searched, their assessments of their experiences, and any subsequent healthcare-seeking actions taken. The surveys revealed that 90 students (90%) had used the internet for medical information in their lifetime. Fifty students (56%) used self-help sites and 25 students (28%) used online encyclopedia entries. After their most recent query, 50 students (56%) found the information obtained to be “somewhat accurate.” Fifty-five students (61%) shared the information with others and 13 (14%) discussed the information with a health care professional. The habit of searching for medical information online is highly prevalent among college students. Those that do seek information online tend to share this information with others but rarely discuss findings with a healthcare professional. This research suggests that the healthcare professionals should provide students a list of reliable medical websites since websites are the preferred source of information.