Pilot survey of computers, internet and email use for health-related information and communication (HIC) among inner-city minority New Yorkers

Background- Use of modern technology for HIC by the public is evolving. Objective - Study the utilization of electronic resources among minorities. Methods- Data of individual characteristics, computer, internet and email use, from an ongoing random-sample adult survey in the South Bronx is presented. Descriptive analysis, odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. A p-value of <0.05 was considered significant. Results- Of 200 respondents, 77.5% were Hispanics; 22.5% African Americans; 66.5% women; 84% were 18-65 yrs;50% had <12 yrs of education; 33% reported annual incomes under $25, 000; 20% were unemployed and 59% had a chronic illness. 60% reported regular computer use, of which 90% used internet and 85.3% used email. Internet (64%) and email use (35.8%) for HIC were lower. 68% felt that electronic HIC would benefit the doctor-patient relationship. On multivariate analyses, greater use of computers, internet and email is consistently associated with lower age <40 years, higher income >$25,000 per year, higher education >12th grade and disease-free status (DFS) (p <0.02 for all analyses below). Computer-use: Age: OR 9.95 CI 4.07- 24.3 Income: OR 5.33 CI 1.36- 20.92 Education: OR 2.94 CI 1.38- 6.25 DFS: OR 0 .318 CI 0.146- 0.69 Internet-use: Age: OR 8.06 CI 3.58- 18.09 Income: OR 5.78 CI 1.66- 20.18 Education: OR 2.72 CI 1.29- 5.73 DFS: OR 0.313 CI 0.14- 0.65 Email-use: Age: OR 7.56 CI 3.48- 16.43 Income: OR 5.13 CI 1.60- 16.47 Education: OR 2.39 CI 1.16- 4.94 DFS: OR 0.41 CI 0.20- 0.86 Conclusion- Among inner-city minority New Yorkers, internet use for HIC is high whereas email use is lower. Electronic resource utilization is related to age, income, education and disease status. Facilitating access and training minority individuals with a lower propensity for use of electronic media for HIC, may aid in combating ethnic health disparities.