Health on the Go: Who is Using New Technology to Access Care and Healthcare Information

The number of people with mobile, on-the-go access to the Internet has increase dramatically in the past few years. According to the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, one in three American adults have a Smartphone (December 2011) and 19% have a computer tablet (January 2012, an increase of more than 200% since November 2010). This increased access to the Internet presents a potential opportunity to provide health-related content and interventions to people in new ways and to those underserved by traditional health channels. This study seeks to understand who is using new mobile technologies to access healthcare, what types of healthcare information seeking is occurring, and what differentiates people who are using these channels to seek health information from those who are not. To explore these questions, we examine the experiences of a representative sample of over 18,000 Smartphone and tablet owners using KnowledgePanel®, Knowledge Networks' (KN) national probability-based web panel that is recruited through RDD and ABS. Among these Smartphone and/or tablet owners, 1 in 4 report using these devices to obtain information on health care or wellness, for health monitoring or maintenance, and/or to communicate with health care providers. Among owners of these devices, those who are using them for health related activities are younger and more educated than those who are not. Owners who are using their devices for health related activities are more likely than others to have a chronic medical condition, to rate themselves in poorer health, yet are also more frequent exercisers. Initial data suggest different potential segments of people accessing mobile health care information. The paper will present detail on what types of health information and management behavior is being conducted on smart phones and tablets, profiles of users, and implications for health-related outreach through these devices.