People are becoming more healthcare savvy and more likely to use the Internet for research on medical issues, but what kind of resources are the most popular? In the US, where direct-to-consumer advertising is allowed, companies spend a great deal of money on developing marketing messages and resources about prescription medicines, so knowing exactly what makes a patient tick and grabs their attention is a high priority. Every year, Kelton and Makovsky Health conducts a US survey to glean insight into this area. For the 2016 Pulse of Online Search Survey, 1035 “nationally representative” Americans took part, and the results show that the most important factor influencing the use of an online health resource is ease of use (1). The fact that usability is important is not so surprising, but the fact that it typically outranks trustworthiness is interesting; 59 percent of people surveyed trusted advocacy group websites but only 16 percent visited them looking for health information – instead, they selected more user-friendly resources.
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References
- Makovsky Integrated Communication, “Makovsky Pulse of Online Search Survey” (March 2016). Available at: http://bit.ly/1pzpXaW
