A national survey conducted by Capstrat and Public Policy Polling hasfound that Americans rely on Google searches as a source of healthcare information. The search engine ranked second (22%) only to doctors(44%) as a source of health information, and was named more than twiceas often as nurses, pharmacists, advocacy groups, and friends or familymembers,
The poll also asked which sources respondents trust for online healthinformation. Health advocacy groups ranked first with 71% of respondentsjudging the Web content of such groups "somewhat reliable" or"extremely reliable," considerably higher than the 59% who feltsimilarly about organic Google searches.
Online communities have not yet become a major influence in health care,as only 12% of respondents reported using online forums in their lastsearch for health information. Only 37% of respondents considered forums"somewhat reliable" or "extremely reliable." Of those who did look toonline communities, their around-the-clock availability was listed asthe number one reason for their use.
"People are quick to search the Web for health information, just as theyuse it for most other questions today. But when it comes time to make adecision, their trust resides where it always has—in people," saysKaren Albritton, president of Capstrat. "This insight can be instructiveto organizations working to combine health expertise with newstrategies for communication."
