Assisted Internet Access for Patients in a General Practitioner Surgery: Helping the Information Poor

The elderly and the poor do not readily access health information on the internet, `the digital divide'. The objective of this questionnaire based study in a socially deprived area was to establish the demand for Internet access in a general practitioner surgery (with a helper available), and to determine the relationship of that demand and actual use to previous experience. The influence of a general practitioner's encouragement and reasons for nonuse of the service were investigated. Overall 63%(151/239) were initially interested in accessing the Internet, and of these 92% (139/151) required help. Only 1.8% (3/167) of patients without previous experience of the Internet, `the information poor' actually used the Internet with assistance. 6.9% (5/72) of those with previous experience used it and they were also much more likely 77.7%(56/72) v.s 22.7% (38/167),to wish to do so in the future. 75% (11/14) of patients did not follow a general practitioner's recommendation to use the Internet. The predominant reasons for non-use were lack of time and home Internet access. Patients unfamiliar with the Internet, `the information poor', were unlikely to use the Internet even with assistance.