Use of the Internet for Health Purposes—A National Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey among Adults in Poland

The Internet is one of the most popular information sources. This study aimed to assess the public attitudes towards the use of the Internet for health purposes as well as to identify factors associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes among adults in Poland. A web-based cross-sectional survey was carried out between 9 and 12 September 2022 on a nationwide random-quota sample of 1092 adults in Poland. The study questionnaire included 10 questions on Internet use for health purposes. The most common reason for the use of the Internet for health purposes was searching for information on drugs and their effects (69.9%). Almost two-thirds of participants used the Internet for searching for health information (64.9%), for doctors/medical services (63.4%), or for medical facilities (65.3%). Over half of the participants used the Internet for checking online reviews of doctors (55.2%) and 43.5% of the participants ordered drugs or dietary supplements online. Out of 9 different socioeconomic factors analyzed in this study, having higher education, being female, as well as living in cities from 100,000 to 499,999 residents were the most important factors (p < 0.05) associated with the use of the Internet for health purposes. This study confirmed a high level of adoption of medical Internet in Poland.

[1]  Jan Krakowiak,et al.  Barriers to accessing health services during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland: A nationwide cross-sectional survey among 109,928 adults in Poland , 2022, Frontiers in Public Health.

[2]  M. Gujski,et al.  Use of Mobile Apps and Wearables to Monitor Diet, Weight, and Physical Activity: A Cross-Sectional Survey of Adults in Poland , 2022, Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research.

[3]  M. Duplaga.  A Nationwide Natural Experiment of e-Health Implementation during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland: User Satisfaction and the Ease-of-Use of Remote Physician’s Visits , 2022, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[4]  Krzysztof Płaciszewski,et al.  E-health – use of information and communications technology (ICT) in Polish health care system , 2022, Medycyna Ogólna i Nauki o Zdrowiu.

[5]  W. Wierzba,et al.  The Prevalence of Tobacco, Heated Tobacco, and E-Cigarette Use in Poland: A 2022 Web-Based Cross-Sectional Survey , 2022, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[6]  Chiau Soon Long,et al.  Online Pharmacies Selling Prescription Drugs: Systematic Review , 2022, Pharmacy.

[7]  P. Rubbo,et al.  E-Health Practices and Technologies: A Systematic Review from 2014 to 2019 , 2021, Healthcare.

[8]  Junhan Chen,et al.  Social Media Use for Health Purposes: Systematic Review , 2021, Journal of medical Internet research.

[9]  Sarah Winston.  Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS.gov) , 2021, Medical reference services quarterly.

[10]  Inga M. Hunter,et al.  Telehealth and the COVID-19 Pandemic: International Perspectives and a Health Systems Framework for Telehealth Implementation to Support Critical Response , 2021, Yearbook of Medical Informatics.

[11]  G. Sauvageau,et al.  Legal and Ethical Considerations for the Design and Use of Web Portals for Researchers, Clinicians, and Patients: Scoping Literature Review , 2020, Journal of medical Internet research.

[12]  V. Suárez-Lledó,et al.  Prevalence of Health Misinformation on Social Media: Systematic Review , 2019, Journal of medical Internet research.

[13]  K. Hale.  Benefits and Challenges of Social Media in Health Care. , 2021, Critical Care Nursing Quarterly.

[14]  W. Hoffmann,et al.  Effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on disease recognition and utilisation of healthcare services in the older population in Germany: a cross-sectional study , 2020, Age and ageing.

[15]  Alexander Wenz,et al.  Studying health-related internet and mobile device use using web logs and smartphone records , 2020, PloS one.

[16]  W. Zgliczyński,et al.  The State of Vaccine Confidence in Poland: A 2019 Nationwide Cross-Sectional Survey , 2020, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[17]  M. Gagnon,et al.  e-Health interventions for healthy aging: a systematic review , 2020, Systematic Reviews.

[18]  L. Salvador-Carulla,et al.  The persistence of digital divides in the use of health information: a comparative study in 28 European countries , 2020, International Journal of Public Health.

[19]  Tadeusz Zienkiewicz,et al.  Socio-economic development, level of urbanization and consumption of selected food products as factors in the prevalence of overweight and obesity among youths and young adults in Poland. , 2020, Annals of agricultural and environmental medicine : AAEM.

[20]  W. Zgliczyński,et al.  Public and private health care services in the opinion of physicians in Poland. , 2020, International journal of occupational medicine and environmental health.

[21]  Samantha R. Paige,et al.  Evolving Role of Social Media in Health Promotion: Updated Responsibilities for Health Education Specialists , 2020, International journal of environmental research and public health.

[22]  Farkhondeh Asadi,et al.  A Systematic Review of Electronic Health (eHealth) interventions to improve physical activity in patients with breast cancer , 2019, Breast Cancer.

[23]  Xinchan Jiang,et al.  The Cost-Effectiveness of Digital Health Interventions on the Management of Cardiovascular Diseases: Systematic Review , 2019, Journal of medical Internet research.

[24]  S. Greener,et al.  Social media guidelines: a review for health professionals and faculty members , 2019, The clinical teacher.

[25]  M. Bujnowska-Fedak,et al.  The Internet as a Source of Health Information and Services. , 2019, Advances in experimental medicine and biology.

[26]  Eric S. Roth,et al.  How social media, training, and demographics influence online reviews across three leading review websites for spine surgeons. , 2018, The spine journal : official journal of the North American Spine Society.

[27]  Syed Mustafa Ali,et al.  Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: a systematic review of systematic reviews , 2018, Online journal of public health informatics.

[28]  P. Stolee,et al.  Economic evaluations of eHealth technologies: A systematic review , 2018, PloS one.

[29]  P. Bath,et al.  Sharing and Empathy in Digital Spaces: Qualitative Study of Online Health Forums for Breast Cancer and Motor Neuron Disease (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) , 2018, Journal of medical Internet research.

[30]  Lubna Daraz,et al.  Readability of Online Health Information: A Meta-Narrative Systematic Review , 2018, American journal of medical quality : the official journal of the American College of Medical Quality.

[31]  Nadee Goonawardene,et al.  Internet Health Information Seeking and the Patient-Physician Relationship: A Systematic Review , 2017, Journal of medical Internet research.

[32]  R. Busse,et al.  Pharmaceutical regulation in 15 European countries review. , 2016, Health systems in transition.

[33]  A. Boonstra,et al.  Social media use in healthcare: A systematic review of effects on patients and on their relationship with healthcare professionals , 2016, BMC Health Services Research.

[34]  S. Gessani,et al.  Gender-related differences in lifestyle may affect health status. , 2016, Annali dell'Istituto superiore di sanita.

[35]  M. Bujnowska-Fedak.  Trends in the use of the Internet for health purposes in Poland , 2015, BMC Public Health.

[36]  Mariusz Duplaga,et al.  The acceptance of e-health solutions among patients with chronic respiratory conditions. , 2013, Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association.

[37]  M Szulc,et al.  Poland. , 1988, Revue scientifique et technique.