title: The demand for consumer health information.
abstract: Using data from an evaluation of a community-wide informational intervention, we modeled the demand for medical reference books, telephone advice nurses, and computers for health information. Data were gathered from random household surveys in Boise, ID (experimental site), Billings, MT, and Eugene, OR (control sites). Conditional difference-in-differences show that the intervention increased the use of medical reference books, advice nurses, and computers for health information by approximately 15, 6, and 4%. respectively. The results also suggest that the intervention was associated with a decreased reliance on health professionals for information.
authors.affiliation: VA Health Economics Resource Center, Stanford University School of Medicine, Menlo Park, CA 94025, USA. twagner@stanford.edu
authors.forename: T H
authors.initials: TH
authors.lastname: Wagner
authors.forename: T W
authors.initials: TW
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: J H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Hibbard
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003256:Community Participation / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005249:Fees and Charges; D005260:Female; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006266:Health Education / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008490:Medical Informatics; D008875:Middle Aged; D017059:Models, Econometric; D012014:Reference Books, Medical; D019114:Remote Consultation; D012648:Self Care; D014481:United States