title: Group disparities and health information: a study of online access for the underserved.
abstract: The Internet is an oft-cited learning resource, useful to consumers who seek to educate themselves on specific technical issues or knowledge-intensive topics. Availability of public-access Internet portals and decreasing costs of personal computers have created a consensus that unequal access to information, or a "Digital Divide", presents a like problem specific to information for uninsured or under-insured healthcare consumers. Access to information, however, is now an essential part of consumer-centric healthcare management. To date little research has been done to differentiate levels of health information access on the Web by different subgroups, linking online socioeconomic characteristics and health seeking behaviors. This analysis of a landmark Pew Foundation survey seeks to differentiate and delineate information access, or lack of desired access, across targeted, "digitally underserved" subgroups.
authors.affiliation: Center for Technology Assessment, PO Box 1154, State College, PA 16801, USA. oed11@vminetwork.org
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lorence
authors.forename: Heeyoung
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Park
mesh_terms: D022126:Access to Information; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000145:classification*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008507:Medically Underserved Area; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States